Beware the Errors - Master System Mayhem

In this follow up to our first 'Beware the Errors' post we take a look at the recently uploaded Ebay sale of the extremely rare USA game variant for the Master Systems named...Sonic the Hedgehog.

Where the general public may not be aware of the story behind the ultra rare USA variant of Sonic the Hedgehog, Millions of collectors out there know it as a title that your most likely to never find, so you simply don't look for it!
During the race to own a copy of the awesome Master System version of the game, the USA ran out of readily available stock. So, to save time, and not disappoint the buyers, they decided to place a replacement USA barcode over the top of the European version, and sent it off to retailers.
It wasn't long before new USA branded stock was ready, so the amount of 'stickered' versions that exist are very minimal to a point of where the actual numbers are unknown. Also due to the lack of care for it at the time, many of the copies that did exist had the barcode stickers removed by the people who bought them.
Fast forward 20 years and people start caring about this from a collecting point of view, though by then, the tiny amount that did exist are now reduced due to the removal of the barcode sticker, and so to date there have only been a couple to ever surface.

The biggest issue with this from a collectors point of view is the fact that the item itself is extremely easy to fake. The only difference from the Euro version is the barcode sticker. Faking the item is as simple as printing off the correct barcode and showing it to your friends! Getting something like this appraised is near impossible, and a copy should only be purchased if theres proof of its lifes journey from original retailer to current day!
And thats where we bring you to the current Sonic eBay sale which is currently standing at 365 Euro in bids, with 8 days to go.

I first came across the sale as the actual eBay seller was posting it around Facebook sales groups....all of which he was quickly banned from. The general users of collecting pages have a keen eye, and are thankfully always looking out for scammers! Too many instances to prove the item is fake quickly surfaced and thats what we will take a look at now. Hopefully at least 1 of the current 11 EBay bidders will see this story, and save themselves from being effected financially.

Firstly we can thank the fact that most fraudulent sellers are just looking for a quick earner, and don't actually have a clue about what they are doing, and so make silly mistakes. The first to be noticed was that the sticker of the USA barcode looks as if its attached to the Cellophane seal which is not how they came.  The seal itself looks extremely new with no age discoloration, and the actual quality of the material looks far too thick to what would of been used in the 90s. There should also be a metallic strip on the underpart of the sticker, which although we cannot see, it doesnt look as if there is anything beneath the sticker itself.

We then take a look at the sellers feedback and see that the last 3 reviews are negative, stating the seller tried to ask for more money by ending the auction early, and then did not actually commit to the sale once the auction had ended. This is a usually a sign of a scam, sellers will try to talk you out of dealing on eBay in an attempt to try to make you 'Gift' a PayPal payment, which makes it impossible to get a refund.
If we then take a look at the sellers other feedback we see its all purchases to the same account, which is located in the same region he is from. This is also another huge sign of scamming, and shill bidding. Nothing for this seller would assume that he is legitimate in any way. And the item he is currently passing off as a genuine item is one that should be passed off for the fake it is!

I cannot say whether its the actual seller who has created the item intentionally to scam, but from the look of the account then its definitely not suggesting hes innocent.

Please be careful when trying to invest in obscure and rare items. There are far too many traders out there who will happily take advantage of a money making situation! Never trust a sale unless you've clarified its authenticity for yourself, by yourself, and from credible sources only! If it seems too good to be true, then it probably is. But the information is out there, and if you cant find it, then please, for your own investment benefits...dig deeper!