Received Second-Hand Two Point Hospital Game from Amazon. Anyone Else Received Second-Hand Goods?

So today I received my $28 Switch copy of Two Point Hospital from Amazon that was posted here a few days ago.

I know there are a lot of people who claim they receive second hand stock from Amazon when they order first party titles (the reviews for Age of Calamity are filled with people claiming they received second hand copies because theirs wasn't shrink-wrapped, yet I don't believe I've EVER received a Nintendo first party game in shrink-wrap), but today I experienced with some interesting proof.

The first thing that made me a bit wary was that this third-party title wasn't in shrink-wrap. Most third-party new titles I have received from Amazon have been shrink wrapped. Second warning was that there was a large sticker, that takes up about a quarter of the back cover, plastered over the barcode which left a sticky residue when I tried to remove it.

The final warning which proved to me it was preowned was that upon inserting the game into my console, I was informed that the gold points for this title had already been redeemed. The points had not expired and the game is within the 12 month release window for gold points to be claimed.

Has anyone else had a similar experience (beyond a simple hunch) that they received second-hand goods from Amazon that were advertised as new? If so, what did you do about it and what was the outcome?

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Comments

  • +5

    If so, what did you do about it and what was the outcome?

    So, you've spoken to Amazon before posting here, right?

    • Yep. Just curious if other people have had the same or similar thing happen to them

    • Come on, the modus operandi around here is 😅, OzB is the first point of call before talking to someone/company that can actually do something about it and then most of the time OP does not report back. 🤷‍♂️

      • Hence I'm not doing that.

  • Whenever I order nintendo switch games from amazon, they never come sealed. However when I order PS4 and Xbox One games they always come sealed. Have never had a problem with unsealed nintendo switch games, because they are practically new

  • Ew, what if they licked the cart before sending it back.

  • Yep. They don't just throw away returns.

    Initiate an exchange.

    • Unfortunately they have no remaining stock for an exchange.

  • Every single Nintendo game I have purchased from Amazon au (including TPH $28) has come sealed and shrink wrapped.

    Just return it I guess.
    I would not have been very impressed that’s for sure.

    • I had a conversation with some help desk people. Basically told them that, if they are intending on selling these things at all, they must clearly label them as preowned and list the "faults" (in this case the damaged case due to the sticker and claimed gold coins) in the item description

      To this they immediately refunded me the cost as an "exemption".

  • Pretty sure I received a returned/not new item.

    Pair of thongs that were the wrong size, wrong colour, mouldy, random numbers written on the side and the packaging contained a different order number on the invoice compared to mine.

    After some convincing I got a full refund.

    Sucks that we even have to put up with this in the first place but Amazon keeps getting away with it. This is by far not the worst thing that Amazon does however.

    • Was that a Prime item as well?

      • Bought during the previous Prime Day and sold by Amazon UK so I suppose it was.

  • Happens at every large retailer. Customers return item as new.

    I bought a Square card reader from Officeworks that had clearly been resealed (poorly).

    • Yeah. I guess my naivety believed Amazon wouldn't have to rely on doing such things considering their turnover rate.

      • What I meant was some retailers are so big and deal with so many returns it's not cost effective to check every returned item.

        They just assume the customer was being honest.

  • Out of your suspicions, I think the only one that is proof it was a previous return is that the Gold Points were already redeemed. If you're happy to wait for a restock, return it and buy it again later.

  • Amazon is pretty dodgy for this.

    I bought a Huion Kamvas Pro a few weeks back and when it showed up there was a thumbprint and a hair under the screen protective coating (which was also loose).

    I considered returning it but figured stuff it, it didn't cost me much and performs everything I need it for, plus there wasn't anything wrong with it that I could find.

    Also, don't count on something being shrink wrapped for it to be new. We used to have one of those shrinkwrap machines at EB Games which we'd use to re-shrink anything that needed it. Do games still have the seal on the side (been ages since I bought one)? I imagine that would be a better indicator.

    • Nintendo games don't have those seals, but I can also tell the difference between the original shrink wrap and a game that has been redone in stores. Original shrink wrap is quite loose like cellophane.

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