Topic: The Chit-Chat Thread

@Anti-Matter Any shops after? You probably mean "any shops like".
But you've already named most of them, so there probably aren't many more, at least not of that size, because you've already listed the biggest out there.

@ThanosReXXX
Actually, i found the "cheapest" of Pokemon DS games on Tokopedia, a local online shop in my country Indonesia.

I found Pokemon Soul Silver with cheap price 550,000 IDR / around US$ 38.50 but Europe version , while i found the USA version of Soul Silver came with Pokewalker with price 1,500,000 IDR or around US$ 105

I found Pokemon White 2 USA (Still sealed) from other user on Tokopedia with price 950,000 IDR or around US$ 66.50

I found Pokemon Black 2 USA (Very Good) from other user on Tokopedia with price 1,300,000 IDR or around US$ 91

Those prices are very expensive for one NDS game but i understand those are Most Wanted games. I really want to get all of them so i need to delay my upcoming Switch games order , so i can get them at least 1 game for 1 month. But i'm still looking for possibilities of cheaper prices from Ebay.

Pokémon games are always expensive

@Anti-Matter Errr... okayyyy.... just a simple "yes, that's indeed what I meant" would have been fine, thank you. I'm not really into Pokémon game buying history.

But personally, I don't like eBay at all, and I would also never recommend it to anyone, if it concerns wanting to buy games or consoles, because 9 out of 10 times, they're just WAY too expensive, both because people put ridiculous prices on items, but also because (unfortunately) there's more than enough stupid people actually wanting to pay those kinds of prices, which means that the people who are selling the items will keep these high prices going.

Yeah, I don't think I've used eBay since 2003, when I ordered some replacement parts for a Mitsu Eclipse I was rebuilding.

I got notification of another audit for work this morning. This one is all about clinical stuff, so I'll just sit back and laugh at people as they scramble to make sure things are done that they should have been doing since the last audit.

I also got my state tax return back last night, and the federal should be this week. Given that I've managed to put the pickup in a good spot for awhile, I may still be able to swing that elusive SN30 Pro controller. Isn't Yoshi out in some two weeks, as well?

@ThanosReXXX I generally hate eBay due to all the scammers, the Chinese garbage that floods, it (then again Amazon is getting there too...), and the fact that every freaking shipper there wants a signature as though I can actually sit around at home all day on a whim, making for each purchase being a miserable event. That said I recently purchased there for the first time in a decacde as there are some things, specifically getting very expensive things used for much cheaper than new price (like half price) due to items depreciating massively when used, that is just impossible anywhere else. There's good deals but wading through the chaff is awful.

At least I feel less dirty buying from eBay and random used flea market sellers than actually trying to buy from Alibaba.....though they're pushing that as the next big thing.

@NEStalgia I wouldn't if I were you. Alibaba is just the Asian answer to Amazon, and funded and owned by a rather renowned businessman. When buying second-hand from private owners, you'll never know for sure what you'll get, unless you're actually able to go and see before you buy, which isn't really an option on eBay.

And these websites at least give you a decent amount of warranty, something that isn't always possible with eBay, or sellers/scammers manage to wriggle their way out of that, by various means.

A site I myself am quite familiar with, is Tmart.com, but unfortunately for some, they don't sell games, only peripherals such as controllers and/or controller parts, and all other kinds of things you might need/want when playing games on consoles or PC.

Another good option is AlieExpress, but that site too, doesn't sell games, so ultimately, it all depends on what someone is looking for, in which case, either of these sites truly is a more than decent option.

Not had any issues with eBay or the sellers. Even when returning items, I have good experiences. Like @ReaderRagfihs said prices are fine if you use common sense

@ThanosReXXX Funded and owned by the CCP is more like it. Ma, like most high level Chinese businessmen, is a mouthpiece and agent for the Party. If he weren't, he would likely not be alive, or at least not where anyone can see him. You get the privilege of buying factory new products in exchange for likely a lot more information that can be used to harm you than even Google collects. The company that "may or may not be" behind the "social credit" system software. No thanks..... It's like the evil of Google, Amazon, Facebook, MS, and Apple all rolled into one and operated by the intelligence department. The Stasi is reborn only this time they want you as a customer.

Not that I hold Bezos and company to a much better standard....they're merely mouthpieces of a central control system as well. But at least it's a distributed control system and is thus "less horrendously bad"....it's like getting to choose which execution camp you get sent to. One has a nicer pool than the others.

Still, yeah, eBay is bad. But....it depends a little. Audio stuff and the like....you can either try there, or pay double for new. And double represents a paycheck or two. Of course the difference is most of the people selling in that market are individual private owners listing their stuff. The thing eBay was meant for. For gaming stuff and the like they're mostly big professional eBay sellers that flip garbage like a flea market. Not the thing eBay was meant for but the thing it is now.

I'll say though that I buy a lot of Amazon Marketplace sellers stuff, and a lot of them are listing the items on both Amazon and eBay and they're all legit sellers. Except The Beeper PS4 Pro.....ordered on Amazon....arrived in a box with eBay tape.....that was the red flag.

@NEStalgia @ThanosReXXX
I started to buy from Ebay for the first time on year 2014 when the stock of Animal Boxing NDS was sold out suddenly from Playasia.
I have been told by my friend the tips before buying from Ebay, at least the user rating was 99% and above + as long NOT from China / Hong Kong, It would be safe to buy.
(i have ever bought Super Princess Peach NDS from Ebay with user from UK and it has been delivered safely).

My old games by majority and White Joy Cons shell has been ordered from Ebay. The thing that I have never tried before is ordering old video game machine / additional video games controller such as Beatmania IIDX controller or Pop'n Music controller or etc from Ebay.

@NEStalgia I think I'm going to stay out of the whole politically-charged part of this conversation, because I've got my own, multiple positive experiences with sites like these as a frame of reference, so most if not any criticism towards them is often either borne out of a single negative experience, or simply out of not really knowing if these sites are actually really that bad because people never tried them out in the first place, and are just acting as a "mouthpiece" for the opinions of others, that are a bit more vocal about it, for whatever reason, such as the so-called "yeah, what he said" crowd...

@Anti-Matter That sounds like good advice. And like some others have already said, there are scams that are obvious, but be sure to look around and compare different sites, if only to get a good understanding of what a certain item should cost, instead of going for some of the crazy prices that they sometimes ask for.

@Anti-Matter I wouldn't buy used video game controllers ever again. 90% of the time, it was sold because it wasn't performing correctly. It's a wearable, consumable device, and most of the time if anyone's selling it (without the rest of the system) it's because something is wrong with it. Consoles...I've had one bad experience with a used one, but even that isn't entirely a bad one (current PS4 Pro was beeping like crazy for months, but after I moved it it stopped beeping.....though the video cut out the other day. That was weird.)

I think "not from China/HK" is pretty much the safe standard rule for buying anything, "new" or not, though Not unless it's a known/trusted exporter.

I used to buy Pokemon games from Hong Kong back in the day, because the games always took a year to come to Europe. Never had a problem to be honest.

@ThanosReXXX Nothing politically charged about it. That's just standard business in China. The major corprations operate as a function of the government, or specifically the party. There's no operating without their consent, there's no consent without demonstration of loyalty, and there's no rising to major success without being "important" to the government/party. That's not political charge...that's more or less law, even if it's only partially written. Ma, in particular, kept a good charade going for years, saying the right things to pretend to be distant from the government, falling only slightly short of outright denying affiliation with the party, and pretending to be the example to the world of good private business in China. Until the Party news rag accidentally outed him as an outstanding party member of accomplishment last year....oops. As it turns out Alibaba is status-quo-government-partnership business after all, not the shining exception to the rule. And then leaks started pointing to him as the government contractor responsible for the social score thing. Which means, very likely, Alibaba itself has it's data majorly related to that. Voluntarily. And also behind Credit Sesame (the run adverts here) as the credit score app that's absolutely free! Which.....as it turns out is part of/a trial of the social scoring system...and they're spreading it here....

Again, I'm under no illusion that Amazon/MS isn't far too tightly in bed with government, nor that Facebook wasn't started with money from a known CIA front company, and I'm almost equally uneasy about that. But, there's no denying that the tight top-to-bottom control of a true Communist system is nothing short of terrifying, and the inclination and partial success of hiding it is even more terrifying.

I'm not suggesting you're not going to get your product from Ali, of course you are. The concern is what product you just gave them by ordering.

Talking about eBay, I recently had a "shopping spree" there.

Ordered a few stationery items from China (which I hope all come before may because they're mostly gifts), and the most adorable spool knitter I have ever seen. That last one comes from Europe, which is often a bit quicker.

I'm still waiting for the copy of Sonic Adventure from last month, but I believe that one is already in Mexico so it should not be long.

As for ordering from China, they've never asked for more information other than what is given upon payment. And I've bought things from Ali Express and eBay. At most, my bank will ask for an identity confirmation (rarely), but that one is the bank, not the seller.

The only problem is how long they take to deliver.

That copy of SA will arrive sooner if you follow your rainbow.

Silly that's SA2.

(I already have that one!)

Oh yeah. Well, shucks. That's the best I had.

...But I ain't gonna let it get to me, I'm just gon' creep.

Yup, still SA2

(To be fair, I don’t think SA1 had all that many memorable songs. Except maybe Big The cat’s theme)

That time I knew it. 2 had....um...Open Your Heart. And "Woah, My Head's Spinning" played quite often for me.