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I'm annoyed at Play-Asia

Terrordactyl said:
:lmao What if Play Asia received them like this? Just like my supermarket receives fucked up boxes of Ritz crackers that I buy without hesitation? Are those not new crackers? This dude didn't state he was buying this game for posterity and to keep sealed, so I will assume the purpose was to play the game. The sole purpose of a case is to protect the disc, it's still sealed new and unused.
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This is gold. You do know that things that are considered scratch and dent are usually sold at a discount, right? Typically, things that are sold with cosmetic flaws are sold for cheaper than the original. A messed up cracker box with new crackers in them would be one of these occasions. If you've been buying things with messed up packaging for full price during your consumer life, you're doing it wrong.
 
Chie Satonaka said:
This is gold. You do know that things that are considered scratch and dent are usually sold at a discount, right? Typically, things that are sold with cosmetic flaws are sold for cheaper than the original. A messed up cracker box with new crackers in them would be one of these occasions. If you've been buying things with messed up packaging for full price during your consumer life, you're doing it wrong.
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This is true. Shops like Amazon even have entire sections dedicated to it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html?ie=UTF8&docId=1000656811
 
Terrordactyl said:
How is it not new condition? When a shoe box is all bent up are you not buying new shoes still? I fail to see the issue if they compensated another case in shipping. Arts a little jacked up, but seriously why is that an issue? We buy games to play them, not admire bookends.
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I buy games for both. That's why I'm not going all digital if there is an option. I like having a collection and if I'm buying something listed as new, I expect it to be delivered to me in new condition.
 
Stuart444 said:
^ This, I wouldn't accept a 'new' product like that. If it was sold as used then I might expect something like this but a new product I would expect to look new.

Haven't dealt with P-A in a while, would suck to deal with something like this :/
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Aside from what I mentioned earlier about whether the entire ordeal is worth being black listed by P-A (that's a personal decision and may be worth it) it also has other repurcussions on you. Banks keep track of chargebacks and their reasoning... If this is truly and one time deal, have at it but do know reliance on it could also come back to haunt you.
 
KojiKnight said:
The question to ask is whether the charge back is worth being black listed. Of course, personal tastes are all going to be different on this subject, but it is worth considering... Even if you do do a charge back there is always the chance they'll pursue you over it... but more likely they'll simply black list you from future sales.
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The idea that they would "pursue" OP over it is kind of absurd. The game was $20; as a business of significant size it would not be worth their time to dispute the claim and go into arbitration.

I'm also not sure they would blacklist over a single $20 dispute, but I admit I have no experience there.
 
honorless said:
The idea that they would "pursue" OP over it is kind of absurd. The game was $20; as a business of significant size it would not be worth their time to dispute the claim and go into arbitration.

I'm also not sure they would blacklist over a single $20 dispute, but I admit I have no experience there.
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#1: It would be a $40 dollar order, both games were on the same order.

#2: If you didn't return the products but had a chargeback done, they will.

You're right, they are unlikely to pursue it but they would be fully in their legal rights to do so, especially if their merchandise wasn't returned when the charge back occurs. That said, returning them after the chargeback would still put the OP out shipping charges AND the games... I'd imagine in the situation the op would likely just keep the games and deal with likely being black listed.


(edit) To be clear, I'm not saying the OP can't or shouldn't charge back if that in the end is what they really want to do. They are within their right to do so... I'm just making it clear that chargebacks aren't magic buttons and that there are potential consequences for doing it and thus they should think about whether all of it is worth it. It very well may be worth it to them.
 
Terrordactyl said:
Read my last post.
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Yeah, it's complete nonsense. They're things I collect and want to have in pristine condition if I'm buying new. I'm not even OCD and my place is a total mess. But I take care of things I collect. I also have a record collection and every sleeve and album cover I bought new still looks new.

Amazon even has a special section for used and damaged goods called Warehouse Deals for people who don't mind buying damaged things. I sure as hell would not pay full price for something in used condition. If I didn't care about it being in used condition I would buy everything used in the first place. But since I'm paying the extra money for something brand new, it should be brand new and undamaged.

Just because you don't care about something doesn't mean it's unreasonable or stupid for someone else to care about it. Grow up.
 
This happens occasionally when dealing with retailers from Hong-Kong. I'm not trying to generalize here but in these pass 5 years when I bought stuffs from Japan and problem happened it's always from Hong Kong retailers. Not all of them are horrible and most of them are usually nice but sometime shit happens. So now if I can choose I try to use a shipping service like tenso.com or deal with the Japanese retailer directly. Nippon-yasan is another nice site I visit recently.
 
Zen_Arcade said:
Yeah, it's complete nonsense. They're things I collect and want to have in pristine condition if I'm buying new. I'm not even OCD and my place is a total mess. But I take care of things I collect. I also have a record collection and every sleeve and album cover I bought new still looks new.

Amazon even has a special section for used and damaged goods called Warehouse Deals for people who don't mind buying damaged things. I sure as hell would not pay full price for something in used condition. If I didn't care about it being in used condition I would buy everything used in the first place. But since I'm paying the extra money for something brand new, it should be brand new and undamaged.

Just because you don't care about something doesn't mean it's unreasonable or stupid for someone else to care about it. Grow up.
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Im not saying it is unreasonable. But to warrant a chargeback? Heres the facts, they send a slightly damaged sealed case to this guy with a new blank case. He tried to return but was upset that they wont pay shipping both ways, not all companies do this and its in their return policy that you consent to when purchasing online. They are however willing to comp 10 dollars of his shipping and pay for shipping on the "pristine" copy. Its not like they arent working with him. And to top it off he didnt pay full price he paid a deeply discounted price and is crying over 5 dollars.
 
Terrordactyl said:
Im not saying it is unreasonable. But to warrant a chargeback? Heres the facts, they send a slightly damaged sealed case to this guy with a new blank case. He tried to return but was upset that they wont pay shipping both ways, not all companies do this and its in their return policy that you consent to when purchasing online. They are however willing to comp 10 dollars of his shipping and pay for shipping on the "pristine" copy. Its not like they arent working with him. And to top it off he didnt pay full price he paid a deeply discounted price and is crying over 5 dollars.
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It doesn't matter. He paid the price they listed for a new game and somewhere along the line before it got to him it got damaged. This was impossible for it to be his fault, so why should he have to shoulder any of the blame? If Play-Asia didn't want a problem like this then they should packaged the game better to where it wouldn't get damaged. Because that is their job. He shouldn't have to pay for Play-Asias lack of competency.
 
Terrordactyl said:
Im not saying it is unreasonable. But to warrant a chargeback? Heres the facts, they send a slightly damaged sealed case to this guy with a new blank case. He tried to return but was upset that they wont pay shipping both ways, not all companies do this and its in their return policy that you consent to when purchasing online. They are however willing to comp 10 dollars of his shipping and pay for shipping on the "pristine" copy. Its not like they arent working with him. And to top it off he didnt pay full price he paid a deeply discounted price and is crying over 5 dollars.
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It doesn't matter what he paid. The item was listed as new -- it did not arrive in new condition.

Not to mention the inconvenience he has to suffer due to their incompetence even if he wants to get an exchange. Yet, on top of that they're still making him pay extra. It doesn't matter how much -- it's disrespectful to the customer.

Also, on what planet is this "slight damage" ?
jbgGdoHw61lwuh.jpg
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Zen_Arcade said:
It doesn't matter. He paid the price they listed for a new game and somewhere along the line before it got to him it got damaged. This was impossible for it to be his fault, so why should he have to shoulder any of the blame? If Play-Asia didn't want a problem like this then they should packaged the game better to where it wouldn't get damaged. Because that is their job. He shouldn't have to pay for Play-Asias lack of competency.
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Ok, I get that and its a valid point, I just feel like nothing of importance was lost (unless it was purchased to remain sealed). So Ill just have to agree to disagree.
 
Zen_Arcade said:
It doesn't matter. He paid the price they listed for a new game and somewhere along the line before it got to him it got damaged. This was impossible for it to be his fault, so why should he have to shoulder any of the blame? If Play-Asia didn't want a problem like this then they should packaged the game better to where it wouldn't get damaged. Because that is their job. He shouldn't have to pay for Play-Asias lack of competency.
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It was shipped damaged, actually. They send him with the game another case to exchanged it.
I agree, they should had no pay it as new even if it was a sale. Still... I don't think it was not malicious move...
 
TheBaronOfNA said:
It was shipped damaged, actually. They send him with the game another case to exchanged it.
I agree, they should had no pay it as new even if it was a sale. Still... I don't think it was not malicious move...
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Oh I'm not saying it was intentional or malicious. Slip ups happen all the time. It's perfectly reasonable. But when someone does make a mistake they should be held accountable for it, whether it was intentional or not.
 
OP is not over reacting. Damaged case AND artwork is a serious offense. Especially since he made the effort to import the game.
 
I don't think the OP is overreacting about the cover art. I'm somewhat obsessive about my games and I want them to be in flawless condition. Probably the collector in me. When I buy a game in a store I usually go through a few copies to find the one that's flawless. In that regard, buying games online is a bit of a risk for me. But I still do it from time to time while being aware that I may receive a copy that's not quite up to my standards. But yeah receiving a copy with a broken case and damaged cover art would piss me off to no end.

That being said, in the interest of resolving the issue, I don't think it's too much to ask of the buyer to pay for the return shipping fees. It's an unfortunate situation but I still think the buyer should go half way even if it's the fault of the seller.

My advice would be to not deal with them again... or at least for a while.
 
Stopped buying from Play-Asia years ago due to a similar issue.

Best question now is how much does replacing the case with a new prisine one matter to you... if it means a lot, just accept the shipping credit plus $5 loss to obtain a new one.

If it is something you feel you can live with, chargeback or cotininue to go back-and-forth with them being aware that pushing too far may end up fruitless.

It's unfortunate there is no perfect outcome, but that's sort of the cost when dealing with online foreign purhases.
 
I've had a number of issues with Play Asia in the past:

Them sending me a "new" LE version of a game with some damage to the special box (which the product page made no mention of), even though it was shipped inside another box with padding and said box showed no signs of damage.

Them sending me a Japanese-language Asian version of a game, instead of the Japanese version I specifically ordered.

A similar issue to the OP's where I got a game with a broken case and some damage to the cover and manual. Partially my fault I suppose for going with the padded envelope option, but up to this point, nearly all of my other orders from Play Asia were shipped the same way and never arrived damaged.

A game taking 3 times longer than normal to arrive.

I've pretty much stopped buying things from Play Asia unless they're on sale for a good discount, and making sure they ship it in a box of course. Besides that, their prices for new games are always higher than shops like AmiAmi, which is where I do most of my import game purchases now.
 
Nowadays I try not to buy from P-A.

If you ever preorder anything from them, make sure you don't order it with a game currently in stock, because they won't hold onto the copy for you.

This happened to me last year, when I ordered 3 games from them. Two of them were preorders to be released on the same day and the third game was an existing game in stock. Fast forward to 2-3 days before the 2 upcoming games were to be released, the third game went out of stock and and since the order wasn't complete they couldn't ship order to me until it came back in stock. I had to wait 2 weeks for the order to be shipped, and it seems clear as day that P-A doesn't hold onto stock for you despite paying for them in full months prior.

I much prefer Ami Ami and even cdjapan for my JPN imports nowadays.
 
OP has completely valid point. If my copy was shipped like that than I would expect them to change to a new one without me having to pay for shipping.
 
It's funny... I think it was a month or so ago but Play-Asia tried to charge me for my 2006 pre-ordered copy of Versus XIII. LoL.
 
I can understand where the OP is coming from, despite me not really caring about physical media anymore. If you buy something listed as "New" you expect it to come in a pristine state. Here you got a case with a partially shattered spine, and given Play-Asia included a replacement it was quite clear it was shipped from them like that. As I said earlier, I don't particularly care about physical media anymore so I would've just settled with the slightly torn artwork, but obviously OP does care enough. At this point I'd take Play-Asia's offer, and settle with the $5 loss on shipping it back.
 
Terrordactyl said:
That's a silly comparison but a fucking car isn't?

Definition of CASE

1
a : a box or receptacle for holding something
b : a box together with its contents
c : set; specifically : pair
2
a : an outer covering or housing

When SNES games we're shipped in cardboard sleeves I suspect the expectation is that they would have been tossed like a cereal box, obviously collectors exist for everything and those people would keep them around, but this was definitely the case. The only reason it is different now is because discs are more fragile than carts. If you have OCD bad enough that this sincerely bothers you then I suggest you relax and let it be, you'll live a longer life.

Alternatively, I will restate, if this game were purchased with the intent of remaining sealed then the OP would have a valid point.
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Pretty sure the only person that needs to relax around here is you. You clearly have no idea what you're even talking about here.
 
I never buy at playasia anymore. I was a loyal customer until my Hori silicon case for Vita showed up and did not fit ( lot of complaints from many customers ) I've contacted customer support and it was unbelievable what I had to go through to get a partial refund for a item that was 10 euro in value. It was not like a bought a console or something, not even a game...it was just a silicon protector. So, now I spend my money somewhere else,
 
honorless said:
The idea that they would "pursue" OP over it is kind of absurd. The game was $20; as a business of significant size it would not be worth their time to dispute the claim and go into arbitration.

I'm also not sure they would blacklist over a single $20 dispute, but I admit I have no experience there.
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It's also theft, he's doing a charge back because it has a tiny ass tear in the cover art and they sent him a replacement case. The game itself works fine, so unless he sends them back both games, he's basically stealing them.
 
This is pretty odd. I've had to deal with Play-Asia support a couple of times and they've always been pretty good with their service. Granted, it wasn't the same situation but it's strange to hear they're being dicks about this. And yes, the OP definitely deserves a replacement. It's one thing for the box to get damaged along the way but if they intentionally shipped it like that, that's just wrong. Doesn't matter if the disc inside is fine, this is still a defective product.

edit - I would still try to resolve it amicably. Chargeback is the nuclear option in these cases and I don't think it should be required here.
 
Geneijin said:
The reply was if I wanted an exchange, I would have to send it back at my expense, and they would send a new copy to me at their expense. I think that's ridiculous. Would you agree? So I ask the rep again why would I have to be burdened with more monetary loss for something Play-Asia did? Not UPS but them.

So my current situation is this. They offer a $10 shipping credit at best to pay for the shipping back. I do a quick price calculation with USPS, and I get a estimate of $14.90. Honestly, I'm a bit agitated with this whole thing. Not only because of this misdeed, but because it's still an ongoing issue due to their customer service. I'm tempted to just chargeback to save me from further headache admittedly.

Am I a fool GAF? What should I do?
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Haven't bought anything from Playasia in a really long time. Never had any problems with them when I did.
I wouldn't agree that its ridiculous on the first offer. The 2nd offer would cost $5. If you do the chargeback, will you be blacklisted from Play-Asia?
 
Terrordactyl said:
Yes lets compare 15k+ to 60 dollars smh... its never going to be worth the MSRP anyways so its not like the damage is an issue. Im not even going to get into why collecting games is stupid, but it is.
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I edited my post before you replied that i know there is a big price difference between a car and a video game, so there is no need to shake your head :) It is two examples on a different scale indeed, but the point is that condition does matter for different reasons in both examples. If a car got a scratch on it, you're not going to look at this when you drive, and the car will drive just fine anyway. Would you still pay full price for it if there was condition damage? If you reply no, then condition matters to you as well because you wouldnt like to pay the same price for something that is in mint condition and for something that has condition damage.

Saying that a game would never be worth the MSRP again is not true. There are several games that increases in price as time goes by due to the rarity of the games. And people are willing to pay more the better the condition is. If you think it is stupid to care about the condition and that it is stupid to collect stuff, then thats fine, that is your own opinion. A lot of people disagree with your opinion on that though. Personally i think it is more stupid to call what other people like to do for being stupid. I mean, why would anyone care if someone likes to collect something as long as it isnt dangerous hording (house full of stuff, never gets cleaned etc.)?
 
Hello gaf,

A week ago i tried to purchase PS Vita 64GB card from play-asia as they got it at good discount and saw positive reviews about the site so far everywhere. I tried to use my International debit card(Local bank) but it failed then i tried Virtual credit card from my bank which also failed. After that i tried another friend card which is also failed, finally i got a card which worked from another friend which is ICICI bank and order was placed. The order went to processing status after a day but suddenly its cancelled in few hours. I sent mail to their CC to ask about this and i got the replay as they cancelled order due to i've used 4 different cards when placing order and the funds they held for my order was released. So, i tried to place new order by opening new account with the last worked card again and it was placed but they cancelled that order too in just an hour. I'm trying to contact them for the past 5 days but I'm not getting any reply from them for both orders.

And i've not got my money back to bank account yet and its been a week. I'm worried about this, am i screwed? How this debit card pre-authorization works for ICICI bank? How the play-asia order cancellation will work for this debit card authorization and refund the money? How long it will take?

Please gaf help me on this. Thanks
 
Yep, it happened to me and along with their BS preorder practices, I never buy from them nowadays.

For JPN inports, I much prefer buying from Amiami or CD Japan nowadays.
 
biglittleps said:
Do they refund for the cancelled orders? How long it will take?
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Yes, of course they refund cancelled orders. How long it takes can be dependent on your bank. Just ask P-A to confirm they have initiated the refund, then inquire with your bank if the wait seems excessive.

I've used P-A for over 10 years, and almost every transaction has been problem-free. The only problem I've had is a few packages sent by their cheapo airmail getting "lost", but they promptly refunded or sent a replacement in these cases, no questions asked.
 
hongcha said:
Yes, of course they refund cancelled orders. How long it takes can be dependent on your bank. Just ask P-A to confirm they have initiated the refund, then inquire with your bank if the wait seems excessive.

I've used P-A for over 10 years, and almost every transaction has been problem-free. The only problem I've had is a few packages sent by their cheapo airmail getting "lost", but they promptly refunded or sent a replacement in these cases, no questions asked.
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Thanks for the info, the problem with me is that they are not responding to my mails for the past 5 days. I got few answers for the first order for two days then they stopped answering and new order did not get any answer so far for the last 5 days. How long they will take to answer mails? btw did your read my above first post which describes the problem I'm facing?
 
I'm not surprised.

Play-Asia are scum and I stopped doing business with them long ago. I pre-ordered Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence and it explicitly said you got the third special disc with it. When I actually got the package it turns out it's the regular edition. They didn't even ask me if I wanted it, they just sent it anyway. I e-mailed about it and they basically answered that the third disc was a "first come, first serve" kind of deal, despite there being no mention of that in the item description. After that they just ignored my e-mails. I got nothing as compensation.
 
If they refuse to cover the shipping, chargeback and tell them to cover the shipping if they want their games back, otherwise keep it.
 
Thread is from March 2013.
biglittleps bumped it to ask a different question.
biglittleps said:
Hello gaf,

A week ago i tried to purchase PS Vita 64GB card from play-asia as they got it at good discount and saw positive reviews about the site so far everywhere. I tried to use my International debit card(Local bank) but it failed then i tried Virtual credit card from my bank which also failed. After that i tried another friend card which is also failed, finally i got a card which worked from another friend which is ICICI bank and order was placed. The order went to processing status after a day but suddenly its cancelled in few hours. I sent mail to their CC to ask about this and i got the replay as they cancelled order due to i've used 4 different cards when placing order and the funds they held for my order was released. So, i tried to place new order by opening new account with the last worked card again and it was placed but they cancelled that order too in just an hour. I'm trying to contact them for the past 5 days but I'm not getting any reply from them for both orders.

And i've not got my money back to bank account yet and its been a week. I'm worried about this, am i screwed? How this debit card pre-authorization works for ICICI bank? How the play-asia order cancellation will work for this debit card authorization and refund the money? How long it will take?

Please gaf help me on this. Thanks
Click to expand...
 
For the refund question, my refund literally took 21 days. I ordered a tempered glass protector for my vita slim, but it went back ordered. I requested a refund. It took 3 days of email exchanges with CS to get a refund requested, then 21 days for a refund. Play-asia sucks like that. Not sure if it will apply to your situation, but that's my only experience there.
 
mgs2master2 said:
For the refund question, my refund literally took 21 days. I ordered a tempered glass protector for my vita slim, but it went back ordered. I requested a refund. It took 3 days of email exchanges with CS to get a refund requested, then 21 days for a refund. Play-asia sucks like that. Not sure if it will apply to your situation, but that's my only experience there.
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Did you pay your using credit or debit card? What kind of confirmation and details they provided to you about refund initiation plz?
 
Man Puncher said:
Lik Sang were always better.

RIP in piece.
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You either made a hilarious reference to this thread's year-and-a-half-old OP and his damaged box art, or you don't realize that the P stands for "peace" (from the Latin "Pace").

Whichever it is, I chuckled.
 
May16 said:
You either made a hilarious reference to this thread's year-and-a-half-old OP and his damaged box art, or you don't realize that the P stands for "peace" (from the Latin "Pace").

Whichever it is, I chuckled.
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RIP in peace is an internet thing that dates back a long time. I'm surprised you've never seen it before.
 
I see that this post is a year old, but here's one point I want to make a PSA on:

Geneijin said:
So my current situation is this. They offer a $10 shipping credit at best to pay for the shipping back. I do a quick price calculation with USPS, and I get a estimate of $14.90. Honestly, I'm a bit agitated with this whole thing. Not only because of this misdeed, but because it's still an ongoing issue due to their customer service. I'm tempted to just chargeback to save me from further headache admittedly.
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Their shipping credit is in fact on the generous side; USPS defaults to the super-expensive global-guaranteed-whatever confirmed shipping option when you go to their site for an estimate.

Ordinary "first class" shipping for a PS3 game and case from the US to HK is a fraction of that $14.90 figure. I'd be surprised if it's even five dollars. Take it to the post office and put stamps on it the old-fashioned way.
 
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