any tips for buying used test equipment online? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / testgear

author: ixfd64
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 08:31:29 am
content: One of the inherent risks of buying "big ticket" items from sites like eBay is that there's a greater chance the item could be a scam or stolen merchandise. Even if the listing is legitimate, there's also the chance the item could be near the end of its life.I know there are some general ways to avoid these situations:Being careful of sellers with little feedback or lots of negative ratings.Being careful of listings that use only stock imagesChecking the history of the item with the manufacturer via the serial numberAsking the seller how long they had the item, and why they're selling it.But none of these methods are foolproof. Case in point, scammers could sell lots of cheaper items to quickly gain ratings and/or lift pictures from other listings. As another example, I recently saw an eBay listing for a "lightly used" high-end FLIR camera by a highly-rated seller. The pictures showed that the manual had a lot of wear on it, which suggests the camera is anything but new. You could argue "lightly used" is open to interpretation, but that's besides the point.So I'm wondering: does anyone have any tips specific to buying used test equipment online? I'd love to hear them, and I'm sure other forum members would find them useful as well.Happy New Year's Eve!

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 08:40:47 am
content: You forgot the most important one: don't pay too much! There are lots of sellers who think the equipment they sell is worth their weight in gold.Some sellers offer warranty on an item and there is always the possibility of opening a Paypal claim if an item isn't as described. I had a few DOA units but those situations always got solved by the seller by either a refund or sending a new unit.

author: nowlan
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 08:58:31 am
content: 1. check completed/sold listings to gauge market price2. check for service manuals if older equipment.3. limit to used/for parts for a deal if your confident to repair4. make an offer if you think price is too high. see 5. avoid ebay fees if seller has online presence/contact.6. check local market/auction for heavier items.7. check what voltage input device has. eg universal or 110 only.

author: Howardlong
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 09:29:54 am
content: Quote from: nctnico on December 31, 2014, 08:40:47 amVery true, there are plenty of those. I just don't get it, they're just sitting as inventory, they must have very little turnover. The Tek 2465B is a typical case in point, there seem to be some commercial sellers with them at the $1,000 mark, but it's worth half that. There's one here at $2khttp://www.ebay.com/itm/Tektronix-2465B-400MHz-4-Channel-w-accessory-pouch-/111551351152?pt=BI_Oscilloscopes&hash=item19f8fa8970and the one close-up of the CRT shows it out of focus. I can only assume that they're waiting for someone to crawl out from under a rock somewhere.Certainly for some items, accessories have value too. For scopes typically it's probes, particularly if it's over about 100MHz BW. Some VNAs need test sets for example.I would also add that international shipping fees can cost as much if not more than the item itself.

author: VK5RC
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 09:53:16 am
content: For second hand I tend to look for popular, name brand equipment that I can get a repair manual and doesn't have too many ASICs etc.Often HP stuff fits the bill for me but other brands are suitable I am sure.EG recently my HP 5342A 20GHz frequency counter (30+yo) went on the fritz, I had the 200 odd page service manual, I got some help from other HP 5342 owners and with quite a bit of effort (I am slow!) traced the fault to a 7400 series logic gate which was still obtainable.I often ask a question, I feel you get a better impression of the seller.Good hunting!

author: cncjerry
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 10:44:09 am
content: I worry more about craigslist than ebay. Ebay errors, misreps etc have always worked out in my favor.

author: G0HZU
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 12:32:40 pm
content: Patience will bring the best rewards.The other thing to look for is to see what else the person is selling. Is it other test gear or just everyday household stuff?If they appear to mostly deal in house clearance/surplus/random stuff then you could be looking at a huge bargain if they don't know what they are selling or how to describe it.The ones to avoid are the ones where the seller bleats that they can't test it or even power it up... yet they regularly sell/deal in used test gear. In this case you know it's going to be a lemon that's been seriously fiddled with by at least one semi skilled bodge/repair artist and finally declared BER.

author: dom0
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 01:00:49 pm
content: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/buysellwanted/lfs-list-of-reliable-ebay-sellers!/msg573889/#msg573889

author: Electric flower
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 01:11:03 pm
content: http://www.eevblog.com/2014/11/11/anatomy-of-an-ebay-scam/

author: jpb
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 31, 2014, 01:16:00 pm
content: For newer/more expensive equipment buying from the official Keysight (was Agilent) store on ebay is probably pretty safe.There is still the danger of paying too much as some of their prices are bargains and others are relatively very expensive. Note that they also take offers so youcan generally get at least 10% off the listed price.Also note that they sell two types of equipment - premium which has a warranty and standard used which doesn't but even with the latter they will have checked and calibrated it so you'd be pretty unlucky if it was duff.