VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[BenWils]

I have been wanting to make a few purchases for some new gear. I see some stuff I want listed on ebay, brand new, however, as discusssed before....it's a risk unless you do your homework. Does anyone have good or bad luck stories purchasing brand new gear with any of the "power sellers" on ebay? If so, email or PM the names to me if you don't mind. That way DB and Brian do not have to worry about stuff on the board.

Do these cheaper than normal purchases end up being "non warranty" items and not worth the savings? Are these items usually returns that they claim are brand new? Just wondering if anyone has any inside info.

Just trying to make my dollars go farther.

Thanks!
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Ben


"To be really good at voiceover, you need to improve your footwork and hip snap."

[Lance Blair]

Everything I've bought from a power-seller or reputable seller has been in top condition, and I've had no hassles with them. Compare prices with those found on Froogle.com, and you'll see if the prices are reasonable.

So far the best ebay-steal I've had was a immaculate fresh-out-of the box Sennheiser MKH-416 which I won for $600 from a film student in Utah. I intentionally searched for misspellings of Sennheiser, so I found a "Senheiser 416" that nobody else bid on ($600 was the reserve price). It's good to search as many possibilities as you can imagine. Your dream mic might simply be under "Condensor" instead of "Neumann" (or "Newman"!).

I have noticed that many audio items that were all over ebay two years ago have been effectively purged by their previous owners, and are now hard to find...that's not necessarily a bad thing. When an item is common on ebay, that's often a red-flag about its desirability.

[billelder]

Almost everything in my studio has come from EBay. My first purchase was the RE-20 ($140). The guy sent a Sennheiser 416 instead. I sent it back and in a few days had my mic which has been flawless. Other components are the Symetrix 528 ($120), the Mackie 1202vlz mixer($110) , Studio Projects C-1 mic ($135) , Linksys Wireless Access Point for the computer..the list goes on and on.

I don't get caught up in the bidding. When I see it going higher than I think I should pay, I just forget about it and wait for another. Folks can really jack up a price in a bidding war.

I pay attention to the ratings. Read the comments and see why if they're under 99%. George said (I think) in another post...if it's an unbelievably low price, that's a red flag too. Sometimes people don't know what they're selling. That can go either way.

EBay has changed the way some companies sell. I've bought laptop batteries, hard drives, mic stands from folks who just do business on EBay because folks will search and see their EBay store. I bought a brand new computer (barebones) from a company in Canada that's the best deal I've ever made. (I'm using it now!) Works flawlessly and I'll get another from them when I decide to build a new DAW. Mobile racks for hard drives, too.

I've bought old computers. Three years ago I got a used barebones Pentium III 1GHz, $512 RAM and CD-ROM ($30) slapped in a hard drive. I had an old CD burnerI put in. Just yesterday I bought an HP 15" LCD monitor for $80 at Wal-Mart because it was last year's model. Now I have a working, wireless CPU for guests in the spare bedroom for $130. (I actually like being up there in the afternoons so don't fall for that "it's for the guests" line. <g>)

Don't forget, check shipping to see if it's unreasonable. That can be a deal breaker for me. According to my rating I have bought 42 items since 2000. Every one of them had a positive outcome. Good luck!

[bobsouer]

[allensco]

Like Bill, I've not had any problems with anything I've bought on Ebay. I started my studio with Ebay. I picked up a mic pre/processor for $75 and a mic for $125. Both worked (and are still working) great. I've bought and sold items on Ebay since 1999 without any problems.

The following is "a bit off topic"...
My recent Ebay excursion has been buying old, tube-type radios. I have bought a total of five table radios in a months time on Ebay. I picked up three Zenith tube-type radios and two reproduction radios. They all work great and sound fantastic. One is a 1956 model, one is from 1959 and the last one is a 1960 model. The reproduction radios are from GE and Thomas. One cathedral style and one tombstone style. The tube radios pick up stations better than anything you can buy today on AM and FM. Just amazing I scan through and listen to the clear-channel AM stations in the evenings. WSB-750 AM in Atlanta is one of my fav's for a talk show called "Krok Talk".

I'll be restoring the tube radios with new capacitors and realignment as well as refinishing the cabinets, which are all wood. Nice little side project to occupy some idle time on the weekends. Here's a look at the radios as they are now. The top two are Zenith tube radios (1959 & 1960 respectively) and the botoom one is the GE tombstone reproduction radio.

[billelder]

Bob,

You are absolutely right...and I'd feel horrible if I wasn't an idiot. I meant to say Senneiser 421 II. (Hollywood Squares Mic) I lust after the 416 so I guess I have it on the brain. <g> Sorry for the mistake.

[sdelgo]

I'd say we all bid through Bill for our ebay purchases... RE20 for $140... great job Bill!!!

I've sold and bought many items on ebay many over $1000... synthesizers and the like with no problem. Then I win the bid on a $7.00 CD and I get duped!

Such is life

Steve
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you'll always have something on your plate... if you keep your bearings straight.

www.steviedproductions.com

[CarynClark]

I bought my Symetrix 528e and my Telos Zephyr Xstream from ebay. I shared my story about awareness of fraud with the Zephyr on the other thread.

The Symetrix is good. No problems. I did have an "aha" moment when I opened the box and the thing stunk of cigarette smoke. Until that moment, I didn't realize it was impt. to have them say "From a smoke-free home." But it didn't matter really... it doesn't smell anymore.

I looked and looked and waited and waited for a Sennheiser MKH416... but wow, I never ever found a deal like that!!!!! I paid retail....
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Caryn Clark... The Hip Chick Voice!

"A positive mental attitude and having faith in your ability is quite different from being irresponsible and downright stupid." - Dave

[todd ellis]

i buy a TON through ebay - like steve, i've never had a problem with big stuff - just stupid crap. i never did get that french toast with the image of william shatner in it.
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"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

[Deirdre]

Heh heh heh.
It's good to have friends at the post office, I always say.
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DBCooperVO.com
IMDB

[Lizden]

[Charles Nove]

[Jeff McNeal]

I'm in the midst of a real hassle with an eBay "Power Seller" for a brand new item that I bought and paid for on June 15th which to date, has not been shipped. PM me for the name. First, they lost my order and denied any knowledge of it, even AFTER I e-mailed the item number and PayPal transaction number for reference. Once they finally straightened that out after several e-mails, they informed me that the item is on "back order". The promised it would be back in stock last week. They still don't have it -- and I'm still waiting.

UPDATE: 6 hours later or whatever

Just received notification that my item is shipping today. So one month after I paid for it, it should arrive. Never again with those guys.