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[Masktchi]

Hey all. As I mentioned in my intro thread, I've gotten back into Tamagotchi/Digimon, and have consequently purchased a number of products from eBay, as that's basically the only place one can get them. However, I've run into a problem. This happened with my Digimon particularly, but those are just what I happened to be hatching at the time, as my original G1 is alone. :[ This may or may not apply equally to the Tamagotchi I purchased/won.

So I purchased 4 Digimon (Gen 2-5 of the original Digimon). I started up my Gen 2, and immediately noticed shadowing and fading on the screen, particularly in vertical streaks where black pixels were. What I mean by this is that the non-black pixels nearby had streaks of varying darkness, inbetween a white pixel and a black pixel. This shadowing is effected by the pixel arrangement and images on the screen. To the sides of my egg, I noticed the fading. What I mean when I say this, is that the white pixels were faded, almost looking blank (as in no distinct grid or pixels). There was no clear, uniform grid, and the grid was most prominent around the egg, where it was shadowed. The icons also seemed to be faded as well.

I've taken some pictures to illustrate what I mean, appologies for the darkness and fuzzy quality. If you search 'Digimon Tamagotchi' on eBay, there are also listings which show pics of the same type of thing I'm talking about.
http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/3158/picture51g.jpg
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/1081/picture52w.jpg
http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/8397/picture53x.jpg

All 4 of them exhibit this LCD problem. I tried switching out batteries, and switching out batteries before the first time I activated them. It made no difference. Also of note is that my Gen 5 as some kind of residue gunk on the battery tab. 

Does anyone know what causes this problem? I don't think it's a defect, as it's strange that all 4 specifically have it, while other Tama's I have (not to mention my Digimon) work perfectly. Battery leakage maybe? The original batteries have apparently been in since purchase, so maybe a leak or a start-up prior to shipping with said batteries? It could be age, but I don't have this problem with any of mine. Maybe mild water damage? Just poor care? I really want to determine the source of this prob, as I'm now concerned about starting my others, as I don't know what's causing it or if/how the original packaging & batteries might be playing into this.


As for other issues and the buyer particularly, these Digimon are allegedly MIB. However, there are various dirt type debris in the internal packaging, and the boxes themselves weren't sealed. I also noticed on one of the Digimon a sort of cut in the casing plastic, as well as a sort of bump deformity in the screen. I guess these are likely factory defects? But still strikes me as weird. Even moreso, my Gen 4 & 5 connector pins are seriously messed up. I couldn't get a pic of it, but the connector pins are U-shaped. I know this, because they are sticking considerably far out of the Digimon, leaving a gap underneath the bridge of the U-connector and the case. The Gen 4's seem to be bent and crooked, while the Gen 5 has one that's blatently sticking up on one end, separated fromthe case. -__-'

In addition to this, the seller's policy is to send you a random one of their choosing, which may not even be the same colour (and there is no way of telling what colours he has or is sending, unless he sends the colour in the pic), and is likely not the generic one pictured in the listing. Being inside the box still, there are no pics to show the quality of the Digimon anyway. I am becoming very suspicious regarding this seller and the actual condition of these items.


Anyways, to conclude this long post, if anyone could assist me in determining the cause of these LCD problems, and perhaps sharing some insight into the deformed quality of the Digimon I received, I would greatly appreciate it. As of yet, I am leaving my other items unopened until I get more info, but as I stated earlier, my own V-Pets and other used V-Pets, including a freebie Jap P1 I received and tested, all work fine without any LCD problems or otherwise. I'm also witholding my urge to flame this guy, as they could be badly defected. However, the MIB claim and packaging is suspicious, and the screens on all of them still shouldn't be this bad. >:|

Thanks in advance for your help!

[Priestess of Syrinx]

Based on my knowledge of how LCDs function, I'd say that's pressure damage, but I am unfamiliar with Digimon. Do the screens have hard covers? Are the units packaged close to the outside of the box (ie no bubble wrap or other protection)?

However I've also seen this happen to my other (cheaper-made) v-pets when the batteries are low, or the wrong size/voltage. If you can, open up the battery door on the back and take out the batteries, investigate that residue. If it's on the battery connectors, try (carefully!) to get that out, especially if it's battery leakage... although in my experience that usually appears as white powdery stuff.

As for the connection pins being deformed... I have no experience with that. =/ sorry. I suppose if you cared enough, you could probably take the unit apart and replace the pins, or perhaps try to re-shape them... but as I said, I have no experience with that.

Hope you can get your problems sorted out!

[Masktchi]

The screens are basically like Tamagotchi ones as far as I'm aware, although this issue seems to be very prevelant in Digimon. I honestly can't recall Tamagotchi I've seen on eBay having this issue, while I have seen quite a few Digimon with this. A few of these are from particular buyers though, leading me to believe they were caused by some sort of poor care. Mine were all packaged in the Tamagotchi-style boxes with the opening front panel, and were packaged together in a tight-fit, cardboard box. There was no bubble wrap. I'm not sure if the screens would be affected in this condition as they were all boxed. It is also possible that it was caused in storage before shipping.

As far as I saw, it was only on the tab, and only one Digimon was like that while the others all exhibited the same problems. I already tried switching my own, new batteries into them, it seems to be a permanent screen problem.

I'm still kind of debating what to do. I have another Gen 3 which I have yet to try for fear of what was causing it, but I suppose my battery worries are prolly unwarranted. If the damage is done, it's done, and I have new batteries I can use for good measure. The seller told me: "some parcel custom opened and take some out". This is response to the chipped Gen 3, which is missing instructions despite being "NIB". I'm comtemplating keeping one of them, despite the LCD & pins, because it is rare and I don't see another listing for it. I could also possibly try for an exchange, if only for better pins. The seller seems to have quite a few of them.

Thanks for the input.

[Smendwam73]

Hi Lisa,

Thank you for the list. Weve lit them all up. Please try submitting items to these categories.

Our Create a Catalog campaign has been extended to the 10th, so no worries.

Thanks

[TigerLily013]

Hi Lisa,

Thank you for the list. Weve lit them all up. Please try submitting items to these categories.

Our Create a Catalog campaign has been extended to the 10th, so no worries.

Thanks

I think you are confused as to the topic and what was being talked about. I suggest actually READING the topic before posting next time. What you said made no sense.