[hoppa79]

Theres a local company called AuctionDrop selling used plasmas on ebay for really cheap prices. Some of the plasmas are in really good condition, others look like they were dropped. I'm thinking that they were in store display models.


I was taking a good look at one of their plasmas....a 50" panny (TH-50PX6U) for $1200 with an August '06 build date. It appears to be in really good condition and they power it on for you when you pick it up. They also make you sign a waiver after you view the unit which essentially bars you from returning the product.


What do you guys think? Is it worth the risk? It's quite a discount so I'm tempted.

 

[Management]

The fact that you a have to sign a waiver that bars you from returning the product would send me running.

 

[JS-44SDS]

No friggin way. NUFF said

 

[vtecluder]

No No No No and No

 

[ryanjm]

Mine will be arriving on Monday, so I will let you know how mine is. I got a 42" of that same model, and had it shipped. Condition was rated Excellent/excellent. It was $1,000 shipped.


I thought about this purchase for a while because you are really gambling that you get a good set, however, if it powers on and works for a week (that's how long I have because it was shipped) then I doubt anything is wrong with it.


The way I looked at it was:

A) The set costs $1300 (if you can find a sale) plus tax, so approx $1400 new.

B) The prices of these drop so fast now that even if it has been heavily used, by the time it fizzles you will be able to buy another, newer model for half the price.


I don't see how anything could be wrong with it if it is working fine in the store. Also, because the bulb half-life is around 30,000 hours, there's zero chance this is even close to wearing out assuming it was a store model.


So, like any "good deal", it's a gamble, but the seller's reputation is very good, and I really could use the $400. That said, if I wasn't a poor student I would have bought it new.

 

[lbhskier37]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanjm /forum/post/0


B) The prices of these drop so fast now that even if it has been heavily used, by the time it fizzles you will be able to buy another, newer model for half the price.




So, like any "good deal", it's a gamble, but the seller's reputation is very good, and I really could use the $400. That said, if I wasn't a poor student I would have bought it new.

That would be all the reason not to do it, the prices drop so fast if you wait a few months you could buy one brand new with a warantee for that price! Plus if you shop around right now you could have one for pretty much that price.

 

[Suzook]

well I sold my 658UK panny to someone on ebay who is loving life right now. So it can happen but for such a small difference in price (and if you are poor student, save your damn money) I would prefer a new, store bought unit instead of a shady sounding set up like this. A fool and his money...............

 

[soloist3]

I purchased my Panasonic TH-42PX6U from Auction Drop back in September, I was a little skeptical but they offered a full refund if I was not satisfied. It arrived basically brand new in box, the only things missing were the screws that held the stand on (cost me less than $3 at Ace Hardware) and also it did not have the manual though it had everything else and it was still wrapped up and everything. I was sort of worried that it might have been used for a few hundred hours or so but I checked the hours of the panel after about a week or so of use and found that it had just about 60 hours, I did watch a lot of TV (I wanted to get past the break-in period as quickly as possible) so it leads me to believe that the panel was brand new (most likely) or had less than 10 hours on it when I bought it. I say if you can get a really good deal I would not hesitate to buy from them as they seem to be a very reputable seller of "gently used" plasma TV's. By the way, if you live in the area and can pick it up I would be even more likely to buy from them just make sure you fully inspect it before you sign anything.

 

[Frost147]

Sign a no-return waiver? That'd give me the "willies" just contemplating that purchase.

 

[ryanjm]

If you've never bought anything on Ebay I can understand thinking that this is a "shady" setup, but anyone who has experience with Ebay knows that the feedback score is a quick and reliable way to judge a seller's reputation. This business has over 40,000 feedbacks and over 99% satisfaction. Good enough for me.


Also, I'm not sure of your logic IBH. The prices will not drop 40% in a few months. Maybe in a year or 1.5 years. I "shopped around" for quite a while. The best price was $1299 + tax, and the store that had that price was sold out instantly. So unless I want to wait until Black Friday again this year, that's the best price I'll get. Besides, if the unit is as good as new for $1,000, then I've gotten the best deal anyone's going to get for quite a while. The only risk is not having a warranty, which I'm willing to take for 40% off. Still, the risk then is even smaller because I have one week to use it, and the warranty would only be for one year. So the only gamble is that it does't break for 51 weeks. Pretty good odds I'd say. Of course, I should be thankful that there are plenty of people not willing to take the risk, or my bid price would have gone up higher

 

[golovemd]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanjm /forum/post/0


If you've never bought anything on Ebay I can understand thinking that this is a "shady" setup, but anyone who has experience with Ebay knows that the feedback score is a quick and reliable way to judge a seller's reputation. This business has over 40,000 feedbacks and over 99% satisfaction. Good enough for me.


Also, I'm not sure of your logic IBH. The prices will not drop 40% in a few months. Maybe in a year or 1.5 years. I "shopped around" for quite a while. The best price was $1299 + tax, and the store that had that price was sold out instantly. So unless I want to wait until Black Friday again this year, that's the best price I'll get. Besides, if the unit is as good as new for $1,000, then I've gotten the best deal anyone's going to get for quite a while. The only risk is not having a warranty, which I'm willing to take for 40% off. Still, the risk then is even smaller because I have one week to use it, and the warranty would only be for one year. So the only gamble is that it does't break for 51 weeks. Pretty good odds I'd say. Of course, I should be thankful that there are plenty of people not willing to take the risk, or my bid price would have gone up higher

I won two auctions for small items from a "reputable" seller. Over 9000 feedbacks of mostly positive. That was two weeks ago, I sent a number of emails, without getting any returned. I found their contact info through eBay and called and left a message, with no return call. There is NO way I am going to send some a large amount of money for a eBay auction. Hopefully everything turns out ok for you, but I do not trust ebay, and think it is more or less worthless now. It had its uses 5-7 years ago, now its crap IMHO.


As far as saving $400. While that is a decent amount of money to save, I would much, much, much rather have a set that is brand new, and be able to deal directly with the manufacturer with their warranty, and pay the little extra. In a lot of cases, you can purchase the item on your credit card and double that warranty. If god forbid that tv goes black in a month, your out $1000. In my experiences as an installer, most failures on Plasmas occur in the first few weeks of use.

 

[ryanjm]

Yeah, that's why I think I'm ok. It's used, so if it's still working, it's been a few weeks already. Plus, I have a week after I get it.


As for Ebay, my experience has been the opposite. Everything I've bought has been shipped promptly, and everything I've sold has gone well too. I also called AuctionDrop before I bought the TV and their customer service rep was friendly and helpful. Anyway, that's my 2 cents and I will update after I recieve my TV to let you know if my risk-taking paid off and saved me $400 or if I got a dud

 

[freeky1]

I would steer clear of Auctiondrop. About a year ago, I bought a Nikon 300mm f2.8 AF-S lens from one of their auctions. The serial number had been filed off. I complained and they allowed me to return the lens to them. I watched their auctions and they relisted and sold the same lens again to another eBay buyer a few weeks later, with no mention of the lack of a serial number. They do not seem to care if they sell stolen equipment.

 

[ryanjm]

Well I promised a response after I received my TV.


It is an excellent TV. I checked the service menu, and it had only been used for 1 hour prior to my use of it. So far so good.

 

[dtrell]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanjm /forum/post/0


Mine will be arriving on Monday, so I will let you know how mine is. I got a 42" of that same model, and had it shipped. Condition was rated Excellent/excellent. It was $1,000 shipped.


I thought about this purchase for a while because you are really gambling that you get a good set, however, if it powers on and works for a week (that's how long I have because it was shipped) then I doubt anything is wrong with it.


The way I looked at it was:

A) The set costs $1300 (if you can find a sale) plus tax, so approx $1400 new.

B) The prices of these drop so fast now that even if it has been heavily used, by the time it fizzles you will be able to buy another, newer model for half the price.


I don't see how anything could be wrong with it if it is working fine in the store. Also, because the bulb half-life is around 30,000 hours, there's zero chance this is even close to wearing out assuming it was a store model.


So, like any "good deal", it's a gamble, but the seller's reputation is very good, and I really could use the $400. That said, if I wasn't a poor student I would have bought it new.

dude, i dont know where to start with your post....first, for a couple hundred more, i would have plunked the money down at costco and been able to return the set ANY time i wanted to if something was wrong....

second, the fact that you said there was a "bulb" inside (there isnt, there are phosphors in cells filled with inert gases...) and that the half life (ill assume you meant half BRIGHTNESS as it is called) is 30,000 hours, when it is actually rated 60,000 hours, shows that you know absolutely nothing about plasma tv's. so in that regard, i guess you did the best thing for you...

 

[ryanjm]

dtrell- I posted my thoughts on why I made a decision. Your criticizing me by saying "I know nothing about plasma tv's" adds nothing to the discussion. Especially so because you misunderstood what I said, and I made one mistake by calling it a bulb rather than phosphors. I know that it uses phosphors rather than a bulb, but the rest of what I said is correct and you simply misinterpreted it and/or didn't understand it.


Firstly, do a google search for phosphor half-life. That is an alternate terminology, and "brightness" as you called it is the layman's term. Half-life refers to the amount of time it takes for the phosphors to reach half their brightness. So yes, I understood that it is a 60,000 hour set, but the half life is 30,000 hours, aka. the amount of time it takes to reach half the brightness.


Now, about the price, please link me to costco's website showing that it costs "a couple hundred more". It is several hundred more + tax = at least $400 more. That pays for my hdtv cable for the year. As I said, I know it's a gamble, but I don't have a problem taking a risk to save money. Besides, I also checked Ebay for what these go for just as "parts" and it's around $500, so I wouldn't completely lose out. I made a decision in order to get 40% off and have it delivered to my door (my civic wouldn't fit it). I'm comfortable with it, but would I recommend it to my father who has a steady job and makes decent money? No.

 

[Techniwizard]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanjm /forum/post/0


dtrell- I posted my thoughts on why I made a decision. Your criticizing me by saying "I know nothing about plasma tv's" adds nothing to the discussion. Especially so because you misunderstood what I said, and I made one mistake by calling it a bulb rather than phosphors. I know that it uses phosphors rather than a bulb, but the rest of what I said is correct and you simply misinterpreted it and/or didn't understand it.


Firstly, do a google search for phosphor half-life. That is an alternate terminology, and "brightness" as you called it is the layman's term. Half-life refers to the amount of time it takes for the phosphors to reach half their brightness. So yes, I understood that it is a 60,000 hour set, but the half life is 30,000 hours, aka. the amount of time it takes to reach half the brightness.


Now, about the price, please link me to costco's website showing that it costs "a couple hundred more". It is several hundred more + tax = at least $400 more. That pays for my hdtv cable for the year. As I said, I know it's a gamble, but I don't have a problem taking a risk to save money. Besides, I also checked Ebay for what these go for just as "parts" and it's around $500, so I wouldn't completely lose out. I made a decision in order to get 40% off and have it delivered to my door (my civic wouldn't fit it). I'm comfortable with it, but would I recommend it to my father who has a steady job and makes decent money? No.

The 60K hour rating is to the half-brightness point. Actual total lifespan will be longer. Enjoy your new set.


T Wiz

 

[Barry_R]

I would much rather have the knowledge to contribute constructively to this topic than to have the knowledge to describe a device in a TV. The TV knowledge I can pick up easily, the other is quite another matter as it takes time to develop.


ryanjm. I hope you are happy with your TV for a long time to come. There are fantastic deals out there if one looks for them. To have the guts to take advantage of them despite the potential risk is commendable. I will check this E-Bay seller out, maybe I can get something I want.

 

[ryanjm]

Thanks Barry and Twiz. The set is incredible. After a few tweaks to the picture (which I thought was pretty good already by whoever had it before me), it is amazing to watch OTA programming. Even SD programming looks good depending on the channel. Fox and NBC take the cake so far. I can't wait till I get upgraded cable to watch Discovery and ESPN etc...

 

[dtrell]



Quote:
Originally Posted by ryanjm /forum/post/0



Firstly, do a google search for phosphor half-life. That is an alternate terminology, and "brightness" as you called it is the layman's term. Half-life refers to the amount of time it takes for the phosphors to reach half their brightness. So yes, I understood that it is a 60,000 hour set, but the half life is 30,000 hours, aka. the amount of time it takes to reach half the brightness.

pray tell, what is the difference between half brightness of the phosphors and half brightness of the set????? the phosphors make the brightness! if the set is 60,000 hour half brightness, the phosphors are 60,000 hour half brightness.