Nintendo eShop Refund – Important Things to Pay Attention To

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Often, people purchase games on the Nintendo eShop only to discover that the game does not meet their expectations or mistakenly buy the wrong game entirely. This is where the refund request becomes relevant.

Unlike the physical copy, which can be returned in person, these refunds are processed by an algorithm. Here’s how to ensure that the algorithm recognizes your refund request as legitimate and approves it.

Nintendo eShop Refund Policy

Widely regarded as one of the more challenging game producers from which to obtain a refund, the Nintendo eShop has a strict cancellation policy for its digital content.

Nintendo eShop Refund

The company believes that you should take the time to carefully read the terms of service before making any digital purchase. As a result, it often does not provide refunds in situations where other companies would.

This means that you should gather as much information as possible about any games you intend to purchase before making a decision.

Fortunately, resources like streamer and blogger game reviews have simplified this process, and the game descriptions offered by the Nintendo e-shop are typically quite detailed as well.

Finally, if you have children or other people’s children who can access your computer, be sure to enable parental controls on the Nintendo e-shop. The company believes these controls were implemented for a reason and will not accept refund requests made because a child has used your credit card to purchase games.

Obtaining a Refund on the Nintendo eShop

The first and most crucial aspect of utilizing the Nintendo refund system is that you must act quickly. You can only return digital game products within the first 48 hours after purchase. Once this time has elapsed, the cancellation period concludes.

Furthermore, the official Nintendo refund policy states that you will not receive a refund if the purchase was made in digital format.

The specific passage on their website states:

Another important point to consider is that the likelihood of receiving a refund can vary significantly from country to country, whether for physical copies or their online counterparts.

For instance, countries with robust consumer rights laws are frequently challenging the Nintendo eShop refund policy, viewing it as unfair and not consumer-friendly.

For example, the Nintendo eShop states that for pre-ordered, unreleased games, you are entitled to a refund up until the last week before the game’s release, but not afterward.

This violates consumer laws in some countries, and the company has even faced a lawsuit in Germany.

There are additional examples worldwide, with this being the most notable one. Regardless, when seeking a refund for your game, ensure you are familiar with the local laws, as they may offer you further arguments based on your location.

How to Obtain a Refund on Nintendo eShop?

However, all hope is not lost, as customer support may occasionally refund a game purchase, even if it was made online. If you choose to pursue this option, there are a few important things to keep in mind.

You must make your call within the first 48 hours of purchase, just as you would if you had bought a physical copy of the game.

Another important point to consider is that you should remain calm, composed, and, most importantly, polite when speaking with the customer support agent. Since they are not officially obligated to refund your accidental purchase, you will need to persuade them to do so.

Additionally, you should be thorough in your explanation, providing all necessary details to the agent you are speaking with. Did your child purchase a game using your credit card after circumventing parental controls? Did you buy a game for which you already owned a physical copy? Inform them of this and try to provide some evidence.

Believe it or not, these situations are quite common for a large video game chain like Nintendo, and it is likely that the same sales agent you speak with has encountered similar issues reported to them previously.

Ultimately, you cannot simply play the game all day, finish it, and then request a refund. If your playtime surpasses a specific number of hours, or if customer support determines that you are not requesting a refund in good faith, they can and will deny your request.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to see if you enjoy the game. Just be careful not to play it too much. Generally, customer experiences indicate that unless your playtime exceeds 15 hours, support agents are likely to issue a refund.

Pre-order Cancellation

Another type of refund that warrants discussion, and for which Nintendo is somewhat more lenient, is pre-order cancellation.

The official policy indicates that the preorder cancellation period concludes one week prior to the official release of a video game, meaning that you can only receive a refund before that time. However, this rule is not absolute, and in certain cases, you may still be able to obtain your money back even after that period.

The key is, once again, to communicate with customer support. Although they are not required to return your purchase and the company officially claims that they cannot issue refunds during that last week, this may be in violation of the law in certain countries.

In all honesty, these online purchases exist in a legal gray area, as the store requires you to forfeit your right to a refund before you even begin downloading the game. Is this permissible? You can’t be entirely certain.

In this case, it is important to emphasize that you should gather as much information as possible when purchasing anything from the Nintendo eShop, as the company is known for its policy of not offering refunds or exchanges.

Comparison of Nintendo eShop Refunds with Others

Nintendo is regarded as the least consumer-friendly among the three major console manufacturers. In fact, both PlayStation and Xbox online stores have significantly better internal policies regarding refunds and handling accidental purchases.

shop comparison

When considering SONY, we note that, unlike Nintendo, it provides an official customer support channel for complaints, even though they state that they cannot issue refunds on digital games.

This represents a step forward compared to Nintendo, a company that does not even consider offering refunds on their games.

However, Microsoft’s XBOX store stands out in this category, as its refund policy is more favorable to consumers than that of SONY.

It clearly outlines the criteria that influence the likelihood of receiving a refund. Factors such as playtime, the time elapsed since the purchase of the digital content, and the time since the product’s release all have an impact.

This transparency makes XBOX significantly more reliable than Nintendo’s questionable customer support policies, so we should acknowledge that.

How to Avoid Buying a Broken or Incorrect Game

Given the Nintendo shop’s refund policy, it is more important than ever to ensure that you know what you are purchasing.

Fortunately, there are several actions you can take to ensure that your digital game functions properly while also avoiding upfront payment. Here are some of the key steps:

Conduct Your Research

There is a wealth of information available online about any upcoming video game, as well as even more on those that have been released for some time. You can conduct your own research and gain valuable insights about the game before making any purchasing decisions, significantly decreasing the likelihood of needing a refund.

Platforms like blogs, game critique websites, Twitch, YouTube, and even wikis can serve as excellent sources of accurate and reliable information about the game.

If the company does not provide refunds on digital products, as Nintendo does, these sources of information are truly invaluable.

Utilize an online trial

Some excellent games for streaming offer an online trial version before you make a purchase. Playing this online trial does not obligate you to buy the game afterward and is a great way to determine if the gameplay and graphics appeal to you.

It is also an effective way to avoid making mistaken purchases on the Nintendo eShop, thereby preventing the hassle of refunds altogether.

Play Demos

In addition to playing an online trial, some games offer a free, downloadable demo that you can try. This is beneficial for the same reasons as the previous version. The only significant difference is that you will need some time to download the game before you can test it.

Ask Friends

Alternatively, you can ask your friends who have already purchased and played the game for their opinions or even try the game on their devices. This is an excellent way to evaluate the product firsthand, without the limitations that the demo version may impose on you.

Purchase the game

Finally, after conducting your research and trying any available free versions, the time has come to purchase the game. Hopefully, you will be familiar enough with it to avoid wanting a refund.

Conclusion

The Nintendo eShop can be quite challenging when it comes to obtaining a refund, as it has policies that often seem illogical and are not very consumer-friendly. Therefore, it is essential to take careful steps before purchasing any games from the company and to contact customer support immediately if any issues arise.

FAQ

Why can’t you refund Switch games?

Nintendo eShop refund policy does not allow for refunding switch games, which makes it quite a bit less impressive than others.

Can you return open Nintendo Switch games?

Unfortunately, no, there is no way to return a switch game that you already opened, at least according to the company policy. But you might have more luck when appealing to customer support.

Can you return digital games?

Depending on the publisher, the chances of getting a refund on a digital game can go quite high or become nearly nonexistent. With Nintendo, it is more of the latter, as the company claims that all sales are final.

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Stefan Mitrovic

Stefan is a long-time content creator and one of the Stream Mentor's co-founders. He's a tech geek and a Dota 2 player (not even a good one) who wanted to help others become professional streamers and earn from the comfort of their home.