Good idea to buy off eBay?

**Radar123** · 05-10-2007, 05:34 PM

What do the 8500s require in terms of service. Is it a good idea to buy a new $250 one off of eBay?

**bauzer71487** · 05-10-2007, 05:52 PM

I believe its $65 for service + any parts that need to be replaced.

I would think no, plus you can't guarantee that the unit is legit. If it has a fake serial number - it'll get rejected by factory and they'll bill you the $65 and you get squat.

**Sparkknocker** · 05-10-2007, 06:28 PM

Depends man. If the guy has 100 percent feedback and the listing is what it says it is...(basing this off the 100% feedback) yea ebay is fine. Most of the fellas that sell on ebay have a bulk of the Radar detector and will swap out the unit if you are not satisfied with it. Just do your homework and ask him any questions you may think of prior to buying

**Acecool** · 05-10-2007, 06:38 PM

I got my RX65 off eBay because I didnt know about roy at the time.

Turns out to be a legit unit (got the speaker seize, then the guy replaced it overnight (my expense, but hey..)) So about 250 into the rx65 and multiple saves of over 2.5 miles :-) K and Ka

**Orbital75** · 05-10-2007, 07:47 PM

Nope

**titleist731** · 05-29-2007, 12:20 AM

i was thinking this too...some guys on ebay are selling units for $100 less than radarbusters and factory direct knowing that the warranties are invalid and to make up for it they will offer their own

seems a bit sketchy but the guy has 6000 100% feedback so go figure

**JeepinJeff** · 05-29-2007, 05:39 AM

I got my X50 off ebay. No problems.

I got the V1 directly from Valentine.

**kash** · 05-29-2007, 07:44 AM

i got one, well my cousin got one off ebay he wanted to call him with the cc number so it would be as if we walked into the store to buy it insted of internet sales. haven't had any problems. no unusual charges on cc card

**tjbender** · 05-29-2007, 09:07 AM

Buying detectors off eBay is never a good idea. If they're being sold below MSRP, one of three reasons is almost always the cause:

1. It's a used unit--what's wrong with it that makes the current owner not want to keep it?

2. It's a "refurb"--units that break down and are sent back to the manufacturer, then refurbished, sent to Mexico, bought by eBay scammers at a discounted rate, and pushed onto the auction site. These units have no manufacturer warranty, and a dealer warranty is only as reliable as the dealer. Even if they agree to replace your unit (because they can't repair it), you're still getting another refurb that may or may not work as advertised, and almost certainly won't get the performance of a new unit.

3. It's an outright scam. This is becoming more rare, but look for auctions that speak in general, unspecific terms. For example, "THE BEST RADAR DETECTORS!" probably means "pay us $100 for a sheet of paper listing websites that sell radar detectors." That one will only catch you if you don't read the auction, which is why it works--lots of people just look at the pictures. Another one to be careful of is an auction selling a radar detector with *pictures* of a V1, RX65, STI, what have you, but no text specifying the model, just lines like "top of the line radar detector." If that's the case, they're counting on someone bidding the $250 for an STI or a V1, then those people who bid are sent a Crapra or something similar. All the scammer needs to make this hold up with eBay is a line in there somewhere specifying that "actual model may vary" or something like that, and those are easy to hide.

Bottom line, if you're buying a legit detector off of eBay, you'll pay the full MSRP, *maybe* $50 less if it's honestly someone who bought the unit new in the store and just doesn't want it anymore. Is $50 on a unit that won't have manu warranty coverage worth it? If you're saving a lot more than $50, the detector is a refurb/scam, or it's been heavily used and is out of date/damaged. Don't screw with it.

Keep in mind that eBay is a 21st-century flea market. Will you find great deals at a flea market? Sure, but how much of that stuff is stolen, defective, or refurbished? If you'd be comfortable dropping $250+ on a radar detector you found at a flea market, hey, money means less to you than it does to me, and eBay away. Personally, I'd rather drop the extra money at a retail outlet or manufacturer website to know that I'm getting a unit and a warranty I can count on beyond the next time the seller changes their username.