Why you shouldn't buy subwoofers on ebay...

[OneEightSeven]

So I should have known better.... I ordered a JL 10w6v2 (online retail ~$430) for $275 from one of the many sellers on ebay offering a super low price. Here is what I got:

Cut off serial number: http://oneeightseven.fbodyhosting.co...6/DSC_8165.jpg

Glue all over the spider: http://oneeightseven.fbodyhosting.co...6/DSC_8166.jpg

Glue used to cover up a tear in the spider:

http://oneeightseven.fbodyhosting.co...6/DSC_8171.jpg
http://oneeightseven.fbodyhosting.co...6/DSC_8172.jpg

[ACiFiC]

Re: Why you shouldn't buy subwoofers on ebay...

yikes.. good thing you didnt order like a 10w7

[ACiFiC]

Re: Why you shouldn't buy subwoofers on ebay...

leave him some terrible feed back

[bigairboarder44]

Re: Why you shouldn't buy subwoofers on ebay...

If it says NOTHING about that in the description, then I'd talk to the seller before leaving negative feedback. All negative feedback does is create more tension.

[ssms5411]

Re: Why you shouldn't buy subwoofers on ebay...

I would contact ebay and if you did Paypal file a dispute and return it for a full refund to get your money back. I don't buy any ebay listing without usin paypal and check the listor out , he has to have over 100 sells and at least 99% feedback. I bought 1 of my Alpine Type X's $208 shipped retail $499 and both my amps on ebay with no problems just have to make sure they say its new still in box. But that was pretty shady I would def. make sure he gets what he gets.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Why you shouldn't buy subwoofers on ebay...

His auction claimed brand new with extended 3-year warranty:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

He has 100% feedback, but it looks like he just started selling in April even though his account is from 2007. He has high volume of recent sales that drove up his rating, so it's not like he has built up feedback from a long history of selling. My guess is he sells b-grade, refurbished and/or Chinese copies of items. There's really no way to be selling real, new JL's for that low of a price. Not to mention ebay fees have never been higher. These days ebay prices on genuine new products tend to be the same as Amazon, Newegg, and even major retail store prices, because otherwise you can't make money since the fees are outrageous. It's not like it was in the early 2000's where eBay had amazing deals. So I was suspicious when I ordered, I should have just listened to my instincts, done the math and passed on it.

Figure it cost him at least $20 to ship the sub (big & heavy) + $24.75 in ebay fees (9% final value) + $0.50 listing fee + $8.28 paypal fee = $53.53. So he at best is taking $221.47 for a "new" JL 10w6v2, but more likely it's closer to $200 due to packing materials, fuel, etc... How can that be the price of a genuine new JL unless hes taking substantial losses. There are a bunch of other people selling em that cheap too. My guess is there is some big market for selling b-grade or factory reject subs, there are plenty of similar markets (fake razor blades, fake dvd's. I'll be going to car toys to get the real deal when I get my money back. They have the same price for that sub as trustworthy online stores (crutchfield, etc..) which is $439.

I contacted him already. He insisted it was new, but offered to pay return shipping. His auction says he wont pay return shipping, so it's obvious he knows he's in the wrong. If he takes care of it I wont leave him negative feedback. May leave neutral though since I really dont want others to buy the same crap :-/.

[ssms5411]

Re: Why you shouldn't buy subwoofers on ebay...

Thats true ,on Amazon I found the Alpine sub I bought on ebay for the same price $208 , I forget the stores name for stereo equip. but they are very good with free shipping.

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Why you shouldn't buy subwoofers on ebay...

I would contact ebay and if you did Paypal file a dispute and return it for a full refund to get your money back. I don't buy any ebay listing without usin paypal and check the listor out , he has to have over 100 sells and at least 99% feedback. I bought 1 of my Alpine Type X's $208 shipped retail $499 and both my amps on ebay with no problems just have to make sure they say its new still in box. But that was pretty shady I would def. make sure he gets what he gets.

I bought a JL 500.1 v1 a few years ago real cheap too and it's still perfect ($400 vs $600+ in stores at the time). However I'm fairly certain my amp is grey market because it was cheap. It was too new of a model to be refurb or knockoff though as they just came out. I guess I was just hoping this sub was grey market and not b-grade/damaged, but it was just too cheap. Honestly if it wasn't visibly damaged I would have prolly never noticed it was missing the serial, and even if I did i'd assume it was just grey market. Check ur alpine box, see if you have a serial number on it.

I know lots of people in the retail electronics game and you just cant sell legit non-grey/b-grade/refurb/fake/etc.. at that kind of price. The electronics retail game is all about selling u extras that make profit. Even if you buy 100 subs from JL, the price will never be cheap enough to offer that kind of discount, in fact with some manufacturers it doesn't matter how many you buy, they never give you a discount. Most retail sales make a few dollars here and there selling those expensive items. The money comes from cables, connectors, install kits, warranties, etc..

[ssms5411]

Re: Why you shouldn't buy subwoofers on ebay...

His auction claimed brand new with extended 3-year warranty:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

He has 100% feedback, but it looks like he just started selling in April even though his account is from 2007. He has high volume of recent sales that drove up his rating, so it's not like he has built up feedback from a long history of selling. My guess is he sells b-grade, refurbished and/or Chinese copies of items. There's really no way to be selling real, new JL's for that low of a price. Not to mention ebay fees have never been higher. These days ebay prices on genuine new products tend to be the same as Amazon, Newegg, and even major retail store prices, because otherwise you can't make money since the fees are outrageous. It's not like it was in the early 2000's where eBay had amazing deals. So I was suspicious when I ordered, I should have just listened to my instincts, done the math and passed on it.

Figure it cost him at least $20 to ship the sub (big & heavy) + $24.75 in ebay fees (9% final value) + $0.50 listing fee + $8.28 paypal fee = $53.53. So he at best is taking $221.47 for a "new" JL 10w6v2, but more likely it's closer to $200 due to packing materials, fuel, etc... How can that be the price of a genuine new JL unless hes taking substantial losses. There are a bunch of other people selling em that cheap too. My guess is there is some big market for selling b-grade or factory reject subs, there are plenty of similar markets (fake razor blades, fake dvd's. I'll be going to car toys to get the real deal when I get my money back. They have the same price for that sub as trustworthy online stores (crutchfield, etc..) which is $439.

I contacted him already. He insisted it was new, but offered to pay return shipping. His auction says he wont pay return shipping, so it's obvious he knows he's in the wrong. If he takes care of it I wont leave him negative feedback. May leave neutral though since I really dont want others to buy the same crap :-/.

With the pics you have of the sub I would ask for return shippping. He will probably close the auction down so you won't b able to leave feedback , I had a couple of bad people do that on me.

[02silverbird]

Re: Why you shouldn't buy subwoofers on ebay...

I got my 10" alpine type R on ebay and never had a prob....

[OneEightSeven]

Re: Why you shouldn't buy subwoofers on ebay...

@02silverbird

Like i said, I've bought stuff that works on ebay too :-/. Today has just made me realize that ebay has become filled with even more scammers, gray market, chinese knock off dealers, etc.. I believe this is due to the hike in ebay fees. Basically I don't see how it's possible to sell commercially on eBay at below retail costs and not be doing something shady. I'm not talking about 1 guy with 1 sub he doesn't want. I should have realized it before buying it. I got greedy and wanted it cheap. I could order again from another seller and hope to just get a grey market one cheap. I'd be ok with that, im 90% sure my amp was grey market and that has worked great for like 2 years.

At best those cheap deals from high volume sellers are grey market. I would have been ok with that if it wasn't damaged. Grey market means that someone is making money via arbitrage. They are buying a product in say Asia where the same legit product may cost MUCH less. They import it into the US and sell it at the going US rate. For instance you've heard of people buying jeans in a US store and reselling them in say Europe where people will pay a lot more for em. That's a grey market, since the manufacturer did not authorize the export of that product to that other country. Generally this is not illegal, but some manufactures will claim you're violating their trademark in order to shut you down. But generally manufactures just won't honor the warranty of the gray market stuff. JL does this for instance. However their quality is great so you're unlikely to benefit from their 1 year warranty any way. I just need an undamaged one.