Buying without pictures

[Arrrhalomynn]

I got myself Torico this week from an ebay auction. It didn't have a picture, but it did describe the game. When I got the game I was dissapointed. The auction had described the game of course, but I had hoped it wasn't this bad. So now I'm stuck with a game I probably wouldn't have bid on if I knew what it looked like.

Stupid of course, and definately my own fault. Even though I have had some good experiences with this.

I was wondering, what's your policy on this?

As for me, it depends on some factors. The details in the description, the feedback of the seller, the location of the seller, the price of the game and how bad I want the game. Of course most people with high feedback are smart enough to put a picture in their auction, so not a whole lot of imageless auctions are usefull to me.

[thx1138]

I did a buy-it-now on a newly listed auction for a boxed scramble. Got it for £7.50

it was in mint condition.

[tholly]

for almost everything i wont buy it without an actual "non-stock" picture

i did buy 79 nintendo powers for $10.50 local pickup without a picture, but other than something like that i need to see it

[Lord Nepenthean]

I almost never buy anything without a picture either.  I have mostly only bought things that it didn't really matter on.  For instance, I bought a 25 pack of t-shirt transfer sheets for $10.  They were described as new, so I didn't exactly need a photo.  Long, long ago, I bought about 10,000 Magic cards for about $50.  There was a webcam photo of a cardboard box, but I couldn't really see any cards.  Not that it mattered anyway because they were all commons.  The only other thing I remember buying with no pictures was about 35 TMNT action figures and 10 vehicles for about $30.  At that price, I didn't much care.  It's not like I'm a big collector.  I just wanted to get a few of the things back that I had as a kid and had given away.  Didn't need to be in great shape....  and the price was right.

Video games, though?  Definitely would not buy a game with no picture unless it was REALLY freaking cheap as compared to what it was worth.

[CatchFiveBats]

I've had a bad experience with Ebay.  I bought an Atari 2600 Junior, and when I got it there were quite a few things wrong with it.  I contacted the seller, and at first he was very cooperative, but after a while he just stopped answering my emails.  So now I have an Atari 2600 that doesnt work...and I've lost $40.  I should really go through Ebay with that...

But anyway, back on subject.  I haven't dealt with Ebay too much, but I doubt I would buy anything without pics.  I have to know EXACTLY what I'm getting when I buy it.  That's just how I am.

[Sauza12]

I have had a lot of luck with pictureless auctions.  I won a lot of Sega CD games that didn't have a picture for 6 or 7 bucks and they were all in flawless condition.  I've also won several 32x games with no pictures that came in better condition than ones with pictures that showed no damage.

However, before I bid on an auction that doesn't have pictures I send the seller a question and ask for a detailed description of any damage to the games.  If they don't respond to my emails or give a short answer that doesn't seem like he even looked at them, then I won't bid.  If he answers back and treats me like a human being, than I will bid.