HAY GUYS

debbie7 · Local time: Oct 31, 2006, 09:19 PM

I buy games from the US - usually on ebay. Elixir's right, amazon won't ship games to NZ. I've always assumed it's because the games are NTSC and we're on PAL. I have a friend here who collects games and figures and she got pally with a trader on ebay who now buys to order for her then ships the stuff over when there's a full box. Seems to work really well for her.

Another suggestion - have you tried any UK online shops? Some of the games that don't come over do actually get a release in the UK so you may find some of the games there. And as they're PAL as well there should be no issue with sending them here.

If you're in NZ you must've checked TradeMe? There's always a few US games on there and traders advertising that they'll get in any game you want. You'll pay a bit more but then, they're going to the trouble of importing them so it's only fair really.

The only other suggestion is to stick to one or two particular traders on ebay who are reliable and just order from them. At some stage they'll start asking what you're looking for and maybe source them just for you. Worth a try anyway.

I have to say that so far I've had no problems buying from ebay. One game took 2 months to arrive. I'd written it off, gave the trader the benefit of the doubt and good feedback saying it had been lost in the mail. When it turned up he had sent it airmail but it had been delivered by sea so not his fault at all. I'm so glad I didn't get shitty with him!

Postage is a bit of a rip off with some traders. Last time I bought a USPS envelope cost $9US and could hold 2 or 3 guides or about 4 games. Some traders charge $24US per item so check your freight charges and stay away from those traders!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

debbie7 · Local time: Nov 1, 2006, 07:29 AM

I think you're being a little bit hard on ebay! I've made nearly 50 purchases on there from about 30 different traders and not one of them has gone bad. Delivery usually only takes a week which I think is pretty good.

Maybe you just need to be a little more selective when you're choosing who to buy from. My biggest problem has been finding traders willing to ship to NZ. There are so many now who state US & Canada only. I guess there have been a few scams with overseas buyers and paypal so they're much stricter now on who they'll sell to. I find asking a question about shipping to NZ and quoting USPS rates usually works and they're happy for me to buy. Only a few traders add extra onto the shipping for time and extra packaging - which is perfectly feasible.

There's nowhere I can't reach.