Second Hand Games (NOT the rant you are expecting)

[Kouen]

As A buyer of used games both in GameStop and eBay I have the biggest beef and its not to do with "Used games destroying the industry" or anything like that but there Condition!

Recently I've been buying used PSP games on eBay (some of it is due to the fact our local GameStop doesn't stock all that much in PSP) and Ive come to notice 75% of the games I've bought on there are in crap condition! You could possibly argue the case with Unboxed UMD's although buying a Holder I would have thought was a no brainer on that one. but honestly it shocks the hell out of me. I Had a copy (UMD Only) of Persuit Force come to me... it looked like it had been Kicked along a street, and sounded like there was grit inside the UMD Shell! I ended up having to buy a Replacement Shell for it!

Spoiler: Large Image Warning!

Guess which UMD it is xD

Another Case, I Bought Kao Challengers for PSP and it was Crushed!

There was no image of the disc before buying and the Seller pulled the whole sold as seen no return BS... Lucky the disc inside was fine as you can imagine again a new shell >.<

Other things that drive me nuts... UMD's have plastic casings on most of the disc except a window... how is it that EVERY SINGLE UMD I have bought on ebay has more fingerprints on the disc itself then Scotland yard?!

That being said I can understand in used games loosing the manual but the box? DVD Cases are rather large, and I will admit they can get lost too, but sometimes I see people selling a lot of games Unboxed no instructions on PSP, PS2, Xbox.. you name it and im thinking how can people loose so many cases xD Honestly I saw someone on eBay the other day selling a good 15 or so UMD's Unboxed saying He lost the boxes HOW?!

Lastly its Scratches and what nots on the disc's why is it that it seems most used games are scratched up xD Is it so hard to put it back in the case, Im guilty myself of not doing it but i always do it that day and there always left Data side up to make sure they dont get scratched up xD

Does this stuff bug others? am I alone in my Nerd Rage?

 

[Kouen]

Im rather shocked to see that im the only one bothered about used games conditions xD

 

[LawlessSquirrel]

Honestly, I've not had that problem. I don't buy used all too often, but when I do I'm usually surprised by the good state of the disks (or UMDs). Never gotten one of poor or unusable state. Sure, the manuals are clearly used and it's not often to get one looking as good as new, but I have only positive experiences overall.

 

[Gunner 51]

Im rather shocked to see that im the only one bothered about used games conditions xD

You aren't the only one who cares about the condition of second hand games. Every time I've bought one, it always looks as if a cat has been DJ'ing with the disc. (Which is one of the reasons why I always buy new.)

But most of the blame lies not with the retailer which you got your discs from, but their previous owners. (It's where I suspect the damage comes from.)

 

[Something Amyss]

But most of the blame lies not with the retailer which you got your discs from, but their previous owners. (It's where I suspect the damage comes from.)

Retailers really shouldn't be selling discs in such awful condition. But I'm nto here to nag, just to point out that while I care, I rarely get a disc in bad condition.

 

[Irridium]

Most people don't give two shits about their disks and cases.

I've seen many games rented out to people, new games mind you, and when they were returned a few days later it looked like they aged by a few years.

Its even worse when I see people trading in games at Gamestop. Lots of people wonder why Gamestop charges so little for many used games, well a decent part of that is because they're in insanely shitty condition.

You'd think people would be more careful with these fragile things, but no.

One of the reasons I buy new whenever I can.

Actually, I believe The Escapist ran an article about a Gamestop Employee some time ago.

And here it is. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_275/8176-Confessions-of-a-GameStop-Employee-Part-Three]

I suggest reading all parts though. 'Tis a great read.

One [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_273/8145-Confessions-of-a-GameStop-Employee-Part-One.2], two [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_274/8174-Confessions-of-a-GameStop-Employee-Part-Two], Four [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_276/8177-Confessions-of-a-GameStop-Employee-Part-Four].

 

[DanielBrown]

I used to buy a lot of second hand games before, but after finding out the games in England are like 50% cheaper than in Sweden I've gotten them from an internet store there.
Anyways, out of all second hand games I've ever purchased only one didn't work. I bought them from real stores however, so I suppose they cleaned the discs up before putting them up for sale. As for the game that didn't work; I returned to the store and got a new copy right away. Was such a relief since I had been looking for that particular game for months without success.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Im rather shocked to see that im the only one bothered about used games conditions xD

You aren't the only one who cares about the condition of second hand games. Every time I've bought one, it always looks as if a cat has been DJ'ing with the disc. (Which is one of the reasons why I always buy new.)

But most of the blame lies not with the retailer which you got your discs from, but their previous owners. (It's where I suspect the damage comes from.)

You are not alone. It sickens me to see what some of those discs had become. I used to work at a blockbuster you see. When Avatar came out, I remember brand-new discs going out on day one and as they slowly trickled back in, many were scratched. Some cases were damaged (damned dogs) and one person even tried calling in to say his standard edition copy didn't work! That was just Avatar though: Every time we got in games, I felt bad setting the boxes out on the shelf because I knew there was a good chance that, that game was about to be seriously violated. There's only so much Scratch-Out can fix, you know?

Also, where UMDs are concerned, I never knew the outer case could be removed/replaced. I have never tried taking my UMD out of the white over-case and it always shocked me to see UMDs that had a 'broken' case, which I later found wasn't broken but merely opened and not properly closed again.

 

[Kouen]

Im rather shocked to see that im the only one bothered about used games conditions xD

You aren't the only one who cares about the condition of second hand games. Every time I've bought one, it always looks as if a cat has been DJ'ing with the disc. (Which is one of the reasons why I always buy new.)

But most of the blame lies not with the retailer which you got your discs from, but their previous owners. (It's where I suspect the damage comes from.)

You are not alone. It sickens me to see what some of those discs had become. I used to work at a blockbuster you see. When Avatar came out, I remember brand-new discs going out on day one and as they slowly trickled back in, many were scratched. Some cases were damaged (damned dogs) and one person even tried calling in to say his standard edition copy didn't work! That was just Avatar though: Every time we got in games, I felt bad setting the boxes out on the shelf because I knew there was a good chance that, that game was about to be seriously violated. There's only so much Scratch-Out can fix, you know?

Also, where UMDs are concerned, I never knew the outer case could be removed/replaced. I have never tried taking my UMD out of the white over-case and it always shocked me to see UMDs that had a 'broken' case, which I later found wasn't broken but merely opened and not properly closed again.

Ya a dab of super glue can fix most, although any ive owned from new have never busted open, if the UMD Casing is scratched up badly and is split open I buy a new shell for it, on the plus side it makes the games look badass but still id rather it be fine from the get go

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

The guys at my Gamestop are usually nice enough to pick out a nice copy for customers, but in some cases, the only one left is nasty.

Especially with PSP UMDs. I just bought "Chains of Olympus", and MY GOD is it filthy.

And I'd finally tracked down a copy of "Star Ocean: Second Evolution", only to find the UMDs front was slightly caved in, which prevented it from working by catching the disc.

 

[Kouen]

The guys at my Gamestop are usually nice enough to pick out a nice copy for customers, but in some cases, the only one left is nasty.

Especially with PSP UMDs. I just bought "Chains of Olympus", and MY GOD is it filthy.

And I'd finally tracked down a copy of "Star Ocean: Second Evolution", only to find the UMDs front was slightly caved in, which prevented it from working by catching the disc.

Ill pm you a seller that has decent quality UMD Shells

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

The guys at my Gamestop are usually nice enough to pick out a nice copy for customers, but in some cases, the only one left is nasty.

Especially with PSP UMDs. I just bought "Chains of Olympus", and MY GOD is it filthy.

And I'd finally tracked down a copy of "Star Ocean: Second Evolution", only to find the UMDs front was slightly caved in, which prevented it from working by catching the disc.

Ill pm you a seller that has decent quality UMD Shells

If only I had a time machine. I returned it, and the store already shipped it out as "defective".

I'll just buy the game off of Amazon or something. I've only had my PSP for 2 weeks, and picked up 5 games for it.

 

[Jedoro]

And people wonder why I don't buy used games. Yeah, it's cheaper, but a new game's guaranteed to work.

 

[Kouen]

The guys at my Gamestop are usually nice enough to pick out a nice copy for customers, but in some cases, the only one left is nasty.

Especially with PSP UMDs. I just bought "Chains of Olympus", and MY GOD is it filthy.

And I'd finally tracked down a copy of "Star Ocean: Second Evolution", only to find the UMDs front was slightly caved in, which prevented it from working by catching the disc.

Ill pm you a seller that has decent quality UMD Shells

If only I had a time machine. I returned it, and the store already shipped it out as "defective".

I'll just buy the game off of Amazon or something. I've only had my PSP for 2 weeks, and picked up 5 games for it.

Well I PM'd ya before I saw this reply but the info may still be handy to ya if ya need any advice and what nots on PSP give me a poke!

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

The guys at my Gamestop are usually nice enough to pick out a nice copy for customers, but in some cases, the only one left is nasty.

Especially with PSP UMDs. I just bought "Chains of Olympus", and MY GOD is it filthy.

And I'd finally tracked down a copy of "Star Ocean: Second Evolution", only to find the UMDs front was slightly caved in, which prevented it from working by catching the disc.

Ill pm you a seller that has decent quality UMD Shells

If only I had a time machine. I returned it, and the store already shipped it out as "defective".

I'll just buy the game off of Amazon or something. I've only had my PSP for 2 weeks, and picked up 5 games for it.

Well I PM'd ya before I saw this reply but the info may still be handy to ya if ya need any advice and what nots on PSP give me a poke!

*poke*

Crisis Core. Yay or Nay? Assuming I remember jack shit about the details of FF7s plot after all these years, and don't feel bothered to read up.

Ghost of Sparta. Significantly better than COO? Wait until I can get it cheap?

Screen protectors needed?

Does Persona 1 suck?

Games with really bad loading times that I should be aware of? [sub]Fuck you, Power Stone Collection![/sub]

 

[Kouen]

The guys at my Gamestop are usually nice enough to pick out a nice copy for customers, but in some cases, the only one left is nasty.

Especially with PSP UMDs. I just bought "Chains of Olympus", and MY GOD is it filthy.

And I'd finally tracked down a copy of "Star Ocean: Second Evolution", only to find the UMDs front was slightly caved in, which prevented it from working by catching the disc.

Ill pm you a seller that has decent quality UMD Shells

If only I had a time machine. I returned it, and the store already shipped it out as "defective".

I'll just buy the game off of Amazon or something. I've only had my PSP for 2 weeks, and picked up 5 games for it.

Well I PM'd ya before I saw this reply but the info may still be handy to ya if ya need any advice and what nots on PSP give me a poke!

*poke*

Crisis Core. Yay or Nay? Assuming I remember jack shit about the details of FF7s plot after all these years, and don't feel bothered to read up.

Ghost of Sparta. Significantly better than COO? Wait until I can get it cheap?

Screen protectors needed?

Does Persona 1 suck?

Games with really bad loading times that I should be aware of? [sub]Fuck you, Power Stone Collection![/sub]

1. Hell Yea
2. I Think So, its worth the price in my opinion
3. Nope just get a nice case for it I can also show ya where to get custom faceplates
4. I Personally think 3 Portable is better
5. MX vs ATV Unleashed: On The Edge, Great game very long load times though Tell me what types of games you prefer and ill let ya know of any bad load time games i know of

 

[SalamanderJoe]

I used to have problems with disc conditions but I now ask the guy at the counter serving me to see the disc. If it's crap they'll clean it there. If it's too crap they physicaly throw it in the back and get me another copy.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

1. Hell Yea
2. I Think So, its worth the price in my opinion
3. Nope just get a nice case for it I can also show ya where to get custom faceplates
4. I Personally think 3 Portable is better
5. MX vs ATV Unleashed: On The Edge, Great game very long load times though Tell me what types of games you prefer and ill let ya know of any bad load time games i know of

Well, the 5 PSP games I have right now...

Persona 3 Portable (The reason I got the bloody PSP!)
Riviera: The Promised Land
Size Matters
Daxter
Chains of Olympus
Power Stone Collection (Downloaded off store)

PS1 games from the store that I had bought for PS3.

Spyro 1-3
Final Fantasy 7-9, Tactics
Wild ARMs 1-2
Grandia
Metal Gear Solid
Um Jammer Lammy

PSP Minis

Tehra: Dark Warrior (I want my $2.50 back!)

I have a 4 GB Memory stick, so I can't hold all of them at once. Final Fantasy games chew up 1GB each.

Games I'm thinking of getting:

GTA: Vice City Stories (Don't bother recommending LCS or CW, as they have shitty soundtracks, which is a key part of my GTA experience!)
Persona 1
Syphon Filter: Logan's Shadow and Dark Mirror
The Lost Frontier
Secret Agent Clank

 

[Gunner 51]

You are not alone. It sickens me to see what some of those discs had become. I used to work at a blockbuster you see. When Avatar came out, I remember brand-new discs going out on day one and as they slowly trickled back in, many were scratched. Some cases were damaged (damned dogs) and one person even tried calling in to say his standard edition copy didn't work! That was just Avatar though: Every time we got in games, I felt bad setting the boxes out on the shelf because I knew there was a good chance that, that game was about to be seriously violated. There's only so much Scratch-Out can fix, you know?

(sic)

Retailers really shouldn't be selling discs in such awful condition. But I'm nto here to nag, just to point out that while I care, I rarely get a disc in bad condition.

@Shoggoth2588: I've always endevoured to take good care of my discs when I buy them. Even though I never sell them back to retailers, I've always been of the opinion that a well maintained disc will outlast one's console.

Though it makes me wonder how most discs sold back to the retailer get damaged so entensively in the first place.

@Zachary Amaranth: In a way, I can't blame the retailers. Every store I've been to is quite badly lit. The retailers almost work in what I'd say is gloom and probably can't see the scratches. Though I have to salute your good fortune with your second hand games.