Ebay listings say "Untested", meaning "Yup, it's broke"

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NC1

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I really get a kick out of some of those listings. They are selling an item that takes 2 "AA" batteries, or can be plugged into an outlet, or can be hooked to a car battery, but they are selling it as "UNtested".

Why would you sell, say maybe a used CB, for $20 untested, when it would be worth $90 if you only hooked it to the battery terminals to find out yourself? How about a scanner for $10 that is really worth 80 if you put a couple batteries in and checked it out?

Maybe some people can't be bothered, but there's too many "untested" that I see over and over again, which makes me think it is just going from one sucker to another. Anybody else notice this?
 

prcguy

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Yes, if it says untested then consider it broken and bid accordingly. I especially love it when the seller is a ham and the item is a simple plug and play device, but apparently the experienced ham cant figure out how to plug it in.
 

NC1

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Yes, if it says untested then consider it broken and bid accordingly. I especially love it when the seller is a ham and the item is a simple plug and play device, but apparently the experienced ham cant figure out how to plug it in.

Yes, there is that, LOL.

Then you have the people who still want the full used price as if it were fully operational. I think they are just trying to get back the money they sunk into a poor buying decision and don't want to take the loss.

Of course one cannot overlook the constantly used word "Vintage", which translates into " it's old and ready to fall apart, so I better sell it while I can still get a few dollars".
 

flythunderbird

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Of course one cannot overlook the constantly used word "Vintage", which translates into " it's old and ready to fall apart, so I better sell it while I can still get a few dollars".

Or when they couple "vintage" and "rare" in the same description, as if those two terms actually add value to an item :roll: ... and then there are a dozen (or more!) of the same item listed elsewhere on eBay. "Rare, you say?"
 

TailGator911

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Yeah you have to be careful on eBay. I have bought many a fine radio there, but I have rules I go by so as to not fall into a bad situation. Like checking the sellers feedback. Ask a few questions, communicate. If they have a substandard rating (read the negative feedback) and they wont answer simple questions - run away. I have bought a few very nice vintage radios that worked 100%. Stick to some very basic and practical common sense rules and eBay will be good to you. I like the fact that there is a rating system. Many moons ago I bought a sold radios in the newsgroups (remember those?) and for the most part it was ok, as long as I dealt with a fellow ham. I ran into a hacker there once (from Canada) who tried to hustle me out of $100 per a scanner he bought from me, and when it didn't work he wreaked havoc on me. But one bad experience out of maybe 100+ is not bad odds at all I guess. No bad experiences on ebay and I have been dealing on there since 2005. Knock on wood huh.

JD
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cmdrwill

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Yes, if it says untested then consider it broken and bid accordingly. I especially love it when the seller is a ham and the item is a simple plug and play device, but apparently the experienced ham cant figure out how to plug it in.

And, none of the 'plugging in and testing' was on the Ham Test......
 

mmckenna

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I sold off some of my old amateur only equipment many years ago.
I listed very specific specifications, lots of photos, model numbers, etc.

Still had people that couldn't/wouldn't read.

Had someone buy a Yaesu FT-170. About a week later I got a message from them upset because it wouldn't transmit on 154MHz frequencies.

On the flip side…
I sold an old FT-2400 with no microphone. Photos of it powered up and receiving NOAA on the s-meter.
For some odd reason it turned into a bidding war and I cleared $175.00 on that thing. Still no idea why.

Same thing happened with an Icom 2200. Sold for more than I paid for it new.



And then those that use the "shipping" costs as a way to make extra profit. Someone wanting $40 to ship a 10 ounce package across the USA. I'm sure there are people that pay it.
 

NC1

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Another one to stay away from is where they use stock photos of a used item.
I can only imagine how bad it is if they won't even show a picture.

The one or two word description is always good too. "Used" or "No cord".
That's always a winner when coupled with 9 paragraphs of payment and shipping terms & conditions.
 

Citywide173

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Still had people that couldn't/wouldn't read.

Had a person complain that I didn't provide a model number on a CDM1250 and that it was useless to him. When it was pointed out that the model number was listed in two different places, he said I should have been more clear. I have started using larger fonts, different colors and disclaimers as a result.

And then those that use the "shipping" costs as a way to make extra profit. Someone wanting $40 to ship a 10 ounce package across the USA. I'm sure there are people that pay it.

This drives me crazy, if I'm interested and there's a "make offer" button, my offer always subtracts the difference between reasonable and posted shipping charges with a note indicating why. It's also an end around for sellers to sell cheap and pay minimum commission while maximizing profits.
 

W8RMH

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All eBay transactions have a money back guarantee. The use of "untested", "parts only", etc. are just terms to protect the seller. I interpret these terms as "does not work". I have made a few purchases where the item was not as described, and received a full refund of purchase price, plus shipping, and got to keep the item.
 

iMONITOR

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Yes, if it says untested then consider it broken and bid accordingly. I especially love it when the seller is a ham and the item is a simple plug and play device, but apparently the experienced ham cant figure out how to plug it in.


This is not always the case. I've found several times when buying certain items, the seller might be a window and was left with her husband belongings. Most likely she'd have no idea where to begin in testing the items. Some cases they've since moved and there is not even an antenna available to connect to. I've also had similar experiences with windows selling a gun collection. Often you will find brand new items that her husband may have bought and put away for years. Some deals can be found.
 

NC1

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Some deals can be found.

I completely agree. While we have to watch for scammers, there are some legitimate deals that cannot be tested for one reason or another.

While looking around ebay for a 2nd HF rig, I thought it might be prudent to get one that is the same model as the one I have so I can swap parts if needed. Then I can take my time finding a replacement part for the one I swapped out.

As luck would have it, there were 6 or so Kenwood TS-940S rigs up for auction. One in particular caught my eye because the price was way too low for it to be a working unit. Nothing in the description indicated it was not working, and was listed as "used". For $220 (+$35 shipping) I decided to put in a bid, which I subsequently won. When it arrived I began checking, but I could find nothing wrong. A trip to a much more experienced Ham friend who has all the test equipment toys revealed that there was in fact nothing wrong at all, and it was up to specifications.

To make things even better, there was a MC-60A desk microphone included, which was never even shown or mentioned in the ad. I could not have been happier, and now both TS-940S units sit side by side in the shack. Sometimes it pays to look at the cheaper items, but you can easily get burned too. This time my gamble paid off, but I don't think I would do it again right away.
 

MTS2000des

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Ebay is like Vegas. Never gamble more than you can afford to lose, and the house always wins.

That being said, buy the SELLER not the ITEM. FWIW, in about 7 out of 10 purchases of "parts only/as-is" the description was accurate: broken and needed fixing. OTOH, the three times, nothing was wrong with the item (radios/phones/computer stuff). In all cases, I never spent more than I could afford to write off.
 
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