Buying Radio's that are Advertised as Untested!

[mfitton]

This is just a public service announcement! It really irks me when someone advertises a radio as untested when they fully know that the radio does not work. There are exceptions when someone has an old radio they pulled out of their car years ago and do not have the proper equipment to test the radio before selling and are being honest about the condition, but these sellers are usually agreeable to a return if the radio does not work. If you see a radio on Ebay and it is advertised as untested do a little investigation of previous radio sales by the seller see if in his past he has sold a radio that was "tested" then you will know that the current radio he is selling "has" been tested and is for sure not working. Here is a radio on Ebay right now where the seller says it is untested when in fact he has sold previous radio's as fully bench tested, very dishonest! He also embellishes the ad by saying the radio "may or may not work" also describing the cosmetic condition and the fact that it has a "reconditioned" label on it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BLAUPUNKT-ST...p2056016.l4276

[JT912]

He also lists the condition as "for parts or not working" and will accept it as a return. For the current bid price of $35 I would assume it is a parts radio.

[Frank Beck]

Same thing holds true for engines. If a seller is not willing to guarantee with sound backing that a radio works or an engine runs, due diligence and common sense demand that a buyer assume that it needs complete rebuilding.

Anything else is lottery mentality and wishful thinking... which becomes the burden of the buyer, not the seller.

However, I learned a hard lesson a few months ago. I bought a rotating core engine from a member for what I consider market price. I had a cursory inspection done just to make sure the engine was as represented. After transfer of funds, paying for shipping, and disassembly it was discovered that it was one of those very rare water cooled early 911 motors.
Crank, rods, oil pump, pistons, cylinders, heads, manifolds, carbs, etc all trash because lots of water had been inside. I can deal with carnage inside from normal wear and tear but it never occurred to me that the engine had been filled with water.

Seller ignoring me and won't even return communication.

I'll suck it up. Not my style to "expose" him publicly but it will certainly not promote trust in this community on future deals.

Natural consequence can be a mean schoolmarm.

[mfitton]

He also lists the condition as "for parts or not working" and will accept it as a return. For the current bid price of $35 I would assume it is a parts radio.

You missed my point. How do you explain that he has sold other radios that have been bench tested and this one is conveniently "Untested"? Yes right now $35 plus $12 to ship for some of the parts is OK, my point is this guy is BSing about the radio being untested. I see it all the time, there is a guy selling radio's on the Samba and his BS line all the time is not sure if it works "I am no radio guy" and yet that is all he sells on the Samba is radio's.

[Jim Breazeale]

"untested" = "it's a piece of sh*t that has little or no redeeming value".

[uptheorg]

It surprises me that you called him out on this and when he answered on eBay, he checked the box that adds the question and answer to the listing so all can see it. This is a sign, IMHO, that this seller is being honest. He doesn't have to show that question and his answer, especially when he has done almost 7000 transactions on eBay with a 100% positive feedback rating. He also seems to describe the product otherwise in an upfront manner (mentioning the reconditioned sticker, etc.) and he prices the item very low. I have no dog in this fight, but as an experienced eBay buyer and seller myself, I would suggest that, with this seller, you are barking up the wrong tree. (too many dog metaphors? sorry)

[mfitton]

It surprises me that you called him out on this and when he answered on eBay, he checked the box that adds the question and answer to the listing so all can see it. This is a sign, IMHO, that this seller is being honest. He doesn't have to show that question and his answer, especially when he has done almost 7000 transactions on eBay with a 100% positive feedback rating. He also seems to describe the product otherwise in an upfront manner (mentioning the reconditioned sticker, etc.) and he prices the item very low. I have no dog in this fight, but as an experienced eBay buyer and seller myself, I would suggest that, with this seller, you are barking up the wrong tree. (too many dog metaphors? sorry)

Why does everyone want to avoid my point which is this seller and other sellers advertise "Untested" radios when you know they have the ability to test and choose not to disclose that the radio "has been tested" and is not working. Instead they want you to think that there is a possibility that the radio may work. Ebay is 90% "Gotcha" sellers that if you do not ask enough questions or read the small print in the description you are screwed. If you think because someone has 100% positive feedback is completely honest you are very naïve! Bad transactions get taken care of through Ebay and PayPal claims and then are swept under the table for no one to know.

[ejboyd5]

Why does everyone want to avoid my point which is this seller and other sellers advertise "Untested" radios when you know they have the ability to test and choose not to disclose that the radio "has been tested" and is not working.

Probably because the seller supposedly "has done almost 7000 transactions on eBay with a 100% positive feedback rating." Time to stop beating a dead dog.

[StephenAcworth]

Seems to address your point on testing, Mike...

I thought his description was pretty fair: as we all know, the phrase 'caveat emptor' holds true in most cases, as evidenced by Frank's post above...

[boxster03]

"Untested" I would automatically assume it is not working and that the seller doesn't know what is wrong with it - if they are radio experts they decided not to track down the exact problem (big or small) but IMO 'Untested" would mean not working