[dadozen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by toxic888 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, most the people that buy high-end IEM's from eBay are first time high-end IEM buyers, so they wouldn't notice the difference either way! Most 'audiophiles' buy IEM's from trusted sites supported by the IEM producer. This way you get a legit warranty and less problems Personally I think it won't make a difference at all

I bought my UE TF 10 Pros from eBay, and I'm 100% sure I'd be able to tell if it wasn't legit, even though it was my first high-end pair od headphones/IEMs.

It does make all the difference, even for those who aren't "audiophiles" yet. That's just a ridiculous way of thinking, IMHO.

 

[homsar57]

Well maybe its just me and my bad luck in general, but I've had very bad luck with ebay. I have a few fake pairs of Sure and sennheisers laying around I purchased from apparently reputable sellers. Personally I'd just use Amazon for a general purchase or something like head direct or some other smaller site for a more specific/smaller brand.

 

[nilepez]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HelloMotto /img/forum/go_quote.gif Im thinking of buying an IEM from ebay. I'm going to buy from a seller with like thousands of feedbacks and like 98% positive feedback. The seller looks legit to me but can ebay really be trusted?

I've bought and sold on ebay and here's my take.

Pros: Price (especially with ebay coupons and 25-30% rebate from Microsoft)
Cons: No warranty (with few exceptions), very limited return policy in most
cases.

Resellers with massive amounts of feed back are generally safe, but I always read the negative feedback. Sometimes it makes sense to read feedback on the customer that leaves the feedback, but with ebay's new policy which prevents negative feedback for buyers, that may be harder now.

The best piece of advice I can give is ask your questions before you buy and pay with a credit card via paypal. Paypal protects you, but so does your CC company. I'd probably use my discover card, simply because they don't require me to fill out paperwork...I call, they listen and handle it from there.

If prices at or below cost, then you should worry.
What's Cost
Someone still in retail, can correct my math, but my recollection is that the cost on most audio (other than speakers....and maybe headphones) is MSRP (or the normal price the item sells for, whichever is less) * 0.60. Speakers are 100%....and the grade cartridge we sold (retail 200 bucks) was discounted to $95....store's cost was $7.00. I only sold one I made something like 40-45 bucks..

Thus, if retail for speakers is 1200, then cost is 600....unless they normally sell for 1000, then cost is 500 and the MSRP of 1200 was set to make it look like there's a discount.


I find it s hard to justify paying 400 for a pair of Triple Fi 10 vi when I can get them on ebay for 230-255 after 30% search.live.com rebate and possibly 10% coupon from ebay itself. If not for these discounts, i'd probably buy retail. Warranties are rarely needed, though my Super.Fi 5 pros had a channel go out within a few months....if i'd gone ebay I'd have been hosed.

Caveat emptor.

 

[Duffy1207]

Can you explain the ebay coupons and microsoft rebates and how you get them etc?

 

[krmathis]

Not me!
Neither with eBay themselves, or people selling items using their services.

 

[aegid]

If you're thinking you'll need a warranty, squaretrade can help you there. Depending on how much your item cost it might be $15 or so for a 3 year warranty where they'll either fix the problem or refund your purchase price (doesn't include original auction shipping cost).

ebay coupons are random. If you get one, you get one. That's all to say.
search through live.com and get an ebay link for Microsoft cashback. Takes about 74 days in most cases til you get your cashback.

 

[oli_ramsay]

I've bought 2 fake pairs of CX500's in the past. Managed to get a refund on the 2nd pair, the 1st pair pretty much fell apart after a few months lol.

Avoid ebay like the plague, esp. when getting Sennheisers.

 

[toxic888]

Quote:

Originally Posted by aegid /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you're thinking you'll need a warranty, squaretrade can help you there.

A good choice when buying off sites like eBay