I have been looking around for a deal on a 3DS XL system and I've been perusing ebay. I notice the systems have the distinction of PAL and NTSC, but when I google searched what this meant, there are only two topics about it. One says such a thing isn't possible on a handheld because it relates to TV signals, and another talks about region locking.

I'm just curious if it IS possible on a handheld or if there is another way to tell if a system is from a different region.

My thinking is that since most of the sellers are from the US (like me) they don't know about the difference and so even though it says it's a PAL system, it really can only be a NTSC system. But any help to clarify would be helpful.

Whilst PAL/NTSC isn't possible on a handheld itself, Nintendo still locks Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 3DS XL systems by region. There are three separate regions - Europe/Australia, North America, and Japan - and 3DS games from one region can only be played on a 3DS system from the same region.

If you're unsure as to which region a 3DS or 3DS XL is from on eBay, ask the buyer - and if they say NTSC, ask them to be more specific, because in terms of console games that could mean either North America or Japan (PAL is fine since Europe/Australia is counted as one region by Nintendo).

Hope that helps!