Cheap Ebay Stuff: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly – Post Your Reviews

[kc8adu]

send it to me and i can tell you if its an original and why it failed.

Originally Posted by ratdude747

I got burned on this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/270643849251...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

got it in the mail last month, no longer works. Won't take a charge. Also, it be an obvious fake:



The upper is the battery this idiot sent me, the lower is the old (known genuine) battery. Look at the misspellings... did they even try?

Sadly I can't get NOS or even used batteries for this model (AFAIK), hence why I gave it a try... Looks like I'll have to find a way to rebuild my old one (I don't have a battery tab welder).

[davewtv]

First of all apologies I am a newbie to the forum (but not electronics...)

Having some 'fun' with the LED backlights on the ill-reputed VESTEL type/s !

There must be a supplier on e-bay of the (individual SMD) LEDs, but there are loads to choose from (most rather indeterminate and no doubt some are bad/ugly..); Any recommendations on suppliers?

As an 'aside' I now also wonder how many folks throw a whole $400 TV away due to one single faulty (and in series) 40c LED....!

[steviewonder]

The Hakko tips reminded me of some I bought from china,didn't transfer heat very well,and with some pliers,snapped one to see what it was made of.Steel!
UTsource is one seller to be wary of,especially for obsolete parts..,but have had some genuine bargains,It's very hit and miss.Biggest giggle I had was some desolder wick that was irresistibly cheap,looked like a stretched out brillo pad!

[dmill89]

These Cheap ($7.50) Vander LED flashlights are pretty good for the money. The 2200 Lumen rating is a joke, probably about 300 Lumens really and the included Chinese 18650 Li-Ion is junk (claims 3000mah, really only around 1000mah), and lacks the protection circuitry it claims to have. But overall they are hard to beat for $7.50, brighter than a mini-Maglite pro for less than 1/2 the price, and take Li-Ion batteries versus alkalines that get expensive fast (granted a good protected 18650 battery costs nearly as much as the light, but at 300-500 charge cycles life of a typical Li-Ion is much cheaper than alkalines in the long run), and has about a 9hr runtime (on a 3400mah Panasonic 18650).

http://www.ebay.com/itm/252221813180...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT




Theses $7 External 2.5" 12.7mm (laptop) SATA optical drive enclosures also aren't too bad for the money, I got one to put the spare Panasonic Blu-ray burner I had laying around in. They have cheap Chinese caps which are probably fine if you only use it occasionally, but I replaced them with Nichicons, overall construction is pretty good and the case is more solid than many OE external drives (at least more solid than the Lenovo external DVD-RW for my work laptop). You don't need the driver disc for any relatively recent OS, and most USB ports will power it with only one cable, but there is a second USB (power-only) cable if needed. Basically the same as what Newegg, etc. sell for $15-20.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/252186281885...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[momaka]

I just got a transistor tester / ESR meter / component tester last week (based on the popular open-source German design). Works great so far. Mostly need it to check ESR on electrolytic caps. The inductance measurement function was a bit disappointing, since it only goes down to 10 uH (or something like that) and won't always pickup the inductance of transformers and certain coils (like toroid inductors from motherboard VRMs). For slightly larger coils (like PSU PFC and output filter), it does seem to be able to measure the inductance, but just barely.

Originally Posted by davewtv

There must be a supplier on e-bay of the (individual SMD) LEDs, but there are loads to choose from (most rather indeterminate and no doubt some are bad/ugly..); Any recommendations on suppliers?

I wouldn't gamble it with cheap eBay LEDs. They likely won't be able to take anywhere near the current their specs state. At least that's how it is with the strips with SMD LEDs. They are rated for 12V, but they are often over-driven and go dim or burn out after a while. The cure is to change the 150 Ohm series resistors with 470 Ohms or more *before* the LED strip is used... yeah, a lot of SMD resistor soldering/desoldering, if you want to do a full strip. And the strip will no longer be as bright. But it will actually last.

Originally Posted by steviewonder

The Hakko tips reminded me of some I bought from china,didn't transfer heat very well,and with some pliers,snapped one to see what it was made of.Steel!

Are you talking about the T12/T15 style tips or the 900M series? -like this:
http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?p=559411

Because, if the latter, I'm no fan of those tips either. If you want to go pro, go with T12/T15 or a JBC station (but you must have deep pockets for the latter ).

Originally Posted by dmill89

These Cheap ($7.50) Vander LED flashlights are pretty good for the money. The 2200 Lumen rating is a joke, probably about 300 Lumens really and the included Chinese 18650 Li-Ion is junk (claims 3000mah, really only around 1000mah), and lacks the protection circuitry it claims to have.

IMO, it would be an even better deal if they did NOT include those cheap Li-Ion batteries .

Seriously, though, those things are a fire hazard at best. At worst, it's a pipe bomb in your hand *when* (not if) that Li-Ion battery fails. I wouldn't recommend anyone to use it as-is out of the box. Take out the original battery and put a good quality protected 18650 in. You can thank me later .

[dmill89]

Originally Posted by momaka

IMO, it would be an even better deal if they did NOT include those cheap Li-Ion batteries .

Seriously, though, those things are a fire hazard at best. At worst, it's a pipe bomb in your hand *when* (not if) that Li-Ion battery fails. I wouldn't recommend anyone to use it as-is out of the box. Take out the original battery and put a good quality protected 18650 in. You can thank me later .

agreed 100%, the included batteries belong in the garbage (that's probably where they came from, given the low actual capacity, I would suspect they are re-wrapped recycled cells or factory seconds), I only run Panasonic protected cells in my flashlights.

[stj]

Originally Posted by momaka

I just got a transistor tester / ESR meter / component tester last week (based on the popular open-source German design). Works great so far. Mostly need it to check ESR on electrolytic caps. The inductance measurement function was a bit disappointing, since it only goes down to 10 uH (or something like that) and won't always pickup the inductance of transformers and certain coils (like toroid inductors from motherboard VRMs). For slightly larger coils (like PSU PFC and output filter), it does seem to be able to measure the inductance, but just barely.

we can get that down under 2 uH with a software update.
we can also increase the resolution of the cap meter to 0.01pF


what model is it?

[momaka]

@ stj:
This one:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/12864-GM328-...MAAOSwyQtV6g1J

I've seen your thread on the rotary encoder (nice work! ), so I tried to pick the closest model possible (but did I really? ). Thought I'd do that in case I ever felt like adding all those features you added. Speaking of which, what is that rotary encoder for? - Just to navigate through the secondary menus easier?

[stj]

that's it, for menu scrolling.
and because - you can.

the biggest single upgrade you can do is swap the crystal for a 16MHz 10ppm one.
that will let you test resonators and crystals upto about 12MHz

[luke10050]

Originally Posted by momaka

Yup, never buy replacement batteries on eBay. And I mean not just Lithium chemistry. Almost ALL batteries on eBay are cheap junk. You'll probably have better luck with getting a used laptop with original battery than with a new Chinese junk one.


Agreed.
But sometimes it's hard to tell the "good" from the "bad" stuff until you bought one to find out.

I have a BT dongle I bought ages ago. It still works great.

The SCA to SCSI 68-pin HDD adapters are also pretty decent with a simple mod to insulate the power pins from the metal case on the HDD. When the forum attachments are back up again, I'll post some pictures. If you have an old server with SCSI and need cheap HDDs for it, you can find Enterprise-class SCA HDD for cheap on eBay. I got 5 HDDs for $13 shipped - two of them 300 GB Seagate Cheetah's.

I've found that you can get some genuine stuff off of ebay new, you just have to be very selective about the seller. Generally the ones with a bit of a brand going that put genuine in or oem in the title and description are the only ones who actually sell genuine bits

[pgram]

Bought a 300 piece metal film resistor set for a few hobby projecs, cost around what a 10 piece resistor set would go for at RadioShack. The few I've tested seen to be measuring within tolerance, but the markings are an issue (see the attached image). Thankfully most aren't like this. Not too sure how I would go about remarking something this tiny...

[pgram]

Forgot the link for the set, I think it was this one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-4W-1-Metal...sAAOSwgkRVSIDQ

[stj]

Originally Posted by pgram

Bought a 300 piece metal film resistor set for a few hobby projecs, cost around what a 10 piece resistor set would go for at RadioShack. The few I've tested seen to be measuring within tolerance, but the markings are an issue (see the attached image). Thankfully most aren't like this. Not too sure how I would go about remarking something this tiny...

nothing wrong with those markings, standard 4band code.

brown,black,black,brown = 100(1x0) / 1000 / 1k
the last brown band = 1% tolerance
the blue colour indicates metal oxide film.

[eccerr0r]

Dang... i should get a set, seems like a good deal...alas I have too many through hole resistors already, but they're all crappy 5% and 10% carbon compositions...

[ChaosLegionnaire]

Originally Posted by jetadm123

You may have received some factory rejects. Rejects in China are not simply thrown away and usually find their way into the "grey" market and wind up for sale on places like ebay. You're lucky to get a partial refund as it's within the seller's right to ask you to return the item before issuing the refund. Here's the rub: the postal system in China is subsidized by the government, which allows sellers to ship small items, using "e-packets", for a very low price. If you had to return that same item back to China using the US Postal system, it's going to cost a small fortune, which makes returning it senseless. Therefore, those 6 months or more warranties offered by sellers are rather useless/worthless.

yupp. it costs a lot of money and nearly an arm and a leg to ship stuff out of singapore. so this makes singapore a perfect dumping ground for china trashbay unwanted products/stuff.

Originally Posted by jetadm123

You're lucky to get a partial refund as it's within the seller's right to ask you to return the item before issuing the refund.

Originally Posted by momaka

Well, I am not sure how, but I think eBay has tightened up the situation on that end, because nowadays, many big sellers of cheap junk will issue a refund if you are not happy with the product for any reason. And most will no longer ask you to return it because they know the items they sell are low quality, so they know it is pointless frustrating the buyer with that. They simply want positive feedback so they can continue selling their junk.

well for me recently, i ordered a 90mm fan sold by amazon. when it reached me, i found it was the 120mm version of the item with a sticker on it that said 90mm. someone working at amazon obviously forked up. so i sent them the following email via their website:

Originally Posted by ChaosLegionnaire

hi, i ordered a 90mm fan but the item i got is the 120mm version of the item. the item appears to have been wrongly labelled. there is a sticker pasted on it saying it is 90mm but the packaging says "120". i can take photos and send it to you if required.

i am an overseas customer and used a reshipping service to ship the item. i only got the item today. it appears the 30 day window to return/exchange the item has elapsed. please tell me what to do next.

and they replied with this:

Originally Posted by Amazon.com Customer Service

Hello ChaosLegionnaire,

I'm sorry to hear about the problem you had with the item.

Please understand that we always make every attempt to securely package all the item that we deliver your order in their perfect condition but sometimes these types of error may occur. Rest assured that I'm forwarding your email to our inventory and packing team so this can be checked.

At this point of time, to save you from hassles of returning the item that you've received in the order; You can keep, donate or dispose of the item--whichever option is convenient for you.

To set this right for you, I've created a free replacement order with an upgraded shipping method. The details of this order are as follows:

Order Number:<censored>
Shipping Method: One-Day Shipping
Guaranteed delivery by: Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Here is a direct link to check on the status of your replacement order:

<link censored>

Rest assured, we’ll continue working hard to ensure that you receive accurate service, and to minimize the chances of anything like this occurring again.

Your patience and understanding are greatly appreciated. We look forward to seeing you again soon and hope you have a great day.

We'd appreciate your feedback. Please use the links below to tell us about your experience today.

Best regards

so i dont need to send pictures and they acknowledged their mistake and sent out the replacement despite it being outside of their 30 day return/exchange window. the point is not about the item being outside of the return window but the fact that they shipped and labelled the wrong item and owned up! this is what i call good service!

btw, it costs US$50 to ship stuff back to the states. so it doesnt make sense to pay 50 bucks to ship back an item that costs less than 10 bucks.

Originally Posted by jetadm123

Interesting that some manufacturers will actually use reject parts to put in their new components. YIKES!

sounds like they are trying to play with their words. "we said new which means never been used. we never said they were rejected by the factory!"

Originally Posted by ratdude747

I got burned on this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/270643849251...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

at least it was only your money that got burnt by the battery not your whole house like what happened with the house in singapore!

next, in the interest of staying on topic, i wanna talk about how not to treat your hynix vram 9800 pro card on ebay!

yesterday, i came across this listing of a hynix vram 9800 pro on trashbay. look at the pics first and see if u can spot anything wrong with the card. no? well then read on.

if u scroll down to the seller's store description of the item, they note that "The connector to hold the card locked in the AGP slot is broken off. This does not affect the functionality of the card."

so some idiot didnt know how to unlatch the lock on the mobo agp slot holding the video card down and decided to break/cut it. why would you wanna ruin such a fine rare item like that?! and the seller still has the balls to demand over 30 bucks for a carelessly cosmetically dmged item like that. tsk tsk... if it wasnt broken, i would have BINed it immediately...

i really get annoyed when i see rare good ol' stuff get abused like that. i wonder what was used to cut the card's latch connector? i hope whatever drill, saw, chisel etc. which was used to cut didnt warp or vibrate the card so badly that it cracked the solder joints on the card! even though the seller claimed the card is "tested and guaranteed working", i wonder how long the card will actually last...

[momaka]

Originally Posted by pgram

Bought a 300 piece metal film resistor set for a few hobby projecs, cost around what a 10 piece resistor set would go for at RadioShack.

Yes, Radio Shack stuff isn't cheap. However, if you ever need(ed) something simple, like a common resistor or fuse, and you didn't or couldn't wait for the slow boat from China/HK to ship your item, then RS was really good place to get those common parts quickly and continue with your project. Unfortunately, they closed all of their stores here. So now if I want something quickly, I'm stuck with waiting at least several days with Digikey or Mouser (I know I can do over-night, but it's not the same as just walking into an RS store and getting what you need in 10 minutes).

Originally Posted by stj

nothing wrong with those markings, standard 4band code.

I think you meant 5-band?

Originally Posted by eccerr0r

Dang... i should get a set, seems like a good deal...

Indeed

I remember back in the early 2000's, when eBay didn't really have cheap things like this yet.

Originally Posted by ChaosLegionnaire

so i dont need to send pictures and they acknowledged their mistake and sent out the replacement despite it being outside of their 30 day return/exchange window. the point is not about the item being outside of the return window but the fact that they shipped and labelled the wrong item and owned up! this is what i call good service!

I wonder who payed the shipping when they corrected that mistake. And if it cost as much to ship. I'm guessing Amazon has contracts or something like that will all of the big courier companies, so they probably give them much better pricing in terms of shipping.

Originally Posted by ChaosLegionnaire

if u scroll down to the seller's store description of the item, they note that "The connector to hold the card locked in the AGP slot is broken off. This does not affect the functionality of the card."

You'd go crazy if I told you how many used items I've seen on eBay described like that: "yeah, it looks broken, but I am sure it doesn't matter because it works, so I going to slap an outrageously high price"

[lti]

Originally Posted by stj

nothing wrong with those markings, standard 4band code.

One resistor has only one band. I would guess that is the problem.

I have a hard drive enclosure and some RAM that came from eBay. The hard drive enclosure is unreliable on Windows 98 (sometimes fails to enumerate), and it also has the usual flaws with cheap 2.5" drive enclosures (USB A connector and low power supply current from some USB ports). The RAM is a pair of 512MB PC133 laptop memory modules. I got the cheap RAM because that type of RAM was expensive. They work, but the laptop I bought them for won't POST on a cold boot with both modules installed. With only one module, it will either not POST (only beep) or fail to load an operating system. If I let it run for a few minutes and restart, it will boot. It will boot reliably if I install one of these cheap modules and one name brand module, so I ended up with 768MB (the original 256MB and one 512MB module).

[ChaosLegionnaire]

think i may have had my first run in with a bad ebay seller. story goes like this:

on the 17th of april, i won an auction for 8gb of ram and paid up within 5 hours. the item's shipping method is via usps first class package. however, my purchase history doesnt show the item as being shipped for several days. maybe the seller forgot to update his seller dashboard with the tracking info.

so on the 21st of april, i messaged the seller via ebay and asked him if he had shipped the item yet and said maybe he forgot to update the shipping status of the item and upload the tracking info which he did the following day on the 22nd. ebay shows the item as being "shipped" on the 22nd.

however, as of now as i am typing this, i still do not see any signs of the item ever reaching or being at the post office via the tracking info. the tracking status still shows "awaiting for the shipment to reach the carrier". i think i'm going to message the seller one last time, if i still do not see the item being at the post office or in the custody of the carrier by sat, i am going to open a case with ebay/paypal and request for a refund...

first time ever, i'm encountering a seller that takes over a week to even start sending an item! i understand if one may be handicapped and they want to consolidate multiple items they are selling for one trip to the post office. but taking your own sweet time and over a week to even start shipping an item is ridiculous!

btw, is the usps post office open on saturdays? i know they do delivery on saturdays but not sure if the post office opens on saturdays too?

[mariushm]

My last eBay purchase was a 2GB DDR2 stick, didn't arrive yet.

My previous purchase was a couple of adapter cables to change one sata power connector into 2 molex connectors. I needed one to power the fan controller that came with my case and because i didn't want to add a whole strip of molex connectors to my x-650 psu.

I tried to "mod" one of the adapter cables but it's still kind of half-assed, because the molex connectors are white:

[caphair]

Ok I've always wondered what justifies "cheap" electronics from quality ones. I mean components are components correct or?

My understanding is when it comes to cheap electronics it's more about a cheap design rather than parts used. For example, power supply with just bare essentials without feedback/better filtering etc

What's everyone's take? I generally use eBay a lot. Bought myself a hot air station and adjustable dc supply (both knock offs) but they've been working fine for quite some time (knock on wood)