Buying on Ebay

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Albertm

Albertm

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Is buying a mic on ebay a good idea. Being somewhat fragile they can be beaten up by some. I find prices are about 25% cheaper than going to zzsounds or other sites. But gun shy to make a purchase there. Anybody ever have a bad buy? Thanks
 
What mic were you planning on buying? Some people hate to buy off ebay, but I guess you just have to be careful and smart about where you buy from and not go around and buy anything that has a low price. Never had a really bad experience.
 
checking out either the rode nk1 or at 3035. Sellers response look good. Some say they are still in sealed package that they got on promotion and didnt need. Some say gently or rarly used. First time ebay buyer really. Don't want to get scamed. The Rode is about 150 (200 in store) and 3035 is 139 which is also about 200 in store. Or is it safer just to buy new. If it was something of a more durable nature I wouldnt hesitate as much.
 
All you can really do is look at the sellers feedback, and make a choice from there. I'd say that if you don't feel comfortable then don't buy.
 
i love ebay. i've sold a mic, bought 3 off of there.

i've gotten a violin, glockenspiel, electric guitar, cello, acoustic foam, off of ebay.

<3 cheap stuff.
 
You must mean NT1, yeah, I use ebay all the time. Gotten great deals and I've been burnt (but just along the edges)
 
Albertm said:
Is buying a mic on ebay a good idea. Being somewhat fragile they can be beaten up by some. I find prices are about 25% cheaper than going to zzsounds or other sites. But gun shy to make a purchase there. Anybody ever have a bad buy? Thanks
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hi, my gf and i have bought 2 guitars, a bass, a drum machine and a tascam portastudio on ebay. not to mention a couple of beatles albums lol.

the thing is, you have to check the seller , and you have to check the method of shipping. if the seller is honest, he or she will have a lot of positive feedback. but don't let a single bad remark deter you, it's difficult to please everyone all the time so a little bit of negative feedback can be normal. just don't let too much of it slide.

the shipping is also very important. not only in what you will have to pay, but in the manner in which the package arrives. our bass came by USPS and it had been dropped rather hard. hard enough to bend the screw in the strap lock on the bottom, and hard enough to bend the actual strap lock itself. it is bent at a 30 degree angle. i would guess it had been dropped from about 30 feet and landed on the strap lock. so the bass arrived damaged.

anyway, that's my advice. kim and i plan on buying 2 AT4040's off of ebay as soon as the finances ok it.
 
Great, feel much better about it now. Nicole-Rose, was that bass insured, I notice a lot of sellers ship that way. Thanks to all for replies.
 
I bought an MXL 990/991 package off of eBay for $52 used. The 990 had the diaphragm unmounted from its "holder" inside of the microphone. On top of that, one of the wires was disconnected from the diaphragm. I took it apart, soldered some wire to fix it, and now it works perfectly. However, in their auction they stated that the microphones were in fine working order. So, I don't know if they were damaged in shipping or not.

Nonetheless, $52 and a little labor for some very nice condenser microphones is a great deal.

I have also bought an OLP MM5 baritone guitar off of eBay. It came packed very well and got here in a timely manner. I had to adjust the action and change the strings once it showed up, but that is usually the case on any guitar when you buy a new or used one.

I haven't had any problems with eBay to date.
 
I also see people selling from Ebay music store. They say its brand new. For instance an at 3035 for $139. Are they a better bet than a private owner. Feeback from both are good, but seems smarter to get "Brand New" if that is actually true.
 
Ive bought a 3035 and it got here with no fuss. It's a pretty durable mic as far as construction goes. I use it all the time. I have never recieved any thing bought on ebay that was decietfully damaged. I think my feedback is like 130 something. I've bought tube amps with preamp tubes busted from shipping but thats it.

I've also bought some of the D sereis audix mics as well and they are good construction as well. Any mic over 300 bucks i buy new with warrenty.

Just make sure you see a good pic of it. Also be weiry of "not tested" or "i don't have a way to test it (as-is)". As long as the description says what it is when you get it. If it does have a decietfull description then you can dispute it because the listing is like a contract between you and the seller.
 
I use ebay all the time, for just about anything, and I've even gone out and picked up items in person if it was selling from close by. Most of the time seller's are easy to communicate with and a lot of times are perfectly willing to waive shipping charges, or greatly reduce them for a local pickup. I got a Triton LE for 650 bucks from a guy that just bought a studio and was selling some of the gear that was in it when he got it. it was close by so I picked it up in person and the guy also threw in a gig bag and a couple of training videos as well!

I'm actually selling a 12-channel behringer ub1202 at the moment, and am about to buy a condensor, likely an at3035 from ebay. I'll prolly sell my mxl 990 after I get the 3035 since I don't need it anymore, that or sell it to one of my friends who is considering getting his first condensor.

Yes there are dishonest people on ebay, but just look closely, it's easy to spot them most of the time. For example if there's 10 of the same item all from the same seller who has little or no feedback, look at the bid history, do all of the names look similar? Also if you're selling and someone tries to convince you to take some odd form of payment, running through a transfer account, or cash deposit, or something don't trust it. Simple things like that.

So in my opinion, ebay is perfectly safe, just make sure to keep an eye open just in case. And like everyone else said, check people's feedback before buying from or selling to them.

Oh and if the ub1202 sparked anyone's interest, it's here. I just got a Yamaha MW12 12-channel mixer with USB port so I dont need it anymore.
 
I skipped to read any if this cus I wanna warn you! People keep getting their accounts jacked and sell fake mics. As in fake auctions and screw you over. If its too good to believe then dont buy it. For some reason theyve been doing it alot for the sm57.
 
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