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
Item 1
A set of penta 1 speakers fetched fromm sellers house he asured me they were working fine although had no player to test them on. On arrival home tested them to find both displays not working. 1 amp not working all eight mid range foams like jelly.
Item 2
A set of Beolab 3000s Looked nice in pics when they arrived i found that both displays were covered with film that you use on car windows to hide the filler and scratches below. Both of the power cables were atached with crock blocks and not soldered.
It would be nice to trust people on Ebay but as I have found out to my own cost watchout Beoworlders.
My vow too.
My experience was "better" in that the seller let me test at their home - and it all looked good.
Got it home and it operated well for a day.
Then failed.
Cost me the eBay price again to get a B&O quote that said it was irreparable.
The seller was embarrassed and said they would refund .... but did not.
I don't blame the seller ... it was old kit and it was time to go to Struer-in-the-sky, but it convinced me that all the imperfections and difficulties via eBay are simply not worth it.
On the other hand my son and daughter-in-law are eBay addicts for their hobbies (which are typically lighter (no packaging issues, less shipping damage) and less expensive that 3rd hand B&O !!!
BeoNut since '75
Sad that you had to make such an experience. However, I remember from a few years back some scams with bricks instead of loudspeakers, I think it was reported in Beoworld.
i have purchased selected B+O equipment through B+O stores ... Always with excellent results.
Sorry to hear about your experiences but there is a huge difference from buying second handthings from the odd private household to buying recently serviced things from more specialized sellers.The selling price should reflect this - and it usually does.
I wouldn't expect a used pair of Pentas to have refoamed midrange drivers, I wouldn't even expect the seller toknow about this problem.I wouldn't expect them to have anything but original un-restored amplifiers and crossovers too. All in need ofservice to some extent.There's a good chance the seller didn't use the speakers for a couple of years prior to selling and if he testedthem before listing it wouldn't have been a particularly thorough test. And not being aware of any of thecommon issues, why should he do otherwise ? - They are still working !
The film covered displays and crock blocks; Well, the seller may - or may not have be aware of these things.I wouldn't expect any seller to be.
If you feel badly treated, use the Ebay feedback system.And remember - as a buyer - always use Paypal, also for things picked up in person!
Martin
hi guys, you are lucky to have options, i have no choice being stranded out here in thailand but to use ebay, but buying from recognised dealers is a must, so far i have acquired
complete beosystem 4500 from graham at beo4life
A8 headphones from john barker
beocom 2 from lee at lifestyle, all items purchased perform wonderfully well
plus a few bits and pieces i was prepared to take a risk with but not for big money
it seems to me a lot of stuff is sold by house clearance people or after a loft clearout which means there can be all sorts of problems, the dealers i use are all well versed in B and O and items are well tested, if its too good to be true there is probably a good reason
I never use much money to ebay items, so I can assume that they might not be absolutely top, so less dissapoinments, but instead happy suprices now and then.
Only bad taste issue was one german seller what did not deliver item at all. And I have to learn that ebays system for solve this kind of issues (deal between two countries) was absolutely useless. No help at all.
blah-blah and photographs as needed
I do agree with Martin here.
Yes I do have a little Ebay experience with pro reseller which turned out just well with shipping and all from UK to Denmark of a seondhand pair of Beolab 6000 and 8000 a few years ago.
I have gotten several smaller items like never used MCL kits and other bits too which were just fine from Ebay in Germany. This includes a Beocord 5000 type 4705 from1977 which just needs new belts! Now I knew perfectly well that the Beocord would not be perfect out of the box. Old B&O are usally used, put aside maybe collected then sold as it really always have some sort of value even in DOA conditions.
I have also bought B&O from normal auctions and the same applies as always. Know what you are bidding on and deal with it! You got all the time to inspect and ask questions to make it work for you even if its long distance!
As for old B&O in general. Do not be to naive to think it would be perfect out of the box. Why do you think it is for sale at all?
Hello,
I am on Ebay frequently buying and selling (some times) many things and my experience is good, most of the B&O buyers want to buy a bargain and don't look further then the pricing on that moment!
When you buy specially B&O equipment by Ebay ask in front serialnumbers, 1th ownership, bought where (maybe the dealer name) there are also a lot of trustworthy sellers on Ebay.
Look at feedback, Powerseller, etc. not send money with only a bankaccount or Moneygram and pay only with Paypal or CC (cash back possible!)
jvdl: ..... most of the B&O buyers want to buy a bargain and don't look further then the pricing on that moment!
..... most of the B&O buyers want to buy a bargain and don't look further then the pricing on that moment!
Absolutely spot on there. I can have a pristine, like new pair of BeoLab 6000 from 2009 at £995 - or a pair from 1994 which look like they've been kicked down a flight of stone stairs for £495.
The battered ones sell every single time. It's all "Price, Price, Price" now, with scant regard to condition or age.
I had a pair of 2010 BeoLab 5's at £8,995. Not a sniff. However, a pair of 2003 versions for £7,995. Gone in about half an hour.
Go figure.
Lee
jvdl:most of the B&O buyers want to buy a bargain and don't look further then the pricing on that moment!
Wanting an item for sale on Ebay, the first thing I look for is the price, everyone wants a bargain, when finding an interesting item, I check the description.
If the sellers description include, "I could not test because bla bla bla", or bad or very few pics, I look for the feed back and how long the seller has been on Ebay. Good Feedback below 95-97 %, makes me check why,
I also look for differences in the description and the photos and check the Q and A section, like "Q: Which type of pickup does the record player have. A: It says B&O on it, but I dont know anything about record players". In the description the seller said, "it comes with a pickup, the cantilever looks OK", if he use the term cantilever, he knows about record players. In this case I start getting cold feet, and goes looking other offers.
If the sellers description is honest and his feedback 100% and has a high count, I will consider buying, if it is an auction I decide my highest bid, and if time allows it I give my bid in the last minutes of the auction, if I cant follow the last minutes I put in my highest bid, and hope for the best.
After buying I contact the seller to find out if he knows how to pack and ship properly, and if needed, I give instructions on how too.
Where one also has to pay attention is on the shipping cost, some sellers up their shipping prices to assure a higher "selling" price, I dont want to pay 50 USD where I know USD 25 will do it. But remember, packing properly will add to shipping price.
Out of 20 B&O items bought within the last 4 years on Ebay only one went bad, a BM 4400, but on the other hand I only paid USD 50.00 for it, as for bad packing, only one item, a MCP 5000, packed with 2 small pieces of newspaper loose in a flimsy box. But worked as it should.
Collecting Vintage B&O is not a hobby, its a lifestyle.
I have sold my Bs5, BL9, BL5s on ebay and am also now hoping to sell my TV but i always state that person coming to collect are welcome to inspect the items fully, see them working and audition them fully before they pay and take it away. I have had a couple of buyers who seem scared to look at items properly and so i sit them down and insist they examine the items and i offer a cup of tea whilst they sit and use all the functions. As a seller i do want the hassles of returns but at the same time i will never knowingly sell broken things and want people to be happy with what they are buying like i enjoyed them and don't want any bad publicity in the form of negative feed back.
The morale to the story is go there, examine every surface, every button, crank it up, try all the common buttons and functions and then and only then hand over the money.
.
Present: BL90, Core, BL6000, CD7000, Beogram 7000, Essence Remote.
Past: BL1, BL2, BL8000, BS9000, BL5, BC2, BS5, BV5, BV4-50, Beosystem 3, BL3, DVD1, Beoremote 4, Moment.
seethroughyou:The morale to the story is go there, examine every surface, every button, crank it up, try all the common buttons and functions and then and only then hand over the money.
You are right about this, but living in Mexico, (or Thailand), this is mostly not possible, I have an US address to ship to, but the people there only receive and stock the item, until I have time to collect, the time for complains has passed when I collect and can check the item. So to feed my BeoVirus, before mentioned is nearly the only way to do it, I can of course buy from forum members, pay the price and try to get it through Mexican customs without too much effort or bribes. I assume our Thai member has the same problems, I have been out there, getting spare parts into Thailand is the same PIB as in Mexico.
The thing that constantly gets me upset about eBay is just looking at the B&O gear, so much if it is so badly damaged and rough looking. I can rationalize buying a piece that needs mechanical or electrical repair more than one that's cosmetically damaged as that's harder to fix. It's just depressing how badly treated most of the used gear is.
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
Im only ever going to buy Beolabs from now on. I purchased 2 Beosound 3000s which both failed prematurely, and a Beovision 3 which played up prematurely also...
All NEW
I bought a fantastic pair of black 2007 Lab 6000s for a bargain price - in perfect condition, hardly used. Picked up with no fuss from a decent seller. eBay isn't all bad! :)
Not a problem for me: I always buy non-functional items, albeit in good cosmetic condition.
Sometimes I get something for say €30, if the seller didn't pack properly and the item is damaged, well too bad but I usually get my money back or I keep the item for parts. Hit-or-miss.
As a seller, I double-pack everything very carefully with a lot of polystyrene (bubble wrap alone is useless) and I never got a complaint. But then my boxes are heavy and it costs!
Jacques
elephant:Dear Bistonhall, I plan to be in Thailand in the second week of June, so let me know if there is any small kit you might need from Oz.
I'll be in Bangkok from the 26th of May for about 4 days.... same offer as Ed's (elephant)
x:________________________
Jonathan:same offer as Ed's (elephant)
So you will each be taking a bl5 on as hand luggage ? Very decent of you both. :-)
jldmelb:I'll be in Bangkok from the 26th of May for about 4 days.... same offer as Ed's (elephant)
valve1:So you will each be taking a bl5 on as hand luggage ? Very decent of you both. :-)
kind offers guys, much appreciated, check your email
Jeff: The thing that constantly gets me upset about eBay is just looking at the B&O gear, so much if it is so badly damaged and rough looking. I can rationalize buying a piece that needs mechanical or electrical repair more than one that's cosmetically damaged as that's harder to fix. It's just depressing how badly treated most of the used gear is.
Yes, some of them are in a state even I wouldn't buy.
You and i must be related along some Viking "WHY DON'T YOU LOOK AFTER THIS STUFF" DNA strand.
Beosound Stage, Beovision 8-40, Beolit 20, Beosound Explore.