Hardware Fair price for modding a 3ds?

[Deleted User]

I've been thinking about modding other people's 3ds for money, but i don't know how much would be fair to charge

 

[lone_wolf323]

I've been thinking about modding other people's 3ds for money, but i don't know how much would be fair to charge

probably not much. its very easy to do. just make sure you get every last thing possible as updates will likely confuse the heck out of your customers.

 

[Hayato213]

Don't expect too much probably like 400 Uruguayan Peso roughly, that is about $10 USD, 3DS are relatively easy to hack these days with a well-written guide available for the general public.

 

[Deleted User]

Don't expect too much probably like 400 Uruguayan Peso roughly, that is about $10 USD, 3DS are relatively easy to hack these days with a well-written guide available for the general public.

Was considering something arround that, I mainly count on most people not being very tech savvy and most guides being in english only (most people only know spanish). I also dont know if I should charge for installing games separately.

probably not much. It's very easy to do. just make sure you get every last thing possible as updates will likely confuse the heck out of your customers.

I would just install luma, fbi, anemone, and flashpoint, I dont expect to get rich from it, but it would be better than no income (getting a job at my age if your parents dont own a business is pretty much impossible).

 

[Itsuki235]

I would just install luma, fbi, anemone, and flashpoint, I dont expect to get rich from it, but it would be better than no income (getting a job at my age if your parents dont own a business is pretty much impossible).

Be sure to install/include the seeds for FBI. It would be very annoying to your customers to exclude them. And do a nand backup with godmode9 after the mod.

 

[gamesquest1]

yeah it only takes a few minutes so anything more than about $10 is basically ripping them off (don't get me wrong, I have done cheap jobs for people and they will sometimes chuck you a bit extra if they feel like its worth more to them which isn't really a problem)......unless you plan to funnel a little portion off to any devs who are open to donations, maybe add an extra $2 and send it to the people who enabled your ability to actually make said money in the first place

just remember not to include any games at all, its one thing to mod the console, its another to sell pirated games, the latter can land you in a lot of trouble, more trouble than its worth, just tell them to google it if they ask

thats not to say you can't get in trouble for the former either depending on your location, but generally the people they go hard after have always been including romz/warez with their modded consoles or doing it on a very big scale, but as long as you steer clear of including roms, I think the worst you would get is a cease and desist rather than a lawsuit

 

[lone_wolf323]

Be sure to install/include the seeds for FBI. It would be very annoying to your customers to exclude them. And do a nand backup with godmode9 after the mod.

Seed databases im sure is copyright material. So I am pretty sure OP could get in trouble with adding those in.

 

[E1ite007]

It depends. I've found that you can charge almost as you want if the people from your region says "chipear" (install a mod-chip) for the 3DS, for example. What do I mean? In Latinamerica there's a lot of misunderstanding and a lot of disinformation regarding console hackin', and you could made some easy money by installing CFW on consoles. For ex: here in Mexico there's a lot of people that still charge $500 MXN (around $20 USD) for installing boot9strap 1.3, Luma3DS' latest version, FBI, Themely (for some reason) and some idiots also bundle there freeShop although is dead. Here you can even charge around $35 to $40 USD if you install some games along the hacking process, it's insane. And some people sell as new hacked consoles for almost $400 USD.
In conclusion, you can charge as much as you want if the people isn't pretty familiar with this kind of processes. Anyway, I would suggest you to charge as much as you think is fair.

 

[Itsuki235]

Seed databases im sure is copyright material. So I am pretty sure OP could get in trouble with adding those in.

They are actually just random numbers used for some titles for certain purposes that I shall not describe here. They should constitute a trade secret if it was genuinely vital to the functioning of the platform or company, but obviously they are not. It is also not the same type of material as say, a bootrom code or the contents of 3ds cartridge dumps.

The point being they are not clearly-cut copyright-able unlike the bootrom code (which is deliberately written proprietary software) and do not constitute a trade secret.

The grounds are flimsy because I am not aware of any case law in the district circuits that affirmatively asserts that such randomly generated numbers, that are also not trade secrets, are copyright-able in and of themselves.

They are meant to be secret so obviously it would not be appropriate to post them on forums, especially since the DMCA inverts the burden of proof, However, the burden of proof regarding the exclusive right to publish a "copyrighted and copyrightable work" is still there, on the plaintiff, not the defendant in a normal court of law (as opposed to inverted as it is online).

Asserting that literally random numbers that are not necessary for the normal functioning of the console (not trade secret) are copyrightable is very tenuous. I do not think any lawyer/prosecutor would ever bring up a case on those flimsy grounds. While they cannot be posted, it should be fine to distribute them as part of a mod provided they are not directly tied to other copyrighted material.

The case that such a mod breaks a "digital lock" and is hence in violation of the DMCA is very strong however (a case that can be made completely independent of FBI seeds), but since the OP is not worried about that, I don't see the issue in just including the seeds in order to provide a better customer experience.

 

[Deleted User]

Be sure to install/include the seeds for FBI. It would be very annoying to your customers to exclude them. And do a nand backup with godmode9 after the mod.

i will remember to do so, probably most people wont know what to do with the nand backup but i will include it anyway

yeah it only takes a few minutes so anything more than about $10 is basically ripping them off (don't get me wrong, I have done cheap jobs for people and they will sometimes chuck you a bit extra if they feel like its worth more to them which isn't really a problem)......unless you plan to funnel a little portion off to any devs who are open to donations, maybe add an extra $2 and send it to the people who enabled your ability to actually make said money in the first place

just remember not to include any games at all, its one thing to mod the console, its another to sell pirated games, the latter can land you in a lot of trouble, more trouble than its worth, just tell them to google it if they ask

thats not to say you can't get in trouble for the former either depending on your location, but generally the people they go hard after have always been including romz/warez with their modded consoles or doing it on a very big scale, but as long as you steer clear of including roms, I think the worst you would get is a cease and desist rather than a lawsuit

sadly due to my age sending money internationally is pretty much out off the question, as for piracy, well, you can buy nearly everything pirated, i've seen some ads for pirated wii and xbox 360 games, i've seen only premodded 3ds systems for sale so i can't use that as a reference, only people i've seen paying for legit stuff are government and businesses

Seed databases im sure is copyright material. So I am pretty sure OP could get in trouble with adding those in.

people dont get in trouble for selling actual games, i doubt a seed database would be of any difference

It depends. I've found that you can charge almost as you want if the people from your region says "chipear" (install a mod-chip) for the 3DS, for example. What do I mean? In Latinamerica there's a lot of misunderstanding and a lot of disinformation regarding console hackin', and you could made some easy money by installing CFW on consoles. For ex: here in Mexico there's a lot of people that still charge $500 MXN (around $20 USD) for installing boot9strap 1.3, Luma3DS' latest version, FBI, Themely (for some reason) and some idiots also bundle there freeShop although is dead. Here you can even charge around $35 to $40 USD if you install some games along the hacking process, it's insane. And some people sell as new hacked consoles for almost $400 USD.
In conclusion, you can charge as much as you want if the people isn't pretty familiar with this kind of processes. Anyway, I would suggest you to charge as much as you think is fair.

i've seen chipeada used for systems that actually use modchips (most predominately xbox 360), although ocationally people say chipeada for the wii

 

[E1ite007]

i've seen chipeada used for systems that actually use modchips (most predominately xbox 360), although ocationally people say chipeada for the wii

It's generally common (at least here in Mexico) that all hacked consoles are called "chipeadas" for some reason, maybe 'cause the hackin' boom for the consoles began with the PS2 and it used a modchip for almost all of it's life until Free MCBoot was created in late 2008, although it still needed a way to load a backup via a swap method or a modchip.

 

[Nisei]

yeah it only takes a few minutes so anything more than about $10 is basically ripping them off...

I don't agree.
See how much time you've spent here gathering knowledge. If you take a complete noob and tell them to go mod a 3DS they're probably going to spend hours reading into stuff, searching for the right files and praying everything will turn out right. Or they will take the first guide they find perhaps dating back several years ago and do it wrong.
To these people it's worth a few tenners to save them all the trouble and running the risk of doing it wrong. It's just how it works.
Now I'm not saying you shouldn't tell people they can do it themselves but if they choose to have it done by a third person it already tells you they're not confident in doing it themselves and rather pay money to have it done.
Look at it as a reward for all the time you've spent researching and trying and risking a brick.

 

[KleinesSinchen]

I don't agree.
See how much time you've spent here gathering knowledge. If you take a complete noob and tell them to go mod a 3DS they're probably going to spend hours reading into stuff, searching for the right files and praying everything will turn out right. Or they will take the first guide they find perhaps dating back several years ago and do it wrong.
To these people it's worth a few tenners to save them all the trouble and running the risk of doing it wrong. It's just how it works.
Now I'm not saying you shouldn't tell people they can do it themselves but if they choose to have it done by a third person it already tells you they're not confident in doing it themselves and rather pay money to have it done.
Look at it as a reward for all the time you've spent researching and trying and risking a brick.

Premodded consoles have caused quite some trouble. More than a few people ended up desperately seeking help here on the forum without ever having heard of Luma, B9S and GodMode9. I can't say I like the idea of "noobs" buying consoles with CFW while not having at least some very basic knowledge themselves. At least basic understanding is needed for using a console with custom firmware.

A PlayStation 1/2 or GameCube with a modchip is something different. Once the chip is installed the end user can use their console like before and additionally use burned media.

Yes, I do know many people will just follow the guide until FREE GAMEZ!! while don't thinking about anything else and having no interest in learning something. But using a service to have your console modded means you don't even have the chance to learn anything – if the person offering the service does not include some basic lessons beyond: "Find CIA files, copy on SD, start FBI, install."
I'm thinking about cases with problems and the question for a NAND backup was answered with: "A what? Don't understand. Don't have it (after explanation), got the console already modded)".

 

[Nisei]

I'm not saying you should mod a console for anyone and handing it to them without explaining anything. Of course you should teach them some things as well and tell them they can contact you when they're running into issues. What I was saying is I don't agree charging anything over $10 should be considered a rip off. If you're using your expertise to mod a console and explaing a total stranger how to use it, why wouldn't it be fair to ask $20 for all the time involved?
Here it's different since most of us give and take. But when you're providing your expertise as a service I'd think it's quite normal people should pay for it.

 

[HRudyPlayZ]

I'd say 20-35€, not more.
It depends on your method aswell... If you just follow the 3ds.hacks.guide, you shouldn't charge more than 15€...

Make sure to not include "pirated" games, or other copyrighted stuff and use an updated installation process.
You should also make sure to have a proper support system and also explain to your customers atleast the basics.


If you were to mod switches aswell, you could sell those for around 40-50€, with the dongle (possibly jig) included in the package.


If you were to include an hardmod, around 50-70€ max.

 

[Deleted User]

It's generally common (at least here in Mexico) that all hacked consoles are called "chipeadas" for some reason, maybe 'cause the hackin' boom for the consoles began with the PS2 and it used a modchip for almost all of it's life until Free MCBoot was created in late 2008, although it still needed a way to load a backup via a swap method or a modchip.

maybe because there isn't really a word for "modded" in spanish, modificada is the closest and it's way too generic

I don't agree.
See how much time you've spent here gathering knowledge. If you take a complete noob and tell them to go mod a 3DS they're probably going to spend hours reading into stuff, searching for the right files and praying everything will turn out right. Or they will take the first guide they find perhaps dating back several years ago and do it wrong.
To these people it's worth a few tenners to save them all the trouble and running the risk of doing it wrong. It's just how it works.
Now I'm not saying you shouldn't tell people they can do it themselves but if they choose to have it done by a third person it already tells you they're not confident in doing it themselves and rather pay money to have it done.
Look at it as a reward for all the time you've spent researching and trying and risking a brick.

i will be honest, i modded my own 3ds in an hour at most following a guide, i have yet to find any issues, what took me the most time is finding a free method (i used fredminer) and i once had to restart because i misclicked something in japanese flipnote studio, although since then i've learned a lot

Premodded consoles have caused quite some trouble. More than a few people ended up desperately seeking help here on the forum without ever having heard of Luma, B9S and GodMode9. I can't say I like the idea of "noobs" buying consoles with CFW while not having at least some very basic knowledge themselves. At least basic understanding is needed for using a console with custom firmware.

A PlayStation 1/2 or GameCube with a modchip is something different. Once the chip is installed the end user can use their console like before and additionally use burned media.

Yes, I do know many people will just follow the guide until FREE GAMEZ!! while don't thinking about anything else and having no interest in learning something. But using a service to have your console modded means you don't even have the chance to learn anything – if the person offering the service does not include some basic lessons beyond: "Find CIA files, copy on SD, start FBI, install."
I'm thinking about cases with problems and the question for a NAND backup was answered with: "A what? Don't understand. Don't have it (after explanation), got the console already modded)".

i mainly expect the "can you put mario games in it" type of customer, my country's authorities really not care about things like copyright violation (there are plenty of pirated games on ML and FBM, the two places i'm going to sell on), i will give them the nand backup and means to contact me if anything goes wrong, but if i put all things that could cause damage in a folder and say "dont touch anything in here unless you know what you are doing" i doubt they will have trouble

I'd say 20-35€, not more.
It depends on your method aswell... If you just follow the 3ds.hacks.guide, you shouldn't charge more than 15€...

Make sure to not include "pirated" games, or other copyrighted stuff and use an updated installation process.
You should also make sure to have a proper support system and also explain to your customers atleast the basics.


If you were to mod switches aswell, you could sell those for around 40-50€, with the dongle (possibly jig) included in the package.


If you were to include an hardmod, around 50-70€ max.

i will not mod switches as i
1-dont own a switch and as such never modded one
2-it is expensive enough that if i mess up i cant afford to pay the person
3-i cant buy either a dongle of a jig locally, buying internationally is not an option
even then i know very people who own one, i only saw one in person, the rest were on store shelfs
as for including games i've said that authorities really dont care, in fact, many people in the police pirate stuff themselves

 

[E1ite007]

maybe because there isn't really a word for "modded" in spanish, modificada is the closest and it's way too generic

Yes there is sir: "hackeada".

 

[Deleted User]

Yes there is sir: "hackeada".

now that you said it, i dont know how it went over my head, "se hackean 3ds" sounds way better (and accurate) than "se chipean 3ds"

 

[E1ite007]

now that you said it, i dont know how it went over my head, "se hackean 3ds" sounds way better (and accurate) than "se chipean 3ds"

Yes! I fucking hate when people ask in Facebook groups "alguna 3ds chipeada", it sounds so stupid.

 

[Deleted User]

Yes! I fucking hate when people ask in Facebook groups "alguna 3ds chipeada", it sounds so stupid.

feel you man, but i love that picture of bald goku saying "busco play 2 chipeada"