Questions
How this shop grades, tests, prices and ships — including the parts most shops leave vague. Not answered here? Email us.
The items
Are the photos of the actual item I'll receive?
Yes, every time. Each listing is shot from the exact unit that ships to you — never a stock image, never a catalog photo, never a picture of a different copy of the same thing. Wear is photographed rather than framed out, and close-ups of specific flaws are tagged as flaw shots in the gallery. There is only ever one of each thing here, so the photos are the contract.
Do you test everything you sell?
No, and every listing says which case it is — because a cosmetic grade is never a promise that something works. If a unit was run through its checklist, the item page lists what we checked and the date, including anything that failed. If a thing has a function we did not verify, it says it is not bench-tested. If a thing has no function to test at all, such as a boxed figure or a poster, we inspect and grade it and leave testing out of it entirely. A factory-sealed box is never opened by us, so what we graded is the packaging and not the contents.
What do the condition grades mean?
There are two separate calls on every item and they are always stated separately. The cosmetic grade — Mint, Excellent, Good, Fair or Salvex — describes appearance only. The functional status is a different line, and any claim about whether the thing works lives there and nowhere else. Blending the two is how secondhand shopping earned its reputation, so we keep them apart.
What does Salvex mean?
Salvex is our tag for as-is goods sold for parts, repair or donor use. Such an item may not power on and may be missing pieces, there is no functional promise attached to it, and those sales are final with no returns. The listing says all of that before you buy. Salvex items live in the Junk Corner and are priced for what they are.
Do you sell modified or homebrew-enabled hardware?
Some consoles we sell have been modified to run homebrew and open-source software, and the listing says so plainly. We sell the hardware only. Every modified device ships with no copyrighted games, ROMs, BIOS files or other copyrighted data of any kind, and storage is wiped before it goes out — what you choose to install afterwards is your responsibility, not ours. Because these run non-standard firmware they can behave differently from a stock unit, so read the listing and ask before buying.
Buying
How do you set your prices?
Against what comparable units have actually sold for recently, in whole dollars. Where we have a real comp we print it next to the price along with where we looked and the month we looked, so you can go and read the same sales we did. Nothing is computed from it — no savings claim, no crossed-out number, no percentage. Pristine things are priced at or above the middle of the market on purpose, and rough things are priced for being rough.
How do I pay, and is my card safe?
Checkout is hosted by Stripe and runs as a guest, so there is no account to create. Card details go to Stripe and never touch our server or our database; we receive a confirmation and a receipt link and nothing more. If you have a code, there is a field for it in the cart.
Is an item reserved once it is in my cart?
No. Nothing is held by sitting in a cart. Starting checkout puts a twelve-minute hold on those items so another buyer here cannot take them out from under you mid-payment. Some things are listed on eBay at the same time, and in the rare case one sells there first your payment is refunded immediately.
Do you take items in from customers?
No. Nekurai only sells. There is no intake program and no appraisal service, so please do not send anything expecting a valuation or an offer for it.
Shipping and orders
Where do you ship, and what does it cost?
Anywhere in the United States. Checkout on this site is US-only for now. Shipping is a flat rate worked out from the billable weight of what you are buying, shown on the item page before you enter an address, and a cart with several items combines into one shipment and one rate rather than stacking. You choose the speed — standard or expedited — and we choose the carrier at label time based on the parcel, since that is the only way a flat rate stays honest.
How soon does an order go out?
Standard orders are packed and handed to the carrier within one to two business days. Expedited orders placed before noon Central Time on a business day go out the same day; after that cutoff, or at a weekend, the next business day. Once the parcel is with the carrier, transit time and weather are out of our hands, and we will tell you if we know about a delay.
Can I collect an order in person instead?
Yes, on anything. Choose "Collect it in person" in the cart and no shipping is charged. We meet at Providence Village Town Hall, 1755 Main Street, Providence Village TX — the same place for everyone, so you can judge the drive before you pay. You pay online as normal, then reply to your confirmation email with a time. Collect it within 5 days; if you cannot, the order cancels itself and refunds you in full with nothing deducted. There is no shop to visit and no cash at the handover — payment is always online first.
How do I track my order?
Use the order status page with your order number and the email address you used at checkout. No account is needed. The order number is in your confirmation email, and the tracking link appears on that same page once the parcel is with the carrier.
Can an order be cancelled?
Before it ships, yes — email us and we will refund it. We may also cancel an order ourselves before it ships, for a pricing error, a suspected fraudulent payment, or because the item sold on another channel first. In every one of those cases you are refunded in full, straight away.
After the sale
What is your return policy?
Thirty days from the day it arrives, on everything except as-is items and anything a listing marks final sale. Email us and say what happened — there is no form and no account needed. We pay return shipping when the fault is ours, and refund the original shipping too. You pay it if you simply changed your mind. Refunds go back to the original payment method within two business days of the return reaching us.
What if it stops working after the thirty days are up?
There is no warranty past the return window and we would rather say that plainly than imply one. Decades-old electronics develop faults nobody can predict — batteries and capacitors above all. Email us anyway. We will help you work out what happened, and if we think we missed something on the bench, we will make it right.
Something is wrong with my order — what should I do?
Email contact@nekurai.com before opening a dispute with your bank or card issuer. Every item is photographed and documented before it ships, so we can usually establish what happened in one exchange, and that resolves it far faster than a chargeback does.
How do I reach a person?
Email contact@nekurai.com. It is the only channel — no phone line, no live chat, no form — and the person who runs the shop reads it. Give it a business day.
Who am I actually buying from?
Nekurai, a small independently run secondhand shop based in Texas, selling online through this site and through an eBay store under the seller name nekurai. Everything sold here is pre-owned, surplus or open-box unless the listing says factory sealed; we are not an authorized dealer for any brand and nothing here is new supply-chain stock. Mail reaches us at Nekurai, 5900 Balcones Dr, Ste 100, Austin, TX 78731.
The policies in full: returns, privacy, grading and testing. Who runs it: about Nekurai.