purchasing on ebay? (1 Viewer)

[ChrisNev]

Hi all. Not sure if this is the right forum but I've been looking at upgrading my receiver (been looking at the new Denons) and I have been checking out ebay. The first thing I noticed is how much less the prices are. The units are listed as new and unopened and include the manufacturer's warranty.

I have used ebay a lot but how "safe" is it to purchase new AV gear? Anything to watch out for? Thanks!

 

[DanaA]

I've bought hundreds of items off of ebay and never been cheated yet. Still, many have.

Watch for how many positive feedbacks the seller has, both quantity and quality. Read the feedbacks and check out if a good deal of them have been for selling as opposed to buying items.

Check out how they want their payment made. I personally see it as a possible red flag if they only accept money orders.

I know there's more, but I'm sure others will offer their insights as well.

 

[DanaA]

Oh, and beware that the manufacturer's warranty might not be valid buying this way.

What I mean by that is that, sometimes, they say the warranty is there, but that they'll cover it personally if any problems occur as per the usual warranty offered by the manufacturer, as opposed to them being an actual authorized dealer. Not sure if this is the case in the deals you're looking at, but I'd check to be sure.

 

[DorianBryant]

Dana is right. I was scammed one time in about 50 transactions on E-Bay. The seller had 12 pos feedbacks and 3 neg. It was stupid to trust this guy. I bought a Pioneer 50 disc cs player in "new" condition. When it finally arrived it was cracked and had gum, styro peanuts, a screwdriver, and 3 cds inside. no wonder it wouldn'y play right.

Anyway, trust your gut and some deals are too good to be true.

 

[Mike Reeter]

Almost ALL of the Electronics Companys out there have a disclaimer on their websites declaring they WILL NOT honor any warranty issues if an item is purchased from an unauthorized source,this would include most e-bay/e-tailers.

The warranty cards mean nothing if not purchased from the "proper" Dealer Network,which in some cases does include online sales...