Brand New Dreamcast Scam

[NateN34]

EDIT: Seller has issued $30 refund (not enough, but will do). I am going to keep it and am giving up on buying "New" Dreamcasts, after what has happened. I will just stick to buying used ones, and will keep the other new one I have in its box.

Hi,

So I have been a huge Dreamcast fan since it came out, and now I am starting to get a bigger collection and always have wanted a true new, un-tampered with Dreamcast. So I go and buy this, and offer him $85.99.....plus shipping, and he accepts. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWNX:IT Just got it today. The box is in excellent condition (almost too good) and the accessories and games are good. But the game was clearly resealed (no big deal).

So I decide to take the Dreamcast out of the plastic package. It is in a clear plastic bag and is taped on the bottom, which is suspicious. As far as I know, all Dreamcasts come in packages that say "ATTENTION" in red and are NOT taped. Also this one came sheltered in cardboard, and NOT an eggshell box.So I take it out and am horrified at what I saw......it was USED. The outer case was all scratched up like some idiot tried cleaning it with steel wool and the inside is scratched and looks like there is some cleaning residue too. Also the bottom labels are all scratched up. So I decide to put it up next to my other new Dreamcast and compare them side by side. The one that I just got that was supposed to be "new" was yellowed compared to the other one.........so its obvious now. The final thing I did was smell the fan port........(ye I know it sounds weird)...........and it smells like rubbing alcohol.

My point is that, this is a used console, and I have actually looked on Youtube and on ebay too. It seems that there is a lot of these "new" Dreamcasts out there. They are just new boxes with new controllers, accessories, etc with a used/refurbished system. The sad part is, that most people don't know enough about the Dreamcast to differentiate from a new and used one, and give the sellers good feedback and believe it is new. This has also occurred on ThinkGeek and I am actually starting to think Amazon's "new" Dreamcast's are the same thing.

I just wonder where all these perfect boxes came from.

Here is a list of Youtube videos that I have watched, where they got a "New" Dremcast that is boxed the same way as mine(not a true new Dreamcast).


Link 1
Link 2

Plus lots more video that I did not link, because I think the limit is 2 urls per post.

[Anthony817]

You must have had a bad scam, but there are in fact still new Dreamcasts unopened and new in the box. Many were still in the warehouse when Sega stopped production of them, so that is why you still seE so many on ebay and amazon.

Did you check his feedback before you purchased it from him?

[NateN34]

You must have had a bad scam, but there are in fact still new Dreamcasts unopened and new in the box. Many were still in the warehouse when Sega stopped production of them, so that is why you still seE so many on ebay and amazon.

Did you check his feedback before you purchased it from him?

Yeh, I check his feedback. It is really good, 99.6% positive feedback, feedback score Of 5883. I also noticed he is selling a lot more of these too. There is like 10 different listings with each one having like 10 or more available. Other people bought the same items as me and said it was good. There is no way those are all new that this seller has. I don't know what to believe right now, I want to order a new one from here, but am thinking these are just going to be the same thing...........refurbs/used, marketed as new.

[Gary_b]

contact him and see what he says about it. maybe he didn't know, i doubt this but who knows?

[Favrenation]

On the amazon link you posted there is a more buying choice section and Amazon itself sells them. So you are safe there.

[sega2k]

yea check out amazon, they have a bigger selection. Plus they wont rip you off like ebay sellers.

[NateN34]

contact him and see what he says about it. maybe he didn't know, i doubt this but who knows?

Yep, contaced them, here is there reply. Hello Nate,

"We're very sorry for this inconvenience of yours and we want to let you know that we are here to help. There might have been a mistake in the shipping department but nontheless, we would like to give you a few options on what you can do to fix this. You can either get an exchange or get a partial refund: please let us know as soon as possible. Again, sorry for this inconvenience."

Shipping mistake! My !@#$.

What a scam, I doubt exchanging it would fix anything, do you guys think I should open a Paypal dispute?

[Favrenation]

Maybe it is a shippping mistake?

[NateN34]

Maybe it is a shippping mistake?

Highly doubt that. The games are even used, but resealed crappy and it looks like plastic wrap. I am going to see how much of a refund i can get. If it is like a $10 refund, I am going to be filing a paypal dispute. This is unacceptable, and some newbies may think it is really new, but I am not going to fall for that.

[lazyhoboguy]

Hmm yea I heard this happend to people on thinkgeek too. I kind of doubt they purposely ship out these fake new ones, but I think they just dont give a crap and dont check their stock to make sure they are shipping new vs used ones.