Post by Whiterook on Jul 28, 2024 11:05:56 GMT -5
Well folks, I was rode hard and put away wet on a recent purchase. Now this is something that seems to happen to most wargamers at some point, to some extreme or another, and well, it was just my turn… I guess. Previously, I had bought the supremely fun game, Sniper Elite: The Board Game off of Amazon of all places, at a decent price $57; that was with free shipping, so it’s about what one would typically pay for it on dealers like Noble Knight or eBay with shipping. The plus side being, it was new in shrink, so I was happy enough with that purchase.
I was so happy with the game in fact, that I of course wanted more! …and that more is the Sniper Elite: Eagle’s Nest expansion! See here for more on the expansion. The problem? …availability. Near as I can tell, both games ran their run and were like most games these days, go out of print. Whereas there are sill copies of the core game somewhat readily had online, the expansion is nigh impossible to find for sale, and when you do find that expansion for sale, it tends to go for anywhere from $50-100 in Like New condition. I found one on BoardgameGeeks’, Marketplace, and paid up for it, at $75. I’d actually been tracking this expansion for quite awhile and they just pop up very sporadically, and the price as just mentioned, is all over the place. This one was advertised as brand new, never played, so I was seduced into the purchase.
Well, you may be able to picture the look of shock on my face when I opened the shipping box, only to discover yes, a new game, but… no box! 😠 Now unfortunately, the seller took the advert down on GeekMarketplace, but when subsequently contacting him, he claimed it was disclosed there was no box. I find it very hard to believe I missed that little kernel of data. I was left with the dilemma of sending it back to him, at my shipping expense, and hoping for a refund (or dispute remediation with PayPal), and of course the new hunt for a replacement; or keep it and eat the loss, at least having a new game (sans box) in perfect shape. I chose to keep it… it just wasn’t worth my time and effort to dispute it any further.
Now those that know me well will know, this would eat my lunch for the rest of my life. I’m not proud of that, but it’s me. I decided, knowing full well the intensity of what I just mentioned on said lunch eating, that it was worth a reach out to Rebellion Unplugged, the maker of the board games, and see if they had any spare empty boxes of the expansion. They reached back out to me and indeed had one they could send me, if I paid shipping. Well, being a company in England, that wasn’t cheap, but, “in for a penny/in for a pound”… literally! That cost me $25 and for me, that was worth it. It arrived at the end of last week and I finally have the expansion in its own box.
Did I really lose out badly on this whole purchase experience? Well, I’ll look at silver lining and say, I paid top end price for a new game I really wanted, as they have a price history at that top end price of $100; and of course, the game will increase in value, as I assume there are no plans for a reprint. I could have been burned worse, and in the end, I can’t honestly say I was really burned… just horribly inconvenienced. I am also considering myself lucky Rebellion Unplugged was so awesome in their willingness to send me a new game box and inner insert for absolutely free, just asking me to pay shipping. Now…. Some great gaming to be had!
Incidentally, they mentioned the thought it was “mighty cheeky” on that sellers’ part! On that seller, shame on him for asking top dollar for an incomplete game and then not making things right… that’s people today, right?!?
Here’s the expansion, in total finally…
Fortunately, everything was brand new. As an aside, I sleeved the cards in Dragon Shield sleeves.
I was so happy with the game in fact, that I of course wanted more! …and that more is the Sniper Elite: Eagle’s Nest expansion! See here for more on the expansion. The problem? …availability. Near as I can tell, both games ran their run and were like most games these days, go out of print. Whereas there are sill copies of the core game somewhat readily had online, the expansion is nigh impossible to find for sale, and when you do find that expansion for sale, it tends to go for anywhere from $50-100 in Like New condition. I found one on BoardgameGeeks’, Marketplace, and paid up for it, at $75. I’d actually been tracking this expansion for quite awhile and they just pop up very sporadically, and the price as just mentioned, is all over the place. This one was advertised as brand new, never played, so I was seduced into the purchase.
Well, you may be able to picture the look of shock on my face when I opened the shipping box, only to discover yes, a new game, but… no box! 😠 Now unfortunately, the seller took the advert down on GeekMarketplace, but when subsequently contacting him, he claimed it was disclosed there was no box. I find it very hard to believe I missed that little kernel of data. I was left with the dilemma of sending it back to him, at my shipping expense, and hoping for a refund (or dispute remediation with PayPal), and of course the new hunt for a replacement; or keep it and eat the loss, at least having a new game (sans box) in perfect shape. I chose to keep it… it just wasn’t worth my time and effort to dispute it any further.
Now those that know me well will know, this would eat my lunch for the rest of my life. I’m not proud of that, but it’s me. I decided, knowing full well the intensity of what I just mentioned on said lunch eating, that it was worth a reach out to Rebellion Unplugged, the maker of the board games, and see if they had any spare empty boxes of the expansion. They reached back out to me and indeed had one they could send me, if I paid shipping. Well, being a company in England, that wasn’t cheap, but, “in for a penny/in for a pound”… literally! That cost me $25 and for me, that was worth it. It arrived at the end of last week and I finally have the expansion in its own box.
Did I really lose out badly on this whole purchase experience? Well, I’ll look at silver lining and say, I paid top end price for a new game I really wanted, as they have a price history at that top end price of $100; and of course, the game will increase in value, as I assume there are no plans for a reprint. I could have been burned worse, and in the end, I can’t honestly say I was really burned… just horribly inconvenienced. I am also considering myself lucky Rebellion Unplugged was so awesome in their willingness to send me a new game box and inner insert for absolutely free, just asking me to pay shipping. Now…. Some great gaming to be had!
Incidentally, they mentioned the thought it was “mighty cheeky” on that sellers’ part! On that seller, shame on him for asking top dollar for an incomplete game and then not making things right… that’s people today, right?!?
Here’s the expansion, in total finally…
Fortunately, everything was brand new. As an aside, I sleeved the cards in Dragon Shield sleeves.