[blinkstar]

I've been wanting an Auzentech Prelude forever but Auzentech doesn't make or sell them anymore. I just missed one on ebay and now here is another one:
 
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180698417512&category=3701&_trksid=p5197.c0.m619
 
I want to bid on it, but the fact that there are no photos of the actual card--just a stock photo of the box--makes me a little concerned. I tried contacting the seller to ask if he had any photos of the actual card, and he never responded.
 
I'm paying with PayPal but not through my back account--I used these cards called MoneyPaks which you can buy at stores to add funds to my account--so if I did get ripped off, I'm not sure if I could get my money back.
 
What do you fellow headfiers think? Should I take a chance on this or not?

 

[Parall3l]

Personally, I don't trust anything on ebay at all, but I've known many people who purchase from ebay and have been satisfied by the product they received. The dealer selling the soundcard has a 100% positive feed back so he seems legit, I wouldn't worry too much about buying stuff off ebay unless its something that has been known to have fakes made, like the beats headphones.
 
http://myworld.ebay.com/dontcallme_uncle/?_trksid=p4340.l2559
 
 
 

 

[strannik]

Take this with as many grains of salt as you'd like, but for the price of the item, I'd trust the guy. 
 
Why? Simple, if someone like you got scammed, you'd leave a nasty negative comment scaring off his customers and the guy wouldn't sell a thing for the next 12 months. It's just not worth it for the guy to scam someone over $50. He is selling some stuff for over 1k in there.
 
Only if you are the paranoid type: it is odd that he is selling computer equipment all the sudden, looks like his main business is selling DVDs. That and I don't like that he sells only a few items a month.
 
Something else to keep in mind: If the card arrives, is legit, but doesn't work (fried). Paypal won't refund it if the guy refuses to take it back. They aren't responsible for the 'quality' of the item, as long as it ships, and is the right model, they're happy. 
 
To be "safer" on ebay, you could connect your Paypal to your credit card. If paypal refuses to refund something, your CC company can refund it for you and fight it out with Paypal themselves.

 

[blinkstar]

Thanks to both of you for responding!
 
Still debating on what I should do. I looked through all his feedback and there actually was at least one very negative rating there--guy said he sold him an unplayable DVD and wouldn't refund his money--so I don't know how he gets the 100 percent positive rating. Maybe the negative comment is too old to count towards his overall ranking, I don't know.
 
I don't like the fact that he ignored my question as to whether he had any photos of the actual card ... and the fact that there are only two bids total.
 
Then again, I really want an Auzentech Prelude ...

 

[blinkstar]

Here's something a little strange ... I went back through his ratings history and found two different people giving him high marks for the very same item number (#170230123970) ... They can't both have bought it, can they? Or am I reading this wrong?
 

	This is a very very good seller, packaging was orderly, also fast shipping!!	Member id graybac5545 ( Feedback Score Of 178 )	Jun-29-08 21:22
	EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS Superclocked Edition 640MB (#170230123970)	US $150.00
	Super fast shipping, The very best ebay experience ever had!!!	Member id kobe2003h ( Feedback Score Of 64 )	Jun-28-08 01:42
	EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS Superclocked Edition 640MB (#170230123970)	US $150.00

 

 

[MalVeauX]

Heya,
 
Why not just get a Xonar DG for $35 new?
 
I wager you probably can't tell the difference when blind testing it versus the prelude.
 
Very best,

 

[ETAHL]

I bought lots of stuff off eBay.
The eBay retailers depends on good feedback. Any bad ratings means less business. The ones I deal with try really hard to get good ratings.
Just make sure that you buy from retailers with a good track records. Many of them won't have a spotless record, if you have lots of customer, it is just a matter of time before you run into a few that cannot be satisfied.
The ability to see and leave feedbacks makes me feel safer buying on eBay than most internet retailers. There is also an extra layer of financial isolation through Pay Pal, than through your credit card company.

 

[Parall3l]

Quote:

Here's something a little strange ... I went back through his ratings history and found two different people giving him high marks for the very same item number (#170230123970) ... They can't both have bought it, can they? Or am I reading this wrong?
 

	This is a very very good seller, packaging was orderly, also fast shipping!!	Member id graybac5545 ( Feedback Score Of 178 )	Jun-29-08 21:22
	EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS Superclocked Edition 640MB (#170230123970)	US $150.00
	Super fast shipping, The very best ebay experience ever had!!!	Member id kobe2003h ( Feedback Score Of 64 )	Jun-28-08 01:42
	EVGA GeForce 8800 GTS Superclocked Edition 640MB (#170230123970)	US $150.00

 

My guess is that he had two of the same cards running in SLI and when he sold the two cards, he sold them together, but each costumer bought only one of the cards and they both did a review