Hardware Where can I get a reasonable-priced New 3DS?

Olmectron

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The nice thing about buying stuff from Japan is when the listing says "Good" it means "Like New" if you were looking at a listing from the US. Unlike Americans, the Japanese don't treat their possessions like shit.
Yeah. And they tend to lie less about their systems being perfect, they are honest about the condition usually. And even then, a "perfect condition, used once" console will be posted only as "Good" because they know it's used even if only one or two times in a while.
 

NovaXoXO

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I'm aware of then I text. I just don't care for used 3ds, no matter the model. Too many things can be wrong with them that aren't immediately apparent. Hinges crack, 3d slider could be failing/setup wrong, internal ribbons for the home button and/or amiibo reader could be broken (common if ever been opened), the console could be banned, NDS mode could be fucked up and not working due to a crappy downgrade, etc. I like to buy mine new to avoid all that crap, but I don't get why 3DSes are being scalped so hard right now.
you may be thinking, worst case scenario.

these things are built pretty sturdy. I've purchased about 5-6 used 3DS and never had any issues. that said, if you want ANYTHING that's no longer in stores but brand new, expect to pay a pretty penny because now you're looking into the "collectable" market. It's not even about scalpers once you get to the point of searching for a discontinued product in mint/boxed condition.

What you can do though, is find a middle point. Look around your local resellers (and check their yelp reviews) to see if you can find one in the condition that you're looking for. Most stores will let you test it out to make sure everything is working to your standards. Avoid Gamestop. And if they seller wont let you test it then keep searching. You'll find what you need.
 
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NovaXoXO

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The nice thing about buying stuff from Japan is when the listing says "Good" it means "Like New" if you were looking at a listing from the US. Unlike Americans, the Japanese don't treat their possessions like shit.
Just to add to this, I purchased a "Like New" Japanese White New 3DS XL off ebay and it was exactly as the description said. And you know how dirty white systems can get, NOPE...this one didnt even have dirt in the cracks, sliders ,buttons ect.
If you're willing to go through with Jap text or doing a region change. I'll agree Japanese systems are a safe bet.
 

Shadow#1

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AleronIves

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If you're willing to go through with Jap text or doing a region change. I'll agree Japanese systems are a safe bet.
On that note, is there any reason NOT to buy a Japanese unit and region change it to English after 2022? My understanding is in the past you didn't want to do this, because it would break the eShop, but once the eShop is dead, you have no reason to avoid changing the Japanese system to another region?
 

binkinator

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On that note, is there any reason NOT to buy a Japanese unit and region change it to English after 2022? My understanding is in the past you didn't want to do this, because it would break the eShop, but once the eShop is dead, you have no reason to avoid changing the Japanese system to another region?

This is precisely where my head was when I region changed my LL. The downsides were resolved 100%…by Ninty themselves.
 
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Sirius1428

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So, would you recommend buying one of those japanese new 3ds from japan? (new stands for the model, not the condition (damn nintendo and their confusing names haha 😂)).

I've been interested in getting one for quite some time now, particularly the model with the interchangeable cases and the colored abxy buttons that wasn't released in america (although an xl model would be ok as well as long as it's cheap), I don't mind the region being japanese since I can either create an US emunand or do a region change, I once did it for my old 3ds and it worked (except for the eshop, but that won't matter soon anyway), so on this one it should work as well, right?
 

Kwyjor

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I don't pay attention to it too closely, but https://www.reddit.com/r/3DSdeals/ seems to regularly have posts about units coming back into stock for reasonable prices.

On that note, is there any reason NOT to buy a Japanese unit and region change it to English after 2022? My understanding is in the past you didn't want to do this, because it would break the eShop, but once the eShop is dead, you have no reason to avoid changing the Japanese system to another region?
The eShop will be "dead" in the sense that you won't be able to buy and download new games, but you'll still need it for updates for your cartridge games. (But then again, you could just download the necessary update .cias from some random Internet site instead.)
 
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binkinator

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So, would you recommend buying one of those japanese new 3ds from japan? (new stands for the model, not the condition (damn nintendo and their confusing names haha 😂)).

I did it and couldn't be happier.

I've been interested in getting one for quite some time now, particularly the model with the interchangeable cases and the colored abxy buttons that wasn't released in america (although an xl model would be ok as well as long as it's cheap), I don't mind the region being japanese since I can either create an US emunand or do a region change, I once did it for my old 3ds and it worked (except for the eshop, but that won't matter soon anyway), so on this one it should work as well, right?

Yes, I left mine Japanese and added an emunand that I converted to US. Best of all worlds. Don't miss the eshop one bit and it will be dead soon anyway.
 
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NovaXoXO

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I did it and couldn't be happier.



Yes, I left mine Japanese and added an emunand that I converted to US. Best of all worlds. Don't miss the eshop one bit and it will be dead soon anyway.

You could also keep it in Japanese and just change the region and language of a specific game to NA & English.
Now you have the cool japanese banners and full access to the japanese e-shop while playing north american titles.

the downside is, SNES and NES game banners don't show properly. So using New Super Injector, just change the respective VC banners to Famicom or Super Famicom and you're good.

( even though i have no need for the eshop, its still cool to browse through as the overall appearance is 10x better then the North American e-shop)
 

Deleted member 42501

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Look at local advert apps that offer regional sales with cash collections. You get far better prices than scalper oriented online delivery portals and you get to check the item over before buying.

Might take a while but you'll find one, especially after the holidays because people often just want to get rid of their old systems so look into a time machine as well.
 

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