KVR Audio

janluis1 · Post by **janluis1** » Mon May 19, 2014 12:14 pm

A friend of mine suggested me this Synthesizer:
http://www.ebay.it/itm/Roland-SH-201-An ... 9c3&_uhb=1

As is not usually expensive and can be used as a midi keyboard I tought could be a good purchase for a first hardware equipment buy. As I am very interested by this item and since the auction starts from 0 I would like to have some advice: Is safe buying synthesizers off ebay!? I never bought expensive stuff and I would like to have a pleasant experience in case I decide to buy right now.

D.H. Miltz · Post by **D.H. Miltz** » Mon May 19, 2014 4:55 pm

Split from bargains thread and moved to Everything Else.

cryophonik · Post by **cryophonik** » Mon May 19, 2014 5:08 pm

At least three of the keys have some sort of burn damage or something. The fact that the seller doesn't even acknowledge them, or disclose how those deformations got there, is a huge red flag from my point of view.

”PHOTOS SHOWN IN THIS AUCTION ARE OF THE ACTUAL ITEM FOR SALE AS YOU WILL RECEIVE IT”

I GUARANTEE THIS ITEM TO BE IN PERFECT WORKING ORDER AND "AS DESCRIBED" OR YOUR MONEY BACK !

Very Good: Item is very clean - cosmetically shows slight wear and/or signs of moderate use. 75-85% of original condition, perfect working condition.

*PLEASE CHECK OUT THE PICTURES! AS THEY SAY, PICTURES ARE WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS!*

No description of the 15-25% damage, but he does insist that you look at the photos. That way, he can say it was your fault for not noticing how damaged it was when he denies you a refund. I wouldn't go near this POS.

janluis1 · Post by **janluis1** » Tue May 20, 2014 12:12 am

Is possible to be scammed then!?

t3toooo · Post by **t3toooo** » Tue May 20, 2014 12:19 am

I've always made good experience with ebay but i would left this one out too because the seller just sold to few items.

Edit,well i saw he sold much more two years ago,
Usually i look for the rating,which doesn't look too bad.

ZenPunkHippy · Post by **ZenPunkHippy** » Tue May 20, 2014 12:51 am

Buying from eBay is fine, you just need to be careful and make sure you are 100% confident that the person selling is legitimate and being honest about the transaction.

Since there are some questions about this specific auction, it would be better to wait for another auction to show up.

There are other options. Craigslist in the US, Gumtree in Australia and UK. This is better in some respects because it's more likely you can go and pick up the item directly and inspect before making a decision.

Peace,
Andy.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Tue May 20, 2014 1:41 am

janluis1 wrote:Is possible to be scammed then!?

eBay guarantees that you will receive something. eBay will not guarantee its condition. It's pretty easy to get eBay to protect you if something goes wrong but it's a hassle even if they protect you. All-in-all, I'd say you probably can't lose much monetarily but that doesn't guarantee it'll be a pleasant experience.

Gonga · Post by **Gonga** » Tue May 20, 2014 11:27 am

You can put together a list of very specific questions for the seller. For example, "is there any cosmetic damage other than the keys?" "Does the keyboard work perfectly?" Is there any function, knob, slider, switch, light or jack that does not function perfectly?" Etc. If the answers don't settle your questions, you might be able to make a low offer if there aren't many interested.

kritikon · Post by **kritikon** » Thu May 22, 2014 12:57 am

t3toooo wrote:I've always made good experience with ebay but i would left this one out too because the seller just sold to few items.

Edit,well i saw he sold much more two years ago,
Usually i look for the rating,which doesn't look too bad.

Trouble with that is it rules out every seller that's new to eBay and every item from those sellers. Not everyone spends all day on eBay. I just sold a car on Trademe, I was a genuine seller, and I'd never sold anything on Trademe before. How you supposed to sell anything if all buyers ignore new traders? Kind of defeats the object, cos it limits those auction sites to only old hands or traders. Fortunately mine sold, and it was no hassle. I was a genuine seller with absolutely zero rating. Still am because the buyer hasn't given feedback yet.

chk071 · Post by **chk071** » Thu May 22, 2014 1:05 am

It's not the case that every new user is ignored, because he didn't receive enough feedback yet. But it could be, that your auctions don't achieve as high prices, as if you had a lot of feedback. Realistically, you can say that people get hot about auctions with a good price, even if the user is new. But i have to say that i wouldn't buy a hundreds of € worth article also from a user with only 10 rating on his account. It's just too risky IMO. But that doesn't mean others wouldn't do it.

kritikon · Post by **kritikon** » Thu May 22, 2014 1:14 am

TBH some cosmetic damage to the keys wouldn't bother me too much. If it's just simple fag burns it's probably not a big issue. More worry if it's caused by heavy pressure of something on the keys by sudden impact (looks like a burn though).

As mentioned, you do need to know if it all works. The seller says it does, but it's always good to ask some questions. I'd want to know if all keys play, all keys transmit midi, midi in and out both work, audio outs work and no crackle/hiss/dropouts, all knobs and sliders transmit and turn move properly, lights/screens all work and no keys stick. If not all those are good, then it entirely depends on the price. You don't get super cheap bargains if it's mint condition, and I find some buyers on these sites are idiots that expect high quality for cheap as chips. TBH I actually wouldn't buy say a classic analogue etc without seeing it first. End of story. If you can get that synth for $50 or something cheap, if it genuinely does work 80% or whatever, it may be a decent buy. May be a POS too. Do the research - what's the going rate? If that one is the going rate, then you expect good working order. If it's cheaper than the going rate, then don't expect it to be perfect. That's why bargains are cheap. Only you know how much you are prepared to trade quality for price.

ghettosynth · Post by **ghettosynth** » Thu May 22, 2014 1:26 am

kritikon wrote:TBH some cosmetic damage to the keys wouldn't bother me too much. If it's just simple fag burns it's probably not a big issue. More worry if it's caused by heavy pressure of something on the keys by sudden impact (looks like a burn though).

Those are cigarette burns, and, call me prejudiced, but, that's a HUGE red flag for me. Smokers are hard on their gear just because they're smokers, but someone who sits the cigarette down on the keys isn't someone that I'd want to buy gear from. It's like buying a honda with gaudy rims, you know that it's been abused. This is especially true on ebay where condition seems to play a much smaller role in final price than the luck of the draw. Buy gear from middle aged men who don't think twice about spending the extra on a case just to get it home from the store.

seeking advice on buying synth via Ebay