buying from eBay

Mike682

Has anyone purchased audio equipment from ebay?
I wanted to know what to look for and also any warnings or good experiences.

Thanks in advance, Mike

F1nut

When buying gear on eBay check the sellers feedback rating, ask very specfic questions, always get insurance on the shipping and set up a PayPal account using your credit card. If the seller doesn't take PayPal, walk away. If the deal goes bad you can get your CC company to credit you the transaction amount. I prefer Audiogon for used gear, better stuff and a more professional attitude.

weavercr

You better check with your credit card company, some will not credit the transaction amount back, they consider their job done because the transaction took place between them and PayPal. Paypal to the seller is not their responsibility.

Ceruleance

I buy audio equipment from ebay all the time. Its great if you don't really care what the item looks like. For the most part, if the seller has a decent feedback rating, he's going to be an honest guy. It is very important that you dont care what the item looks like, because most sellers, even well meaning ones, will embelish on the appearance (like amount of scratches, dents, etc.) Occasionally someone will describe their item as mint, email them and make sure they really mean it, and that they are intending to package it well (so it doesnt get damaged), and you may get a quality piece.

When a seller sells something (especially if its just some joe shmoe) all he wants to do is package it up and get it out of there and collect his money; and a lot of times that will be reflected in how the item is packaged. If its a particularly pricey item that you are buying, you may consider adding 5 or 10 to the total, and then asking them to spend some extra time and care in packaging it.

I agree audiogon is a more professional atmosphere, I just don't care to pay 50% more on everything I buy (and trust me, it's at least 50%)

bottom line is, don't spend money you cant afford to lose. If I get stiffed on some $300 amp that never shows, or is broken, I may be upset about it, but I'm not going to dwell on it or anything. If you've been saving up for a month to make that 'big purchase' ebay may not be the place to go.

just FYI, I have done like 30 transactions on ebay and while everything hasnt always been perfect, I have always been fairly satisfied. If, after you get an item, you feel like you have been cheated or mislead, just email the seller and ask them to help you come to some sort of resolution, that usually works if you keep at it enough.

rskarvan

Vintage SDA Polks are ONLY available on E-Bay and Audiogon.
Until Polk roles out some more SDA's.... then, E-bay is where you will find me doing my speaker buying.

dragon1952

Like was stated, the best way to protect yourself is by checking the sellers feedback rating. Only buy from those sellers with exceptional ratings. I have purchased a reciever, 4 amps, a subwoofer, and various interconnects, paying by both paypal and money order and have never had a problem.
I have also used Audiogon and you can get awesome deals there on premium gear.

danger boy

I find better deals on eBay myself. I have looked hard on Audiogon, but i find it's mostly the higher end equipment that I can't afford anyway. Anything worthy that is mid-fi is gone right away I find. Prices don't seem that good on Audiogon either.

I've gotten killer deals on ebay. Yeah i've sniped a few of the really great deals too. BUt hey, i've been sniped more than my share too.

I've bought and sold about 15 audio items on ebay. each item i purchased has worked great. Good email communication between you the buyer and the seller is very crucial.

jdavy

I only got one bad thing from ebay and the review of the seller should have been my clue. Generaly, ebay is the best place to find good used equipment. Buy from a seller with high feedback and the owner of the item and not a dealer so you can find out about the item's quality.

wallstreet

I've not done the ebay transaction yet, but I just closed a deal on audiogon. Generally, my approach is to do emails to make sure you have all the details in writing and then talk to the seller. You can learn a lot by the amount of BS the seller talks.

brettw22

Originally posted by weavercr
You better check with your credit card company, some will not credit the transaction amount back, they consider their job done because the transaction took place between them and PayPal. Paypal to the seller is not their responsibility.

I will agree with this 100%. If you have ANY intention of buying an item and using your credit card (or debit card for that matter), you'd better check with your bank/CC company and ask what their policy is. When I checked into this, they said that I didn't buy anything from PayPal and that they don't reimburse for third party transactions........

Tour2ma

100+ ebay buys so far, electronics and vinyl, and on the few occassions where a seller has overrated his wares most have rebated part of the purchase price.

Ratings are important, but my best experiences have been from ads with two important words in them, "Original Owner". Usually these words command a premium, but not much of one. And many times these are sellers with fairly low ratings, but 100% positive feedback.

There is a lot of reselling on ebay of estate items, which can also be very good. If cosmetics are important to you, beware of DJ amps, etc. While they may work fine they tend to be dinged up some. Asking how the equipement was used is a key question.

With PayPal you can always insure your purchase.

Double_S

I purchased 2 pair of speakers off of Ebay, no problems at all. Just make sure they have plenty of positive feedback.:)