Used Equipment 101: Taking the Gamble on fleaBay

[james_s]

Doesn't work on collection items. The contract is satisfied if you walk with the item according to eBay.

It still seems like you should be well within your right to walk away from the sale if the serial number doesn't match the item presented for collection. Maybe if you had sent payment then left without taking the item?

[bd139]

Was cash on collection.

[james_s]

Ok well either way this is an issue with ebay if they would not let you off the hook. The item was clearly not as described, if the serial number does not match then there is no disputing this. You are well within your right to abort the sale and should not be punished for that.

[mnementh]

his ebay username or I'd shitpost it everywhere.

How about to set up Ebay seller black list thread? We could use the search function to check prior to buy.

I know there is this:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/consumer-alert-2nd-no-3rd-pass-through-the-spam-bot-filter/

but I see not always an ebay username.

Have you seen that thread? More like a random whine-ass list than anything actually useful. 


mnem
Please don't tell my mommy I said that.

[Specmaster]

Yes I have seen that thread and they bang on about Aliexpress being total shit, I've found them to be pretty good really, they do care about their public image and will refund you if one of the sellers steps out of line.

[james_s]

I too have had reasonably good experiences with Aliexpress. It's mostly inexpensive low end stuff, as long as I know what to expect I don't really see a problem with it. If you receive something that is counterfeit or otherwise not as described you can get a refund.

[tautech]

Was cash on collection.

Could the error you made have been to report the item was not as described immediately to eBay instead of placing negative FB ?
By placing FB you've indicated to eBay the transaction was complete.

I get why you walked away from the purchase....and rightly too, but what you did afterwards caused the trouble IMO.

[bd139]

Probably correct there.  Signed my own death warrant

[mnementh]

Yes, this is precisely why I held off on feedback with my first 189 until after the dispute was concluded. IMO, Posting negative feedback immediately shows bad faith to the eBay CSR, as there is no opportunity for the seller to remediate.

Afterwards, I had zero compunctions about leaving negative feedback; as far as I was concerned, he had it coming the instant he forced a dispute. I'll admit I'm probably too much of a nice guy... I really hate leaving negative feedback and more often just let it slide and get on with my life. But there wasn't a single positive thing in the entire experience to mitigate my disgust; even AFTER it was all wrung out, he tried to have the last word via positive feedback (the only kind he could leave) with insulting comments. He EARNED his negative feedback.


mnem
*Not suffering fools gladly*

[bitseeker]

Yeah, eBay is getting to be less and less enjoyable on either side of a transaction. AliExpress, on the other hand, has been very good over the past few years. They're pretty quick about squashing fraudulent sellers, their buyer protection refunding works promptly, and the worst thing I've had happen thus far is approximately 10% shipment failures (which I get refunded for or re-shipped).

[Brumby]

I got a non paying bidder strike and his negative feedback was removed bringing him back up to 100%

I believe you can appeal the strike and it will likely be removed.  EBay doesn't like buyers getting peeved - they're the ones who bring the cash to the platform.

his ebay username or I'd shitpost it everywhere.

How about to set up Ebay seller black list thread? We could use the search function to check prior to buy.

Not always effective.  Any eBay member can change their username and maintain their existing account.  Sure you can see the username history - but that's only if you go looking for it.

Also, if you want to set up a blocked bidders list, it will only work with the current name ... so if you block username "Joe" and they try bidding under that name, they will get blocked.  But if they simply change their account to username "Fred", they can chomp away all they like.

[joeqsmith]

mnementh, so you are the one who bought that meter we were posting about.  I would have really liked to have seen the insides of it.   Enjoy your new meter.

The one located in Spring, TX?

Yes, I was the one who bought it the first time, and sent it back when it arrived obviously dismantled and reassembled and parts liberated from it after the photos in the auction were taken. Absolutely no regrets over that decision. Maybe we can ask the winning bidder to post their findings if they frequent eevBlog:  v***v(534)   $113.50   19 Aug 2018 at 12:04:41PM PDT If this is you, please do so! 

I was hoping we would see this meter turn up here.  I would have liked to have it for parts but not for that price.  The case appeared to be in better condition than the one I am looking at now if that tells you anything.    

[rsjsouza]

This is an excellent article about eBay shopping. Thanks for posting!

[SoundTech-LG]

I had a good experience there today...  Seller took off $75 without me asking, because I mentioned the item had laser etching of an ID# on the top casing. I tried to remove it. I guess I need to sand and re-paint.

[Specmaster]

Proof positive that they are good seller with standards, I'm pleased for you. I'm eagerly awaiting my second purchase from them.

[Specmaster]

To add a bit more to the excellent tips mnementh posted here, I can vouch that the principles if applied correctly can and do work, I've used that approach myself over the years and it's like anything in life, the more you practise it, the better you become at it.

I understand that some UK members are a little nervous about buying anything from USA on Ebay because of the shipping and import fees along with the uncertainty of the sellers and also because of the cost of returning anything for a refund should it turn to be a pile of dog poo when you get it. I was one of those people myself once but after honing my skills in detecting a diamond in the rough, careful examination of the photos, description, sellers feedbacks, etc I think I've got it sorted, as this latest stateside purchase will demonstrate that it is possible to pick up some real gems if you're careful.

I purchased from this seller http://www.ebaystores.co.uk/Express-Equipment-Auctions a HP3468A meter that was advertised as
"SOLD AS-IS / UNTESTED, Unit Is In Good Cosmetic Condition, Minor Wear and Tear
UNIT POWERS ON AND DISPLAY IS FUNCTIONING.
NO FURTHER TESTING DONE."

The display was showing a voltage reading with no leads attached to the inputs but that is a known feature with this kind of meter and is due to the very high input impedance, the rest of the description seemed to be in keeping with the photos and the feedback was impeccable. It should be noted that this was not my first purchase from this seller either, I had a couple of weeks prior bagged a Fluke 8840A that was not quite in as good a condition as the 3468 was because the metal casing had some dents, but the front and rear plastic parts were perfect and so was the meter when I changed the voltage selector to 240v it spring to life and a perfectly usable meter and passed the calibration tests easily.

I was hoping that I was going have myself another great meter that was in calibration (I can calibrate this type with ease if it wasn't) so I took it out of the packing (which is excellent with this seller), opened it up and changed the voltage tappings, gave it a once over for damage or anything wrong, looked OK so powered it up and bingo, it worked and I ran some calibration tests on it and it passed them again, like the Fluke, with ease.

So in the end I got myself an excellent piece of TE for £133.86 shipped and all duty paid that would cost here in the UK far more and when you see the photos, it looks (after I cleaned off all the users ID marks etc) as if it has just been taken out of its box as a brand new meter for the first time, it certainly does not look like a 30 year old meter which it is.

I'm extremely pleased with this meter it sits proudly alongside my other great purchases from both sides of the pond using the same techniques of thoroughly researching the product before looking for suitable rough diamond. My bench is looking great now with gear that looks as if it was purchased new recently, before it was decidedly a mix of rough looking and just about working gear that for years got me by.

Its a great feeling buying something that is either new like my Brymen 867s or something with a little effort can be made to look like new and as an added bonus, needs no repair work being done, thumbs upto that. 

[mnementh]

And so I thought to myself... let's see if I can apply those same principles to another listing from another vendor only this time in reverse; here I plan to deliberately ignore a couple key strategic points of my "How-to":  https://www.ebay.com/itm/263969514965

      

This one looks quite promising at first glance; lots of clear pictures, seller has 100% positive positive feedback going back for 8 years, and the price is very reasonable, with shipping via UPS so a little higher than I'd like, but still reasonable.

A closer look reveals a few troubling issues though, given the lookout points at the beginning of this article.

First, the description: Very little of it, and what little there is practically screams "I'm missing important stuff" at you:

Unit sold as is, unitis not working. Selling for parts or repair projects.

This kind of description is a huge red flag; but this is for "science", so let's press on.

Further investigation of that feedback shows it is 100% positive, but all of it is as a buyer except one. A large portion of the feedback is from electronics wholesalers and electronic equipment resellers he's bought from, so odds are the seller has more than a passing interest in test equipment, and probably likes to tinker with such. A closer look at the photos shows two other similar pieces of test gear in the background.

The seller took a pretty low offer, which in combination with the above pretty much screams "Too good to be true."

But I'm contractually obligated to follow through; plus, I'm curious and I can afford it at the moment, so I wanna see how this one plays out. 

mnem

[bd139]

Good luck with that one. Interested to see what comes of it.

90% of the time you still win on them. Most faults are trivial and isolated.

I actually think to myself: if this is FUBAR then how much money can I get for the parts?

The last stinker I bought, an HP 54602B which had been dropped, I made 2x what I paid for it parting it out. And I’ve still got the motherboard which I occasionally lift parts off for repairs as they are all jellybeans and expensive LT parts

[Specmaster]

Good luck with this one, it looks reasonable enough cosmetically apart from where the calibration sticker has been removed with a pointed instrument 

Price is reasonable as well provided it is all there inside and he has not ripped something out to fix up something else.

What is ringing alarm bells for me is that as you say, looking at his feedbacks he is clearly into electronics, but he may be just a beginner and building up his tools of the trade as he has in the last 12 months purchased from our friends "Express Test" in Farmingdale so the question is, is this one that they sold as for parts, untested and has he had a go at fixing and failed?.

Either way as bd139 pointed out, parting it out could recover the cost if all else fails. Can't wait for the next installment in this purchase.

[bitseeker]

Yep, if all else fails, it's good for lots of parts. It's even got feet!

[bd139]

True. It's like that internet meme: "He's definitely dead; his shoes came off". That 3478A will be fine 

[Specmaster]

True they are pretty bullet proof and above all else, they can be calibrated at home reasonably easy, just a tad bit fiddly.

[mnementh]

My gut reaction, especially given the low offer that the seller took, is that he A) tried to fix it himself and let the magic smoke out, or 2) robbed parts off this one to fix another and is selling the carcass for whatever he can get.

We shall see what brown Santa actually brings.

mnem
*Toddles off to ded*

[mnementh]

Yep, if all else fails, it's good for lots of parts. It's even got feet!

Damn, you're right... what if it's even got the tilt bail on it? Then I'd be obligated to try and resurrect it, no matter WHAT'S WRONG with it... 

mnem
Murphy's a bitch, and she has puppies.

[bd139]

Either that or it can stand at its own funeral