Don't fall for the 10 most common scams you will eoncounter when buying used appliances or second hand appliances on eBay, Facebook or Gumtree.

10 Sneaky Scams to Avoid When Buying Used Appliances

So you’re looking to buy a used appliance?  In this guide we’ll cover off the main appliance scams that I know – so you can spot them before you fall for them.  It’s also worth reading our article about how to avoid being scammed and how to spot the scammers when buying a used appliance.  Some of these scams are universal and can be applied to all products, others are specific.  Who am I to tell you?  Before coming on board at Whybuy, I sold hundreds of used appliances.  I met all the players, learnt all the dirty tricks, heard many customers’ stories, and fell prey to some of these scams myself.

If you don’t want the hassle of buying, don’t want to deal with scams, dishonesty, breakdowns, delivery, and don’t feel the compulsion to own things – consider Whybuy.  You’ll get better value the more appliances you have, and delivery is free to the inner suburbs of Melbourne.  We don’t have lock in contracts – you can return the appliances whenever you want without cost.    We’re very cost competitive against buying new, and depending on how you value your time (cleaning, delivery, inspecting), and how you assess the risks (property damage moving in, risk of being scammed etc) – we are very competitive against buying used as well.  A washer dryer and fridge starts at less than $15 a week for all three!

There’s two categories of scam.  The outright scam, and the dishonest behaviour that might not be bad enough to be a scam, but would be considered immoral by most. 

The outright scams

The piece of crap

I don’t even know if you’d call this a scam, but it is the number 1 most common way you’ll lose your money.  Essentially you’re sold a poorly repaired or unrepaired machine, that is dangerous, doesn’t work, or both.  Check the power cord has no duct tape or electrical tape hiding an unsafe repair.  This is very common.  It’s very hard to tell, especially with fridges and dryers – if you’re being sold rubbish.  Fridges are so hard because the most common failures of a fridge take 2-4 weeks to show up after you’ve turned it on in your home, sometimes even longer!

If you bought the appliance online, an after the fact marker that you may have been sold a dud appliance is if the seller doesn’t mark the ad as sold, rather they delete the ad entirely from Facebook marketplace.  Some people delete their ads just ‘cause.  But scammers almost always delete their ads instead of marking them sold.  Usually you’ll be blocked as well.  You can take some screenshots of the profile and listing before you pay for it.  Often though this won’t help you much, as the whole profile is just fake as well.  Make your peace with it, you’ve been scammed.

My friends machine

This is a the number one favourite of the dodgy retailer.  You buy an appliance, and you find out it doesn’t work.  You get in touch with the person who sold it to claim your warranty or refund.  They tell you that it is their friend’s machine, they were merely acting as a salesman.  You will need to contact their friend by phone, which they will never ever answer.  An easy way to avoid this is when you are buying the appliance, ask them specifically about the machine you are about to buy, that it is the sellers machine and they are not selling it on behalf of someone else.  Even so, they will likely make up some excuse – they’re a scammer after all, and you’ve been scammed.  Probably the most common retailer scam.

Shop Now: - https://www.whybuy.com.au/blog/the-top-second-hand-appliance-scams/