[1000mp] Buying Used Gear (long sorry)

[Cecil Acuff]

Group

I think buying on Ebay is safe (based on experience) if one follows some 
basic rules and common sense.  Not everyone can afford to buy 
new....personally I refuse to pay the high prices and suffer the 
depreciation.  (don't buy new cars either...don't buy junk though)

My basic rules for trading include doing some research on what I am buying. 
Know the common failures experienced by users and stay away from those units 
with high failure rates unless you are capable of doing technical work. 
Research the feedback rating of the seller.  98% positive when the seller 
has 5000 transactions and is doing 2000 per year is not a good track record. 
I would want to be number 101 on his list of negative respondents.  Stay 
away from those guys...there are a couple on ebay that fit that category...

On the other hand 98% for a guy with 100 transactions doing 8 or 10 a year 
is pretty good.  It only takes one person to get cross ways about something 
and leave you with bad feedback and put you at that level.  This guy is not 
doing this as a business either...which is a good sign.

Look at the type of stuff the seller is selling by looking at his past 
transactions and the feedback he has gotten on those sales...what kind of 
stuff is he buying....is he reselling something he recently bought?  Another 
tip off.

Communicate with the seller...get a phone number if possible and give the 
fellow a call.  A lot can be learned by talking.

Don't buy anything that is not documented with clear pictures.....

Don't buy anything that is pictured but not powered up....

Don't buy anything that has only payment by Certified check or Money 
Order....Leave yourself an out and use Paypal and a credit card....

It's not hard and most of it is common sense.

There are many good deals waiting to be had and most are not there trying to 
stiff somebody.

I bought an Icom 756 Pro II a while back (pre Pro III) from a guy that had 
only had it a few months.  Had the original box, and everything that came 
with the radio.  Pictured powered up and from all sides.  Saved several 
hundred dollars by buying it from him.  Everything went smoothly and the 
radio was a joy...truly MINT.  I decided after a few months I loved the 
receiver but hated the user interface. (central screen and tiny knobs)  I 
listed it on Ebay and the thing sold for $200 more than I paid for it.  New 
owner loves it...no problems.  Took that money and bought an FT-1000D with 
matching speaker and DSP module.  Came just as advertised in very nice shape 
and everything working....the scratches were just where he said they were 
and had pictured them on the auction.

Every piece of test gear in my shop came from Ebay.....all vintage HP gear 
but for thousands less than the test equipment dealers wanted for the 
stuff....cheaper even than one of the well known surplus dealer up in Ohio. 
Have only had problems with one piece....an HP 8640B with intermittent 
problems.  Contacted the seller and asked if he would provide support on 
getting it fixed and he agreed to provide any help possible including me 
returning it because he had tested the unit before shipping.  With his 
permission I pulled the covers and found an SMA bulkhead connector had come 
unsoldered from it's module internally.  Opened the module and resoldered. 
Have been using it almost daily for the last 5 years....

I have no really bad experiences to communicate....but I attribute that to 
being very careful.  All money moves via Paypal....selling or 
buying....gives you an out if things do go bad....  I've not had any 
problems at all with trusting Paypal....been very secure.  Did get burned 
once by a lady that reversed the charges through her credit card company 3 
months after the sale of an electronic device that was sold as is with 
pictures of it working etc....said it quit right after she got it.  Good 
deal for her she got the device and her money back....  Does happen some 
time even with the best of intentions....but the good far out weighs the 
bad!

Just my 2 cents worth....

Happy Labor Day!

Cecil Acuff
WB5VCE
Gulfport MS.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "W4ZW" <w4zw at comcast.net>
To: "'All about Yaesu 1000mp'" <1000mp at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Saturday, September 02, 2006 9:49 AM
Subject: [1000mp] Buying Used Gear


> Buying used electronics anywhere is a huge gamble unless you can 
> personally
> examine the unit and functions,  know the seller, and he is willing to
> guarantee the unit.   I remember well some of the ham gear we received 
> back
> for warranty work in my Russian company that was the distributor for all 
> the
> ham lines like Yaesu, Kenwood, Icom, and computer and consumer electronics
> like IBM, NEC, SONY, Nokia, Compaq,  etc.  In one unit we found that 
> someone
> had spilled a cup of coffee, soup, or other fluid through the unit and the
> buyer claimed it came it way.  Other units showed signs of cannibalization
> to repair owned units and were returned with obsolete parts installed.  We
> had to resort to "Void if removed" destructive labels in strategic places.
> And here in the US, I remember one guy who dropped his FT-900 at field day
> and we all saw it fly into pieces.  Later, he said he managed to screw and
> glue everything back together and sold it on eBay.
>
> Caveat emptor (Let the buyer beware).
>
> Saying that, I have had only five less than satisfactory experiences out 
> of
> more than 100 on eBay, but not with electronics.  Only one was a real
> rip-off, the others were simply lies about the condition of the unit.  In
> most cases, paying with a credit card resulted in getting the charges
> reversed.
>
> There is much to be said for buying from factory authorized dealers who
> stand behind their equipment.
>
> YMMV but it is simply a matter of probability . . .
>
> Jon Hamlet,  W4ZW
>
> Casey Key Island, Florida
> "A little piece of paradise in the Gulf of Mexico"
>
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