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So is it guaranteed or not?

S

Shadow Lord

Veteran Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2010
Messages
3,233
Location
California
Where else but eBay:

Though this card is in great shape and is
guaranteed to function properly,
due to age I'm selling it as-is,
with no returns and no refunds.
Click to expand...

Can someone explain this to me?
 
I presume the seller only accepts payments in Soviet rubles. The currency should have the same value as the guarantee.

I do understand the problem. Every time one turns on an old part might be last time it works.
 
I understand that problem as well. However, that would imply implicitly that it is NOT guaranteed to be fully functional.
 
Seller should really add a time limit if using the word guaranteed. Perhaps guaranteed against being dead on arrival but if it dies a day later then no refunds.

Best to remove the word guaranteed and just say it works but due to the age, it could die tomorrow!
 
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Shadow Lord said:
Where else but eBay:
Though this card is in great shape and is
guaranteed to function properly,
due to age I'm selling it as-is,
with no returns and no refunds.
Click to expand...

Can someone explain this to me?
Click to expand...

OK ... here goes:

Not everyone attributes meaning to words. I've heard people say bizarre things like "very unique". I'm guessing it's the same brain that does that. They're just word combinations that pop out.

On the other hand, when he says "due to age I'm selling it as-is", that could be interpreted as: the person is very old and will likely drop dead before you could return the item anyway. In that way it would make sense.
 
Ole Juul said:
On the other hand, when he says "due to age I'm selling it as-is", that could be interpreted as: the person is very old and will likely drop dead before you could return the item anyway. In that way it would make sense.
Click to expand...

You know that actually makes perfect sense. Thanks, I never thought of it like that.
 
People never read the fine print of what ebay says (and that is all that matters). If you list something as used it means the thing works, if it shows up non working (which by definition the buyer is the one who says if it works or not) you are stuck giving a full refund (depending on the auctions value he might have to ship it back (meaning keep the item and mail you back a nice sized slightly used brick)).

I have had decent luck with untested sold for parts non-working items on ebay (they tend to be cheap too) then "used" equipment somebody blew up and figured they could sell on ebay to some sucker with a bunch of fine print in their advertising saying "it worked fine last I used it before I put it on the shelf so sold as-is no refunds".
 
Ole Juul said:
I had actually intended my comment as humour, but now you mention it, that could be it. There's all kinds of people in the world - and a couple extras on eBay. :)
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Ole Juul,

I know. My initial post and response to you were all intended to be facetious as well. I was just pointing out the ridiculous BS sellers write on eBay ads. What is even funnier they think they are actually enforceable. Although, I'll be honest, your explanation is the best I have seen to explain how they come up with all of this BS ;)
 
Shadow Lord said:
Stone,

Are you finally coming around to my way of thinking on the whole "As is, where is"? Man I better buy a lotto ticket ;)
Click to expand...
One? Buy two and put my name on one if you think you have the lotto figured out. I'll send ya' the 2 bucks.
Btw, you do know the real definition of a lottery, don't you? It's...

‘A game for people who are really bad at math’ :)
 
Stone said:
One? Buy two and put my name on one if you think you have the lotto figured out. I'll send ya' the 2 bucks.
Btw, you do know the real definition of a lottery, don't you? It's...

‘A game for people who are really bad at math’ :)
Click to expand...

Well there is your problem: you are buying TWO tickets. You have to buy only one to maximize your odds ratio - follow with me:

Odds of winning the lotto if you don't buy a ticket: 0
Odds of winning the lotto if you buy one ticket: 1 in a gabillion
Odds of winning the lotto if you buy one ticket: 2 in a gabillion


The OR of winning the lottery when you buy one ticket: 1 in a gabillion/0 = infinite improvement
The OR of winning the lottery when you buy two ticket: 2 in a gabillion/0 = infinite improvement but it cost you 100% more!

;)
 
Nonsense. I have purchased a total of 0 tickets. Therefore my ratio of losing the lotto is 0 and I've yet to lose the lotto. Far better odds this way.

FWIW, I think the seller more obviously just made a mistake but they could have meant it's not dead but it's not fully tested so as-is purchase. Anyone could have a similar issue while selling a vintage item. It works as far as I've used it but if you happen to find some issue with the parallel port or some other thing not likely to have been played with it would still be desirable for some as-is clause.
 
barythrin said:
Nonsense. I have purchased a total of 0 tickets. Therefore my ratio of losing the lotto is 0 and I've yet to lose the lotto. Far better odds this way.
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That's because you're not really bad at math. :)

barythrin said:
FWIW, I think the seller more obviously just made a mistake but they could have meant it's not dead but it's not fully tested so as-is purchase. Anyone could have a similar issue while selling a vintage item. It works as far as I've used it but if you happen to find some issue with the parallel port or some other thing not likely to have been played with it would still be desirable for some as-is clause.
Click to expand...
Except that there is no ‘as-is’ clause in eBay-ese. :) It either has to work or if it doesn't you have to sell it for ‘parts or repair’. In case you didn't notice this above:

http://forums.ebay.com/db1/topic/Returns/Selling-Items-As/5200108786
 
Lots of vintage stuff is sold on eBay with the "as-is, no returns" tag. A lot of it that the person with the equipment doesn't have the resources or understanding to determine what or how something works. I'd much rather see the "I don't know if it works, but here's what I do know." than the "Here's a logic analyzer--it works just fine even though there are no pods or software for it". In other words "works" means what I think it should and not what anyone else says.

Your only real guide on this vintage stuff is the goop that sits between your ears. Ask questions, determine if there are resources to repair the object if it has problems, then bid accordingly.

The words are just that--and will eventually lead to conflict if you take them as truth rather than opinion. I was once stung by a seller claiming that an object had a certain feature. When I received the object and it did not have the feature, I was responded to with "I just sell things for people and put what they tell me on the listing. If you have a problem with that, take it up with the original owner, whose name I will not divulge". Fortunately for me, the price was good and I had a use.

Short version: On eBay, some days you get the bear; on others, the bear gets you.
 
Silly ebay and their policies. You can't actually show something is semi-working and sell it "as-is, no returns" without risking problems now. Selling something as "parts for repair only", without any indication that it works does depress its value, unless it is really rare. Vintage computer parts are a weird gray area. Technically expansion cards are "parts", not whole computers.... ugh.

In the process of becoming "buyer friendly", ebay has managed to destroy the class of honest sellers that actually test items and report on their condition, but can't guarantee their products. I'll take the chance on something if I know if it has a wing and a prayer of working, vs. something that is sold "for parts" and is never turned on or tested in any way. "As-Is condition" is a legally accepted sales practice, but apparently ebay lives in some soft of alternate world that doesn't have any used car dealers.....
 
njroadfan said:
In the process of becoming "buyer friendly", ebay has managed to destroy the class of honest sellers that actually test items and report on their condition, but can't guarantee their products. I'll take the chance on something if I know if it has a wing and a prayer of working, vs. something that is sold "for parts" and is never turned on or tested in any way. "As-Is condition" is a legally accepted sales practice, but apparently ebay lives in some soft of alternate world that doesn't have any used car dealers.....
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While I can agree with this in principle there is an obvious problem. How would a buyer be able to differentiate between an honest seller like you have described from an unscrupulous one trying to game the system? If anyone could say he tested an item and it was good/working at the time the unscrupulous one(s) could just get away with murder, so to speak. So I can understand eBay's black & white position that either it works and comes with a guarantee or it doesn't and is sold as-is or for parts/salvage.
 
If it works but you don't want to state that, you could list as "For parts or not working" and then include a recent video of it booting up with the description "Judge the condition for yourself". I guess even that could go badly if it only boots sometimes but as long as you are honest, you should be safe most of the time.
 
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