Paid $250 for a black variant of the regular New 3DS with No. 052 plates

I mostly purchased this to play all the regular DS cartridges from my childhood while also having enough hardware to play Minecraft and other New 3DS exclusives. I also really want to create my own games at some point. I'm probably also going to do a button swap to match the plates. I'm well aware of the SD card being under the back cover, but I don't mind that much since I'm kinda used to taking apart my DSi (plus I don't want to lose the micro SD card).

I really like the eyeballs and bright pop art as it reminds me of Moshi Monsters. I'm definitely getting a plastic protector case for it when I can. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is apparently the Japanese version of Jojo Siwa, so I don't really know if that makes these plates more exclusive and niche compared to household names in America. These plates alone sell for around $80 in Japan and at least $150 or more in the US.

There's very faint scuff marks around the edges on the front and two tiny scratches on the back, but in otherwise fantastic condition. I zoomed in and I'm pretty sure the dot is just something that's stuck on the front (I can paint over it if need be). The edges of the top screen are yellow but it's not all that noticeable (I'd offer to replace it if there were parts available).

The regular sized New 3DS that's compatible with faceplates only sold 2.49 million units worldwide compared to the New 3DS XL with 12.25 million units. Many claim this is due to both a worldwide preference for the XL and the limited promotion of the regular New 3DS in the US. According to various comments, the US release of the white variant was only included in limited edition bundles while the the black variant was only available in the Black Friday bundles.

The shipping rounded out to be a whopping $80 due to all the tariffs, meaning that combined price of the console and plates without shipping was around $167. Without the plates (going by Japanese prices), I'd technically be buying the console itself $87. I'm definitely disappointed in all the tarriffs, but I know it's not anyone's fault except for the government.

I would've definitely picked one that had free shipping, but No.052 is probably my top favorite out of all of the plates (with No.062 in second place) and I really wanted to make sure I was getting a black console to hide the camera placement. I feel that it's easier to just pay the $250 in total than to pay $250 as a base price for the console itself and then $150+ for the plates, assuming that shipping is free for both.

Feel free to ignore that last bit, I put it there as a joke. 🙂