With the holiday shopping season upon us, it can be tempting to try to find a bargain for that big ticket item your child asked for, but when it comes to Xbox 360’s this year, buyer beware.

Recently Microsoft went through and banned Xbox 360’s that had been modified to play pirated games from being able to use the Xbox Live service. Reports indicate that anywhere from 600,000 to 1,000,000 Xbox 360’s are now unable from ever logging into Xbox Live ever again, even if you create a whole new account for the online gaming service.

The affected units had all been modified in some way by after market hardware chips and software that would allow them to play modified games, pirated games and more hacks. All of these activities violate the Xbox Live terms of service, so hence the banning by Microsoft.

According to a story on Yahoo, those banned units are now showing up on sites such as eBay and Craig’s List for sale in droves. While some sellers are being upfront about the status of their units, while others are not being so forthcoming. While these units will still play offline games, and even pirated games if you so choose, they will never again be able to log in to Xbox Live.

While some of these units may be a tempting purchase for the holidays, it is definitely “buyer beware” right now if you are looking to purchase a used Xbox 360.