POLL: Bootlegs / Reproductions: What is allowed

[chupon]

Mike asked me to chime in. I was going to stay silent about all this but I guess everyone has an opinion. I had voted for what appears to be the second most popular opinion.

Here comes the rant. Sorry in advance if I get a little off topic.

I've been pretty fortunate with ebay and suspect carts probably because I do my research and try to be smart about things. I'm sure I'm going to get caught up some day and someone will trick me. I either have / have had most of the high dollar MVS carts, SNES carts, etc, as well as some repro's that I've commissioned or won (see pic below).

My bottom line is this: Be smart about buying. If something seems too good to be true then it is 99% of the time. If someone won't go the extra mile and open a cart in question to a potential buyer then there is something wrong. That's a red flag in my book. The more information from a seller the better. The honest sellers are always willing to go the extra mile to get something sold.

I'm fine with people on Racketboy selling boots, fakes, copies, reproductions as long as it's clear what is being sold. If it's not obvious then other members should point it out. If someone isn't being truthful then issue violations or bring the Banhammer. We as a community have always looked out for one another. That's what makes the Racketboy B/S/T so great! Let the community police and mods can step in when needed. This has seemingly worked very well over the last five years I've been here (with the exception of maybe one or two incidents).

Below are some of the repro's I've won from the Racketboy Charity Auctions throughout the years - all made by Ziggy. Here's what I like: Custom Labels. It says Reproduction Cart right on the label. The shells are for the most part painted - clearly not an original authentic cart trying to pass as one. Most of these were made prior to Ziggy coming to terms with how he wanted to handle donor carts.

The bottom two SFC carts had new Eproms put in with English translation. New Eproms being the key here. The original roms are also in the carts - but loose. The originals intact and can be put back in. No cart was cannibalized.


Tangent - stay with me:

So no one on these boards knows this but I'm also really into "kitchen table" or casual MTG (magic the gathering). I've been playing since Unlimited way back in 1993. I took a break for five years in college and have sold my collections twice. I spend lots of money on these cards. For those that don't know the best cards are referred to as the P9 or Power 9. They were last printed in 93. The cheapest in shit condition for each of these cards commands huge prices. Burned and ripped originals currently sell for $400 + on ebay. Minty - $600 to $900. The most expensive routinely sells for 1.5K up. Minty Black Lotus have fetched $25K + on the eBay.

Americans and the Chinese and actually everyone has been printing fakes of these cards for over 15 years. The best can't be distinguishable without performing the "light test" or with a jeweler's loop - and even then things have gotten through. There are actually nine tests that can be performed to tell if cards are real or not. BGS and other professional grading services have also been fooled and graded fake cards which cause fakes to sell for thousands plus. It's really disturbing and gross. Even $10 cards have been faked which is insane.

My friends and I play online over Facetime and Google Chat casually but that doesn't stop us from spending lots of cash on originals. I haven't dropped a grand for a card yet but I have spend two and three hundred for a single card multiple times. Yes I do realize how stupid this actually is considering it's just a piece of paper / cardboard. Plus I don't play competitively or for money... But I do have tons of fun.

The people selling these fake cards online who ID their cards as fake I'm fine with. Even if they look spot on real. People trying to make a dishonest buck or few thousand dollars I've got a real problem with.


Racketboy is a lot easier to police then eBay, or even other videogame forums. Part of this is do to it's size and niche angle on gaming in general. I'm fine with people selling bootlegs and reproductions as long as it's clear so people know what they are buying.

Mike - not sure if that is what you expected from me but that's my two cents.

[MrPopo]

The people selling these fake cards online who ID their cards as fake I'm fine with. Even if they look spot on real. People trying to make a dishonest buck or few thousand dollars I've got a real problem with.

I think it's safe to say that everyone here agrees with this point (and the same applied towards video games).

[bryan_65]

Is the real MUSHA manual in B & W?

How would this compare to the real manual?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/M-U-S-H-A-Manua ... SS:US:1123

[JoeAwesome]

Is the real MUSHA manual in B & W?

How would this compare to the real manual?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/M-U-S-H-A-Manua ... SS:US:1123

Yes, it's in black and white (afaik). This is just like he describes it: a duplicate reprint. Granted, a high quality one, but at least he's honest.