ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
hi guys, i was hoping for a few tips on buying on ebay,.co.uk any obvious pitfalls and any sellers i should be wary of. after some advice on here i am interested in the beomaster 4500, the matching beocord and cd beogram. i cannot pick up so al,ll items will have to be posted
there are one or two professional sellers of bang and olufsen, would i be better to stick with them, particularly as they replace adhesive tape on the glass panels and fully test them, a bit more expensive but is it worth it
any tips would be appreciated, many thanks in advance
bidston:hi guys, i was hoping for a few tips on buying on ebay,.co.uk
Hi, go to the main forum menu - look on the right side, and find the access to the archiveforum.
You will find a rich source of ebay anecdotes there
BeoNut since '75
many thanks, will do that now
If you want something guaranteed to work and in good condition, go to one of the re-sellers. If you want a bargain but are willing to take a chance and can manage electronics, try eBay.
Peter
good advice, do you mean the resellers mentioned in the ebay thread, lifestyle av etc
bidston: good advice, do you mean the resellers mentioned in the ebay thread, lifestyle av etc
probably - I have not used that section of eBay
Lifestyle AV is the main supporter of this site
And there are others out there as well
Also several forum members use the buy/sell section of this site
Lee does not seem to have a 4500 listed at present but it is always worth contacting him to ask - this system is getting old and good ones are harder to find - you may need to widen your search.
here we go again............. lifestyle av own this site hence no other reseller can support or advertise on the site - why is it such a great recommendation? Surely the service given to buyers and sellers worldwide and the length of warranty is a better recommendation.
KingOfSnake:Surely the service given to buyers and sellers worldwide and the length of warranty is a better recommendation.
KoS - a good point
I have amended my comments
bidston: there are one or two professional sellers of bang and olufsen, would i be better to stick with them, particularly as they replace adhesive tape on the glass panels and fully test them, a bit more expensive but is it worth it
What's so special on replacing tape on these glasspanels? 15 minute job....
Got about 50 units in my 3500/4500 collection
Brengen & Ophalen
I have found two big issues with private eBay sellers.
Some think it's OK not to mention faults or defects on the basis of putting an "I'm not an expert" in the small print. They also tell you to rely on the photographs rather than give a detailed description, knowing full well that scratches etc will not necessarily show clearly if at all.
The bigger issue, however, is that most private sellers haven't got the faintest idea how to pack things securely, so I'd always go for personal collection where possible.
I recently bought a BeoLink 1000 via eBay. It was advertised as perfect, and to be supplied with new batteries. It arrived loose rattling around in an oversized homemade box with no internal packing. The new batteries had been thrown loose into the box instead of being put into the remote. The black front panel near the base of the remote had a gash in it, not visible in the eBay photographs. I left qualified positive feedback rather than return the remote on the basis that I'd got it at a good price. (eBay dissuade you from leaving neutral or negative feedback....... You are persuaded to open discussions with the seller first which leads to refunds without postage ..... So you pay for two way postage to get your refund with many sellers.)
There's a risk even with very well packed items: Martin (Dillen) once sent me a very well packed restored Beomaster. The final delivery driver made a point of banging the package down on its end as I opened the door to sign for it. Thankfully the BM survived.
Graham
PS. Lifestyle pack exceptionally well and deliver large items themselves. I've no doubt others have had similar experience from other B&O resellers.
hi west kirby, thanks for the reply, i cannot collect myself as i am retired in Thailand but have friends visiting regularly who will bring items out for me, i am also using graham at beo4life for pretty well everything so that's sorts out the reliability and packaging problem, but good points, after reading the archived posts here extensively I am pretty lucky to be getting great advice and doing everything right to avoid disappointment, cheers
I'm going to ignore some of the previous posts and offer my two cents worth.
Yes, most people have no concept of how to pack things properly. I've had people send me rattling boxes of various parts, which were once a working Bang & Olufsen item. At what point do people think "Yes, a 2mm thick layer of cardboard and some sellotape will certainly provide adequate protection to this delicate unit whilst being thrown around on conveyor belts, pallets and shelves - then bounced around on a truck with a hundred other heavy parcels stacked on top of it"
My worst experience was a BeoSound 9000, sent wrapped in a dustbin liner. All we could salvage was the power supply unit - the rest was smashed to many pieces.
If we do buy anything on eBay, we send detailed instructions by email on how to pack and secure the item before sending. As a rule of thumb, we do not trust anyone to have a modicum of packing 'ability' and cover every base we can. I'm glad to say we rarely receive damaged items - but still the odd one gets through. The biggest culprit are power leads, with the plug pins scratching the hell out of whatever they're pressed against.
My final tip is for sending BeoMaster's and BeoSound's with the long glass panels. ALWAYS use good quality adhesive tape to secure the panels before packing. When we send them out they look like a patchwork quilt of tape across the fascia, but at least the panels never jump off. Even what appears to be a well affixed panel can detach in transit and cause all kinds of damage. Even if you're buying one which has been re-glued, always insist the panels are taped down. Using good quality tape means no residue when you peel it off btw.
Lee
vikinger: I have found two big issues with private eBay sellers. Some think it's OK not to mention faults or defects on the basis of putting an "I'm not an expert" in the small print. They also tell you to rely on the photographs rather than give a detailed description, knowing full well that scratches etc will not necessarily show clearly if at all. The bigger issue, however, is that most private sellers haven't got the faintest idea how to pack things securely, so I'd always go for personal collection where possible. I recently bought a BeoLink 1000 via eBay. It was advertised as perfect, and to be supplied with new batteries. It arrived loose rattling around in an oversized homemade box with no internal packing. The new batteries had been thrown loose into the box instead of being put into the remote. The black front panel near the base of the remote had a gash in it, not visible in the eBay photographs. I left qualified positive feedback rather than return the remote on the basis that I'd got it at a good price. (eBay dissuade you from leaving neutral or negative feedback....... You are persuaded to open discussions with the seller first which leads to refunds without postage ..... So you pay for two way postage to get your refund with many sellers.)
You must have bought a lot from private sellers do you, hearing your experiences. Most of them do their best of doing packing the right way is my experience!
hi lee, thanks for the tip about taping everything down, never thought of that
9 LEE:If we do buy anything on eBay, we send detailed instructions by email on how to pack and secure the item before sending.
Always a good idea! Especially with tables and their transit screws.
I have also gone as far as adding 50-100% of their quoted shipping cost to my payment with the express request that they spend it on packaging!
I have never really been let down, except one single time from a seller that actually frequented in B&o! Oh well!
9 LEE: I'm going to ignore some of the previous posts and offer my two cents worth. Yes, most people have no concept of how to pack things properly. I've had people send me rattling boxes of various parts, which were once a working Bang & Olufsen item. At what point do people think "Yes, a 2mm thick layer of cardboard and some sellotape will certainly provide adequate protection to this delicate unit whilst being thrown around on conveyor belts, pallets and shelves - then bounced around on a truck with a hundred other heavy parcels stacked on top of it" My worst experience was a BeoSound 9000, sent wrapped in a dustbin liner. All we could salvage was the power supply unit - the rest was smashed to many pieces. If we do buy anything on eBay, we send detailed instructions by email on how to pack and secure the item before sending. As a rule of thumb, we do not trust anyone to have a modicum of packing 'ability' and cover every base we can. I'm glad to say we rarely receive damaged items - but still the odd one gets through. The biggest culprit are power leads, with the plug pins scratching the hell out of whatever they're pressed against. My final tip is for sending BeoMaster's and BeoSound's with the long glass panels. ALWAYS use good quality adhesive tape to secure the panels before packing. When we send them out they look like a patchwork quilt of tape across the fascia, but at least the panels never jump off. Even what appears to be a well affixed panel can detach in transit and cause all kinds of damage. Even if you're buying one which has been re-glued, always insist the panels are taped down. Using good quality tape means no residue when you peel it off btw. Lee
I agree absolutely. Most people do not have a clue on how to pack things. I have received a turntable wrapped in ONE sheet of newspaper!!
It seems that once they've sold the item and had the money, they generally don't give a damn!
We now have a general rule that if it costs us more than £100 we collect it. Otherwise we have a good chance that the item will arrive in pieces!
Regards Graham
If I am not collecting, then I always send the original B&O packaging for the seller to put the items in. Increases P&P but worth it!!! Well unless they still pack it and leave some parts of the internal packing out It has happened
Jonnie
Leslie: You must have bought a lot from private sellers do you, hearing your experiences. Most of them do their best of doing packing the right way is my experience!
Hi Leslie,
I was generalising my experience with all eBay purchases, not just of B&O items.
With B&O my experience with larger eBay items is that they've generally been OK: I've collected myself ..... The more expensive items justify longer trips.
As I'm sure I described on the old forum, I once bought a white Beomaster 2000 from a Danish small ad where the advertiser said that some lights didn't work. When the BM arrived it was found that the lights and lenses had actually been removed! Fortunately Martin was able to do a restoration and find matching parts.
vikinger:As I'm sure I described on the old forum, I once bought a white Beomaster 2000 from a Danish small ad where the advertiser said that some lights didn't work. When the BM arrived it was found that the lights and lenses had actually been removed!
That's crazy man, sorry to hear. I'm a private seller/buyer and lots of members and others (private sellers) here from who I bought have done an excellent job sending items to me with perfect packing, as I do btw. And I do not own a business.
I'm selling tested and fully working Beogram CD4500 and nowhere near so called "specialists" on eBay (yes the same one whom list BeoVox 3702 as 2 way system) - Buying on eBay is always gamble especially thanks to careless shippers - got many items turned into pile of rubbish
b
Don't worry - be Happy
Or some clever ones just write address on original packaging, fragile and this way up all over it to ruin the box ;) cannot complain really that BC 4000 only cost me 15 pounds + P&P
Bob: I'm selling tested and fully working Beogram CD4500 and nowhere near so called "specialists" on eBay (yes the same one whom list BeoVox 3702 as 2 way system) - Buying on eBay is always gamble especially thanks to careless shippers - got many items turned into pile of rubbish b
I have bought nearly all my items on Ebay, and only the last one BM 4400 was a bad one, very dirty and screws and washers flying around inside it, the packing was OK, and the price was right.
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
So did (do) I Soren - don't take me wrong, I've said that some call them selves specialist in B&O and yet put improper details in (despite having linked Beoworld details) and i do sell on eBay as well, despite taking great care in packaging and posting usually same day - yet many not happy because it didn't arrived yesterday - never had item sent out to be damaged ;)
Worse experience was pair of 3702 send packed like bag of potatoes and on top of it shipper managed spill toner all over it - needless say it did turned into few spares
Well, even if things are properly packed, strange things happend. I buy one time a pair of speakers from London, packed nicely in two boxes. One of them arrived as should, and second one went to Torino, Italy! Luckyly DHL foudn it and it arrives to me about week after first one.
blah-blah and photographs as needed
I received a pair of CX100's with both speakers simply placed loose in a big box and posted - incredible!!
To be fair the sender did apologise and refunded most of the money, in the end they cost me just £30. After screwing the bits and pieces back together I now have a beautiful sounding pair of speakers with a just a couple of scratches on the side.
I appreciate your input (yes when buying anything strange things happen - once company I worked for bought new Mercedes A class and it didn't pass MOT) also no matter how well things are being packed - there's always chance of being damaged in transit if the shippers and their staff are just "criminals" taking no care at all (I worked in TNT for a while and have pretty good idea), saying that I haven't got in over 15y selling on eBay item delivered to buyer damaged.