On Tue, 24 Jun 2025 09:30:21 -0700
"Nightfox" (46:1/150) <Nightfox@f150.n1.z46.fidonet> wrote:

Since these are no longer made, I recently decided to buy another
SNES Classic Mini from eBay as a spare. For a while, people were
selling them for more than their new price; new, they were about $80,
and people have been selling them for $100 or $120 or more, but I
found a seller with a small batch of them selling them for about $63
each with free shipping. The listing says it's an open-box item
(customer return) and shows the box, manual, and everything is
included; I hope it's in good working condition.

Fleabay is hit or miss but usually hit. There's more consumer
protections these days. Good luck with your purchase.
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Hey Nightfox!

On Tue, Jun 24 2025 11:30:21 -0500, you wrote:

I wondered if this could go in the Retro Tech area, but I thought
this area would be fitting too..

Since there is no retro tech area in this network, this is the perfect place for just about anything! ;)

Other companies followed suit: Sega similarly released a mini
Genesis, Sony released a mini Playstation, and I also recall there
being a mini TurboGrafX-16.

I do miss playing on some of those older consoles. Lots of memories with the original Nintendo, Playstation and TurboGrafX-16, but didn't play much of Sega Genesis (just due to not many people around me that had it). However, I remember Mortal Kombat on Genesis had blood, and SNES didn't. So I've probably played on most of them back then, just more memory of the first three.

Are there any benefits over PC emulators nowadays where you can load up 50k+ games, or more?

Since these are no longer made, I recently decided to buy another
SNES Classic Mini from eBay as a spare. For a while, people were
selling them for more than their new price; new, they were about
$80, and people have been selling them for $100 or $120 or more, but
I found a seller with a small batch of them selling them for about
$63 each with free shipping. The listing says it's an open-box item (customer return) and shows the box, manual, and everything is
included; I hope it's in good working condition.

If the seller has a good rating with good reviews, usually you end up with what the description says. I bought my server (refurbished even) off eBay and here I am about 13 years later with a great working product.

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm, because beating people up is illegal.
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* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (46:1/700)

Re: Re: Nintendo Classic Mini consoles
By: Accession to Nightfox on Tue Jun 24 2025 06:56 pm

I wondered if this could go in the Retro Tech area, but I thought this area
would be fitting too..

Since there is no retro tech area in this network, this is the perfect place for just about anything! ;)

I accidentally cross-posted this here.. It seems there may be a bug in SlyEdit's cross-post selection where quitting out of a sub-board list will select the one that was highlighted. I'll need to investigate that and fix it. I deleted the message locally on my BBS, but it looks like it had already been sent out.

Other companies followed suit: Sega similarly released a mini Genesis, Sony
released a mini Playstation, and I also recall there being a mini
TurboGrafX-16.

I do miss playing on some of those older consoles. Lots of memories with the original Nintendo, Playstation and TurboGrafX-16, but didn't play much of Sega Genesis (just due to not many people around me that had it). However, I remember Mortal Kombat on Genesis had blood, and SNES didn't. So I've probably played on most of them back then, just more memory of the first three.

Interesting that you had played some TurboGrafX-16 games.. I recall that console not being very popular in the US (though it sounds like it was fairly popular in Japan). When I was 13, I bought a new TurboGrafX-16 from a local Toys-R-Us store here for $30 on clearance when they were trying to get rid of their inventory. I'd had enough money saved from allowance and chores to buy one and a game to go with it. :) Every so often, I'd go visit a pawn shop near me which had used TurboGrafX-16 games and I'd buy one or two.

Are there any benefits over PC emulators nowadays where you can load up 50k+ games, or more?

I suppose there isn't a big benefit over PC emulators. However, these mini retro emulation systems are portable, so you can eaisly move them and connect them to any TV in your house, as well as take them to someone else's house if you want to; also, they're fairly easy to use - The Nintendo Classic Mini consoles in particular have a particularly nice UI. So I suppose ease of use, portability, and I think there's a general cool factor in them.

If the seller has a good rating with good reviews, usually you end up with what the description says. I bought my server (refurbished even) off eBay and here I am about 13 years later with a great working product.

Yeah, my current BBS PC is a Dell workstation PC that I bought on eBay a few years ago (which I upgraded), and it's still working great. I also run Plex Media Server on it to host my movies & TV shows.

Nightfox

Hey Nightfox!

On Tue, Jun 24 2025 19:25:27 -0500, you wrote:

I accidentally cross-posted this here.. It seems there may be a bug
in SlyEdit's cross-post selection where quitting out of a sub-board
list will select the one that was highlighted. I'll need to
investigate that and fix it. I deleted the message locally on my
BBS, but it looks like it had already been sent out.

I find it quite insulting that you weren't trying to post this here. But, on the other hand, I'm glad you found a bug that benefitted Agoranet, if only for a brief moment. ;)

Interesting that you had played some TurboGrafX-16 games.. I recall
that console not being very popular in the US (though it sounds like
it was fairly popular in Japan). When I was 13, I bought a new
TurboGrafX-16 from a local Toys-R-Us store here for $30 on clearance
when they were trying to get rid of their inventory. I'd had enough
money saved from allowance and chores to buy one and a game to go
with it. :) Every so often, I'd go visit a pawn shop near me which
had used TurboGrafX-16 games and I'd buy one or two.

One of my friends as a kid had it, as well as almost any other wierd game consoles most kids didn't get their hands on. I still remember playing Altered Beast, Ninja Gaiden, and Night Trap (which might've been Sega CD, but don't remember).

I suppose there isn't a big benefit over PC emulators. However,
these mini retro emulation systems are portable, so you can eaisly
move them and connect them to any TV in your house, as well as take
them to someone else's house if you want to; also, they're fairly
easy to use - The Nintendo Classic Mini consoles in particular have
a particularly nice UI. So I suppose ease of use, portability, and
I think there's a general cool factor in them.

Alas, the days of toting game console to other peoples' houses are long gone for me. I don't think I even know anyone that actually still plays video games (besides me), any more. :(

Yeah, my current BBS PC is a Dell workstation PC that I bought on
eBay a few years ago (which I upgraded), and it's still working
great. I also run Plex Media Server on it to host my movies & TV
shows.

Just do your homework, and make sure the seller isn't a scumbag before purchasing there. With that said, I've never had any bad dealings on eBay. Lately, I've had more issues with Chinese junk sold as exact replicas of things you're looking for on Amazon. Only difference is the brand name isn't on the product. Just need to pay attention to what you're buying, and who you're buying from, is all.

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm, because beating people up is illegal.
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (46:1/700)

Re: Re: Nintendo Classic Mini consoles
By: Accession to Nightfox on Tue Jun 24 2025 08:16 pm

I accidentally cross-posted this here.. It seems there may be a bug in
SlyEdit's cross-post selection where quitting out of a sub-board list will
select the one that was highlighted. I'll need to investigate that and fix
it. I deleted the message locally on my BBS, but it looks like it had
already been sent out.

I find it quite insulting that you weren't trying to post this here. But, on the other hand, I'm glad you found a bug that benefitted Agoranet, if only for a brief moment. ;)

No insult intended. I initially did intend to cross-post it here, but I realized I had mentioned a FSXNet area and figured it wouldn't make sense, and thought of copy-pasting instead.. But my message went through anyway. :)

I suppose there isn't a big benefit over PC emulators. However, these mini
retro emulation systems are portable, so you can eaisly move them and
connect them to any TV in your house, as well as take them to someone
else's house if you want to; also, they're fairly easy to use - The

Alas, the days of toting game console to other peoples' houses are long gone for me. I don't think I even know anyone that actually still plays video games (besides me), any more. :(

True.. Aside from myself, I might have a few friends who play games - and actually my older brother & his wife still both like to play PC games sometimes..

As far as these Classic Mini retro consoles, I also like having something connected to the TV I can turn on and play old console games (though the PC emulators are always cool too).

Nightfox

Hey Nightfox!

On Tue, Jun 24 2025 21:56:33 -0500, you wrote:

No insult intended. I initially did intend to cross-post it here, but
I realized I had mentioned a FSXNet area and figured it wouldn't make sense, and thought of copy-pasting instead.. But my message went
through anyway. :)

It's all good. I caught on to your intentions right away. I just threw a little sarcasm your way when you mentioned a retro area. ;)

True.. Aside from myself, I might have a few friends who play games -
and actually my older brother & his wife still both like to play PC
games sometimes..

Do you guys get on discord, and gather up a team to play some multiplayer games?

As far as these Classic Mini retro consoles, I also like having
something connected to the TV I can turn on and play old console
games (though the PC emulators are always cool too).

I can see the benefit. I'm just usually super strapped for time with work and family. But when I can get a couple hours of "zone-out" time, I've gotten back into 'The Division 2' on PC recently.

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
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Re: Re: Nintendo Classic Mini consoles
By: Accession to Nightfox on Wed Jun 25 2025 04:58 pm

True.. Aside from myself, I might have a few friends who play games - and
actually my older brother & his wife still both like to play PC games
sometimes..

Do you guys get on discord, and gather up a team to play some multiplayer games?

Currently we haven't played anything together in a while.. We're playing different games right now, and just when we have time, and we haven't coordinated anything in quite a while. Several years ago, we'd played Minecraft a bit on a server I sometimes run, and we'd just text each other or message on Steam or text on our phone if we planned to play. I don't think they use Discord at all.

Nightfox

Hey Nightfox!

On Wed, Jun 25 2025 18:47:14 -0500, you wrote:

Currently we haven't played anything together in a while.. We're
playing different games right now, and just when we have time, and we haven't coordinated anything in quite a while. Several years ago,
we'd played Minecraft a bit on a server I sometimes run, and we'd
just text each other or message on Steam or text on our phone if we
planned to play. I don't think they use Discord at all.

Imagine all the shit you could talk to your older brother, if you did, though? ;)

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
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Re: Re: Nintendo Classic Mini consoles
By: Accession to Nightfox on Tue Jun 24 2025 08:16 pm

Just do your homework, and make sure the seller isn't a scumbag before purchasing there. With that said, I've never had any bad dealings on eBay.

The SNES Classic Mini I bought on eBay arrived a couple days ago, and it turns out it's a fake. :( Some things were a little 'off'.. I saw a guide online on how to spot the fakes, and I think the biggest giveaway is that when running, the menu looks a little bit different. Also there's an odd message displayed when resetting the device. Also, I wanted to hack this one and add more games (like I did with my other one), but the software used for hacking these things didn't recognize it.

The seller overall looked okay (there were a few negative feedbacks, but it seems a lot of sellers end up having some people complaining about something, so I wasn't sure that was a big red flag). I took a couple photos of my screen with this device running to show the menu screen & odd message, and took a screenshot of the guide to spot a fake to back me up. I also reported the item on eBay, so hopefully a good resolution will come.

Nightfox

Hey Nightfox!

On Sat, Jun 28 2025 02:00:34 -0500, you wrote:

The SNES Classic Mini I bought on eBay arrived a couple days ago, and
it turns out it's a fake. :( Some things were a little 'off'.. I
saw a guide online on how to spot the fakes, and I think the biggest giveaway is that when running, the menu looks a little bit different.
Also there's an odd message displayed when resetting the device.
Also, I wanted to hack this one and add more games (like I did with
my other one), but the software used for hacking these things didn't recognize it.

So the entire console and controllers look exactly like the original, but the hardware/software is fake?

I've ran into this kind of shady stuff on Amazon recently when ordering parts to fix our RV. These parts would look /exactly/ like the original, except without the official brand name/original company name mentioned on it. Then it would be about 1/3 of the price. In my specific case, it was a dual motor slide out controller, and even the motors that connected to it. The controller, from the original company would have been around $250, but the 'replica' I found was about $60. Same for the motors. I needed two of them, and they were about $200 a piece. I got a two pack from Amazon for about $80.

At the time, I was troubleshooting and didn't want to spend a bunch of money if I didn't have to, as well as fear of buying from the original manufacturer that if you open the item and actually plug it all in you wouldn't be able to return them.. so I bought all of the replicas, tried the parts (which all worked fine), realized none of those three parts were the issue (it ended up a wiring issue where a squirrel got into the RV in the winter and chewed through a wire).
So I used Amazon's return policy within 30 days and got all my money back. Ended up spending about $3 for about 15" of new wire and come wire crimps and we're good as new. ;)

The seller overall looked okay (there were a few negative feedbacks,
but it seems a lot of sellers end up having some people complaining
about something, so I wasn't sure that was a big red flag). I took a couple photos of my screen with this device running to show the menu
screen & odd message, and took a screenshot of the guide to spot a
fake to back me up. I also reported the item on eBay, so hopefully a
good resolution will come.

Was there any kind of mention of a return policy? Or is it backed by any of eBay's return policies?

Did any of those negative feedbacks mention the unit being fake or not being able to 'hack' it? That's kind of where I was going with my mention of reading up on the seller (even their history with other sales) as well as buyer's feedback on the specific item. I usually don't deal with anything under like a 98% seller rating. You can usually deal with the 2% of people that will just never be happy with anything they purchase.

But anything under 98% I start getting leary about them. Usually if anything goes wrong, like the item was damaged on delivery or the item didn't work as expected, etc.. as long as the seller backs a return policy and handles that well with the customer, I don't think it affects their 'rating'.

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
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Re: Re: Nintendo Classic Mini consoles
By: Accession to Nightfox on Sat Jun 28 2025 07:50 am

The SNES Classic Mini I bought on eBay arrived a couple days ago, and it
turns out it's a fake. :( Some things were a little 'off'.. I saw a guide

So the entire console and controllers look exactly like the original, but the hardware/software is fake?

Yes, that's correct. But there are little details one could look for that I didn't realize which can reveal it's a fake.. One thing is that there should be 2 little dots on the 2nd controller port, and this only has one. Also, apparently the specific coloring and font of the text on the item can be a sign.. I think the first thing that made me wonder was that the power switch didn't feel the same as the one I already had. I suppose that doesn't necessarily mean it's a fake, but it seemed odd. Also, the software just isn't right and is not going to work for what I was planning to do with this..

At the time, I was troubleshooting and didn't want to spend a bunch of money if I didn't have to, as well as fear of buying from the original manufacturer that if you open the item and actually plug it all in you wouldn't be able to return them.. so I bought all of the replicas, tried the parts (which all worked fine), realized none of those three parts were the issue (it ended up a wiring issue where a squirrel got into the RV in the winter and chewed through a wire).
So I used Amazon's return policy within 30 days and got all my money back. Ended up spending about $3 for about 15" of new wire and come wire crimps and we're good as new. ;)

That's good that the replicas at least worked for you in that case. :)

Was there any kind of mention of a return policy? Or is it backed by any of eBay's return policies?

The listing says the seller doesn't accept returns, but eBay has a money-back guarantee, which should hopefully cover it.

I did request a return. I also reported the item to eBay, saying it's a fake. I got a response from eBay about the item report already - It says they looked into it but decided the item doesn't violate their policy (which I thought is a little odd).

Did any of those negative feedbacks mention the unit being fake or not being able to 'hack' it? That's kind of where I was going with my mention of reading up on the seller (even their history with other sales) as well as buyer's feedback on the specific item. I usually don't deal with anything under like a 98% seller rating. You can usually deal with the 2% of people that will just never be happy with anything they purchase.

Honestly I didn't really look thoroughly before I bought it, but it looks like a couple negative feedback comments do mention getting knockoff items. In one case, one buyer said the seller refunded their money.

Nightfox

Hey Nightfox!

On Sat, Jun 28 2025 14:20:23 -0500, you wrote:

Yes, that's correct. But there are little details one could look
for that I didn't realize which can reveal it's a fake.. One thing
is that there should be 2 little dots on the 2nd controller port,
and this only has one. Also, apparently the specific coloring and
font of the text on the item can be a sign.. I think the first
thing that made me wonder was that the power switch didn't feel the
same as the one I already had. I suppose that doesn't necessarily
mean it's a fake, but it seemed odd. Also, the software just isn't
right and is not going to work for what I was planning to do with
this..

Yeah, small things like that are a dead giveaway. However, I guess anyone that wasn't planning on modding/hacking it and didn't know any better, would probably be fine with it.. thinking they got what they paid for.

The listing says the seller doesn't accept returns, but eBay has a
money-back guarantee, which should hopefully cover it.

I would think so.

I did request a return. I also reported the item to eBay, saying
it's a fake. I got a response from eBay about the item report
already - It says they looked into it but decided the item doesn't
violate their policy (which I thought is a little odd).

That's crazy. Apparently, they allow knock-offs to be sold, as long as they're in working condition.

Honestly I didn't really look thoroughly before I bought it, but it
looks like a couple negative feedback comments do mention getting
knockoff items. In one case, one buyer said the seller refunded
their money.

I doubt the buyer refunded the money. eBay probably did and they didn't know any better.

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm, because beating people up is illegal.
--- SBBSecho 3.28-Linux
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Re: Re: Nintendo Classic Mini consoles
By: Accession to Nightfox on Sat Jun 28 2025 04:45 pm

I did request a return. I also reported the item to eBay, saying it's a
fake. I got a response from eBay about the item report already - It says
they looked into it but decided the item doesn't violate their policy
(which I thought is a little odd).

That's crazy. Apparently, they allow knock-offs to be sold, as long as they're in working condition.

I've reported bootleg DVD/blu-ray movies on eBay before (when I know the movie isn't available on that format) and got similar responses. I still occasionally see bootleg movies (and TV shows) for sale on eBay. I've even heard from some people saying they know it's a bootleg and don't care, and they're willing to pay money for it. I like collecting movies & shows on physical media myself (I don't like relying on streaming services all the time), but I don't want to pay money for a bootleg. I'll wait until it's officially released on the format before buying one. If I'm going to get a bootleg movie or show, I feel like I may as well BitTorrent it, and at least I don't feel like I'm wasting any money.

Nightfox

Hey Nightfox!

On Sat, 28 Jun 2025 17:10:08 -0700, you wrote:

I've reported bootleg DVD/blu-ray movies on eBay before (when I know the movie isn't available on that format) and got similar responses. I
still occasionally see bootleg movies (and TV shows) for sale on eBay.
I've even heard from some people saying they know it's a bootleg and
don't care, and they're willing to pay money for it. I like collecting movies & shows on physical media myself (I don't like relying on
streaming services all the time), but I don't want to pay money for a bootleg. I'll wait until it's officially released on the format before buying one. If I'm going to get a bootleg movie or show, I feel like I
may as well BitTorrent it, and at least I don't feel like I'm wasting
any money.

You would think the original authors/writers' lawyers could have a field day with that. Unless eBay hosts their services in a location where this kind of stuff isn't illegal.

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20250409
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (46:1/100)

Re: Nintendo Classic Mini consoles
By: Accession to Nightfox on Sun Jun 29 2025 07:31 am

I've reported bootleg DVD/blu-ray movies on eBay before (when I know the
movie isn't available on that format) and got similar responses. I still

You would think the original authors/writers' lawyers could have a field day with that. Unless eBay hosts their services in a location where this kind of stuff isn't illegal.

You'd think so. And I doubt eBay hosts their services where that kind of thing isn't illegal.. I briefly worked for eBay as a contractor, and I hadn't heard of it being hosted outside the US. I know eBay is an American company, and I think that would also make them subject to US copyright laws.

Nightfox

Hey Nightfox!

On Sun, 29 Jun 2025 13:49:44 -0700, you wrote:

You'd think so. And I doubt eBay hosts their services where that kind
of thing isn't illegal.. I briefly worked for eBay as a contractor, and
I hadn't heard of it being hosted outside the US. I know eBay is an American company, and I think that would also make them subject to US copyright laws.

Maybe eBay isn't the issue, then. Maybe that lies on the seller. Did you by chance catch where the seller was located, or where your shipment came from?

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20250409
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (46:1/100)

Re: Nintendo Classic Mini consoles
By: Accession to Nightfox on Sun Jun 29 2025 07:13 pm

Maybe eBay isn't the issue, then. Maybe that lies on the seller. Did you by chance catch where the seller was located, or where your shipment came from?

Yes, the seller is in California, and that's where the shipment came from as well.

Nightfox

Hey Nightfox!

On Mon, 30 Jun 2025 10:15:46 -0700, you wrote:

Yes, the seller is in California, and that's where the shipment came
from as well.

Welp, there goes any theory I had. ;)

I don't usually see fake products (especially electronics) from the USA. Unless this person found a "great deal" overseas on a bunch of these units, and bought them all up thinking they could make some money on eBay. *shrug*

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20250409
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (46:1/100)

Re: Nintendo Classic Mini consoles
By: Accession to Nightfox on Mon Jun 30 2025 04:51 pm

Yes, the seller is in California, and that's where the shipment came from
as well.

Welp, there goes any theory I had. ;)

I don't usually see fake products (especially electronics) from the USA. Unless this person found a "great deal" overseas on a bunch of these units, and bought them all up thinking they could make some money on eBay. *shrug*

Yeah.. A lot of the bootleg DVDs & such, and fake stuff often seems to ship from China, but not so much from the USA.

Nightfox

Hey Nightfox!

On Mon, 30 Jun 2025 15:30:20 -0700, you wrote:

Yeah.. A lot of the bootleg DVDs & such, and fake stuff often seems to
ship from China, but not so much from the USA.

Mhmm. That's kind of where I was going with my questions, but you ended up shocking me a bit when you said it came from California. So I gave up on guessing. ;)

Regards,
Nick

... Sarcasm: because beating people up is illegal.
--- GoldED+/LNX 1.1.5-b20250409
* Origin: _thePharcyde telnet://bbs.pharcyde.org (Wisconsin) (46:1/100)