[jwrallie]

After buying several used goods in Japan, my impression is that junk simply means the seller does not want to hear complaints over old items, so they sell it at a lower price. I have bought many perfectly working items sold as such.

Of course buying old stuff requires some ability to do simple repairs. That’s part of the fun.

[relistan]

Contrast that with my personal experience of items from the UK (specifically the UK, my experience is different elsewhere) where “untested” almost always means “I tested it and I know it’s broken but I want to try to get a better price anyway”. Especially when testing would involve plugging it in with the adapter it comes with and seeing that it doesn’t light up, for example.

[Retr0id]

I've had good luck from "vibe checking" the seller based on their other listings, it's usually obvious who's trying to make a profit vs who's just trying to clear out their unused personal stuff. The latter is often priced down too, for a quick sale. I'll only buy from a commercial seller if they explicitly describe the fault(s).

[Gigachad]

A whole lot of these bulk electronic sales seem to be "Here's all the stuff I couldn't fix". Either water damaged or the repair was botched. I can't imagine too many normal situations someone has 15 of the same game console they are selling in a bulk lot.

[benj111]

I used to do vacuums. As I understood it, it was house clearances etc.

I think it depends on how much it's been parted up. A big mess of everything is probably safer than a listing of 15 identical items.

[butlike]

One of the reasons I try and buy music equipment/instruments from Japan is that the assumption is that it will always work (It's inconsiderate to sell someone a literal brick of garbage), so yeah, I'd agree. Junk simply becomes a tolerance for DIY.

[imtringued]

It's labeled junk because checking whether something works or not is time consuming. If it's being sold without a disclaimer it's expected that the item works or else it is subject to refunds.

[terribleperson]

Meanwhile in the U.S., 'tested, working' seems to mean "I plugged it in and the power light came on", unless there's evidence of more comprehensive testing.

[rjh29]

I did think it was weird that my local Hard Off is about 50% 'junk'. It can't all be broken, I guessed.