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RE-boxed gear, money saver or trouble maker?

How safe do you think it is to buy reboxed gear? its from novamusik


i just dont want bad surprises...

I've never had any issues. Especially if you're buying from a large retailer, they will take returns if something is significantly wrong with the unit.

Novamusik is great. You can definitely buy with confidence from them.

I only buy things second hand that don't have a very limited lifespan. Audio interfaces, most synths, keyboards and so on are safe. However, I would never buy a mixer or monitors second hand, as people are dumbasses and I don't trust them to have not abused them.

How does one abuse a mixer? Bought my 01v96 v2 open box for about $1000 off retail. Been quote happy for ummm.... 4 years? Ditto for my TI2.

To OP: if price is good- e.g. 20% off or better - go for it or negotiate it down. If not, your call - I wouldn't do it, as I can finagle 10-15% off righ off the bat.

Yeah monitors second hand is a no go, don't know about the mixer tho

The reboxed virus I got from Nova was great. Also, Nova told me just because an item says "reboxed" doesn't mean it was used by someone else. I'm not sure wft else could lead to something getting reboxed, but I had asked them this a few months back.

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm I only buy things second hand that don't have a very limited lifespan. Audio interfaces, most synths, keyboards and so on are safe. However, I would never buy a mixer or monitors second hand, as people are dumbasses and I don't trust them to have not abused them.

I'm not sure why you think a mixer would get more abuse then a keyboard. I can understand monitors but not a mixer. There are also people like me who don't own mixers, and execute mixer functions with knobs on their keyboard. I'm just not seeing a difference, and if I had a mixer, I'd actually expect my keyboard to be used more.

Sigh. Use your brains guys, seriously.

Analog attenuators/pots are wear items, in that the sound quality unavoidably degrades over the life of the product, just from normal use. The same applies to woofers/tweeters on a pair of speakers. A key on a keyboard might break, but this will not affect the sound, hence why it is not so much of an issue.

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm Sigh. Use your brains guys, seriously. Analog attenuators/pots are wear items, in that the sound quality unavoidably degrades over the life of the product, just from normal use. The same applies to woofers/tweeters on a pair of speakers. A key on a keyboard might break, but this will not affect the sound, hence why it is not so much of an issue.

Yeah, those NS10's drop in value like rockets. Not to mention Neve, SSL, and other decks that are just going for dimes on a dollar - horrible. I hear ya.

/sarcasm...

there are always exceptions. you know overall he's right on the money.

there is nothing wrong with buying b stock or re-boxed in my opinion. as robby said, sometimes they have not even been used. I got a $1100 Rane Empath Rotary for $700 because they had to repair a rack ear on it before selling it. The thing was never even turned on.

quote:

Originally posted by aNYthing Yeah, those NS10's drop in value like rockets. Not to mention Neve, SSL, and other decks that are just going for dimes on a dollar - horrible. I hear ya. /sarcasm...

LOL just because idiots don't realise that the insides can be effected doesn't mean it's not true... the point wasn't whether you can get them cheap or not, it was that it can be risky buying gear like that, for the reasons he already stated

quote:

Originally posted by aNYthing Yeah, those NS10's drop in value like rockets. Not to mention Neve, SSL, and other decks that are just going for dimes on a dollar - horrible. I hear ya. /sarcasm...

Pretty sure most people buying vintage consoles spend a few thousand getting them fixed up, and I think his comment was directed more at DJ gear anyway, which cops more of a beating generally than studio gear.

quote:

Originally posted by aNYthing Yeah, those NS10's drop in value like rockets.

That doesn't mean they aren't fucked, you dud. LOL!

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm That doesn't they aren't fucked, you dud. LOL!

Huh? I'm sorry, I'm sober - so I don't understand what you're rambling about.

Anywho, I'm gonna throw a piece of kit that hasn't depreciated, just to spite you....hm... how about knob-riddled, one-trick pony that has been twisted more than Jenna Jameson's nips...

Roland TB-303

Close out price in late 80's - about $100...
Price today (in a pretty shitty shape too) - $2000+

edit: stupid me bought one from Guitar Center back in like 2005 for $900 - as new in a box (with $75 price tag still taped on front of the box).

I've seen shittier shaped 303's go for over $3000 in a last year. Still kicking myself for returning it back to the store...

Yes. that was a big ass fuck-up.

quote:

Originally posted by kitphillips Pretty sure most people buying vintage consoles spend a few thousand getting them fixed up, and I think his comment was directed more at DJ gear anyway, which cops more of a beating generally than studio gear.

Just in case you didn't read the original quote, here it is:

quote:

Originally posted by echosystm Sigh. Use your brains guys, seriously. Analog attenuators/pots are wear items, in that the sound quality unavoidably degrades over the life of the product, just from normal use. The same applies to woofers/tweeters on a pair of speakers. A key on a keyboard might break, but this will not affect the sound, hence why it is not so much of an issue.

Generalization across the board. What I found irksome is the statement in bold, which is imho full of stupid. I have tons of kit from 80's that's been well used and while sure some pots and sliders may have some static on them, they do not degrade sound quality of the synth - sounds as lush today as it did then.

But... yes. I do see the point - I bought a DJM-909 that was a store demo and buttons are sticky. Good thing - because it came from an authorized reseller store, item qualifies as "NEW", therefore elligible for full waranty. Price new $1200. Price paid $400. Is it worth my $20 to ship it to Pioneer for repair? I think so.

Another story - bought a used Motu 828 MKII from same place - LCD was bad upon power up. The store sent it to Motu for repair. They sent a BRAND NEW UNIT, SEALED IN A BOX. Price on store shelf: $799. Price paid $250, sold on ebay for $675. Net profit - about $400 after fees. Not bad for "B" stock?

quote:

Originally posted by aNYthing Roland TB-303

...is a synth, which he specifically put as an example of something that isn't likely to have problems.

quote:

stupid me bought one from Guitar Center back in like 2005 for $900 - as new in a box (with $75 price tag still taped on front of the box).

So you bought a new synth and that somehow proves whatever point you're trying to make about used synths?

quote:

I bought a DJM-909 that was a store demo and buttons are sticky. Good thing - because it came from an authorized reseller store, item qualifies as "NEW", therefore elligible for full waranty. Price new $1200. Price paid $400. Is it worth my $20 to ship it to Pioneer for repair? I think so.

Good for you. As this thread is about Novamusik, who AFAIK aren't offering full warranties on their second-hand gear, and nor do most second-hand stores, this has little relevance. In fact, it tends to support the general point that second-hand gear is going to be in rough shape; you just happened to be able to get it repaired, which for a lot of people isn't going to be warranty work, is going to be a lot more than $20 in shipping, and is going to be a major hassle that they simply don't want to have to go through.

quote:

Another story - bought a used Motu 828 MKII from same place...

...which is an audio interface, again on his list of "generally safe" items, and largely digital, aside from the preamps and analog I/O which obviously don't wear. So again, your statement is perplexing.

It seems like you just want to talk about how much money you've saved/made on used gear? But none of your examples really disprove his point. Certain types of equipment are very risky to buy second-hand; there are things you can do to mitigate the financial risk (buy from an authorized reseller, check the warranty, etc.) but in all likelihood you'll still have to end up sending in for repairs at some point, and the OP was specifically about avoiding that.

lol at my thread



anyways i ordered the reboxed virus, i dont see how I could have problems, especially since novamusik is not some random store...

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