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Bose / Ebay Warning


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As an accountant you may want to look up this paper who’s author shared the Nobel Prize for economics in 2001 for explaining the phenomena of pricing in “markets with asymmetric information.” Unfortunately, when you are buying on eBay you are participating in one of these markets.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Market_for_Lemons

 

Very interesting article, thanks for posting it.

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I have over 200 transactions on EBay of which about 85% are purchases. I don’t think it’s the Wild West at all. Less than 2% of my transactions have had issues and of those 2% all were resolved.

3 rules for success:

Pay attention to the description. 

Pay attention to the seller feedback (need not be 100% but should be >99%)

Ask for clarification when needed. 

Just about any car dealership you’d visit is a far more risky place to make a purchase..

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As a buyer , you have a responsibility to check out your merchandise within the specified timeframe....I sell about 20k a month on ebay , and although most problems show up in 30 days , occasionally things slip through the cracks....  I sell the Bose 20s from time to time , I have never had a problem....  Many buyers expect new parts service , on older equipment....Keep in mind that you are paying less , and you are getting less...  You have 180 days to dispute the charge , also your paypal will give you the name and email of the payee …..  With a little diligence , and Google , you can find personal info , and call him at home..... This will usually motivate somebody....   I treat each case , on a case by case basis... On yours , I would have either bought them back , or payed for half the repair....

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Unfortunately not all people are as honest as Allan Fox or most of the posters here on MS

I've bought a few items off this board and the folks I have dealt with have been fine, upstanding people. 

I have a question about Barnstormers which I will post a new thread on. 

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I have purchased a few things through E-bay.  Mainly inexpensive equipment for my dental office.  Laboratory handpieces, etc... things that do not need to be shiny new because they are not used with patients, etc...  I have never had an issue with E-bay.  I know what I am getting into and I know the chances that I am taking by purchasing on E-bay and not directly from my dental supply company or the manufacturer.

I recently purchased a Garmin GNC 300XL GPS/Comm off of e-bay.  It worked as advertised which was great.  I did so because either I did it or my avionics shop was going to do it.  They purchase used avionics off of e-bay all the time when they are extremely hard to find or the manufacturer has stopped producing/supporting the instrument such as the GNC 300XL.  I knew I was taking a chance but I also knew it was about the only place I could get this unit.  It works and worked out fine.

But I do not go to E-bay expecting brand new even when it says it is.  I am trying to understand why, if it were me, I would expect Bose to do anything about this.  They had nothing to do with this guy on e-bay, how he got the headsets, and they obviously were not brand new.  I think if I were Bose I would have said the same thing.  I am sorry but there is nothing we can do for you other than charge you to fix it.  Which is what they did.  I think my beef would be with the seller but good luck on collecting on that.  And the OP mentioned legal action.  Well, I think I would just pay Bose the $250 and have them fix it.  I am not sure what you paid for the headsets (hopefully far less than new from Bose) but just consider yourself fortunate and sleep well at night knowing that you will have 4 functioning headsets.  Your "legal action" would probably cost far more than the price of the 4 headsets including the repair.

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Purchased my Zulu 3s on eBay. Flawless. 

Purchased a sail rite machine on eBay.  Arrived in pieces (not damaged during shipping) and had been misrepresented.  eBay has money back in my account within 48 hrs.  

It does take a caveat emptor to verify that you are getting what you received and it is working properly.  I also look for the red flags as listed above.  I’m overall a happy eBay user. 

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