How to sell untested electronics?

[rosewood85]

I recently cleared out my closet and would like to sell some electronics (microphones, keyboards, etc.) that I no longer use. As far as I know they still work and function, but I am not able to test them to verify (as I no longer have the complementary components that would be required to use them (e.g. a mixer, music software, etc.)).

I'd appreciate any advice on the best way to list the items. If I list them as "For Parts" then I'm being unfair to myself by unnecessarily slashing the value on items that most likely do work and are in like new condition. If I list them as "Used" well then I can't specify what works and what might not. How do I get around this so that I am fair to both buyers and myself?

I would prefer to sell them as-is and not offer refunds, but my understanding is eBay's Money Back Guarantee woudl eviscerate this listing strategy.

[softersilk]

Don't do it.

Prices are terrible on old electronics AND risk is high.  Lose/lose!!!!

Seriously, don't do it.  Take them to the recycling center.

Even if you sell them as "non-working for parts only", buyer can and will file SNAD and win.  That's just eBay today.

Only other way, and this is perfectly within eBay policy, is to list them for:

• Local pickup only
• Payment "at pickup".
• No Paypal if picked up
• No shipping available.

I've done this many times on my personal ID with large items.  Buyer pays cash and walks away.  No returns, no chargeback, no SNAD.  Cash is permitted for pickups - and - Paypal does not offer seller protection if it's accepted as pickup so there's that.

[sam9876]

"Paypal does not offer seller protection if it's accepted as pickup so there's that."

False.

[dbmm-media]

flea market

[robot-hands]

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@sam9876 wrote:

"Paypal does not offer seller protection if it's accepted as pickup so there's that."

False.

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False.

[atikovi]

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@softersilk wrote:

Paypal does not offer seller protection if it's accepted as pickup so there's that.

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WRONG

[a_c_green]

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@robot-hands wrote:

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@sam9876 wrote:

"Paypal does not offer seller protection if it's accepted as pickup so there's that."

False.

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False.

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False to which one? 

People (all of you): it wouldn't kill you to explain your answers.

[fashunu4eeuh]

Ebay is not the venue to sell untested or “as is” electronics on. If you want to list it here and be fair to all parties as stated, then you must test it so you know how it should be listed, either as “used” or “for parts”. No way around it. Selling untested is a SNAD magnet.

[luckythewinner]

How to sell untested electronics?

Unsuccessfully? 

[a_c_green]

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@robot-hands wrote:

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@remote_controls_and_more wrote:

I dont think electronics will just stop working from being stored.

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Corrosion and rot.

Depending on the environment they are in, how they are stored and what shape they were in when packed up...

You can have pots go bad without ever touching or seeing them.

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Potentiometers were the first things I thought of, too. The electronic device you stashed away years before does not necessarily age well, and anything with mechanical knobs or sliders can generate the most incredible sputtering, dropouts and dead circuits when plugged in again after all that time. 

Some controls will come back with just repeated end-to-end rotating or sliding to scrape the contacts clean, but sometimes the oxidized contacts are just too far gone. Within the past month I've been doing battle with my father's nice old Harmon Kardon HK3500 cassette deck, which is working fine 95% of the time, until you turn a knob to just the wrong spot, and your whole channel drops out. Similarly, playback and Fast Forward are fine, but Rewind is completely nonfunctional because the belt broke.

Since I'm not planning to either buy or sell it, I've been exploring its mechanical glitches more out of curiosity than anything else (I love messing about with vintage hardware), but knowing what I know now about its current condition fresh out of storage, the worst possible thing I could have done would be to sell it as a working unit without testing it.

[adkhighker]

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@fashunu4eeuh wrote:

Ebay is not the venue to sell untested or “as is” electronics on. If you want to list it here and be fair to all parties as stated, then you must test it so you know how it should be listed, either as “used” or “for parts”. No way around it. Selling untested is a SNAD magnet.

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"untested"           Translation:        "does not work, period"

[slati_2013]

I sell lots of electronics. Some of them I have no way of testing. When that is the case, I will list it as for parts. However there are times when I know the source of the item and know they work. In that case I will sell them as used. 

If you once owned the items then you should be able to test them yourself. What I do is buy a battery, or power cord needed to test the item. In most cases I essentially make the item whole before I sell it. Most buyers prefer that, so I will recommend that you buy wherever parts you need on eBay to be able to test the item before you sell it. 

If you still do not have the ability to test but you are pretty confident they work, simply list them as used. That is taking a risk, but I have done that repeatedly on things I know work but can't test them, and have had in all the years I have been selling on eBay, just one return, and that was in my early days before I figured out how to make items whole by buying parts to test them. 

[vsoivj_0]

To be fair and honest if these were mine I would want to list these as "For Parts / Not Working" and then in the Condition Description box I can say what you just told us (that I believe they most likely do work but I have no way of testing them and thus must sell these as "parts only").

[atikovi]

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@vsoivj_0 wrote:

that I believe they most likely do work 

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That is a setup for SNAD.

[robot-hands]

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@a_c_green wrote:

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@robot-hands wrote:

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@sam9876 wrote:

"Paypal does not offer seller protection if it's accepted as pickup so there's that."

False.

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False.

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False to which one? 

People (all of you): it wouldn't kill you to explain your answers.

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Some users never explain their answers to the point of being useless.

The false is false.

There is some seller protection for local pick up but it does not cover every circumstance. 

[fuzzyfurball]

Like sam said, pickup only!!  Cash only!!  Others have pointed out the buyer can file a SNAD anytime and you're stuck with a damaged item or an empty box AND no money including the money you paid for shipping both ways.  Your items aren't diamonds nor expensive new electronics so you don't have to worry about deadly thieves if you put them on cr*igslist, off*rup (app), nextdo*or(app), etc.  You just have to list them on those websites and/or apps, describe them, provide lots of good photos, and then have them come over to your house garage to test it while you're there and THE BUYER IS THE ONE TO BRING the item(s) to wherever they're going.  Keep reminding them your items are NON-REFUNDABLE and you ONLY ACCEPT CASH, not paypal, not money orders, not cashiers checks, not checks, etc.  You can even buy those special pens on Ama*on to check if the cash is really cash and not fake.  Have your garage wide open with a neighbor as a witness if you think they'll come back for a refund.

There, no paying out of your own pocket.  No doing extra work packaging/delivering.  No hassles with SNADS.  This is the way I sell now.  No way would I sell on ebay the way the policies are now.  I think on Nextdo*or (the app), you can expand your geography to include outside surrounding areas, depending on what you want, if you only want your neighborhood or you want to connect with more buyers so you want to include other neighborhoods, etc.