Don’t buyportablegames.com + paypal sucks

Thu, 2008 Mar 20, 11:41am

Back when it first launched, I thought that Paypal was pretty great, and that it could revolutionize the way that private parties could send cash to each other. I guess that it sort of did, though I doubt any GI’s send money back to their families in the states using Paypal, and now there are more and better ways of sending money using a credit card online. However, I never thought about the fact that it could be used as a good vehicle for passing off counterfeit goods to consumers. It is very good for that, apparently.

A friend of mine was looking for Electroplankton for the Nintendo DS; it is a great little piece of programmatic/musical art, and it is really hard to find. The site buyportablegames.com claimed to have the title new in stock, and the price was decent (not suspiciously low, but a competitive price), so my friend purchased that and Mario Cart for DS, though with a little hesitation because of the fact that the payment method required was Paypal. But hey, Paypal is a reputable and secure way of purchasing goods on the internet right? It is the number one payment method on Ebay, right?

So, after making the purchase and emailing buyportablegames.com twice to get a tracking number, the tracking number was procured, a long number ending in HK. Tracking numbers ending in HK are likely sent via hong kong post, and if you are receiving the goods in the U.S., this means that you really can’t track the package. My friend finally received Mario Cart a couple of weeks later, but no Electroplankton. To make things worse, Mario Cart was an illegal counterfeit copy of Mario Cart. Buyportablegames.com sells fake copies of Nintendo games. They are yet another shining example of China’s poor management of its markets and total disregard for the consumer. (Why do we have to be careful when purchasing goods from China that we eat, eat out of, brush our teeth with, feed our pets, give our children, and when we want the real thing? Do we have to try to boycott all items from China? Really?)

Since it was clear that Electroplankton was never going to arrive, my friend entered a claim on Paypal and the credit card used for the payment. Paypal was astonishingly not helpful, claiming that:

Our investigation into your claim is complete. As stated in our User Agreement, the claims process only applies to the shipment of goods. It does not apply to complaints about the attributes or quality of goods received. Therefore, we are unable to reverse this transaction or issue a refund.

Then, to add insult to injury, my friend is now receiving nasty emails from buyportablegames.com, which claim that they knew nothing about the fake products and that since a claim has been made they “cannot” issue a refund for the game not delivered. (a good search online debunks both those claims) So, buyer seriously beware. Paypal apparently knowingly participates and aids in the sale of fraudulent goods and and supports companies that sell knock-offs as if they were new, authentic goods; at the very least, they absolve themselves of any responsibility in the matter. So, to recap:

• Don’t buy from buyportablegames.com - they will try to rip you off
• Don’t support Paypal if possible - they support the sale of illegal, patent and copyright infringing goods (yes, information wants to be free, but you should have the right to know you are purchasing couterfeit items)

I’m not saying that you need to only purchase from the big box companies, but if you are purchasing from smaller stores online, make sure that you make your purchase with a credit card that will support your claim in the case where the goods don’t arrive or are counterfeit. It seems that Paypal isn’t going to help you there.

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