| Products > Test Equipment |
| Where did all the used test equipment deals go? |
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| petemate:
Hi guys, I don't know if this is just me venting my frustration or if I'm making this up, but it seems to me that all the good deals(or just any deals) have disappeared. Am I the only one experiencing this? I used to be able to hit up ebay and get nice selection of reasonably priced items that of course wouldn't be the latest and greatest, but at least somewhat modern units. For instance, around 5-6 years ago there always were a few Keithley 2015/2016 units available for just a few hundred USD/EUR. And of course, a lot of other interesting listings as well. I live in the EU, so I only look at items located within the EU borders, to get around import and VAT issues. All these "deals" have disappeared over the last few years.. When I look through the "Test, Measurement & Inspection Equipment" category on ebay, its mostly old and/or useless crap at exorbitant prices. I guess the disappearance of any good listings coincided with Brexit and Covid. I get that Brexit basically excluded the entire British market to me, but the same applies to listings on e.g. the german ebay site. Is it simply that all the good stuff gets snatched up the second its posted, or am I correct that the selection has diminished significantly? Feel free to tell me that I'm just making this up, if thats the case :) |
| pope:
I've been wondering the same thing... |
| thm_w:
Looking at recent sold ebay.com prices: Keithley 2015 $580 to $675 Yeah seems high. MSRP for a new DMM6500 went from under $1200 to now $1670. There may also be scarcity of that particular model if old units are starting to fail. There are definitely still deals around. Maybe look around locally for auctions, companies shutting down, on marketplace, etc. |
| _Wim_:
--- Quote from: petemate on September 21, 2023, 09:23:17 pm ---I don't know if this is just me venting my frustration or if I'm making this up, but it seems to me that all the good deals(or just any deals) have disappeared. Am I the only one experiencing this? --- End quote --- I agree Ebay seems to have less good deals lately, but still some do appear, but you have to search much harder to find them between the old and overpriced junk. --- Quote from: petemate on September 21, 2023, 09:23:17 pm ---I live in the EU, so I only look at items located within the EU borders, to get around import and VAT issues. --- End quote --- I would not do that. Most items I buy come from the US, and even with shipping and import, they are still more affordable than Ebay items from the EU |
| Performa01:
I haven't watched eBay for quite some time now, but from the rant in the OP it looks like nothing much has changed during the past ten years. It depends on the items. Back then there was only a few great sellers from Finland (or maybe it's always been the same), who had really great deals. I got my Keithley 2015 THD this way - I think it was less than €400,- - but it was not easy to find comparable deals within Europe. My RF signal generator Anritsu MG3633A came from Finland as well - nothing even remotely comparabe was available in the rest of Europe. When I needed more precision and accurcy than my standard lab-DMM (Picotest M3500A = Keithley 2100), which I had baught new, was capable of, I had to order from the US to get a Keithley 2001. I bought two of them from different sellers, neither was a proplem since eBay/PayPal already had the customs service included back then, so there was basically no difference compared to local deals - except for the higher price and shipping costs. If rediculous shipping costs are quoted, then I assume the seller doesn't want to do international business and I simply ignore the offer. There have always been plenty of reasonable dealers on eBay. In any case, the most important thing back then (as well as most likely now) is patience. Set up a search for the item you want and just wait. At one point you will get an eMail that hints on a decent unit for a reasonable price, even if it takes weeks or even months. |
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