Remember those "new in box" Dreamcasts that ThinkGeek was selling awhile back? It was exciting stuff, so they sold out pretty quickly. If you didn't get one, too bad... or maybe you got off easy.
According to a tipster who wishes to remain anonymous, perhaps things aren't quite what they seem -- they may not be new at all. Our tipster was "fortunate" enough to place an order before they were sold out, and was disappointed by what he received.
"While the extra controller was new, the console was far from it," he writes. "The console itself is roughed up -- the barcode has been scratched, the console's plastic has gunk on it."
He continues on to mention damage to plastic from being expose to the light, a worn serial number sticker, scratches, "gunk" on the controller port, and more. All total, with shipping and delivery, our tipster tells us the Dreamcast cost nearly $200.
A request for a full refund has been submitted, which he hopes will cover costs of the console, shipping and handling charges; after two weeks, he's received no response from ThinkGeek.
"I could have easily bought a used Dreamcast locally for $25," he says.
We've reached out to ThinkGeek for comment. Does anyone else have anything similar to report, or did your console ship "new" as advertised?
[Update: ThinkGeek has responded to this story. Check out the full update here.]
Contest:
2:20 PM on 05.19.2009
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Seriously though, that's some really sketchy stuff. I'd be interested to see what ThinkGeek had to say about the matter, though I expect a typical 'We assure you that the Dreamcasts we shipped are 100% new' cover up.
ok so is it me or is he already labeled stupid for paying 200 for something he could've bought locally for 25 or cheaper on Ebay?
I think Thinkgeek wins on this edition thanks to his stupidity shown above.
but me and my brothers already have 6 DC console, Prices when bought ranged $3(just the console no hookups but came with Ecco:DotF) to $50 (With Box, a few games, 4 controllers and all the hookups)
Now, I can understand if they went to a brick and mortar like Walmart or Gamestop, then they could have actually checked the merchandise to make sure they were actually brand new consoles. But come on, how exactly is an internet consumer "dumb" for buying something that was ADVERTISED to be in a specific condition?
Anyone who bought a Dreamcast new off of ebay or a private seller gets what they deserve.
True, yes.
Anyone who bought a Dreamcast off of a reputable, licensed company that is bound to the law, and finds that it is not as advertised as per their description, has a right to complain.
How in the world are you guys faulting this man for what ThinkGeek did? It's not stupid that he bought a "new" one instead of a used one because he is a collector. He decided that he'd rather get a brand new Dreamcast with a 5-10 year lifespan, instead of a crappy used one that will usually last you around 2-3 years.
Also, it's not unreasonable that some big company like ThinkGeek would buy up 20-30 Dreamcasts when SEGA was announcing that they were halting production with the intention to sell them at a later date, for a large amount of press. It makes sense doesn't it?
It's not quite as foolish as selling a product as new when it is in fact not.
The Dreamcast will never die!
Second, Thinkgeek has ALWAYS had some of the best customer service and shipping policies of any site I've ever been on (I've placed at least a dozen orders there). I'm almost inclined to believe this guy is lying or at the very least sent his complaint email to the wrong place if he hasn't heard from them in two weeks. I've sent in questions by email (and called them) and I get responses within a day.
Third, even if this is completely true, I don't think Thinkgeek is to blame. From what I understand, basically someone came across a large shipment of "new in-box" dreamcasts and Thinkgeek understandably bought them all up. It seems far more likely that Thinkgeek was duped and that this stock of dreamcasts was of factory refurbished ones instead. They could open a couple of boxes, see everything wrapped up as if new and assume they were all this way. As I'm sure you all know, refurbished item quality can vary DRASTICALLY from unit to unit.
Don't let this story tarnish the reputation of such an amazing site.
Collectors will snipe the hell out of them, and they will go for biiiiig bucks.
I completely agree. Yes, sometimes they sell total crap that breaks when you breathe on it, but they've never given me a problem on any return, they ship hella fast (of course I'm only about 200 miles from them), and their customer service has always been top notch.
It's certainly possible that he got a bad apple from the basket. That happens even on products coming off the assembly lines this very second. But there's something here that's making my bullshit detector go off. Something's not being told.
This guy just happens to be a damn liar.
200 fucking dollars. Fuck this guy.
Still sucks.
We emailed Destructoid's editors late last night but haven't seen the posted amended, so here's our Official Apology, in blog comment form.
First, a little backstory: We came upon an amazing cache of new-in-box Dreamcasts not too long ago. We had a bunch of units shipped to us to inspect them, and indeed, though the boxes were a little worse for the wear on the outside, the consoles had nary a scratch and even the wire twists that bundled the cables had never been undone. It was like magic--magic that had been hiding in a warehouse, unknown, for years.
So we asked our source from whence these beautiful Dreamcasts came, and they didn't know--could've been a liquidator, or a Circuit City that had closed shop. (Hear that? It's the sound of a plot thickening.)
But we'd seen them with our own eyes and figured it was best to share our discovery with the world. Hundreds were snatched up quickly and squees were heard 'round the internets.
So far we've had 2 instances of not-so-new-in-box Dreamcasts. The individual who received the one reported here contacted us via email (which never appeared in our inbox, for some reason) and Twitter (through which we've taken care of the situation) has already been issued a return shipping label. We're more than happy to refund him for the Dreamcast as well as shipping.
We're very sorry about the whole thing--we never meant to ship used Dreamcasts. We know our customers are smarty pants and could tell if they'd been duped with a stale Dreamcast; we'd never get away with taking advantage of you guys, so why would we try?
And now we have 3 options: 1. Stop sharing the gift of new Dreamcasts; 2. Have them all shipped to us and inspect each one individually and then ship back to the warehouse; and 3. Continue spreading the (mostly) untainted Dreamcast love and working with the very few customers who get lemons.
We hope you'll understand why we're continuing to offer them on our site (when we get our grubby little paws on more, of course). And again, we apologize to the 2 customers who ended up with what appears to be returned merchandise.
--The ThinkGeek Monkeys