That auction site: THIS is why we need to be careful.

[dwdmguy]

Read the description of this item. Read it all the way thru and then tell me what you think.
This is why I only want to really purchase thru Apug or B&H.... I wish APUG had the auction software. But it would no doubt be a bear to manage and who want's the headache.

Anyway, read this and you'll understand the forces at work there on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-Super-Coo...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item588472c40d

 

[Shawn Rahman]

Read the description of this item. Read it all the way thru and then tell me what you think.
This is why I only want to really purchase thru Apug or B&H.... I wish APUG had the auction software. But it would no doubt be a bear to manage and who want's the headache.

Anyway, read this and you'll understand the forces at work there on ebay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nikon-Super-Coo...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item588472c40d

While I agree that I would be wary about buying equipment that has not been fully tested, this seller appears to offer a relatively reasonable return policy. Better than many on the site that say some BS like "I am not an expert" or don't offer a return at all. Also, at least they are trying to make an effort at proper disclosure (green light, missing rubber foot).

I have purchased and sold a lot of camera and other stuff on ebay, with almost all good experiences. But I agree with you that when dishing out the money for an item like this, you definitely want more assurances than what this seller has put on their ad.

 

[dwdmguy]

Shawn, that's just it, his return policy is based on "his description above" i.e., the light turns on, blinks and stays on. There could be over 1,000 things wrong with this and he does not have to return it.
I use to read contracts every day so I'm really gun shy, but this takes the cake. It really does try to make someone feel comfortable that they can return it if it does not work, for any reason other then the light description. Believe me, this is hinkey. (says Abby from NCIS)

 

[Ian David]

The seller is an asset recovery company, not a photographer. They won't bother testing everything exhaustively, just describe it and flick it. Their feedback rating is not too bad. The description and conditions are reasonably clear. The item is probably OK, but who knows? You would bid on it if you want to take a bit of a gamble, or steer clear if you want a cast-iron guarantee. Caveat emptor. The uncertainty will be (or should be) reflected in the final selling price. Ebay is a different beast from what it was a few years ago, but it is still pretty safe if you exercise a bit of common sense and are clear about how much risk you are prepared to take.

Ian

 

[Q.G.]

I don't see anything wrong with it.
You are not given much info about the condition of the machine, because they haven't tested it. But nothing suggests they are holding info back either.
And for that, you can get it for very little money.
There's a reason why people who take risks more than others seem to have more good luck than others too.

 

[Mike Crawford]

It's an ebay auction with an honest, physical, (and of course untested) description. Either bid what you think is reasonable or forget about it. Scanners are sensitive beasts, so if worried by such things maybe best to not buy one second hand if you can not test it first!

 

[Sirius Glass]

The conditions are as stated. And it is a recovery company. Are all the negative holders there? I am with the OP on this one; just pass on it.

Steve

 

[Q.G.]

I would say that - pass on it - too, if the seller would ship overseas, and i didn't have enough scanners already.
Else the next bid placed would be mine.

What you do is bid what you think is a reasonable amount given the uncertainty.
If it goes for more, too bad, but someone else took the risk.
If not, you've either got a bargain, or bad luck. You win some, lose some.
The trick is in reading the signs, in judging your chances. Do that right and you'll still lose some, but win most.

This looks not bad to me. Like i said, it's not the description that is stopping me from having a go.

 

[ntenny]

I don't see the problem either. The auction states pretty clearly what's been tested and what hasn't; to me the rest is caveat emptor. Though personally, I'd caveat a little too much to do any empting in a case like this---there are too many things that could be wrong. But obviously there are enough people who feel differently to have put the price up to US$570 so far.

-NT

 

[tkamiya]

I have to wonder to make of "not DOA" and "sold AS-IS". Aren't they mutually exclusive and gives the seller whole a lot of latitude to get out of any responsibility?

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

Some of the best deals are from sources like this. You're taking a risk, but if you know something about the equipment, know what might go wrong and how much it might cost to fix, you can make a reasoned judgment about how much to pay for something that the seller doesn't know about and can't test. Don't bid more than you're prepared to lose, if it doesn't work out, but if it does work out, you can do quite well.

Scanners are too flaky and sensitive in general, so I'd pass on this one myself, but the best purchases I've made on eBay are of poorly described items with fuzzy pictures from sellers who didn't really know what they had.

 

[cowanw]

I find it odd that arrangements for shipping are the responsibility of the buyer. How is someone from Europe to know how to do that?

 

[Ian David]

An asset recovery company doesn't care if someone in Europe isn't getting an equal opportunity to score the scanner. They just want to offload the goods as quickly, cheaply and easily (for themselves) as possible.

 

[PeteZ8]

The bidding started at $198. That is reasonable for a "parts" machine. The current price of $570 was driven by bidders. Can't blame Ebay or the seller for that. They have disclosed everything they know honestly.

 

[mikebarger]

Actually, this is an example of a good ebayer. These people seen to be upfront, if it makes you nervous, don't bid.

I bought a Pentax Digital meter with the same type of description, except it wasn't tested with, or without, batteries.

When I emailed them asking questions, they said the meter was in a large repo of what appeared to be well taken care of equipment and the lab stated everything worked. They offered to take it back if it didn't work, even though the auction said different.

I paid $113 for it. Put new batteries in, it matches my Pentax Zone VI modified V analog meter to the number.

Anyway, just 2 cents worth.

Mike

 

[fotch]

Good EBayer?

http://www.toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?User=maven_technologies&Dirn=Received+by

Put a few more dollars in the pot and buy one you can be assured of working as it should. Unless of course you are a gambler anyway.

 

[polyglot]

So they have negative feedback. But 0.6% of the time out of 17k items where they're obviously a clearance joint is (IMHO) very low - you expect much more DOA gear from an in-person auction.

It's listed "as is". The price is low. It's a gamble but you know that - so what? I bought a similar "as is" film scanner and it had a busted lamp. They claimed it was untested new-old-stock though a bad attempt at replacing the lamp had been made, i.e. they were flat-out lying to me but it doesn't matter. I got it at 1/3 of the market rate because the auction was marked "as is" and after spending $50 on a new lamp and 15 minutes with my soldering iron, I have a perfectly good 4x5" film scanner.