How We Refurbish & Prepare Pre-Owned Games

Buying pre-owned games from an auction site or marketplace can be a gamble — you’re relying on someone’s word, a few photos, and hoping the game shows up clean and working. At Bitjump Games, we do things differently. Every pre-owned game we sell is cleaned, inspected, and prepared for resale before it’s ever listed. That means you’re not buying a mystery copy from someone’s closet — you’re getting a game that’s been properly cleaned, restored when needed, and backed by our Bitjump Games Pre-Owned Guarantee.

Unless a product is listed as “New,” it is Pre-Owned. Our goal is simple: make sure every game you receive is clean, functional, and ready to play.

Cartridge-Based Games (NES, SNES, N64, Game Boy, etc.)

Cartridge games tend to hold up extremely well over time, but dirt, oxidation, and buildup on the contacts can cause problems like freezing, graphical glitches, or games not loading at all. That’s why we focus heavily on proper cleaning and inspection.

  • Exterior Cleaning: We clean the outside of the cartridge to remove dirt, grime, sticker residue, and other buildup.
  • Pin Cleaning: We clean the cartridge contacts using cotton swabs and 99% isopropyl alcohol to remove oxidation and restore reliable connection with the console.
  • Deep Cleaning (When Needed): If the contacts have heavy buildup, corrosion, or residue that can’t be removed with standard cleaning, we carefully open the cartridge and perform a deeper cleaning to ensure the contacts are properly restored.
  • Save Battery Replacement (When Applicable): For games that use a soldered-in save battery (commonly found in many SNES, N64, Game Boy, and Game Boy Color titles), we replace the battery with a brand new one so your game can reliably hold saves.
  • Repair Work (When Needed): Occasionally, a cartridge may require additional work beyond cleaning — such as trace repair or other internal fixes. If a game doesn’t meet our standards for reliability, it won’t be listed for sale.
  • Protective Packaging: Once cleaned and inspected, the game is packaged in protective plastic to keep it clean and safe until it reaches you.

Disc-Based Games (PlayStation, PS2, GameCube, Xbox, etc.)

Disc-based games often show signs of wear over time, especially light surface scratching. Even small scratches can cause skipping, freezing, or unreadable discs — so we take extra steps to ensure disc-based games are properly restored when needed.

  • Disc Cleaning & Inspection: Every disc is visually inspected for scratches, damage, or heavy wear.
  • Professional Disc Resurfacing (When Needed): If a disc shows scratching that could affect performance, we resurface it using an ELM USA ECO-Master disc repair system. This is a professional-grade resurfacing machine that restores discs by safely removing a microscopic layer from the surface, reducing scratches and helping improve readability.
  • Final Wipe Down: After resurfacing, discs are carefully cleaned and wiped down to remove any remaining residue or dust.

Note: Disc resurfacing improves playability and appearance, but it cannot repair discs with deep gouges, cracks, heavy warping, or damage to the data layer. If a disc does not meet our standards for reliability, it will not be listed for sale.

Cases & Cover Art

We do our best to keep cases as original and presentable as possible. However, cases are often the most damaged part of a pre-owned game. Our priority is that your game arrives clean, protected, and shelf-worthy.

  • Cleaning Original Cases: If the original case is included and in decent shape, we clean it thoroughly and remove dirt, grime, and old sticker residue when possible.
  • Case Replacement (When Needed): If a disc case is cracked, broken, heavily damaged, or missing entirely, we may replace it with a clean, high-quality third-party case.
  • No Reprinted Cover Art: We do not use reprinted cover art. If cover art is included, it will always be original.

Cosmetic Wear & “Cosmetically Flawed” Items

Many pre-owned games will show light cosmetic wear — and that’s normal. However, if an item has noticeable cosmetic issues beyond typical wear, we may list it as Cosmetically Flawed.

Cosmetic flaws may include (but aren’t limited to) heavy scuffing, label damage, fading, cracks, writing, stickers, discoloration, or other visible blemishes. These issues do not affect functionality — they only affect appearance.

The Bitjump Games Guarantee

Everything we sell is backed by the Bitjump Games Pre-Owned Guarantee. If something isn’t working as expected, we’ll make it right.

We’re here to help you relive the classics, expand your collection, and play with confidence — without the uncertainty that usually comes with buying pre-owned games online.