Test Equipment Anonymous

Just spotted this for sale on eBay UK, and the seller describes it as in good condition, I think that they might need to go to Specsavers and have their eyes tested.

mnem

Your and his ideas of what "good condition" is are at at variance.

However, it looks as if he is using a photo of the actual item for sale, not a picture he's found somewhere on the WWW, which I've heard some sellers do.

Yes, he is, I asked him how did was it that he thought the condition was good, given the state of the battery connections, he replied that in his opinion the buttons and case were in good condition, although he did admit that the calculator itself did not work.

Sellers on ebay are a curious cross section of humanity. Many of them are not the sharpest knives in the drawer. For instance, it could hardly be even in "good cosmetic condition" with no battery compartment cover, and it smacks of at least recklessness, to say "good condition" when he later accepted it does not work.

How did he describe it in the ad? Used, spares and repairs, opened never used?

At least that is just a matter of judgement. I see many items of TE listed as tesed and working dispite having obvious serious defects in the photos, missing critical separate parts or accessories (often matched to a specific instrument).
There are also the items listed as tested when it is clear from the description that the seller has no idea what the item actually is or does.

And the classic for TE "Removed from a working envoronment" a scrap yard is a working environment....

eBay is pretty much "the Bazaar at Cairo"... If only this were still considered an acceptable resolution to unscrupulous denizens:



mnem
"Never bring a gun to a dragonfight." ~Ahmahet, dragon priestess of The 7th Realm