Would you buy a used Keyboard? From eBay?

[Pavilions]

I wanted to know if you bought any Keyboard from eBay or any website, I did last week and I think I got scammed. I bought a Poker II Keyboard with brown switch and nice replaced Keycaps, when It arrived I plugged it and it was working and I start to type on it until I noticed that some of the letters are clicking twice or more even though I just clicked it once, when I searched It was known as Key Chatter, It was so annoying. I couldn't find any solution and when I tried to clean the Switch I broke it by mistake. Now it's just setting with no life in it 

Anything case happened to you?

Thanks

[Leslieann]

I bought a Model M off there, worked fine. It always depends on the seller, don't buy anything of value from new sellers, no matter how much you want it and how good a deal it is. New sellers get less money for a reason.

As for your keyboard, this is the nice thing about mechanical keyboards, you can buy a dew replacement switches and replace the bad ones for a few bucks. Good as new.

I've actually had more trouble buying out of China... No surprise.

[Pavilions]

Yes, that's true, I found a seller that has a rating of 118 for both selling and buying with no negative feedback, do you think I can trust this seller even though he seems new but he has 10 Postive feedback. I want to buy a keyboard from him.

[klennkellon]

I've bought several keyboards from eBay. All of them were vintage and I got what I paid for.

[Leslieann]

Yes, that's true, I found a seller that has a rating of 118 for both selling and buying with no negative feedback, do you think I can trust this seller even though he seems new but he has 10 Postive feedback. I want to buy a keyboard from him.

Depends on where that feedback came from.
I usually aim for a few hundred feedback minimum, but if that low I will still check and see if the feedback is all buying or not, and how much the items went for. If it's all cheap stuff on the selling side, beware.

[Pavilions]

Yes, that's true, I found a seller that has a rating of 118 for both selling and buying with no negative feedback, do you think I can trust this seller even though he seems new but he has 10 Postive feedback. I want to buy a keyboard from him.

Depends on where that feedback came from.
I usually aim for a few hundred feedback minimum, but if that low I will still check and see if the feedback is all buying or not, and how much the items went for. If it's all cheap stuff on the selling side, beware.

he doesn't have a lot of selling reviews, but the item was in an auction it's the Aria version that was sold on massdrop.

[jcoffin1981]

I would buy a used board if the price is right.  Remember you are assuming a certain amount of risk.  I see some used boards going for 85% of the new price and I ask myself who would do this?

I suspect the seller was selling the board because of the chatter.  It's often an easy fix by cleaning the switch or replacing it if you know how.  However, you shot yourself in the foot by breaking the switch.  It may not be as "broken" as you say. Can you post a pic?  I do not advocate readily giving poor feedback, but I would start by opening a dialogue with the seller and tell him what's happening.

I myself have bought and sold about 500 items on ebay (maybe one keyboard) and the poor experiences I've had I can count on a single hand.

[aya3154]

Always prefer a live meetup if possible , don’t get much boards from eBay cuz there’s so many good ones you can get elsewhere (gh gbs for example )

Even for vintage , I try to look for some in my local scene or I wait till I can travel somewhere on holiday like Japan to check them out in person

I would buy some from gh classifieds or r/mm and not other sites unless the same person is listed on eBay as well
, else that element of risk always exists

[line]

It's fine for most things imo, as long as the seller is reputable. However, I was in a GB where the seller had the boards packed up pretty badly and ended up with some Model Ms being pretty damaged.

[suicidal_orange]

I regularly buy anything from ebay,  anyone with less than 10 positive seller feedback with a years old account is good as most people are scared off by the low score but in my experience they're just people who just don't sell much and have something they think is too good to bin.  Original packaging is a plus too - shows they take care of their stuff.  These are completely different to sellers with 20 seller feedbacks and 100 cheap buyer feedbacks for cheap cables from China all within a month.

I bought my first mech, a Ducky, this way and it arrived as described - perfect except for one switch top which was partially out of the non removable plate and a bunch of keys that didn't work )  Also bought a HHKB for a good price and that was perfect.

[tp4tissue]

In general, I do not buy used keebs EVER,   knowing what people do in front of their keyboards these days.

[Sup]

In general, I do not buy used keebs EVER,   knowing what people do in front of their keyboards these days.

Same i mostly buy parts second hand but when i  do buy second hand keyboards.

[Leslieann]

I regularly buy anything from ebay,  anyone with less than 10 positive seller feedback with a years old account is good as most people are scared off by the low score but in my experience they're just people who just don't sell much.

A little while back there was an issue with people hacking accounts and (rumors) of people even buying them (or the hacked account) for the feedback.
You really want an active seller with decent numbers and recent feedback for anything of serious value. I'm not saying don't take chances, just make sure you can afford to lose it in such cases.

[killyou]

I just got "new open box" Pok3r for $85 and it's all good.

[Pavilions]

In general, I do not buy used keebs EVER,   knowing what people do in front of their keyboards these days.

LoL, ) now I want to throw all the used keyboards that I have bought including the IBM Model M's

but usually, I open the boards and clean them piece by piece with soap and warm water sometimes alcohol also.

So I don't know I think this will do the job 

[Pavilions]

In general, I do not buy used keebs EVER,   knowing what people do in front of their keyboards these days.

Same i mostly buy parts second hand but when I do buy second-hand keyboards.

Show Image

I bought this product it didn't serve me well, I used it on a Thinkpad laptop that had a lot of debris and hair inside the keyboard, I opened all the keys and applyed this product it didn't remove much, I think that most of the dirt was stuck inside the scissors this is why I couldn't clean it well, I think I'm better off buying a new keyboard and install it.

[Pavilions]

I would buy a used board if the price is right.  Remember you are assuming a certain amount of risk.  I see some used boards going for 85% of the new price and I ask myself who would do this?

I suspect the seller was selling the board because of the chatter.  It's often an easy fix by cleaning the switch or replacing it if you know how.  However, you shot yourself in the foot by breaking the switch.  It may not be as "broken" as you say. Can you post a pic?  I do not advocate readily giving poor feedback, but I would start by opening a dialogue with the seller and tell him what's happening.

I myself have bought and sold about 500 items on ebay (maybe one keyboard) and the poor experiences I've had I can count on a single hand.

I think it's not the switch that I have damaged even the board if you notice there is a coil wrapped around the switch I think it was removed from the PCB board due to bad soldering.

[chyros]

Of course I buy on eBay. All the really good keyboards aren't for sale anymore .

[suicidal_orange]

I regularly buy anything from ebay,  anyone with less than 10 positive seller feedback with a years old account is good as most people are scared off by the low score but in my experience they're just people who just don't sell much.

A little while back there was an issue with people hacking accounts and (rumors) of people even buying them (or the hacked account) for the feedback.
You really want an active seller with decent numbers and recent feedback for anything of serious value. I'm not saying don't take chances, just make sure you can afford to lose it in such cases.

Definitely - I bought from a hacked account a couple of months back, thought it was dodgy but too good a bargain to ignore so risked it.  Paypal refunded me so no harm  done.  Be very cautious of unbelievably cheap 'buy it now's as that's the way to get the most money in the shortest time, which is what scammers usually want.

An active seller with lots of feedback going back years is safest but that means a) they know what they're doing and will probably have listed it optimally and b) no-one will hesitate to buy from them.  At the end of the day more bidders = higher prices so the best bargains (or should that be only bargains?  It's so popular these days...) are from genuine low volume sellers.  I feel sorry for them, not least because I've been on the other end of it the one time I auctioned something.  Never again...

[Pavilions]

I regularly buy anything from ebay,  anyone with less than 10 positive seller feedback with a years old account is good as most people are scared off by the low score but in my experience they're just people who just don't sell much.

A little while back there was an issue with people hacking accounts and (rumors) of people even buying them (or the hacked account) for the feedback.
You really want an active seller with decent numbers and recent feedback for anything of serious value. I'm not saying don't take chances, just make sure you can afford to lose it in such cases.

Definitely - I bought from a hacked account a couple of months back, thought it was dodgy but too good a bargain to ignore so risked it.  Paypal refunded me so no harm  done.  Be very cautious of unbelievably cheap 'buy it now's as that's the way to get the most money in the shortest time, which is what scammers usually want.

An active seller with lots of feedback going back years is safest but that means a) they know what they're doing and will probably have listed it optimally and b) no-one will hesitate to buy from them.  At the end of the day more bidders = higher prices so the best bargains (or should that be only bargains?  It's so popular these days...) are from genuine low volume sellers.  I feel sorry for them, not least because I've been on the other end of it the one time I auctioned something.  Never again...

Yes, I even once bought a Keyboard from high rated seller around thousand feedback when I got the keyboard It was really dirty and I always like to clean keyboards when they arrive, after I opened the keyboard I was shocked that most of the interior parts are broken, for example the case clips and the black plastic plate frame is shattered from each side, I contacted him with pictures and he said I sold you a working keyboard that's it, he didn't even care about the broken parts and pieces. I noticed that a lot of the Keyboard sellers on eBay they know nothing about keyboards they just see what the majority of people need and then sell it like the model M's. I will write a post about this experience soon.

[fohat.digs]

I have been a buyer and seller on ebay for almost 20 years, but I still feel sad when someone says "don't buy from sellers with less than 100 feedback" because everyone has to start somewhere and I remember that my first couple of items never sold at all.

Also, it is unfortunate that you don't get a more descriptive rating unless you have at least 10 feedback responses as a seller every 6 or 12 months, and there are often periods where I go months without selling anything.

Like many things, there have been many changes made to ebay in 20 years and 90% of them have been for the worse.

[ArchDill]

When I fist got into the hobby I bought a "used" Ducky One. I could not tell that it had ever been used other than the box being pre-opened.

[Pavilions]

I have been a buyer and seller on ebay for almost 20 years, but I still feel sad when someone says "don't buy from sellers with less than 100 feedback" because everyone has to start somewhere and I remember that my first couple of items never sold at all.

Also, it is unfortunate that you don't get a more descriptive rating unless you have at least 10 feedback responses as a seller every 6 or 12 months, and there are often periods where I go months without selling anything.

Like many things, there have been many changes made to ebay in 20 years and 90% of them have been for the worse.

You are correct, even my experience with buying from a highly rated seller is that he was not a keyboard professional he only bought keyboards and tried to fix them or add parts to them and then sell them. The guy who sold me the broken keyboard from the inside couldn't understand what I was saying because he didn't speak English and I asked to send me replacement parts because the keyboard is rare and I couldn't find any online. he sent me pictures of a lot of keyboards that were broken this is why I had my doubts that he just buying keyboards and fix them with whatever parts he finds and then sell them.

[Snowdog993]

I have bought several keyboards from ebay and have had pretty good luck. I have also purchased from Phosphorglow and ClickyKeyboards.com in the past.
Just be aware of exactly what you are buying.

[Leslieann]

I have been a buyer and seller on ebay for almost 20 years, but I still feel sad when someone says "don't buy from sellers with less than 100 feedback" because everyone has to start somewhere and I remember that my first couple of items never sold at all.

I'm not saying avoid new sellers at all, I've bought from them, just be cautious.
100 feedback is not super difficult, especially by just buying cheap trinkets.

[aya3154]

I have been a buyer and seller on ebay for almost 20 years, but I still feel sad when someone says "don't buy from sellers with less than 100 feedback" because everyone has to start somewhere and I remember that my first couple of items never sold at all.

I'm not saying avoid new sellers at all, I've bought from them, just be cautious.
100 feedback is not super difficult, especially by just buying cheap trinkets.

That's true, the feedback really isn't a good indicator sometimes but just a good precaution. If the seller is willing to communicate and provide more in depth photos on request or provide a rough history of how the board was acquired I think that will add to some of their authenticity.

[jcoffin1981]

In general, I do not buy used keebs EVER,   knowing what people do in front of their keyboards these days.

LoL, ) now I want to throw all the used keyboards that I have bought including the IBM Model M's

but usually, I open the boards and clean them piece by piece with soap and warm water sometimes alcohol also.

So I don't know I think this will do the job 

I've never thought about this, but it is enough to make me think twice.  You also have to assume some risk as to what a previous owner has attempted to do underneath the hood.  I'd be  more likely to do this with a board that is no longer available for purchase.

[Pavilions]

In general, I do not buy used keebs EVER,   knowing what people do in front of their keyboards these days.

LoL, ) now I want to throw all the used keyboards that I have bought including the IBM Model M's

but usually, I open the boards and clean them piece by piece with soap and warm water sometimes alcohol also.

So I don't know I think this will do the job 

I've never thought about this, but it is enough to make me think twice.  You also have to assume some risk as to what a previous owner has attempted to do underneath the hood.  I'd be  more likely to do this with a board that is no longer available for purchase.

Yes, I think you could check the screws and see if there is any signs of wear or scratches this could be a sign of someone tryed to open the keyboard.

[Aran.E99]

I bought a mint condition black Dell AT102W minus the box on ebay. Most I've ever paid for an individual keyboard  (£40, if it matters). When I started using it, I noticed like 5 keys would randomly stop working and required me to restart the PC to fix it. I spoke to the seller but they couldn't do anything for me. They offered a full refund but there's no way I'm returning a mint black AT102W  . I swapped the brand new faulty board for an old one and still use it to this day. The faulty board lives inside a cupboard waiting to be repaired. The other side to the story is that I've bought maybe 20 keyboards off of ebay and all of them have been perfectly functional or as described.

On a slightly related note and hopefully not changing the topic of this thread, I've had pretty bad sellers who don't reply to messages. I understand that they are busy but for example I was willing to sort a great deal out for a seller, he blanked me over the course of 5 days and next thing I know I've missed out on something. My favourite though is the "can you send a picture of the switch without a keycap on?" That never gets a reply. Gotta love ebay.

[fohat.digs]

"can you send a picture of the switch without a keycap on?" That never gets a reply.

Recently, either here or on DT, somebody asked that and the seller broke the top of the switch off in the key cap. It was an unusual vintage board with double-shot Alps-mount caps and a properly-matching replacement would be all but impossible to find. Took the value of the keyboard from about $50+ to probably <$20, if that.

[Colourr]

"can you send a picture of the switch without a keycap on?" That never gets a reply.

Recently, either here or on DT, somebody asked that and the seller broke the top of the switch off in the key cap. It was an unusual vintage board with double-shot Alps-mount caps and a properly-matching replacement would be all but impossible to find.

Please god, no.


I've no problems purchasing from eBay / craigslist / kijiji and the like.. I just make sure to clean everything before use with water and soap or some isopropyl.

[Aran.E99]

Oh Jesus thats terrible  . I normally will add more such as "...using a keycap puller. Don't pull too hard and try to avoid applying force to the sides". I know a lot of people know what they are doing so its kind of 'if they already know then they might feel as if I think they're dumb but if I don't say this they might break a keyboard and then its my fault' type of thing. I'm still yet to hear back from a seller saying they broke the keyboard, though 

[ramblinrose]

I've had good luck with the two keyboards I got on ebay (lite-on with white alps and a dell at101w), both were very clean. The Lite-on was about as new as possible without coming unopened in a box.. sparkling clean and doubleshot abs keycaps with all their texture and no shine.

[ag36]

I usually assume vintaged keyboards on ebay can't be fully working unless advertised as restored, even nib.

[Pavilions]

Oh Jesus thats terrible  . I normally will add more such as "...using a keycap puller. Don't pull too hard and try to avoid applying force to the sides". I know a lot of people know what they are doing so its kind of 'if they already know then they might feel as if I think they're dumb but if I don't say this they might break a keyboard and then its my fault' type of thing. I'm still yet to hear back from a seller saying they broke the keyboard, though 

Mine was key chattering, when I tried to clean it I broke it by mistake, but the switch was faulty already.

[Aran.E99]

Oh Jesus thats terrible  . I normally will add more such as "...using a keycap puller. Don't pull too hard and try to avoid applying force to the sides". I know a lot of people know what they are doing so its kind of 'if they already know then they might feel as if I think they're dumb but if I don't say this they might break a keyboard and then its my fault' type of thing. I'm still yet to hear back from a seller saying they broke the keyboard, though 

Mine was key chattering, when I tried to clean it I broke it by mistake, but the switch was faulty already.

I guess you learn from your mistakes. Did you break the internals or did you break the slider? when pulling the cap? still terrible nonetheless. I managed to break an alps slider before removing a keycap. Never happened to me ever and I've taken apart a lot of boards. I'm starting to think the previous seller broke it hence why the price was cheap.

[Pavilions]

Oh Jesus thats terrible  . I normally will add more such as "...using a keycap puller. Don't pull too hard and try to avoid applying force to the sides". I know a lot of people know what they are doing so its kind of 'if they already know then they might feel as if I think they're dumb but if I don't say this they might break a keyboard and then its my fault' type of thing. I'm still yet to hear back from a seller saying they broke the keyboard, though 

Mine was key chattering, when I tried to clean it I broke it by mistake, but the switch was faulty already.

I guess you learn from your mistakes. Did you break the internals or did you break the slider? when pulling the cap? still terrible nonetheless. I managed to break an alps slider before removing a keycap. Never happened to me ever and I've taken apart a lot of boards. I'm starting to think the previous seller broke it hence why the price was cheap.

I was sure that the keyboard was chattering and tried to clean but no luck. this is when I decided to open the board. I didn't have the right tools but I tried my best. In my country, they don't sell solder vacuum this is why I broke the board and the switch because each time I melt the solder I couldn't pull the switch because it gets back the original shape almost instantly, this is why I damaged both  ). but you never know what sellers know about the keyboard. my seller said he didn't feel any key chattering so I don't know.

[figit090]

I also think it's good to consider purchasing from new sellers, but certain precautions are good to take. I put my phone in video mode and record opening the package especially if there's any damage to the Box. That way if I have to file a dispute I can send eBay a video and photographs of the unboxing.  One time I had to return a camera worth $1,500 in eBay was on my side because I had good photographs.

Don't forget you can even return items that are from sellers that specified no returns if the item is significantly not as described. 

There's a huge spectrum of seller is also, some things you will get hosed on just because the seller was a bad person, and other times you might meet someone that could become a friend. Oddly enough I've met several people on eBay that have been more than kind to me and I've learned a lot by talking to them about similar interests. 

Paying attention to the fine print in a listing and looking at feedback as a huge indicator, but I find it asking a question can reveal a lot more about a seller than their feedback. I've met some hundred percent sellers That Couldn't bother to give you the time of day when you ask a question.  I take my business to the sellers that will answer your question and obviously take time to do so.


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[Blaise170]

I've purchased probably 90% of my keyboards from eBay, which comes out to around 110-120 over the last few years. I've occasionally received a dud, but this is very uncommon.

[Kevadu]

Hey this seems appropriate for this topic.  My Displaywriter beamspring keyboard I bought on eBay just arrived!

...and holy mother of god is this thing filthy.

I mean I was expecting some grime.  This is a 35+ year old keyboard and it wasn't advertised as being restored or anything.  I didn't quite expect to find so many carcasses of dead bugs inside...it's pretty damn gross.  It's going to need a lot of TLC.

But I mean how else are you going to get a beamspring these days?  Time to get to work...

[SmilingPolitely]

Unless it’s something that’s no longer produced, I’m definitely in the buy new category.

I like keeping warranty options open...

[Hongook]

I've had hundreds of eBay transactions and luckily never ran into any issues. If by chance something you receive isn't as expected, eBay does a pretty good job mediating but typically leans towards the buyer. It's been a reliable platform for buying/selling and this year especially with the several 15%-20% discount codes they've been handing out.

[johngodsmith]

Yolo
Only experience I had was getting an old Wyse board off Ebay

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[suicidal_orange]

Seems relevant given my support of low-feedback sellers above - I ordered a small box from a 785,000+ powerseller lunchtime on the 29th of May and finally got a dispatch notice yesterday.  High feedback doesn't guarantee good service!  I'm just hoping the postman is slow so I can leave negative feedback (it's EU international so shipping should take a couple of days but they allowed over two weeks in their estimate...)

[jackcauliflower]

If I’m going to buy a used keyboard, I’ll buy either in the Geekhack Classifieds or on Mechmarket. I don’t even bother checking anywhere else


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[hilltopchill]

I've had pretty good experiences buying boards on eBay. I haven't had an issue, but their buyer protection is pretty good. If you have an issue, you can usually contact the seller directly and they'll deal with it. If that doesn't work you can open a dispute and eBay will look into it.

[NJWootton]

I would be fine with buying a used keeb, I would trust MM more than ebay but there isnt a downside to eBay

[Blaise170]

I'm rather surprised that so many people would trust Reddit (of all places) over eBay. With eBay you can find far better deals when people are selling stuff that they don't know much about, plus you get eBay's more substantial buyer protection.