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 Post subject: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 17 May 2018, 16:10 
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I've now tried to buy 3 players on eBay, trying to find ONE PLAYER THAT WORKS.

So far I don't even have my first working player. I bought my first player last year around August if I remember right. It sort of works, but it has an alignment issue I believe, and then it stops playing discs after a few chapters on side A, and won't play discs at all on side B. Bought another player last week, a CLD-D704, and had to unjam the door, and then it was majorly screwed up, horrible video noise, audio was staticky and wouldn't play on side B, so sent it back immediately. Seller was good, refunded the money, but had to fork out to ship back at my own expense (grrr). Bought a CLD-59 and it came this morning... was thrilled to unpack it, annnnnddd... two loose gears rattling around inside it and door won't open.

Here's a picture for reference:

http://k1vzx.com/images/4C6A6553%5b1%5d.jpg

You can see the servo motor completely detached from the laser pickup assembly, not only did the gears fall out, but the whole plastic assembly that holds them on seems to have cracked for some reason or another. Oh well.

Buyer beware! Both of these machines were advertised as fully working and tested and I paid $200 and $60 shipping for each of them. This is some sort of new eBay scam where people must find non-working laserdisc players at garage sales and then dump them on eBay for hundreds or something. Sad but true.
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 17 May 2018, 16:38 
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Shipping players is risky... and probably getting more so as players age and the plastic (perhaps) gets more brittle...?
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 17 May 2018, 16:44 
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Feel your pain.
There are 2 scenarios.

One is that the player actually does work and was damaged in shipping either by poor packing or players not being able to handle the shipping anymore.

Second is that they are getting players on the cheap and just putting them on ebay like all other electronics and selling them as working but taking a risk on actually working.

I feel that a lot of electronics on ebay now are from storage units or even parents collections of electronics that have been stored in garages or basements and now they are liquidating the so called collections on ebay and we sometimes luck out on buying this stuff.

This is why I'm keeping all 4 of my players and if I find any more I will keep them all even for parts.
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 17 May 2018, 17:02 
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The far more likely scenario is that all those players worked from the day they were built 20+ years ago and they were broken in shipping after you bought them.

I’m not blaming you but essentially, you broke them, indirectly. You didn’t mention packing techniques and you posted no auction links so for all we know you bought the most red flag looking junk from the shiftiest sellers on eBay...and this tends to be a thing with “victim buyers” who get hosed over and over. There is no relationship between the buyers so the only thing linking the three broken players is you.

Buy locally whenever possible. Be patient. If that’s really not possible then consider ignoring LD. If that doesn’t work buy from a guy you can trust enough to talk on the phone about it first. An LD fan themselves can assure you the packing will be sufficient, for example, take pictures before shipping, etc

And no I don’t have any players to sell and even if I did I’m already too suspicious and protective of them to mail one out and find it arrived as the forth broken deck needing a refund. Sorry. :)
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 17 May 2018, 17:26 
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Yeah, I just wouldn't buy a LD player on eBay if at all possible. Many of these sellers don't know what they are doing, and if the player even works properly. It's something I briefly considered awhile back, but was turned off of it for the reasons I mentioned. Being able to inspect the player in person yourself is HUGE.

For some really high end players it might be your only choice but aside from those a lot of the middle level players are mostly same-ish from my experience. I'm in a rural area and was willing to drive a bit to get a mid range player for $11, so it's doable. Got a line on a back-up player semi-locally right now in fact, hoping it works out.
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 17 May 2018, 18:08 
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I wouldn't say *I* broke these players, but the innocent eBay sellers who auction off these players are also to take part responsibility.

I screwed up by taking the CLD-59 apart and letting the seller know that I did, and now they are refusing to let me return it. So I guess I will look for a unit with a working servo assembly to swap parts. Ugh.
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 17 May 2018, 19:21 
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I'm a professional engineer for a living. I've done electronics design before and have a master's degree in electrical engineering. I know my way around the inside of a laserdisc player and electronics in general. These auctions did not seem shady in any way.

Your mistrust of me makes me makes me mistrustful of *you* more than anything.

But I don't need to be defensive :P

Of course all those players worked from day one, they never would've landed on Grandma's shelf.
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 17 May 2018, 19:55 
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I wouldn't be so hard on yourself, I think you will find that most on this forum have experienced what you are going through, broken LD players is a very popular subject, most people nowadays no nothing about these machines and can't comprehend shipping them, they're just seen as vintage profit items for the collector.

Basically when I buy a player off ebay I wouldn't spend any more then I'd be willing to eat, even if you communicate with the seller I wouldn't trust them 99% of the time unless they are very reputable.

I've gotten a few dead players on ebay but most were already listed for parts, I've usually got the best deals locally but I've also been burned a couple of times on craigslist.

It's just the nature of LD, be prepared to throw some money away.
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 17 May 2018, 20:25 
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jeffl3001 wrote:
I wouldn't say *I* broke these players, but the innocent eBay sellers who auction off these players are also to take part responsibility.

I screwed up by taking the CLD-59 apart and letting the seller know that I did, and now they are refusing to let me return it. So I guess I will look for a unit with a working servo assembly to swap parts. Ugh.


See, if you were buying from some real dudes they wouldn’t get upset about you opening a player. This is really complex old stuff. It needs to be opened once in a while just to keep it going. Buy from the sort of people who understand that.

When you buy from someone who doesn’t know what LD even is...you’re completely on your own. The real dudes will help you fix the thing if you too are a real dude. Some 19 year old who just inherited a deck from their uncle who hadn’t used it since he inherited it from his uncle isn’t the guy you want to buy from. He just wants $80. Real dudes want the player to run after they sell it, after they’re dead even, the money doesn’t really matter. It’s just not enough to matter. LD players were $300 each new at their absolute cheapest, most were $600-1200, some were almost $3k. The guy you want to buy from just wants the player to run whoever has it.

The last deck I didn’t get for super cheap locally was a CLD-99 from a Candian user. It was $400 but it was (and still is) mint with service history. Only the box was missing. We talked over email for some time while negotiating shipping terms and all that. He was able to take better photos when I asked. Double boxed and filled with packing peanuts the player arrived undamaged and still works perfectly now, probably 5 or 6 years on. After a while I had to replace the grip ring on it because of the howl but also because of a weird TOC issue that resulted from it that would disable side flips, variable DNR, and some other weirdness. $15 in repairs. I’ve binned at least two iPhones in that same time frame. The CLD-99 is mechanically similar to the 704 that arrived broken for you.

On eBay you can Buy it Now! And then recycle it now when it arrives smashed. LD players are no longer a commodity (they barely ever were) they are invaluable antiques, every remaining one is unique. You can’t expect them to flow like water and be as reliable.
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 17 May 2018, 21:04 
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Yeah that seller is an ahole for caring that the player was opened. How else are you supposed to diagnose what is wrong?

I'd say if at all possible try to wait for a local listing OP. Are you in a situation where you have a bunch of movies but no working player? That would be the only time I'd want to chance eBay. Zeta is right in that so many eBay sellers don't know what they are doing with many items. Any dbag can slap a video game or dvd movie in a mailer but lots of sellers probably couldn't even tell you if old PC parts or a LD player are even properly working. I went down the rabbit hole with older pc parts not too long ago and had to do multiple returns. Otoh just last Saturday I set up a meet with a fellow PC head and bought bunch of parts off him for a scorching price and everything works exactly like it should because well, he used it and actually understood the stuff he was selling.

Some positive news for me: the lot I inquired about semi-locally is still available. Decent player with 97 discs. Mostly karaoke discs but honestly, that's pretty cool and the asking price is quite fair. The guy had been using it for his business and finally went digital not too long ago. Only owner.
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 17 May 2018, 21:37 
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Looking at it a bit more closely, the 59's suffering from a broken M-holder (the original one often breaks without help from shippers) - and it likely also needs a new loading belt.
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 18 May 2018, 00:12 
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You’d have to drop a player *really* hard to break the M Holder. However if it was already broke...they trend to hold themselves together rather well when broken. Often side A still works and B is just noisy. It’s possible it kinda fell apart during shipping/teardown but was really broke earlier.
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 18 May 2018, 01:46 
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I bought a 504 on ebay that was worse then that, the pickup motor had broken off and was totally gone, eventually I did find the two gears rolling around in the chassis with a few other pieces, however that one was listed for parts, that was when I thought I could get lucky on "mechanics special" players...didn't make out so well with that one, but in time managed to get a few deals which actually paid off.

Point being if you stay in the game long enough you probably will start to make out better, but you will have to put in a little time and effort, now after that time if it's worth it to you, that is for you to decide...
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 18 May 2018, 22:36 
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I don't get the eBay hate. Buy any player you want and if it arrives damaged request a return, not only is seller required to take it back but they will have to provide you a shipping label, there is zero risk.
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 18 May 2018, 23:06 
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Zero risk, you just waste your time which is the most precious commodity. Just easier to buy in person or from a more reputable seller that knows what they are doing. I buy many many things on eBay, I just wouldn't buy anything overly large or fragile.
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 18 May 2018, 23:50 
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pbiancardi wrote:
I don't get the eBay hate. Buy any player you want and if it arrives damaged request a return, not only is seller required to take it back but they will have to provide you a shipping label, there is zero risk.

If you look at the picture I posted, you will clearly notice I took the player apart. I mistakenly let eBay and the seller KNOW I took the player apart and they refused to honor their return policy. So now I'm stuck with a paper weight.

So, I ordered another CLD-95! This one was marked as "untested for parts" so it's a complete gamble, but hopefully it will have an intact servo drive so I can swap it out and make a complete unit out of the two of 'em.

The other problem is, if you buy a player on eBay, you likely have to pay return shipping back to the seller, so you still eat some cash.

So, moral of the story is, if you get a dud player, you have to make a decision on whether you want to take the risk on fixing it or returning it. If you open it to take a look around, don't make it obvious to anyone you were playing around inside.

Here's the eBay auction on the CLD-59 I bought: https://www.ebay.com/itm/312128130876?_ ... 2128130876

Oh, and I almost forgot. Since the seller of the auction is a "power seller" and they used eBay as a mediator to "resolve" to return case, I have *WAIT* to leave any NEGATIVE FEEDBACK for the seller! HOW RIDICULOUS IS THAT? I'm freaking pissed. Although I already bought the second CLD-59, so it doesn't matter now, but I'm still pissed that I found that little nugget of joy. Go eBay!
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 Post subject: Re: Keep getting scammed on eBay - Laserdisc players
PostPosted: 18 May 2018, 23:59 
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I said it before but that policy is crap. It sucks that you were punished for being honest about opening it. At least now you know, and well me too since I've never had something like that come up before.

Also yes eBay really protects their power sellers since they bring in the most cheddar.
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