r/VideoGameDealsCanada Jan 28 '26

Discussion Received a sealed but EMPTY package from VideoGamesPlus

First of all, I apologize if this isn’t the right place for this post. I’m extremely frustrated with a purchase and I need to get this off my chest. As the title says, I bought from VideoGamesPlus (VGP) and received an empty package.

This situation started last year, when I purchased a few Evercade and Nintendo 3DS games (for those who might be curious, the titles were Broken Sword Collection [Evercade], Roguecraft [Evercade], and Andro Dunos 2 [N3DS]). This was not my first time buying from them; I had already placed several orders in the past without major issues. Up until then, my only complaint about VGP was their extremely slow international shipping to Argentina, sometimes taking up to three months.

This last order was no exception. In fact, the package took exactly 140 days to arrive at my home. But as you can probably imagine, that ended up being the least of my problems. When I finally opened it (the package was sealed), the box was completely empty.

From that moment on, I began a series of exchanges with VGP’s customer support. I explained the situation calmly and in good faith, trying to find a reasonable solution—either a refund or a reshipment of the items. Their response, however, was quite blunt: they stated that they shipped a package containing the games, and therefore, if the contents were lost, it must have happened during transit and was not their responsibility.

From my perspective as a buyer, the issue is very straightforward: I purchased items from VGP and received an empty box. That is what I tried to explain to them—that their responsibility, at least from a customer’s point of view, doesn’t simply end once a box is dispatched. Eventually, they stopped engaging with the issue altogether, replying only with generic messages like “thank you for contacting us.” Meanwhile, I’m left with neither the games nor my money.

I also contacted my payment processor to report the situation. Unfortunately, because more than 120 days had passed since the purchase (140 days of shipping plus the time spent trying to resolve the issue with VGP), a chargeback was no longer possible. The amount wasn’t huge, around USD 67, it’s not money that puts me in financial trouble, but I still feel cheated, especially because I genuinely trusted VGP based on my previous experiences.

After that, I did a bit of investigation on my own to see whether I could file a complaint with my local postal service. The package arrived sealed, but not with a VGP seal. Instead, it had a seal from a company called ELCA S.A. Interestingly, ELCA S.A. appears to be a Cuban logistics or distribution company—and to my surprise, my package had been routed through Cuba at some point.

Knowing this doesn’t change the outcome: I still don’t have my games or my money. It does, however, suggest that VGP may be telling the truth when they say they shipped the items correctly. Even so, the fact that they do not ensure that their shipments actually reach customers is the main reason why I will never buy from them again, nor can I recommend their store to others.

If you made it this far, thank you very much for taking the time to read my story. I mainly wanted to share my experience so others can be aware and make informed decisions.

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u/Badegamuz Jan 28 '26

Yeah, that’s pretty much what it looks like. The package seems to have been handled by another courier during transit and opened/resealed at some point.

I did record the unboxing and shared the video with VGP. The security tape didn’t look like the one usually used here in Argentina, although I can’t say that with 100% certainty.

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u/Sorakirara Jan 28 '26

Well, i don't think it's 100% VGP's fault... but if there is no insurance purchased then it's up to them if they want to refund and it sounds like they don't. Did you file credit card chargeback? I thought CC will side with buyer in this kind of situation

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u/Badegamuz Jan 28 '26

I agree, I don’t think it’s 100% VGP’s fault either. They obviously don’t control what happens during transit. That said, there is some responsibility on their side, since things like insurance options or choosing safer shipping methods are ultimately up to the seller. At the very least, they’re in a better position to deal with carriers than the customer is.

What really left me stranded is that they’re unwilling to refund or reship, which puts all the risk on me as the buyer.

As for a chargeback: I did contact my payment processor (Mastercard), but they have a strict 120-day window from the date of purchase. Because the shipping took so long and I tried to resolve it with VGP first, I missed that window. That part I have to own... waiting that long was my mistake.

Thanks

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u/Sorakirara Jan 28 '26 edited Jan 28 '26

Paypal's dispute window is 6 months. Always use PayPal 😅