Ebay help

[lena]

Hi

Its been a while since I've visited this board but I need a little help
in an ebay auction and remembered all the wisdom I've gained here so I thought I'd ask here

Bidding on an item from a member with zero feedback. I ran into this before - chose not to bid (out of fear) and lost out on a REALLY nice color scope. Checked feedback later only to find out who bought it was really happy. Now I find myself in the same situation. Seller is very good at answering emails - sent lots of hi resolution pics but I don't know. Any one here got some advice???

 

[opt80]

Hi lena
First of all thanks for the manual for the Phillips cdp!
As far as your question,my limited experience with EBay has found that feedback means nothing.

I had won an item,the guy had good feedback and it took him 3 weeks to ship from AB.

I think you have to go with your gut,if his emails are good and consistent,I equate that to good communication in a brick and mortar store.
Good Luck


Regards,

Alan

 

[Johnny]

Hi Lena

I am in the exact same boat. I just bought a pair of speakers from a guy with zero feedback. He too has sent me reasuring emails and I feel a bit better, but, the fact is you can never really be 100% sure about anybody. It depends how comfortable you are taking a minor risk. It also depends on the amount of money we are talking about. For me it was worth the risk. If you are sending a money order, send it registerd mail so they will have to sign for it and hold on to your money order receipt just in case you need to track it.

Good luck. I hope it works out well for you.

John

 

[Wardsweb]

Email can be very impersonal. If your going over say $100 US you may want to ask them for a phone number to call. I find talking with a real person helps a lot in calming fears. You get real time answers to your questions and you can discuss packing and shipping issues. If they will not give you real access to them, move on.

 

[Shain]

I usually won't buy from a zero feedback seller, unless they'll send the goods COD.

That way the buyer is protected, in that the merchandise will be delivered. Buyer won't be out any money.

Using COD, the seller gets the money, and then good feedback, if the stuff is as advertised.

I have sent the seller an email discussing the issue very frankly.
If the seller wants to establish a track record, he (she) should be receptive to the idea. (if they really understand the problem)

If they won't send it COD, there may be some problem.

If it's a small dollar item, then you can take a chance.

The best way to establish feedback is to buy a few small items, and get some feedback going.

 

[Glassman]

Feedback can be deceptive...

I posted a thread in the Vintage section a month or so ago regarding as SX-850 I purchased from someone on Ebay after the auction ended. Despite great communication and much positive feedback, the seller sent me a receiver which was ready to fail at any moment. Caps were swollen and leaking all over and had corroded the bottom panel. Thinking the guy was reasonably honest I contacted him and told him the situation. Basically he told me if I wanted it fixed I could send it all the way back to Florida at my cost and he would have his service guy work on it again at my cost. Keep in mind, we are talking about the same service tech who gave the receiver a clean bill of health in the first place. So, I got burned. Perhaps others who have bought from him have never bothered to pull the case off and look inside.

I agree with the advice of actually speaking to the seller. I also had never thought of doing COD. I learn soething everyday!

Jay

 

[bully]

I've got a parts SX-1050 with good caps. Big mofo's. Would they work with the smaller 850? Couldn't hurt having more capacitance.

 

[Glassman]

Hey Bully!

Thanks for the offer but I have it into the shop already to get the caps changed as well as troubleshooting anything else which may potentially cause a problem down the road. The bad caps are on the board which resides right by the heatsinks in back. I am electronically inept although I would love to learn more. In the year I have been doing this though I have come a long way from where I was. Not as a totally blatant plug, but I have had great success with Bob at Vintage Electronics for everything above and beyond my ability. Plus it doesn't cost a fortune for a repair (helpful in convincing the wife).

Jay

 

[bully]

Jay, you're fortunate to have Bob rather close at hand. A few other guys from here have used Bob's services, and are equally complimentary about his talent to repair (& clean!) vintage gear.
The 850 should be a real sweetheart.

 

[Glassman]

Quite honestly, it worked when I got it. I just started noticing a few things, glitches here and there, and decided to take it apart again and take a closer look which is when I noticed the swollen and leaking caps. My fear is one or more of them failing completely and causing a more serious problem. I am excited to hear it with the new parts. Yes, it is nice having Bob close and it is only about an hour drive to get to Colorado Springs.

In the meantime I am listening to my 838 which Bob also fixed and I am really enjoying it. I am enjoying it more than I ever did since I used it for a while and then some differrent receivers and am now coming back to it. Funny how that works.

Jay

 

[merrylander]

Hi Lena,

The phone call and the COD ideas sound good, the only thing I can say is that when I first auctioned stereos on eBay I had no feedback as a seller, just as a buyer. I never add a lot of conditions in my auctions as I figure we all were newbies on eBay at one time or another. Got burnt only once. I usually try and communicate well with people, in fact the last seller sent me a picture of their new baby.

Rob

 

[EchoWars]

I met Bob a few years ago when I lived in Da Springs, trying to chase down a few parts. Great guy, and in a brief 15 minute conversation he impressed me with his knowledge of vintage gear. If you live in the area, he is definately the man to see.

Caps are no big deal, and the big Pioneer receivers seem to eat the old ones alive. There are several places in the regulated power supply where the caps that are chosen are working wayyyy to close to their rated voltage and have a ton of ripple current across them as well...a recipe for failure. The fact that they have lasted as long as they have is testament to the quality of the original devices, but in a repair situation they really need to be replaced with higher voltage units.

 

[BlackSwamp]

I echo Echo's sentiments.

I recently started selling stuff and bought mainly to get some feedback before selling. I started with smaller items so I could get some decent feedback as a seller.

I love the phone contact idea, It makes a huge difference. I bought my Well Tempered Classic after I couple phone conversations. It was obvious the guy knew what he was talking about and was really into audio through the conversations. He eventually delivered it to my house and helped me set it up. He was hungry for a particular tube amp and needed the cash - Everything added up and the transaction went very smooth.

 

[gyusher]

eBay Feed Back

There is not one seller or buyer on eBay that started with feedback. . .Personally I agree with the phone call and emails. . .Dont wait untill the last few seconds with a new seller, and dont wait untill the last minute with a new buyer. . .Communication is key on any eBay transaction reguardless of the persons feedback. . .I have been burnt more by sellers with steller feedBack of 100+ all positive. . .Often I do better with the new seller who is trying to get started. . .I would not recomend buying a SX-1250/1980 because they are bears to pack properly, it takes experience to know how to pack these guys so no damage will occur during shipping. . .I have trained a few new sellers by advising how to safely pack expensive and delicate audio gear. . .Nothing worse than opening your box containing your new SX-1050 etc, only to find a mint receiver screwed up because of poor packing. Discuss all aspects of the deal including packing before bidding. . .At least before the auction ends.

 

[lena]

Thanks guys for all your feedback - it really helped