.: Important Information about Counterfeit Games :.

Counterfeit games are an all too common sight on eBay. This should not however, prevent you from purchasing Game Boy Advance games. You must however be careful as to what you are buying. It is a general rule to avoid Game Boy Advance games that are being sold from China, Singapore, and Malaysia etc. These items are almost always pirated (counterfeit) and they should be avoided at all costs.

Below we have listed some common problems with counterfeit games:

· Their internal battery has a tendency to die within a month, meaning you will have a useless cartridge.

· Their manuals and boxes are cheaply printed and are abbreviated.

· They are illegal to own and sell.

· If purchased, they will encourage the sellers to continue with their illegal business.

While it may seem like a daunting task to differentiate between counterfeit and genuine games, it can be done quite easily through following some simple precautions listed below:

Fake /\ - The box image displays the rating symbol as "RP" - in other words "rating pending" meaning that the pokemon box has been cheaply printed from images probably found on the games publicity websites, and not the real box. "Avoid RP games at all costs, as they are Fake!"

Real /\

· Pokémon games (that reflect a colour like red, yellow, ruby ect.) with uniquely coloured cartridges are genuine; if a Pokémon game has a grayish black cartridge it is definitely a counterfeit.

· The box has an E or RP on the bottom left/right. Very occasionally you will find legitimate games with the E on the box but never RP. Look for Australian standard games that display the rating code (eg. G8+ ect.)

· The manual has less then 20 pages or folds out into one page. Legitimate manuals are in book form.

· The box has been ''folded flat'', a sign that the sellers are most likely dealing in illegal games. A cheaply printed box is "folded flat" most often because of the lack of construction, and not because of postage savings. After sadly receiving one of these in the past, we have noted that the box requires tape to hold it together.

Remember if in doubt, ask the seller if the item is genuine, if you do not get a straight answer it may be fake, its better to be safe than sorry, Dont Buy!

We hope this guide was helpful!

Thanks for making ebay a safer place to shop!