Selling a Bad Game: One Gamer's Apology
By: Jeff Rivera
One of the last games I reviewed for Kombo before parting ways with the site was Ubisoft's Pure Futbol for the Xbox 360. To put it mildly, the game was a terrible mess and it had few redeeming qualities. After reviewing the game, I put it on my shelf and it sat untouched for months. Eventually I decided that there was no reason to keep the game, so I put it up on Amazon.com for sale.
It sat there unsold for a long, long time.
Gradually I begin to knock a few bucks off of my asking price every couple of weeks. I got to the point where I was only asking $5 for the game, and I just let it sit there at that price. Another couple of months went by, and I had almost forgotten about the listing entirely. I went on with my normal daily routines, until one day my cell phone chimed and I looked down to see that I had a sold/ship now notification from Amazon.
Someone had purchased Pure Futbol.
Awesome. I got the inch back on my game shelf and I'd no longer wonder if Pure Futbol would ever sell. As I packed the game for shipment, a wave of guilt hit me. Someone paid money for this. Real money. I knew what I had to do, so I whipped up a quick thank you letter and reimbursed the man. The game was so bad, that he was doing me a favor by giving me that slot back on my gaming shelf. I slipped a $10 bill into the padded envelope along with the thank you/apology letter and sent it off.
I waited for a few weeks hoping that the letter would get posted to a gaming forum. I wanted to know if by some stroke of luck the buyer and I could have a laugh about it public. The buyer never surfaced. I've now come to accept that the game is probably taking up an inch of width in a landfill somewhere. A buyer angry that he was only paid $5 above his purchase price for a game that will forever stain his profile's played history.
Below is the image of the letter and the $10 bill. Click on the image to enlarge it. Under the image is a transcription of the letter.
Thank you for buying Pure Futbol. It has been a lengthy selling process as nobody before you was willing to part with money to own the game. Pure Futbol is truly terrible. As a show of appreciation for taking the game off of my hands, I am including $10 with the shipment. Please use the money to purchase any other soccer game available.
Note: No returns accepted on this title. If you wish to return the game due to being dissatisfied with the product, I am willing to send an extra $10 for you to keep it.
Thanks for your business, and I am truly sorry about the game.
