eBay. "Item not tested" = it doesn't work?

blue_haddock

i sold an old spectrum 48k a while back as untested as whilst it would light up when i plugged it in, i didnt have a cassette player so could be 100% if it played ok.

I explained this in the advert and the buyer paid a reasonable amount just for the games it came with.

charlies_mum

If it's impossible to test, then I list for spares or repair and say that it's untested.

trukdiver

CrazyRatLady wrote: »

Generally if I see a listing that say's untested I assume broken, but there are occassionally genuine circumstances where you can't test something.

A while ago I was given an old polaroid camera by someone who was going to throw it in the bin. It was quite tatty, but was a nice older one (metal with leatherette cover). The big thing going for it was that it came in original leather bag with a mass of various accessories, most of which were still in their original boxes.

At the time polaroid had ceased manufacture of the film and the impossible project hadn't started again, as the film packs also contain the batteries that make the camera work, I had no way of testing the camera or it's accessories.

I listed it with a long and full description to the best of my abilities, but not expecting to get much due to the camera's tatty nature and the fact that I couldn't guarantee working order. In the end it sold for £117 and the purchaser must have had old film stock as their feedback confirmed it did indeed work and they were very happy.

It's not just polaroid cameras that can't be tested properly. A lot of cameras used to use mercury cells that are unobtainable now. With more modern cameras, you can still get the batteries but they can be expensive if you are just going to use them for testing - you might end up paying £10 for a battery only to find that the camera doesn't work! Also, there is no way of testing the shutter speeds or meter properly without putting a film through it.