POLL: Bootlegs / Reproductions: What is allowed

[mjmjr25]

Greetings,

This is a follow-up to an interest poll regarding bootlegs and reproductions in our marketplace. Opinions are strong, on one end some feel this site should have nothing to do with any type of bootleg, repro, multicart or homebrew. Others believe everything is fair game and additional rules are not needed.

We will be adding a rule to our marketplace rules; we simply are not entirely in agreement what that rule will say. Please voice your opinion by selecting ONE of the FIVE options.

[bryan_65]

I voted for the last choice but am still OK with the historic boots such as the Action 52 currently in our Market Place now although it would still get in through the multicart rule. I would even still be OK with the Sapphire Boot as to me it is a historic pressed disc. Stuff like Star Fox 2 of course was not released so good there too. Just about all other examples I don't really like though. Some hacks like SvC Chaos Plus I think are OK too. I have the original but inputting the codes suck every-time and that version is still not available in any other legit form.

I know it will happen no matter what but I hate the idea of finding an Earthbound in 10 years at a flea market only to find out it is a boot.

[Luke]

I think option number 2 will be the winner, but I collect and play games, not sell 'em.

"This is a repro/Bootleg" should say it all.

[dsheinem]

We will be adding a rule to our marketplace rules.

Not necessarily, right? Option 2 is a guideline we already have in place in that sellers need to be upfront about the things they are selling, plus we have the caveat emptor disclaimer. I don't like the idea of adding a rule about any specific kind of item unless it is deemed the current BST Guideines don't pertain to its sale for some reason...

[dsheinem]

"clearly labeled" - in the thread, right? labeled/marked on the cart is nice of course, but that seems a stiff requirement

[mjmjr25]

I think there will be clearer verbage regardless if there is a real "change" or not.

I don't want to assume anyone else's knowledge on the subject, so i'll state what i've seen across other forums, articles, and just general experience.

Someone buys a clearly marked repro of MUSHA on this site. Sells it on ebay, "I got this on racketboy.com, MUSHA, Genesis cart only, $60 buy now". To some, big deal, not our problem. I don't see it that way.

The paypal issue - if an item is sold as a repro but the buyer is unhappy and can point to it being sold as a repro / bootleg, despite the clear listing, the seller will lose the case and be forced to refund. On top of that, because paypal's policy on bootlegs / repros is to destroy them (and not ship them back) the seller loses both the item and money. Paypal is becoming more and more enforceful of this issue, as evidenced by most aliexpress / alibaba sellers no longer taking paypal as payment. Too many people have bought items advertised as bootlegs, then filed a paypal claim, they keep the money and the item and the merchant is forced to refund.

My personal high-horse if you will is that I personally think it is poor taste to condone the sacrificing of working carts to produce a cart that is already available in your region, but you simply can't afford it. I don't like the idea that we would say it's "ok" to sac a snes cart, burn gamecode for hagane, put a new label on it, and say it's "ok" to sell. Why?
*At some point it's going to be passed off as legitimate
*It devalues the item or at minimum creates more work for another person who paid full value for their cart
*It sacrifices a working cart and shell

[mjmjr25]

"clearly labeled" - in the thread, right? labeled/marked on the cart is nice of course, but that seems a stiff requirement

How so? You have create the new label, or find one and put in your size settings - it's not difficult to add "reproduction" to your image. The legitimate makers use new artwork, or at minimum add reproduction - anyone who wouldn't do this to me is going out of their way to help in allowing it to one day be passed off as original.

[dsheinem]

"clearly labeled" - in the thread, right? labeled/marked on the cart is nice of course, but that seems a stiff requirement

How so? You have create the new label, or find one and put in your size settings - it's not difficult to add "reproduction" to your image. The legitimate makers use new artwork, or at minimum add reproduction - anyone who wouldn't do this to me is going out of their way to help in allowing it to one day be passed off as original.

So Option 2, to your thinking, is that all repros must be labeled on the item itself? If so, there's no option that I like, as I read #1 to suggest that selling something that's a bootleg but not labeling it as such in the thread is a-ok.

I wonder if those who voted for #2 understood this to be your intent...

[Luke]

"clearly labeled" - in the thread, right? labeled/marked on the cart is nice of course, but that seems a stiff requirement

How so? You have create the new label, or find one and put in your size settings - it's not difficult to add "reproduction" to your image. The legitimate makers use new artwork, or at minimum add reproduction - anyone who wouldn't do this to me is going out of their way to help in allowing it to one day be passed off as original.

So Option 2, to your thinking, is that all repros must be labeled on the item itself? If so, there's no option that I like, as I read #1 to suggest that selling something that's a bootleg but not labeling it as such in the thread is a-ok.

I wonder if those who voted for #2 understood this to be your intent...

Now what? Does #2 equate the cart itself saying "repro"?

[AppleQueso]

Easily the last option for me, because this stuff often eventually makes its way back into the wider marketplace. All it takes is one buyer down the chain to not bother disclosing when they sell (let's be generous and say this hypothetical seller simply forgot to mention it) to suddenly have an unaccounted for bootleg copy of Earthbound floating around that some unsuspecting collector is eventually going to wind up overpaying by quite a lot for.