What do you guys think about purchasing used hardware?

[noobcpujunky]

EBay has some good looking deals on htc vive and the oculus rift headsets.
It almost seems possible to get one of each for the price of a new vive. How would warranty issues be handled with a second hand purchase? Are the hardware issues minimal enough that buying a barely used headset would be fairly safe? Or would you recommend just buying from the manufacturer? Any other points of notice I haven't acknowledged?

 

[Eximo]

1) For warranty, go to the manufacturer's site and read it
2) No real safety net aside from what ebay or something like paypal offers you, or your credit card
3) Hardware issues could be anything, but these are all pretty recent devices. Aside from wear and tear they should be okay. They are pretty much first generation devices though, so not a lot of tribal knowledge about how long they last.

Common tips would be to make sure the pictures of the device are recent with some identifying characteristic in the photo, a hand written dated piece of paper with the ebay username is commonly used. If they aren't willing to provide that or show pictures of the device running, best to avoid. Avoid anything that is just a stock photo.

 

[feelinfroggy777]

I have bought and sold a lot of used stuff over the years and generally have good luck. In the end it comes down to who you buy it from. Dont buy it from a sketchy vendor with a bad reputation. Checkout their return policy. Lastly, have some common sense, if it is to good to be true, it usually is.

 

[10tacle]

I am a seller of used computer/gaming hardware on Craig's List and have been doing so for 12 years. I stopped selling on eBay when they started seller fees which cut into my shipping cost as a small time operator. Anyway, as one on the other side potentially selling to you, my responsibility is to give you as much information as possible honestly and up front on estimated usage time, original purchase date, and condition. I always load up photos of the equipment in high resolution including the manufacturing model and serial number sticker (on monitors that includes build date).

If the individual wants more info or photos I will happily oblige as the guy above stated by asking. I will state that the road goes both ways between seller and buyer. We look at buyers that we are not familiar with as suspicious up front. Especially on Craig's List where your transaction is going to be face to face vs. blind on eBay. Go with a very high rated seller who has been around for years. Stay away from new eBay accounts or those with not many sales under their belt. Often those star reviews are fake bot accounts on non-credible eBay sellers.

One other thought: I keep all my original packaging, all connectors, and manuals on hardware purchased in the event I do want to sell it. I've never wanted to sell someone something in a brown box wrapped in bubble wrap with nothing else.

 

[Eximo]

That is another good point. People who keep the original packaging are often those that do this sort of thing regularly.

Lots of people out there always buying the latest thing, using it, and then selling it to get the next latest thing.

 

[noobcpujunky]

You guys are great! Thanks for the tips, all of you. You each had great pieces of advice. I'm so ready to jump into VR i don't want to be hasty and make a poor decision! I really do appreciate all the input. I'll be sure to read the manufacturer warranties and make sure the vendors are vetted well.

 

[Evolution2001]

Purchased a refurb'd Vive on Amazon months ago. It's been flawless.

 

[princespari]

I think it will be good option. But i am afraid about warranty.