Unless it's BRAND spankin NEW in the box, over 75% of the time, at least with CB and Amateur Radio equipment, there is some sort of DEFECT that I needed to repair/alter/replace with everything I've ever bought on eBay.
I'll give you my most RECENT example:
New Old Stock Turner M+2/U hand mic. Looked (as it was) MINT in the photo's, BUT there was no box, no paperwork.
Seller "claimed" that he tested the mic and that it "WORKED FINE."
(I was wondering HOW he did that w/o a 7v battery or a microphone plug..... but I digress.)
So.....
I bid on the thing, win the bid, and the seller IMMEDIATELY ships the thing to me, I get it a mere 2 days later, and, OF COURSE, it doesn't work even after I wire up a mic plug and put in a fresh battery.
Upon further observation, I discover that the mic element is shot; the actual vibrating portion of the element is NOT even connected to the casing of the element (dry rotted? or pulled apart?), so there is NO POSSIBLE WAY the seller could've "TESTED" it as he claims to have.
Fortunately for me however, I had an OLD, parts +2 that was worn, cracked, broken PTT, yellowed and nicotine stained casing, etc., that I saved PURELY for the following good parts on it:
- amplifier circuitry
- element
- blue mic wiring
So, I swapped in the GOOD element from my old parts microphone, and NOW the "New Old Stock" eBay purchase is working fine.
The SAD part of the story is, knowing the way eBay FEEDBACK works, and how it is often RETALIATORY, I left the a-hole POSITIVE feedback, for fear that he would give ME negative feedback had I told the WHOLE TRUTH.
Like they say in Latin: CAVEAT EMPTOR - let the Buyer BEWARE
