Gaming "New" DS Lites from China - Are They Worth It?

[Cornholio309]

Hi everyone! Got a bit of an odd question I was hoping somebody could answer for me, hopefully from personal experience!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-B...ystem-gifts-/251682919370?hash=item3a997893ca

There are a couple of DS Lites being sold as "New" on EBay. Sounds suspicious, but upon looking around I've found a couple of sources simply saying that they use legitimate hardware, but replace the cases and package them up to look and feel "new". There are some articles that claim it feels like the real thing, but some casing issues give away that it's refurbished, and I found a similar claim saying that they're worth it if you understand that they're not completely new:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/925329-nintendo-ds/66274038

Knowing this information, would it be worth poking around with these kinds of DSes, or should they be avoided? The seller feedback looks positive, and I ask because I saw four DS Lites a couple of weeks ago being sold in a pawnshop. I'm kind of interested in looking at one, but I don't know the condition of them, and these new ones seem slightly more tempting. The thing is that the used DS Lites I saw, assuming they're in good condition, are only 40 dollars as-is, which makes them much cheaper then these Chinese re-sellers.

Which would you go with and why?

 

[Madridi]

My brother, sister, and best friend, each had one of these "knock-offs". They tend to break easily, and honestly that's a lot to pay for a DS these days.

Oh and yes, the hardware seems legitimate, but the case definitely isn't and tends to break (besides, you will see that the screws aren't the famous nintendo triwing ones)

I would say the assessment of it being from refurbished consoles in new cases to be accurate with my experience.

You could go ahead and try buying one, but I personally would stay away from them

 

[ElyosOfTheAbyss]

This dose not always help but try looking at the reviews for the user.

 

[Deleted User]

This ds lite is not new. It's refurbished console. And it's not nearly as good as genuine ds lite system. I know because I purchased this ds some time ago. And then I immediately returned it back to the seller. The dpad wasn't responsive at all. Dead pixels all over the screen and super low volume from the speakers. After that I purchased original console. Guitar hero bundle for 120$ and it was much better. Don't waste your 60 bucks on this.

 

[Megaben99]

$70 for a DS is ridiculous. You should be able to very easily get one at the pawn shop you mention for $40 or less. Even at Gamestop they're $50...and they do a good job on the refurbs. Includes screen protectors and earbuds. You can ask to see them out of box.

http://www.gamestop.com/ds/consoles/nintendo-ds-lite-system-black-recharged-refurbished/107182

 

[Cornholio309]

The only issue with that is that I live in an area where refurbished DS Lites aren't in my Gamestops. There are some, but they're about 50 miles away.

So I'm guessing the 40 dollar DS Lites at the Pawn Shop might be my best bet for a local solution, or should I consider ordering one of these refurbished ones if possible?

Thank you for all of the input and suggestions by the way. I was hoping the casing and other parts would be of higher quality - thanks for helping me dodge a bullet!

 

[Megaben99]

Take a cart with you and test it at the Pawn Shop. They're generally pretty open to letting you handle everything as much as you want. Ask about a return policy -- pretty common to at least take stuff back for in-store credit for seven days. And negotiate! There is about zero demand for a reg DS right now -- once you get the bottom price, ask what they can do if you pay in cash, since they have a fee for credit transactions, sometimes you can score another $5 off or so by offering cash. Good luck!!

 

[Cornholio309]

Excellent advice. Thank you very much!

As for the return policy, I don't believe the store has one. I bought a Majesco Game Gear from them earlier and they the receipt I got from them states that all sales are final. Unfortunate, but the Majesco Game Gear itself is awesome since they're hard to come by.

My only other concern is that I don't think the DS Lites had chargers with them. Hopefully I'm wrong though.

 

[stomp_442]

DS lite came with a charger in the box. It's not the same as the dsi or 3DS charger so make sure you get a charger for it when you buy it.

 

[Megaben99]

If they're missing the charger just use that to beat 'em up a little more on price. You can get a USB one on eBay for like $2 shipped...then just use it with any phone charger or your PC.

There is also an aftermarket 3DS / DS Lite combo charger [has both ends] for about $9 at Wal Mart.

 

[Cornholio309]

Much appreciated for the advice everyone! Ended up getting a Blue DS Lite model there and it came with a charger, and seems to be in pretty good condition.

However, I've recently run into an issue where the L button always thinks it's pressed down when it isn't (Kirby Super Star Ultra isn't possible to play thanks to this, same with Grunty's Revenge and a couple of others).

I've sort of got some success with the blow trick, but it's locked back into this "always pressed down" state. Is this a common issue with DS Lites? I've skimmed through a tutorial about opening the DS Lite to fix the issue, but I haven't opened a console and I'm a bit worried about breaking it. Any advice on the best course of action to fix this? The R button is incredibly responsive on the other hand.

 

[royant1]

May I ask why people buy a DS Lite when they can buy a 2DS for not much more? just curious.

 

[ElyosOfTheAbyss]

May I ask why people buy a DS Lite when they can buy a 2DS for not much more? just curious.

Some people want it for GBA games aswell

 

[BORTZ]

May I ask why people buy a DS Lite when they can buy a 2DS for not much more? just curious.

The clamshelling feature is a huge for me. Not being able to close a 2DS or a Vita leaves the screen vulnerable to dust and scratches.