Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Don't buy this SX-3000

This is topic Don't buy this SX-3000 in forum Digital Cinema Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-25-2019, 09:56 AM:

This unit is one of the very early, actually among the first hundred SX-3000's in this country. It has the temporary drive array, pre PDP-3000, and its been sitting so long the media block is for sure bricked. Can it be made to work, sure! At an extra cost of about $2000+ for reinstalling certificates and buying a new PDP-3000 drive array. I wrote the seller and told them this. The seller is actually good... I've bought Dell 610 servers from them when I lived near them. But they just don't know cinema servers.
Ebay Ad

Posted by Monte L Fullmer (Member # 2797) on 01-25-2019, 07:11 PM:

One of these units ... ?

If so, they were very unreliable.

The PSD3000 is a better unit

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-26-2019, 02:15 PM:

They were with something like the first hundred units that came into the country and GDC replaced them all when the PDP-3000 became available. But at any rate that Ebay server is going to be bricked from dead batteries. Sure it can be made to work, but it's going to cost over 2 grand more.

Mark

Posted by Tony Bandiera Jr (Member # 2365) on 01-27-2019, 10:41 AM:

quote: From the listing

Condition:
New other (see details)

“This item is new as shown. Item guaranteed!”

I think Mark is missing the big picture here.

With ebay's current "Fuck the seller" policies, a shrewd buyer can end up with a free server. (Or one fixed at the seller's expense.)

Follow the following steps:

1: Buy the server
2: Upon arrival, power it up and discover that the media block is bricked and it cannot be used
3: Promptly file an "Item not as Described" complaint
4: Paypal and ebay will promptly freeze all of the money in the seller's account
5: Seller will be forced to allow a return on the item, even if the listing stated no returns (or pay to have the media block replaced)
6: Buyer can insist that they don't want to return it, they want it fixed
7: Even if seller offers to accept a return or fix it, ebay will still keep the hold on seller's money until the buyer says he's satisfied (with no option if the buyer never does BTW.)
8: Buyer refuses to return the item and demands it fixed
9: Ebay will allow buyer to keep the item AND give them a refund anyways
10: Seller ends up losing the item, AND the money, gets a negative hit on his account that he cannot dispute, or post a response to the buyer's conduct (or give buyer neutral or negative feedback).
11: Buyer ends up with a free server.

**This kind of thing has actually happened to quite a few sellers on ebay.**
I had a similar thing happen over an MPU-1 that I sold some time ago. The buyer claimed Item was "Not as Described" because the 12khz switch card was not included. The listing header, Text and at least two of the photos CLEARLY showed that the bypass card was installed, and there was no 12khz switch card. (By the way the MPU-1 sold for $50.) He had looked at the auction and bid four times before his bid met the reserve and he won the item.

It took me over 35 days of arguing with ebay and the buyer's broken promise to return it (which I was not going to allow because that asshole would've most likely sent back an empty card cage or a box with a brick in it) PLUS a letter from my attorney to get them to tell the buyer he was stuck with it and release the hold on my PayPal. (Which they had froze the ENTIRE balance, over $300)

As soon as the funds unfroze, I withdrew all of it, closed my Paypal and ebay accounts, and told ebay to stick it. They never did remove his negative feedback either, which ruined a ten year 100% positive record.

I do not condone or encourage such dishonesty, I am posting this as a warning to any of you guys who are still on ebay. You now have to regard every sale as a potential give away as ebay's system has been set up to seriously screw the sellers at all cost.

The old saying has to be changed to "Seller beware" if you are dealing with ebay.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 01-28-2019, 08:27 AM:

Well, at that sell price the seller would still pocket a tidy sum of around $2500 after repairs, but definitely not the full selling price. The thing here is this is misrepresentation. Wrong model number is shown and the item is listed as new which it is far from being. And the box has obviously been taped back up. GDC uses reinforces wet paper tape on their boxes.

But the real kicker is there is not any SX-3000 included in this auction! This is only the old style drive array which is a throw away piece! In this image there is gear for a three screen install and the GDC stuff is pretty obvious. One box contains the SX-3000 and the other contains that early PSD drive array. The current drive array is tiny and mounts atop the projector itself, and as such comes in a small box.

Mark