Capitalising on other peoples stupidity: On Ebay, how do i know which broken devices aren't really THAT broken after all?

October 26, 2008 10:51 AM

Capitalising on other peoples stupidity: On Ebay, how do i know which broken devices aren't really THAT broken after all?

I see a lot of people selling broken devices (phones etc), some of them appearing relatively clueless about the problem. Are there any problems that can be easily fixed? And is there a chance of fixing a water damaged device after a significant period of time has passed?

posted by freddymetz to shopping (11 comments total)

If you read "AS IS" all over the listing, at least in my experience, that means that the seller KNOWS it isn't working.
posted by k8t at 11:11 AM on October 26, 2008

I've sold broken electronics on eBay. I sold the stuff because I know people like to take things apart, not because I expect they can fix them. I can usually identify the problem. But the bottom line is I don't care what people want to do with things after they buy them.
posted by FergieBelle at 11:31 AM on October 26, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Ask the seller what the problem is. As for water damage - usually that'll fry a circuit or just in general mess up LED displays and other major arteries of a device which basically means - good for spare parts cause there ain't no way to fix it unless you can reprint the circuit board to bypass the fried circuit.
posted by watercarrier at 11:33 AM on October 26, 2008

The answer is you don't. Some people will "play stupid" to make it sound like less of a problem than it really is.

Take two cases of a Macbook.

"Great condition, has an issue charging battery" (Probable issue tree: bad cable, bad connection, bad battery, bad logic board = $$$ if you dont have spare parts)

vs

"Great condition. My son spilled water in the keyboard which damaged the logic board and now it doesnt respond to the battery." (Probable issue tree: needs new logic board).

The more the seller knows about an item; the more its going to cost you to fix simply put. If the seller knows little (I bought a "dead" computer once that just had a floppy drive that insisted it had a disk present, and wouldn't boot) you are taking larger risk -- but with risk comes profit.

In general -- I would say unless you have tons of testing material around and can mitigate the risk somehow (you price the value of the parts as a worst case scenario) then this is a game better left unplayed.

That being said .. some hedge fund operators made out with billions recently. Some people just get lucky.
posted by SirStan at 11:44 AM on October 26, 2008

You don't. Unless it's an item you have specific expertise in, and the symptoms of brokenness are familiar to you.

For example, years ago I purchased a "broken" Mac or two that just needed a new PRAM battery. I knew the symptoms, and took a chance of that being the problem, since it was the most common. But I was still taking a risk that it was something else.

The same for cameras. I've bought "broken" cameras that I was able to fix by replacing the battery and cleaning corrosion, but I've also paid for some that were unfixable.

Don't pay more for a "broken" item than you are willing to throw away.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 12:00 PM on October 26, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

You know by having a much greater expertise in the matter than the seller does. If it was something simple that someone here could tell you in one post, then many of the other bidders already know it and the selling price already considers it.

Most of the buyers for these items are probably looking for parts. (e.g. if it doesn't work because they spilled water on the keyboard, then the screen is probably still good for replacing my broken screen).
posted by winston at 12:06 PM on October 26, 2008

Yeah, I frequently see people playing dumb on craigslist and ebay. Sort of "Hurf, durf, Ihaveanexpensiveitemonmyhands, duh, I don't know what the problem could be, garsh, maybe you could fix it?" It's like people selling stuff that could be real meteorites, or could be real gold/gemstones/pearls...usually it seems if there was a chance that it was authentic, or easily fixable, they would have already taken the necessary steps to ensure they could get the full money out of it.
posted by redsparkler at 12:13 PM on October 26, 2008

You can't. At least not with any useful certainty.

Water damaged devices that have been plugged back in and still don't work are probably fried. They need to be let dry, and possibly flushed with distilled water and let to dry for a while. If a while has already passed and they still don't work, they're toast. Do not bother, as any or all of the components could be faulty at this point.

I see where you're coming from, many people are pretty technically naive, a large percentage of returned electronics work fine, only the user can't figure them out. However if they're selling on eBay it's probably past the warranty, so the chance of user error is low. (But better if they indicate that it was a gift in the description.)

If you really know the electronic in question you might know that it is suffering from a common and easily correctable fault. For example and iPod going for dollars because the battery has crapped out, the battery is a pretty easy/cheap fix. However a lot of other people know this too and will bid against you.

I know a who guy buys lots of broken/mishandled analog keyboards and makes single new keyboards out of them parts of the old. But he never expects to make a broken one work by its self, he always buys them in pairs (at least). And he really knows everything about these devices. This is a hobby, not a business (nor would it ever be worth it, really.)

But if you want to go that route with, for example, a laptop: Find a model you like, buy one that lists a broken screen, and another identical one that lists it will not boot. Chances are the problems do not overlap, but I'd talk to the broken screen guy to be sure that it otherwise powers on, displays to an external monitor, etc. It woulsn't be "easy" to make 1 working laptop out of these two, but a person good with a screwdriver and details could do it in a long afternoon.

You could also look at that person's selling and buying history to try to glean if they're generally technical or not. If they're selling lots of "for parts" electronics, they're a repair shop trying to get rid of crap on their shelves and have scavenged the good stuff for themselves. If they have lots of stuffed animals maybe they're less technically savvy. (Not that I wouldn't really trust this either, as I'm sure to get at least one MeMail from an offended stuffed animal collecting electronics engineer.)

But I wouldn't bet my discretionary eBay money on any of this.
posted by Ookseer at 12:15 PM on October 26, 2008 [2 favorites has favorites]

I've known people to frankenstein together a working machine out of two broken ones, such as one with a failed logic board and one with a damaged screen. But it's a gamble. The last person I know who did that did it with a MacBook Pro and saved around $400. Maybe its worth the gamble to you, especially if you feel certain that the laptop with the failed logic board has all its other parts working and vica versa.
posted by Brian Puccio at 2:29 PM on October 26, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

There are lots of problems that can be easily fixed. However, I don't think ebay is the place to start looking for that kind of item. Try family & friends, Craigslist, and Freecycle. Oh, and the street corner, especially near garbage day.

There are people on ebay who recondition goods as a business. A one time Ebay customer of mine reconditions wooden models of military aircraft. He buys on Ebay for resale on Ebay! In another case, I've read a few listings and articles by a guy who does repair and detailing on old test equipment. These aren't lucrative businesses, but they are certainly viable if you have the right knowledge and motivation.

I got a non-working Klipsh Pro Media 2.1 system for the purposes of resale a little while ago.. I worked in the next cubicle from the product engineer on the amplifier, so I figured I'd have a good chance with it! Turned out the only thing wrong was the Mini DIN connector; not much use for my special knowledge. Then I traded it to a guy for another non-working copy of the same thing, plus cash. Again, none of the problems will test my knowledge -- some cabinetry problems, which sucks 'cause I have no idea how to fix that, another bad Mini DIN, and bad speaker terminals -- still, it will be fun to see if I can keep the string alive :)
posted by Chuckles at 7:04 PM on October 26, 2008

I've made a good laptop out of one with a fried mainboard and another with a smashed screen. I've sold a phone that the repair center said was toast, but only needed to be re-flashed.
I had the screwdriver to do the first, but lacked the cable to do the second. In my case, with the phone I advertised it with an "as is" disclaimer, told the truth about what the service folk said, but also the symptoms (it got halfway through boot up then said a hex error).
For me, the phone was a write off, and getting $50 for it from somebody who fixes phones was a good deal, as it was otherwise trash - he even emailed me the photos in the memory.
So, yes, you can make money if you know what to look for, but it would be a road to ruing if you are just gambling.
posted by bystander at 3:32 AM on October 27, 2008