Oolite Bulletins

OK, my youngest (5) was entrusted with her older sister's DS Lite last year (the older one got a DSi), she has looked after it well and we have therefore decided she can be trusted with a DSi too (use of the camera and sound recorder stuff is causing ructions with the older one).

Anyway I did a search on Google "Buy Nintendo DSi" - found an advert, followed it, turned out to be an eBay auction, it had 12 minutes to go, I bid and I won.

So far so good.

Here we go - the auction said item was in London, it was not, it shipped DHL from HK.

The auction said it was new... well, it's probably very nearly new - it has some badly fitted screen protectors, one of the screw covers inside next to the screen was dislodged and there's a definite scratch down the outside of the case.

Now, this is where is gets more interesting. I can't select United Kingdom from the list of available countries on set up, I can only select countries in North/South America - this doesn't seem to have affected anything so far other than the date format is screwed up from my POV), the few games I could find in the older ones discarded collection seem to work OK (Original Mario Kart DS, Surfs Up, One of the brain/eye training games) - so I'm unsure if owning this "clearly meant for the US market" DSi will have any adverse affects? Will there be any games that don't work for example?

I'm going to put these issues to the supplier via eBay message service before I leave feedback or elevate the issue further. I did get the device for potentially a bargain BUT I wouldn't have bid on it if I had known it wasn't in the UK and hadn't been a European edition of the device (for example - there's no international warranty documentation with it either).

Any help/advice good or bad so I know what I've let myself in for would be much appreciated.

PS - I used PDFit to make a pdf of the whole page one second before I won the auction which contains all the relevant data, i.e. London, New, 1yr manufacturers warranty. (perhaps it pays to be suddenly suspicious...)

You do have a case on eBay for false advertising and should, if you want to, be able to get a refund and send it back. I'd need to have a look at the page to be sure though.

As for compatibility, I am pretty sure that the DS will allow any region games to work on the console - my lad and my wife both have UK DS consoles and flash carts and we run US and JP games on them quite frequently (for playtesting only, I would add). I would assume the reverse would be true, as I don't have a US console to try. Beware only that this may be a side effect of the firmware on the flash cart.

All the differences, from research, that I've seen on different region games is language changes - US versions have the weird US spelling thing for example - and the release dates are different.

So I'm 90% certain you shouldn't have any problems.

I would suggest that you return it to Ebay.... counterfeiting is a real problem on ebay especially from HK. The amount of damage you say is on it, qualifies you for their return guarantee. otherwise to repair that kind of damage will run you around 85.00-95.00 USD. the running of foreign products that are designed for dsi locale can give quite startling variances to game play as the circuitry for european units are quite different from those of the asian contries... hence the games designed for japan will act up if played in units that are in europe of the us. on their website, nintendo does not reccommend that you user foreign items.

Yah-Ta-Hey wrote:

the running of foreign products that are designed for dsi locale can give quite startling variances to game play as the circuitry for european units are quite different from those of the asian contries... hence the games designed for japan will act up if played in units that are in europe of the us. on their website, nintendo does not reccommend that you user foreign items.

That's not entirely true - the internal circuitry of the JP and US DS consoles are exactly the same - the only real difference is in the charger/power supply and the firmware. The main reason, as I hinted at early this morning, is that the different international versions are released under different licensing and restriction regulations (including language, phrasing, age restrictions, etc). The UK versions are generally released as EU or EUR versions to allow a wider range of languages.

To be fair and objective, there are some reports that the DSi is region locked, but there are more reports to the contrary than there are in support of that. The 3DS is apparently region locked though (but since the DS and DSi can't run those games then that doesn't matter to you).

As far as repairing the console, you can buy replacement covers for the DSi for around 10GBP (on Amazon for example) which come with instructions and a special screwdriver to take off the special screws. I have replaced the cover and screen on my son's DS and it wasn't overly complex. I would be willing to help you out with that if you desired, although the distances involved would perhaps be restrictive...

That all said, though, I would still say you should seriously contemplate returning it as faulty and falsely advertised and sourcing a more reliable seller with a better product. Be careful buying anything electronic from eBay and make sure you ALWAYS source a product that has legitimate photos of the actual product rather than stock images from eBay's library. I learned that the hard way after ordering a set of Space Marine WH40k figures that said "slight handling wear" - they had been dipped in paint thinner and left to melt. The photo on the page was a stock image.

Thanks Selezen - it's close to Christmas and I don't think I can raise the funds to buy another DSi while waiting for the funds from this one to come back...

The pdf of the sales page is on my netbook is at home, but I'll put it up on Box and share it with you via PM if you'd take a look for me.

It has the same firmware on it as my older daughter's year old DSi (v 1.4.4 E I think) but is clearly set up to be Americas rather than European. There are scores of DSi machines on eBay from HK, I went with this one specifically because it said Location: London...

Actually: item is still listed on eBay "as is" when I bought it: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Red-Ninte ... 0507884877

The box (once removed from unpadded DHL bag):


The scratch (annoyingly it needs the flash and the flash makes it less noticeable than it really is:):

The bubbled corner of the screen protector (note this isn't the actual screen but a 3rd party fitted protector) and screw hole cover (as I lifted the lid for the first time):

I see what you mean. Well, I think it's salvageable, but it will need a new case - the scratch is unfixable. If you don't want to fit it yourself I'm sure there will be somewhere in your area that will fit it for a reasonable cost or I would be happy to do it (but you'd need to get it to me) - I used to fix laptops for a living and have stripped and rebuilt nearly every computer I've had (including stripping down my old laptop and repeatedly re-soldering a power socket to its motherboard), and as mentioned before have replaced the case and screen on my son's DS.

Take the screen protector off - they are always third party and new DSi consoles never come with them fitted anyway. Spend a quid and get another one if you prefer (again I'll fit it if you like).

Does that open screw cover have a screw in it? If not you would be recommended to get a replacement screw. A square of cheap double sided tape would secure the cover back in place and still leave the cover removable.

I can see why you felt secure with the seller - they have a very articulate advert. They do say that they have a warehouse in the UK as well as the US and HK, but advertising their location as London would qualify as dodgy advertising. It might be worth contacting them and seeing if you can return the item to their UK office and tell them that you need a QUICK refund as it's Xmas so you can source another one in time.

Some tips: they used stock images for the advert pictures, which always drives me to investigate further. Gross spelling and grammar mistakes give me pause and make me think that the seller is not UK-based and the advert wasn't written by a British National.

As I said, the console should play anything. The best thing to do is see if anyone you know has a DS and would be willing to let you borrow a game to try in it. It should work, as I said before.

PM me if you want to discuss it more - I'd even be OK giving you my phone number to discuss it in more detail if you prefer.

Ah, a career in tech support still comes in useful...

Thanks Selezen. You might get a job - the original DS (this is replacing) has a cracked hinge and a defunct mic - so if you think you can fix that and the price is right... (I could use it for myself - even though it's pink!)

Anyway, thanks for the advice - and yeah, decent ad, location given as London, warehouse listed as UK, I even emailed them to confirm that it was in the UK (because I said I wouldn't pay import duty as it was listed as being in the UK already).

The scratched case is annoying and will be used to beat them up about it clearly not being new - the plan is to get a 3rd party protective case anyway as we have done for our other DS(i)s (probably Hello Kitty based as that is thr 5yo obsession of choice at the moment).

Of all things a lack of registration documents so I can register it as a new purchase with Nintendo is my main gripe at the moment.

I shall email them, list my concerns and tell them if I don't get a decent result I will report them to eBay, Paypal and Trading Standards (if they claim to have a UK office and are advertising as a UK based seller then they're bound by distance selling regs).

I shall let you know how I get on!

Cheers,

DH

DaddyHoggy wrote:

(I could use it for myself - even though it's pink!)

Well, the Crow family are well known for their liking of bright, shiney objects.

DaddyHoggy wrote:

Thanks Selezen. You might get a job - the original DS (this is replacing) has a cracked hinge and a defunct mic - so if you think you can fix that and the price is right... (I could use it for myself - even though it's pink!)

If you can cover postage to get it back to you (or even bring it up and I'll do it while you wait) I'll do it for nothing if you supply the replacement parts (I'll even send you the links for the correct parts based on your description of the issues). Is the original DS a DS Lite? if so then I should be able to replace the hinge and mic (although I think the hinge is part of the case so you could get a twofer and replace the pink case too).

Again, if you want to bash out details then PM or email me.

As for warranty, if there's a serial number sticker on the unit then you should be able to contact Nintendo UK and ask if the unit has been previously registered - if so then you would have a LOT of weight to slap that retailer for advertising and supplying a used item as new. I think eBay would have plenty to say about that.

Navigate to the seller details and they are Located in China. The feedback is from all over the shop (although they do get some glowing reports, the latest ones are not so flattering with one saying that they are not UK based). My guess is that as soon as someone gives them less than 5 they immediately go into eBay resolution so won't appear for ages in the negative feedback. It does look look like they do have a UK warehouse judging by some of the other UK sales, but my guess is that they buy from the cheapest source and always send from there.

You were lucky not to get stung on the import duty, HMRC are cracking down on this ATM particularly from HK.

NigelJK wrote:

Navigate to the seller details and they are Located in China. The feedback is from all over the shop (although they do get some glowing reports, the latest ones are not so flattering with one saying that they are not UK based). My guess is that as soon as someone gives them less than 5 they immediately go into eBay resolution so won't appear for ages in the negative feedback. It does look look like they do have a UK warehouse judging by some of the other UK sales, but my guess is that they buy from the cheapest source and always send from there.

You were lucky not to get stung on the import duty, HMRC are cracking down on this ATM particularly from HK.

Agreed - there was very little negative feedback when I bid and I specifically bid on this one because the location was given as London and didn't want to get stung by import duty. Their ruse is to ship it as a broken sample part of no intrinsic value - according to the shipping docket which arrived separately in the post yesterday from DHL.

We're still in discussion via email, but they've offered my a fiver refund to buy myself a UK charger - I've asked them to source me a new genuine Nintendo DSi charger for a fiver, because if this really was a new, genuine DSi, it would have a new Nintendo charger in it - I've also asked them to refund a new screw kit to I can replace the missing screw(s).

It all seems to be fine - but it has been clearly mis-sold, both as being "new" (new a DSi wouldn't have a scratch of the case or have screws missing from the case) and being a UK unit in London - my main concern is that Club Nintendo won't accept the Serial Number to get the usual extra 90 days warranty on top of the 1-yr they come with - so if it dies tomorrow I suspect I will have no come back from anybody except perhaps my credit card company (I bought it through Paypal but all Paypal purchase are deliberately billed direct to a credit card). Now I know I only paid £47 for it (£64 inc shipping) but that's just where the auction happened to end - my bid had been much higher (but still cheaper than high street admittedly) so I'm glad I didn't pay more otherwise I'd be really cross and would have actually filed a complaint against them by now.

I think you should file a complaint anyway. False advertising and supplying a used, damaged product as new.

Smells of a refurbished unit to me, so I'd be willing to bet Warranty is out also.

Their email exchanges got more vague and more annoyed sounding (very broken English), this, combined with the growing amount of -ve feedback on the eBay site has got me asking for my money back, including P&P, they have said they don't refund P&P as per their T&Cs on the site, I've have pointed them to the Distance Selling Regs saying they claim what they want, but if they're selling on a UK site and claiming to be selling items in the UK, then they're bound by DSR. I'll give them a couple of days, but I feel this is likely to go to a complaint to PayPal for mis-selling.

Ho Hum...