Hardware problems with Ebay?

[Zeewolf]

Has anybody on EAB had any hardware problems when buying amigas off ebay?
My best mate has just paid £40 for an A500 which on the site it stated it was in very good condition, when it arrived it was really dirty, the wires to the power suppy were badly frayed & the enter button didnt work on it!! Which in my opinion doesnt sound like very good condition to me!!
Im a bit worried as Im waiting on delivery of 2 Amigas which are also supposed to be in very good condition!! Also waiting on external floppy drive.

What are your experiences with purchasing hardware from Ebay?

Thanks in advance

[RetroMan]

Never had any problems with Amiga Hardware from EBay :) They arrived allways as described !

[Ian]

But the system is always open to Cowboys though, get your friend to post some harsh comments, this will either get a refund (Doubtful:() or alert other Ebayers about him/her.

[Unknown_K]

If it shows up not in the condition specified in the auction bug the seller to get your money back.

I purchased a c64c + 1541c drive and an amiga A500 from ebay and they all showd up in like new condition (just like the pictures)

And as far as giving somebody a bad rating the seller will also get pissed and give you a bad rating so talk to the guy first before both your rating suffer.

Word to the wise dont bid on anything electronic unless you can see what it looks like, and description in text is acurate.

[jmmijo]

These points are all well and good, sometimes it's that old adage, caveat emptur ;)

Personally, I'm not sure I really want to deal with anybody on eBay now, been reading about too many unscroupulous types that send you crap vs. what is described :(

Again you have to be careful on what you purcahse on eBay.

[Twistin'Ghost]

When purchasing on ebay, it's always a good idea to read what others have written about the seller prior to the current auction. It's a clear indicator of that seller's track record.

[Puzzle]

Of course, this doesn't apply just to eBay. The same can happen when you buy used stuff through advertisements in the local paper.

I have bought some things through auction-sites on the net, and on the whole - I'm pleased.
Maybe I've been lucky...

[Unknown_K]

Well if you buy something from a local person you generally can see what it looks like before you pay the person. The person might even have it running for you to play with before purchase. Bidding on an auction you cant do that, you have to rely on the description and the picture.

But you cant give up on auctions because there are quite a few "rare" pieces that you will never find locally.

Another option is machine specific swap groups. I have a few older Macs I play with and belong to a swaplist and have found alot of general bargans for the equipment (cheaper then ebay).

Worst place to buy is a pawn shop