What are the Benefits of Buying Used Satellite Equipment?

[mmm40]

I see receivers being sold on ebay and other sites. What are the benefits of buying this stuff used? I have a friend that wants satalite and she wants to know if buyig this suff used with help her and how so. I have no clue so I though I would ask you all.

[labgeek]

It depends... some of what is being bought on ebay is for "experimenting". Meaning they play with the access cards and such until DTV (or Dish) sends them a demand for payment for a few grand or threaten to take them to court.

 

There are also reasons why you might want older equipment... The older DVR models are Tivo based, and it's also easier to enable features that aren't enabled by DTV. No, I'm not talking Free TV by this... I'm talking about enabling features such as folders, home media networking, etc.

 

And sometimes you can just get better deals by picking up a used receiver. You may have to get a new card from DTV to activate it. And I'm not sure on DTVs policy now about if the receiver has a balance on the old account. It used to be that DTV and E* would require the balance to be paid off before they'd re-activate the receiver even under another name... of course, that may also depend on the rep. you talk to.

 

If they aren't looking for HDTV, I'd simply look into going straight to DTV since the current offer is a FREE DVR system plus up to 3 additional receivers, free shipping, and free installation. HBO, Showtime, and Starz are free for the 1st 3 months too. It's hard to beat free. If they need a referral I'd be happy to give one ... (customers get $50 to refer other customers btw)

[BigBob]

I agree with what labgeek says. There is no way to tell what the condition is of the used equipment and it will take time to get it re-authorized to see if it even works.

 

Most of the satellite companies have some form of "free" equipment (and installation) deals going on all the time. Yes, there may be a 1 year service contract commitment tied to the "free" deal.

 

I see used dishes, LNB's, and receivers at the electronics flea markets all the time. Most of the receivers have been tinkered with and/or do not have the all-important access card included.

 

My advice is not to buy used satellite gear from anyone except perhaps a local dealer who is going to install it and make it work. Otherwise it's a real risky transaction.

[labgeek]

I see used dishes, LNB's, and receivers at the electronics flea markets all the time. Most of the receivers have been tinkered with and/or do not have the all-important access card included.

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Thanks for agreeing... One thing to note, when I consolidated 2 accounts into 1 moving my own DTivo unit from the other house after I sold it into my 1 house now, DTV said they would normally not allow me to re-use the old access card. They now mail out new cards and that would take up to 10 days. But since it was my account there and here they would allow it. It's their way of 1) doing a card swap and 2) making sure it hasn't been "messed with". That's why I said they may need to get a new card. She indicated that's the norm now, and my experience was the exception.

[dtdoda]

Some people will go out and buy a second dish and box and hook it up in a detached garage or a vacation camp. All you do is call the provider and get the box activated and you're good to go for the price of an additional box vs entire new service.

[labgeek]

Given that they'll give you the equipment for up to 4 rooms what's the point in buying? When I had 2 houses, they would not allow the other house to have equipment on the same account. 1 account = 1 physical location. All they would do would be to suspend 1 account and activate the other with a phone call if it was a vacation house. Unless you weren't planning on telling them that it was another locale... and not planning on hooking it up to a phone line either.

[dtdoda]

I have not done this. i know of people who have. They did not say anything about a 2nd location and did not hook up to a phone line.