That one 'rare' children's show VHS I tracked down for 6 months turned out to be a home recording
I spent half a year hunting down a supposedly lost episode of a 90s cartoon called "Gizmo's Garage" after seeing it on a lost media wiki. Found a listing on a niche auction site for $80, seller swore it was the real deal from their old TV station. When it finally arrived last month, I popped it in and it was just six hours of someone's family Christmas dinner from 1994. The actual show never appeared, just some kid opening presents and a cat walking across the couch. I messaged the seller and they claimed they "must have mixed up the tapes" and offered a refund. Took three weeks and a PayPal dispute to get my money back. Has anyone else been burned by sellers who profit off this community's hopes?
Honestly the seller probably learned their lesson too. You got your money back and a funny story out of it. Ngl people get way too serious about collecting old tapes sometimes, it's not like anybody's life depends on finding "Gizmo's Garage." Tbh if you're dropping $80 on a gamble from some random dude online you kinda know what you're signing up for. That cat walking across the couch is probably worth more than the cartoon anyway.