Recommended eBay seller - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: nfmax
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2019, 01:33:53 pm
content: I just bought an HP 8481D power sensor on eBay from Richard Hrozekhttps://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/hrozekelex, advertised as used, tested to manufacturer's specification. Unfortunately, when it arrived, I tested it & found the flatness was well out of specification. Richard advertised this with a 14-day warranty, which he honoured without quibbling. I returned it & he refunded me right away.I'd bought an Agilent 33522B ARB from him previously, which works fine. I recommend this seller!(P.S. - if anyone has an 8481D or equivalent power sensor for sale, I may be interested!)

author: pbarton
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: February 05, 2019, 04:53:30 pm
content: Quote from "Stewart of Reading".http://www.stewart-of-reading.co.uk/index.htmWe can supply the HP8481D at £300 plus carriage and VAT.

author: plurn
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 06, 2019, 11:13:41 am
content: Quote from: nfmax on February 05, 2019, 01:33:53 pmGood that he refunded you, but that sounds to me like he lied about it being "tested to manufacturer's specification" and is perhaps not worthy of a recommendation? Perhaps it depends on what parts of the transaction you value.

author: humgar
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: February 27, 2019, 03:02:42 am
content: Mmm ... although it's a possibility, there's also a chance that the power sensor sit for too long and it aged. So I wouldn't just accuse somebody without solid evidence.In the past, I had an R3131A that was working fine passing all self-tests when I received the unit and tested it. It sat for a little while, sold, then got returned because it aged and failed self-test (it's the same common aging problem). After that I test the basic functions again right before I ship (more detailed testing re-done if the unit has been sitting for quite some time).I also sold a 54832B that I ran it for a whole day before shipping and it worked fine, the buyer said the unit worked for a while, but hanged right before cal, and when I got it back, it was perfectly good and doesn't hang at all. Nonetheless, I replaced the entire computer section just to play safe and he's happy. The autopsy result: the SDRAM is marginally failing: one pass of Memtest86+ I did before shipping was not enough to smoke it out. I paid nearly $500 for expedited round-trip shipping.I think the seller did the right thing. Whenever something unlucky happens, I'll also take full responsibility replacing it at my own expense with all shipping charges covered, even though I might end up losing money and labor given the price I've sold them for. Giving a full refund + return shipping can often be less costly, but I know that >95% of my customers are worse off if I just called off the transaction, so I'll leave it as the last resort. The last 5% are usually hobbyists upgrading their bench, who has the time to wait for months to a year for another unit, and they wouldn't mind taking a refund if anything goes wrong.Nonetheless, I saw some sellers on eBay selling something as "Used" but they never tested it, hoping that they got lucky, and the downside is just paying for the return shipping. It's practically having the buyer as a tester.Here's my experience on the other side of the table: I was burned by a eBay seller offering 4 pcs of P7260 as working but all 4 of them turned out bad when I tested it (they've been abused and have intermittent contact), I ended up losing a customer waiting on the other end because it costs 5 times more to get them after the 4 'working' probes were off the market, so the price I quoted the customer to buy and test on his behalf (based on the cost of the 4 broken probes incorrectly advertised as working) was far not enough to pay the prevailing market price. This is my experience as a buyer being 3 times worse off if a eBay deal doesn't work out and I got a full refund.You might say I paid little and got what I deserved, but the 2 working ones I got before the 4 bad probes was at a even lower price.The bottom line is that eBay is a jungle. If you don't have infinite patience (both time and effort dealing with shoddy sellers), cling on the trustworthy ones even if they charge a bit more, especially when you have more to lose (indirect damages) if the transaction doesn't work out and all you get is just a lousy full refund.