buying older games- indicators of legit cartridges?

Jars

I'm looking to buy a few older DS games(EO1&2, FFTA2) and I see some copies available at prices that seem too good to be true(EO1 is $160 on amazon), is there any way to know they are real? I've heard you can tell by the graphic on the cartridge

Shadowfire

Pirated copies have gotten much better which makes them harder to tell apart. I know this guide goes through what to look for pretty extensively. Part of the problem is going to be getting good pictures because not everyone owns an amazing camera. But when in doubt, ask for more pictures.

Along those lines, this Reddit thread has a good run through of the things to watch out for with GBA carts.

Local H Jay

I basically don't trust it unless there's some wear and tear these days. Atleast with popular carts like pokemon it's usually easy to tell, the Nintendo logo or board itself looks off usually

That being said eBay and other similar sites usually have robust return policies if you can prove it's a fake