But isn't the point to buy a brand new game to ensure someone else didn't rip the header and return it? I know the odds are stupid low but its not worth the risk IMO.
That's like buying any used 3DS game and never using it online because someone else might have ripped the header too...
There is 3 kind of game cardtriges: AE, C2, and 45. Your header needs to match the game cardtridge, for example pokemon games use C2 and Smash Bros uses AE, so your header would need to match the game or you would get an error when you try to go online (but no ban).
Anyways, try to confirm you are buying a game with C2 type header, because as I said before the vastly majority of games are C2 so it is a priority. Over the other 2 type of headers.