eBay Video Gear WARNING thread! (TBCs, VCRs, etc)

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicholasserra

Are you saying you can tell from this listing that this unit is in an undesirable serial number range?

I didn't state anything about the serial number. That's a very basic (and often wrong) novice understanding of manufacturing production. Serials rarely mean what consumer think they do. My issue with this unit is multiple tell-tales. For example, the fonts, or a specific material used to construct a certain area. It's not a 100% guarantee the unit is bad, but very concerning. If you've not seen dozens on TBCs, you'd never know these things.

Quote:

I operate under the assumption that any equipment I buy from ebay or anywhere now is estate sale junk. So I know if I buy this, it's going to need testing and probably a full rebuild.

99% correct now. Junk. Abandoned storage units, estate sales, etc. The buyer of the junk wants to resell it for bricks of gold, without understand or caring if it even has value.

Quote:

That being said, even if the unit is beat up and not perfect, if i'm going to find someone to recap/rebuild/test, does it matter that much, assuming I can get a deal?

You assume wrong, the TBC-3000 is almost never caps related. So recap won't do anything. I don't where this idea came from in recent years that every problem that ails video gear is caps. It's a silly as cleaning the VCR heads, regardless of the issue. Certain specific issues are caps related, but (aside from AG-1980 decks) never a general issue.

Quote:

Unfortunately this is literally the only rack datavideo unit with proc amp for sale right now.

Not true. I have some single-high rack mount units with racks. The DataVideo are double-high. Not that height makes a difference, just stating the main difference. These specific units are almost equal to the specific TBC you have.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbassiouny

but not once a year neither.

That statement reminds me of new young novice investors, who have only been doing it for 1-2 years, and think the market only goes up. Take a macro view, 10, 20, etc years, and get back to me. Just within the last 7 years, there have been dry spells when you didn't see various DataVideo TBCs whatsoever for 6-18 months. Very often, TBCs happen in spurts, 2-3 units at once, then gone again for a long stretch. So don't have an attitude of "there will be more later" because that may not happen. I've not seen certain TBCs in years now. There's two TBCs that elude me entirely, been looking for one for about 4 years now, the other 6 years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicholasserra

Please link me to the $150 sale lol, I need to see it for myself so I can feel worse.

eBay sold porn.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbassiouny

I don't want you to feel worse I felt that already, I kept opening the link few times with poker face.
The link is dead anyway.
If you really want to feel worse I still have a link for a green avt sold for 40$ on ebay

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicholasserra

That 3000 sold for $2500 lol. So, next one will probably be listed for $3500.

What both of you are failing to understand here is that eBay "sold" listings may not be sold after all. It doesn't take into account returns, and there's a pretty high return rate on VCRs, TBCs, and capture cards. The buyer either doesn't read, or doesn't know warning signs in advance. The seller usually knows even less. A main reason that sales stay sold is because the buyer doesn't realize he/she bought crap until after that 30th day, and is SOL. Even if you do get in before the 30th day, you can have a fight on your hands, and you may lose it. Why? Because the eBay rep doesn't know any more than the seller (nothing), and has to use a mix of strict policy (including lots of gotchas) and gut feelings. The Houston VCR scammer is really savvy at this, a real SOB. I've helped a few forum members get their return, when it was starting to look like they'd lose the case. I've had PMs from frantic buyers about to cry, and equally near-crying thrilled when I helped them get their money back. And yet, those BS situation were "sold" (NOT SOLD!) listing in the sold searches. Don't do this to yourself if the gear is available elsewhere, from a more reputable sources (and yes, I'm one, but so are several others).

So no. It's not what you think it is.

[nicholasserra]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

You assume wrong, the TBC-3000 is almost never caps related. So recap won't do anything. I don't where this idea came from in recent years that every problem that ails video gear is caps. It's a silly as cleaning the VCR heads, regardless of the issue. Certain specific issues are caps related, but (aside from AG-1980 decks) never a general issue.

So can these units be repaired or not?

You're making it sound as if some units, when identified by you as bad, are not worth a penny and cannot be fixed. Is that the case here?

[mbassiouny]

Speaking of ebay, Idk if I mentioned that before, but avoid lydea-7650

I have seen several red flags in their listings, but here is 2 more recent:

here is an example:
(see attachement 1)

see the bad reviews in the 2nd attachment .

So, obviously don't believe eBay sellers.
(the french review is saying: item sold as new, but 2 buttons do not work!)

Quote:

What both of you are failing to understand here is that eBay "sold" listings may not be sold after all

I know that. But the person who bought the green avt for 40, it was listed for 40, the person made on offer for 38. I know the seller, and he later told me it was not returned. Also why on earth would a crazy person return a TBC they got for 40€?
Same for the tbc-3000, it was working, sold by the direct owner who was not aware of the price hike. Ofc there is no guarantee after all this years it was working correctly, but even if, most likely the buyer would think it is okay, the issue might not be visible to they buyer's eyes.

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So don't have an attitude of "there will be more later" because that may not happen.

You are right. Sorry about that. I meant more as : don't lose hope, who knows, maybe there will be more, just did not want him to feel bad, did not mean it in the sense: "feel free to miss deals cuz more are surely coming"

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nicholasserra

So can these units be repaired or not?
You're making it sound as if some units, when identified by you as bad, are not worth a penny and cannot be fixed.

Some units cannot be repaired, no. If you get issues that cascade into the chips, it can be game over for those units. Many also have inherent quirks that can make them unusable (all PAL bad, all NTSC bad, noise patterning, etc).

Quote:

Is that the case here?

I don't 100% know that for certain. But I can make some pretty accurate educated guesses. It's about tell-tales, using wisdom based on experience. This unit has warning signs, period. Odds are against it being a good unit (no intrinsic issues, good transparency) like you're wanting. You didn't win/buy it anyway. You're having a moment of FOMO.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbassiouny

Speaking of ebay, Idk if I mentioned that before, but avoid lydea-7650

Agreed. This person is a confirmed recycler that lies in listings. In recent times, this person bought known-bad BVTBCs units, and resold with the false statement of "This unit is comparable to the datavideo TBC-1000, AVT-8710, and TvOne TBC in its ability to correct a noisy signal to broadcast quality for capturing. In some instances, it outperforms the other three."

What an a-hole.

Quote:

Also why on earth would a crazy person return a TBC they got for 40€?

Because it didn't work? (Not the case here it seems, but this case is atypical.) If I buy something for $1 on eBay, and it's not functioning as it should, I'm returning it. If you want to give away money, there are several very reputable multiple sclerosis charities that could use the funds. Don't gift it to bad eBay sellers.

[mbassiouny]

Quote:

Originally Posted by lordsmurf

Because it didn't work? (Not the case here it seems, but this case is atypical.) If I buy something for $1 on eBay, and it's not functioning as it should, I'm returning it. If you want to give away money, there are several very reputable multiple sclerosis charities that could use the funds. Don't gift it to bad eBay sellers.

You are right , I agree with you that charity deserves the money instead of ebay scammers, and yes I was wrong to generalize, sorry, not everyone is willing to waste money on things that don't work. But personally, if it is a very cheap deal, I think my curiosity will make me prefer to keep the item and try to fix it if I can, use it to learn, etc. Even if I don't fix it, I consider it the price of learning. But yes, in general I agree with you, I return the item if it is does not work as intended, and no one would want invest in an "expensive paperweight", just in rare occasions I prefer to keep the paperweight and study it instead of returning it. But yeah, probably not everyone is willing to do this.

[nicholasserra]

Thanks for the info smurf.

I think one of the hardest things i'm dealing with right now is the testing process for these units. Aside from hooking them up and checking to see if they screw with the brightness/contrast/colors compared to a clean signal, I don't know what else to be checking on them before I put it into my workflow.

Really hoping your upcoming guide includes your process for testing these.

Can you give us a teaser on this info? As I mentioned I have a few units and I want to put them through the wringer before I go throw some tapes through them.

[mrmuy97]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbassiouny

Speaking of ebay, Idk if I mentioned that before, but avoid lydea-7650

Just want to reiterate the importance of everyone refusing to purchase anything from lydea-7650. At one point I questioned the bad info in some of their listings -- instead of getting any answers to the questions I just got a long rant about how I must be reading that evil website digitalfaq and how His Royal Smurfness sucks and is wrong about everything and why do I need to know anything about the history of anything just buy it and you'll find out ...

Thankfully I figured it out prior to finding this thread and without purchasing anything. Speaking of tell-tale red flags, the answers you get to probing questions are always my favorite method of exposing them.

I think lydea-7650 acquired someone's stash of old equipment and some various new old-stock electronic items from somewhere local and is selling them off. There have been some NIB VCRs and other items that all point to that, as well as them currently unloading a hoard of Dewalt bluetooth headphones

And there's nothing wrong with that -- IF you're completely honest about what you're selling.

A quick read online and some clever lies and suddenly you can paint yourself as a pro in your listings.

[lordsmurf]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrmuy97

Just want to reiterate the importance of everyone refusing to purchase anything from lydea-7650.

That seller is a lying sack of shit.

Below is one of my favorite BS moves by shady eBay sellers.

Look at this auction: https://www.ebay.com/itm/304402045250
Title: "JVC Super S-VHS ET VCR Plus Hi-Fi HR-S3902U Tested W/ Original Remote & Manual"

Quote:

JVC Super S-VHS ET VCR Plus Hi-Fi HR-S3902U Tested W/ Original Remote & Manual.
Works perfectly. In like new condition.
Will be packed securely and shipped via FedEx Ground domestically or usps priority internationally.
Feel free to ask any questions before bidding.
Local pickup in the Los Angeles area is also available.

Now look closely at all the auction images. Do you see something wrong?
No?
How about now:

ebay-tested-bent.jpg

"tested"
Without electricity?

Dumbass.

[mrmuy97]

Update with a small bit of good news on the scammer front.

https://www.ebay.com/usr/lydea-7650

Large red horizontal band with white lettering which reads:

"No longer a registered user."

Gee, I wonder what happened.

[mrmuy97]

Update with a small bit of good news on the scammer front.

https://www.ebay.com/usr/lydea-7650

Large red horizontal band with white lettering which reads:

"No longer a registered user."

Gee, I wonder what happened.

[nicholasserra]

Brand new! But also covered in filth and buttons broken off lol

https://www.ebay.com/itm/404129276443