Anyone else disappointed with buying tubes purchased on ebay?

[JPrest]

At best its a 50/50 proposition in the long run, so I bid only up to 50% of what I know they sell for from the best retailers. I get screwed and I get lucky, after several hundred purchases I have all the good tubes I'll ever need plus extras for my friends.

[Volks]

Ive made about 20 purchases from Ebay in my life....so good so far....

[Myles B. Astor]

Originally Posted by iove75

Even below minimum it can still sound great in a preamp for thousands of hours. I just wish that sellers would accurately describe them so buyers can price it into their bids.

I hope it is not too much to ask of sellers.

That's not been my experience I find those tubes just are dynamically dead. May sound pretty but they are often just tone controls.

Which brings me to my pet peeve. How many times do you see people writing that Teles are rated for 10,000 hours? But it is my impression, that these tube would work say, in a radio, for this time before crapping out. I don't think the stated lifetime has any bearing on how long the tubes will sound good! I think that's far less than the quoted lifetime. Plus there's also the issue of noise and microphonics complicating the matter, something that is very important when using tubes in a phono section.

[Robert_Anderson]

Every audio related product I purchase on eBay was a disappointment. The criteria is much better described on Audiogon, which I think is sponsored by eBay, but I'm not sure...........

[iove75]

Originally Posted by randerson3024

Every audio related product I purchase on eBay was a disappointment. The criteria is much better described on Audiogon, which I think is sponsored by eBay, but I'm not sure...........

I think I might have to look there. I just picked up a tube CD player with operational issues. Seller won't accept return now I am in a ebay/paypal dispute. But that's for another thread.

[asindc]

I bought one component on Ebay, a Cary SLP-2002 preamp. It was a week-long auction listing from a seller of many other various items over several years. The initial listing was for about one-third of the going rate on Audiogon. I tabbed the listing for my watch list and prayed no one else would notice.

The week went by and no one else had bid. In fact, the seller lowered the price! I placed my bid within the last minute of the auction (as I always do; I simply refuse to get into bidding battles) and bought the preamp with the only bid. The 2002 served me very well and had no performance or cosmetic defects. I'm guessing that the seller is still trying to figure out if he/she set the price too high!

I realize my experience is atypical for a relatively high-end audio item on Ebay, but just wanted to pass along my experience to note that diamonds in the rough can be found on Ebay (and Craigslist, for that matter). With that said, I would not have bid on the item if it had been listed for the usual going rate, mainly because the feedback history of the seller suggested to me that this was just another item he/she was selling and therefore the seller was probably not familiar with preamp's condition and history. I'm thinking you are far more likely to encounter an uninformed and/or disinterested seller on Ebay or Craigslist than Audiogon, Stereolist, or Canuck Audio Mart.