Bought a walkman on ebay recently that was described as "seller refurbished", in very good working condition with belt replaced, mechanism lubricated and head demgnetized. While I did expect that more work will be needed to bring the unit to perfect working condition, I didn't expect at all what I was about to find out. He stated he wanted to be contacted before buying, but only responded after I already made the purchase. At that point he told a totally different story, which you can see in the messages attached below. After I asked for a discount given the situation, the seller cancelled my order without asking me and then tries to convince me to buy it outside ebay (he put his e-mail adress on a picture), in order for him to avoid the ebay fees. He offered a $15 discount, which I declined. I also lost about 10$ just in PayPal conversion rates, from moving money back and forth. He's clearly not a scammer, just not honest about his listings, pretending to be in much better condition that they actually are. I would also say beware that there are other sellers like these on ebay, which sell so called "refurbished" units, sometimes described as "belt replaced, lubricated, head demagnetized", but in reality are just used devices that most of the time do not even work properly. And of course, you must be aware that a used device in working condition has much less value that a completely refurbished one.
I've seen ads that gave me the feeling that the sellers were just saying the words they thought you wanted to hear. And, yes, there is dishonesty involved there. The one you described also sounds like he might be on another planet. When the conversation does not remain coherent, I lose interest quickly. There's also the matter of his inconsideration for your need to do currency transfer for the transaction. Unfortunately this is all becoming a trend in society. But that doesn't mean I have to do business with them. Thanks for the heads-up. Don
I wanted to raise some awareness regarding this type of sellers exactly because I am convinced that part of the rising prices on new old stock tapes, walkmans and cassette related stuff is exactly this type of speculating seller (and the buyers that purchase from them, though setting a trend). Some people have found they have an old walkman in their basement and decided why not make some good money cause all this vintage hype... And they don't really want to sell, it's more like "if I can get this crazy price on it then I'll sell, otherwise I'm not in a hurry". What frustrated me the most and made me do this thread is exactly the inconsideration for a win-win situation. It was only about him and maximizing his profits. Like he was having something so rare that is was impossible for me to find it elsewhere. Even after it was obvious that I'm not a newbie when it comes repair, he was still trying to fool me by minimizing the problem by saying it's only doing it on 90 minutes tapes and so on and so forth. Anyway, given that in the meantime I got myself a JVC CX-F7K from a very honest seller and already repaired it, I draw the following conclusions: the unit described above was never opened, it has for sure the original belt still in it and also a clutch in need of repair. Most likely some leaky capacitors as well. The fact that the walkman was noisy is related to the motor, which needs lubrication on both bearings. And this is not that kind of walkman on which you take 3 screws out and then replace the belt and lubricate the motor. Here is the link with the repair for reference: https://stereo2go.com/forums/threads/jvc-cx-f7k-restoration.7222/ The mechanical part is identical to the CX-5K and the electronics are mostly the same as well, the only big difference is the external case design. The unit described in the original post is still for sale on ebay, but at a slightly higher price: https://www.ebay.com/itm/194098010791
haha, only if you know where you have your demagnetizer. i‘m allways looking for mine for ages back to the point: unfortunately with those „exploding“ walkman-prices, there‘s a load of greedy baggers out there, trying to get to your wallet. i‘m a professional trained tv-radio mechanic, i learned this in the early 80‘es, means in the goldrush for portable cassette-players. i worked for the -in those days - biggest mail-order shop for everything, including electronics, so we had everything on the desk. in those days it started with the complete electronic „throw-away“ menthality, means units, especially walkmen and boomboxes often didn‘t get repaired, but thrown away why do i say that ? easy, even in those days there weren‘t many, who could fix a walkman or boombox properly, and there weren‘t many intentions made by the makers to train everybody - replacement was easier and cheaper. so why the hell are there now so many specialists out there with the electronic skills and the careful hands of a watchmaker, who can properly „remanufacture“, „refurbish“ or however they call it a 30 to 40 years old vintage piece of tiny electronics ? it‘s even for me extremely difficult sometimes, allthough i collect walkman and other portable stereo since i can remember (…oooh, it‘s long !). so over the last decades i met many, many enthusiasts in this hobby, but not many who can fix or service them nicely. and if they do, they do it for themselfe or for „buddies“, some do it professional, they make a great job but that costs. i would never ever buy a „seller-refurbished“ walkman on ebay, sorry…
most people are smacked off there tits on ebay trying to sell low end walkmans for thousands, sorry but once a turd always a turd....and i agree with auto to many band about that it's been refurbished these days when in reality they have done jack shit, had plenty of those guys
The point I was trying to make is a little different: there is a category of people who want to buy these things for collection and want them to work well. They usually lack the knowledge to to do any maintenance, let alone repair those units. Of course, people like @autoreverser, @Reli, @Redfish, @Radio Raheem would never be fooled by such an ad. And that's true for many other members and people who either worked in the field or have lots of experience regarding audio. I do agree with you, @autoreverser that repairing these devices properly is not an easy task: it's something that I do both to the units that I collect and sometimes for re-selling when I get a unit that I already have or do no want in my collection. I can tell from personal experience that re-selling is most of the times not economical to do: if you add the price of the unit, the parts needed, the work that needs to be done, most of the time you will end up with a price that the buyer is not willing to pay. And that comes down mostly to the initial cost of the device or the poor cosmetic condition: the ones that are cheap enough are usually so worn out cosmetic-wise as not to bother restoring and the ones in good condition come at a price similar to working units. It's perfectly understandable that you would never buy a seller refurbished unit on ebay, I can bet most veteran members of this forum have the same opinion on this matter. Howver, I do believe there are honest sellers out there, even when it comes to refurbish. I clearly don't want to promote the idea that everything labeled "seller refurbished" is automatically a scam. In fact, I believe "tunosau" is one the exceptions and not the rule regarding this. Remember buying a WM-D6C that was sold as with rubber replaced and wasn't disappointed with it, although I ended up doing a lot more like lubrication and electronic adjustments. But what was described in the ad was done right with the right parts. @Reli I do agree with you, but as @autoreverser said that is a 5 second job when you have the tool to do it. Most average buyers certainly do not have such a tool as they have become rare and expesive. Have to admit I mentioned myself the that the head was demagnetized in ebay ads, but along with 10 other items that were done. And that wasn't the main point of the restoration, it was more like a reference that it was done at this point of selling.
There are honest sellers on ebay but honestly it's like taking life into you're own hands, thankfully im finished with all that, people will tell you anything to sell you something basically what you want to hear and that is not just ebay im afraid
I do agree with you, it's not just ebay. Some people will tell you anything in order to sell, that's perfectly true. But the point I was trying to make is you can differentiate those people from honest sellers if you look at certain aspects of the ads. For example, the description alone can tell a lot about the credibility of an ad. How fast and accurate a seller responds to a question is also an important factor. The feedback is not to be considered as a stand-alone factor, but rather in context with the description, pictures, other listings and their respective description. I did bought and sold a lot on ebay and other similar platforms without any major issue (1-2 minor issues every 100 items, which I don't consider much at all). This is just my experience and I am convinced others have very different experiences which are valid as well. Of course, not buying from ebay at all is also an option for some, I have seen people having that principle as well. I'm not here to judge anyone's decisions, just to share how I deal with these situations. People may or may not agree with me and that's ok.
well, i also do grab in the sh*t, the other day i bought a TC-D5M as „untested, rather defective“ and received a unit where some bloody fart-head tried to repair it- missing parts, missing screws, fooked threads etc., so one junker more n the drawers - try to get your money back in a case like that, impossible…
Never trust a seller. "untested" — "I turned it on and it does not work" or "I tried opening it up and broke it" "refurbished" — "I cleaned the dirt and grime from the outside" "main features work" — radio works, tape does not "mostly works" — plays but does not wind back and forth "works" — tape moves, but wow & flutter are horrible and the sound is muffled "every feature works great" — maybe this one is not bad, check for seller's ratings before buying and for return policy Look for items with free returns. Some sellers accept returns, but ask buyer to pay for return shipping - check for shipping price. If you are buying a $50 item, of which $40 is shipping price, know that this is garbage and the seller will get his money whether you send it back or not. Also, eBay favors buyers, so if the item was advertised as working, and it does not work, simply ask for refund, and eBay will usually do it whether the seller wants it or not. I have done this a couple of times. One time I sent the item back because I thought that for the money I paid, maybe the seller would be able to sell it for lower price, advertising it as not-really-working. In the other case it was not worth it to send it back. Now I have it sitting in my drawer and I cannot get myself to throw it away.
Buying any vintage audio equipment is hit or miss now a days, but I'm like some of the others, I'd rather see "radio works, tape player dead" than "seller refurbished." One of my better stories is where I told the guy I'd buy sight unseen as long as the back screws weren't missing and there weren't loose parts inside the box were rattling around. It was in a pretty bad part of town around dusk, turns out it had those exact issues but I just wanted to get out of there and made the deal. Then there's the very rare JVC Portable I grabbed with wood screws holding it together? Funny thing was that it worked perfectly fine, not sure why the screws were swapped out.....
@CDV While I agree not to trust a seller and be circumspect, putting all sellers in the same bin is something I do not agree with. "untested" - yes, I do agree it usually means it does not work, however it did happen for me to buy in this category devices that do work. This is something that must be put in context: for example a device that requires a dual power supply to be operated and the supply is missing can very well be untested and working. A device that requires a custom battery and the original battery is completely dead fits in this context as well. "seller refurbished" - in the context of vintage audio it usually can mean 2 things: 1. the device is indeed refurbished, there are many DAT walkmans in that category that will not work without a complete mech re-lubrication. If pictures show the device working on one of these, it is refurbished for sure. Also true for other devices with known problems, like leaky capacitors. 2. the device has just its belts replaced and and outside clean. While I would not describe this as a refurbish if I were the seller, some do. In this scenario it depends on the price: if the price is comparable or the same as a used and working unit, I would still prefer to have the new belt. If the price is higher and the seller is trying to speculate, I would not buy. 3. in some instances (as the one described in my first post) it can mean a used and working device that may have been cleaned or not. However, these cases are only a fraction of the total and clearly not to be generalized. Regarding the items with free returns, I do agree with you as a buyer. I did successfully return items that were not working or not as described. But let me put you in this perspective: you sell me on ebay an expensive WM-D6C with free return. I happen to also have another WM-D6C in very poor cosmetic condition with missing parts. I will receive your good item, claim a return on the grounds "product not as described" and return you the bad unit, keeping the good one for myself. I know sellers which have experienced this exact situation and ebay was not on their side. They lost both the product and the money. At this aspect, I will say it depends on the item: if it's a relatively expensive item I prefer not to accept returns for the reason described above. I would also understand as a buyer when a seller does the same. Of course, it's not always legitimate, but many times it is. Ok, I do understand your perspective, don't get me wrong. But I ask you the following: if you were to sell a refurbished item that you know is repaired well, how would you proceed with the listing ? Just describe it as "used and working", not as "seller refurbished" ? (consider that some devices will not work/not work properly without a repair) Keep in mind that there are people who refurbish devices at a high standard (including members of this forum and including myself). As I said in previous posts, it was not my intention to discredit everything labeled "seller refurbished", but it seems that many of you have that opinion.
