Spares or Repair 'Etiquette'

Stoke · 9 June 2017 at 4:59PM

Hello,

So I've sold a few things in the past as 'spares or repairs' on eBay. The whole term spares or repairs, suggests such item is in a state that it can be repaired, or be used as spares if one desires. Usually to me, a spares or repair item is an item that someone has broken but made no attempt to fix.

So I bought something spares or repair. However, the item that arrived has clearly already had someone have a go at repairing it. They've tried..... failed (probably due to lack of knowledge or skills) and because of that, it's going to take a lot more effort to repair it now, if it can be done. There does appear to be some lasting damage for sure.

So are people expected to be honest about spares and repairs? Or is it just a method of getting rid of items they've had a go at hacking up?

theonlywayisup · 9 June 2017 at 5:30PM

If I was buying from spares or repairs I would ask a lot of questions of it wasn't obvious in the listing. Selling spares or repairs is difficult as one person's "minor fault" is another's "massive failure".

People should be honest and I don't view "having had a go at repairing" something as dishonest, perhaps they should have said so in the listing, but you can't expect someone to be able to repair a listing in that category necessarily.

Stoke · 9 June 2017 at 5:38PM

theonlywayisup wrote: »

If I was buying from spares or repairs I would ask a lot of questions of it wasn't obvious in the listing. Selling spares or repairs is difficult as one person's "minor fault" is another's "massive failure".

People should be honest and I don't view "having had a go at repairing" something as dishonest, perhaps they should have said so in the listing, but you can't expect someone to be able to repair a listing in that category necessarily.

That's the point, there's clearly been no mention of this.

theonlywayisup · 9 June 2017 at 5:47PM

Stoke wrote: »

That's the point, there's clearly been no mention of this.

If there is no mention of it, perhaps it may have been prudent to ask, particularly if you were trying to repair the item rather than use the bits to make your own work?

Unfortunately with eBay sellers (particularly private ones) you need to ask any question that's relevant to you if it isn't in the listing.

Are you wanting to return it? You could ask the seller if you can, or perhaps ask them for a part refund. But for spares/repairs I would say it's caveat emptor.

19lottie82 · 9 June 2017 at 6:11PM

I wouldn't see anything wrong with that.

To me "spares and repairs" means "broken".

soolin · 9 June 2017 at 6:14PM

19lottie82 wrote: »

I wouldn't see anything wrong with that.

To me "spares and repairs" means "broken".

Same here, also to me 'untested' means broken as well.

Tealblue · 9 June 2017 at 6:49PM

If in doubt, ask before you bid (hindsight is a wonderful thing...).

GabbaGabbaHey · 10 June 2017 at 11:14AM

19lottie82 wrote: »

To me "spares and repairs" means "broken".

I'm much more cynical.

To me, "spares and repairs" (or "untested") means not only "broken" but also "I've either tried to fix it myself, or brought it to a repair person, and it's beyond economic repair".

forgotmyname · 12 June 2017 at 12:25AM

Yep, even more cynical. Spares or repairs or untested = i was going to throw this into the bin but thought someone on ebay may give me money for it.

Spares or repairs is far to open for interpretation.

Im sure someone somewhere could fix it. Would it be cost effective to repair? Maybe not. But almost everythings fixable.

Even if i were not so cynical, i would not assume a spares or repairs item may not have had a repair attempted at some point. Like yourself the seller may have bought it spares and repairs and it was beyong their scope for repair so sold it on.

You bought it thinking the same. And it sounds like its above your scope also. But someone will buy it and think thats easy or swap parts from several faulty ones to make one good one.

Ive had a circuit board that failed and couldn't figure out what was wrong. Its sat in a box for almost a year and then whilst working on something else it clicked what it maybe, and sure enough it was and easily fixed once you know what to look for.

I presume the item has some working parts you could use to make a good item from several faulty ones?

Stoke · 12 June 2017 at 9:28AM

Regarding going for a refund? No. I don't see the point really. I have the item now and there's too much effort involved returning it. I might as well proceed with fixing it (I already have done).

Personally, if I was to list something spares/repair, I might be tempted to say "I had an attempt at fixing this but was unable to". There are experts out there who will know better than me at the item I am selling, just as I am probably more skilled at fixing/repairing the item I have purchased. There's no shame in admitting it, so perhaps it's more about convincing people they're getting a 'non-touched' spares item.

Anyway, good to see healthy debate is alive and well

jase1 · 19 June 2017 at 1:37PM

Funnily enough, the majority of "faulty" or "untested" items I've bought from eBay over the years have actually worked just fine...

The description usually seems to refer to stuff that's a bit tatty where the seller can't guarantee it'll work 100% so just sells it as-is.

Only a small minority have been fundamentally b0rked, and even then I've only had a single case of something that's been fiddled with.

Most recent 'score' was a "dead", fairly high-end record deck from the 1980s. It came with an expensive cartridge, had clearly been stored in a garage for years but works just fine, just needed a good clean. £200 worth for £8.

Spares or Repair 'Etiquette'

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