Buying a used TV off of craigslist?

[BaboonGuy]

Is this a good idea or no? I searched and read a lot of the TV buying threads and nobody ever mentions buying used. I'm living in a dorm and want to get something big (30" and up). It'll be used to watch DVDs, TV, and play a lot of N64. Doesn't need to be HDTV. I'm not too rich right now so I was thinking of buying off of craigslist used. I live in Los Angeles at the moment so there's plenty of people to buy from.

edit: I also have an HDTV OTA antenna that I have from my ATI HDTV wonder that maybe would be good to use on a TV? I'm not sure.

 

[Kevin1211]

why wouldnt it be good? just make u sure when u go to pick it up, that its working...

 

[phisrow]

Particularly for ye olde clunky CRT, you are likely to turn out pretty well. There should be a fair few people getting rid of perfectly decent ones because the OMG HDTV FLAT PANEL!!1!~! fad has reached them. As they are damn heavy per unit value, there isn't likely to be a terribly wide resale market. I'd bet that there are some real bargains to be had that still perform quite well. I've run into 20 odd inchers just sitting in people's trash from time to time, so I can't imagine that the resale price for all but the nicest kit is very high.

I'd be considerably more nervous about buying a newer flat panel TV, as those are less affected by all of these factors, which makes me more inclined to suggest that if the deal looks a bit too good, it probably isn't.

 

[Mickey Eye]

CRTs last, just give it a test run when you go to check, do everything you can think of with it. If its a quality brand the chances are its still got a good few years left in it.

 

[dabuddha]

I can give you a sellers viewpoint. I'm trying to sell my 27" sony wega and my tv works perfectly fine. Me and the wife have just decided it's time to get something bigger so that's the reason why we're selling it. So out of craigslist, theres at least one person who is selling a tv that works perfectly fine

 

[Kelemvor]

Assuming you are going to go pick it up, just make sure you test it out before you pay the man and take it home. If they make up an excuse and say you can't because it's alreayd unplugged, then plug it back in and test it. Any legit seller would be happy to show you how well the item works.

 

[Stifko]

I got my TV used off of CL, my car too.