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Buying used gear


lightsource

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Hi all,

 

Have been looking at some used gear for purchase recently, and I must say I'm horrified that most sellers, weather Ebay, Usedlighting, Gearsource or others are just posting stock pictures of products. (As they looked when new).

 

If I intend to purchase a used product, weather it be a profile, mixing desk or moving head, I want to see a picture of the actual item I'm intending to purchase....not some random manufacturers picture in it's new condition.

 

To me, the price of a used product (assuming it's in full working order) is relative to it's physical apperance...If it looks as new, then yes, I would pay a higher premium than if said item was scratched to hell. But I need to see an actual picture of the product to make that decision.

 

Does anyone agree with me? Or am I going way too deep?

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Seems reasonable to me, if I'm buying used I tend to skim over any used items that don't include a picture of the actual item. However, if there is a picture of the item for sale, supplemented with stock images (for example, hi res closeups of the back of a sound desk), then that is fine.
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I do a lot of 2nd hand buying from eBay. A fair bit of hit and miss, but then I just sit on it for a few months then flog it off again, most of the time at a profit!

 

If I do come across a stock picture as the one and only picture, I usually contact the seller for some pics of the actual lights/desk itself, problem solved. But yes for used item's, pictures are very important, and as you said you will pay a premium for items that look almost brand new.

 

I cant believe how much money buying 2nd hand, Ex Demo, Manufacturer Refurbished etc. etc. has saved me.

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I do a lot of 2nd hand buying from eBay. A fair bit of hit and miss, but then I just sit on it for a few months then flog it off again, most of the time at a profit!

 

If I do come across a stock picture as the one and only picture, I usually contact the seller for some pics of the actual lights/desk itself, problem solved. But yes for used item's, pictures are very important, and as you said you will pay a premium for items that look almost brand new.

 

I cant believe how much money buying 2nd hand, Ex Demo, Manufacturer Refurbished etc. etc. has saved me.

 

in the position of buying bottom end second hand gear all the time I agree - and I'm still periodically amazed at what you can get for your money - which makes taking risks rewarding in the long term even if ever so occassionally a piece of gear isn't as good as it could be!

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It's always going to be hit and miss when buying used gear because even "proper" pictures of the gear, could be well of date and not a true representation of the state it is in now. Where possible I prefer to pick up most second hand items from the seller and pay with cash on collection and not paypal. If you turn up and can't see the item working (always ask the buyer if this is possible before hand) or it's in a much worse state than the pictures showed, then you walk away with the cash still in your pocket... Paypal can take a while to refund, or won't refund at all in some cases.
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As an occasional seller on Fleabay I must say it can depend. Mostly I always try to take a fresh pic, preferably with my decent dogi SLR, though I have had to resort, on occasion, to my phone-cam. That certainly goes for the gear I have up at the moment EXCEPT for the two Goldenscans - When I opened the auction for them, they were under our auditorium, blocked by several 8 x 4 sheets of timber (which shouldn't actually have been there), so getting a pukka photo was out - so I used stock pics on Fleabay - though the description makes that clear.
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Far rather have a picture of the actual item. Tends to mean the seller is possible a little more genuine as they've gone to the effort of taking a picture and putting it up. That said the image could easily have been taken from another website, but at least they didn't just copy and paste....
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The key is whether the seller intends to misrepresent. As I said in my example, it was impractical to photograph the actual items, but by a similar token, as there's NO way I'm going to take 2 GS3s down the post office (even if I could find big enough boxes!) so any buyer will be seeing the merchandise when they collect...

 

 

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The key is whether the seller intends to misrepresent. As I said in my example, it was impractical to photograph the actual items, but by a similar token, as there's NO way I'm going to take 2 GS3s down the post office (even if I could find big enough boxes!) so any buyer will be seeing the merchandise when they collect...

 

 

 

 

You would be surprised what I have shipped in from other parts of the country.

Very Large flight cases, that could have fit a GS3, 8x RoboScan Pro 518's, 500m of Wieland(Socapex) looms, even more flight cases, 4x Roboscan 218's. Ok so the RoboScans by themselves ain't the size of a GS3, but together they make some pretty flippin heavy parcels!

 

And yes its always going to be hit and miss, and I get quite annoyed when I buy a Jands FP12 for $900 (Still a bargain mind you), and then a week later a Jands FPX12 (Newer model of the FP12, with more features) sits there for $700!

 

The cost of shipping stuff is that cheap, unless its quite local (30mins drive) I don't even bother to pick anything up, and if I miss the driver my favorite courier company's depot is only 10mins down the road.

 

I even stick my mobile number on the listing's just in case anyone prefers to talk to a real person instead of typing, and no I don't get bombarded with spam calls.

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Misrepresentation of a product with a wrong product image can be a big give away that either the person doesn't even know what they are actually selling or that they are not great sellers.

 

One example I saw was a stock picture of a Robe Scan 250XT with the title 'Used 4 x Robe DJ Scan 250XT'

There's some big differences between these 2 fixtures even if the name is similar.... but not quite!

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My pet annoyance is sellers who can't be bothered to sort out carriage and instead insist on pick up only. The biggest advantage of using eBay and the internet in general is that it widens the pool of available buyers, so why hamstring yourself? With auction sales, it really reduces the potential price.

 

As can be seen from another current thread, dispatching large items isn't hard, even if you are a personal seller. Companies have even less of an excuse.

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My pet annoyance is sellers who can't be bothered to sort out carriage and instead insist on pick up only. The biggest advantage of using eBay and the internet in general is that it widens the pool of available buyers, so why hamstring yourself? With auction sales, it really reduces the potential price.

 

As can be seen from another current thread, dispatching large items isn't hard, even if you are a personal seller. Companies have even less of an excuse.

 

 

Sometimes for small items of all most insignificant value, say a pair of Par 56 Shells, I will say Pick Up Only, in the hope that when they do come to pick it up, they will buy something else. Or if they are local, they will potentially hire equipment off me in the future. But if they request that I post it, I am always happy to do so, as it only takes a few minutes, and improves peoples perception of me/ my eBay page.

 

But yes in general I don't like it when even after I have called/emailed someone they still say no to shipping, even when all they have to do is find a suitable box, stick 2 shipping labels on it and leave it by their front door, as I organise everything else!

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  • 2 weeks later...

When looking to buy bulkier items, especially used, I always try Preloved.com they seem to offer abit more of a personal service between buyers and sellers.

 

Im pretty sure all items are pickup only and ads are relevant to your area. I know personally that if im buying gear I like to have a look and even a test before I hand over any cash so tailoring your search to local results will help.

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