Warning about buying items on EBAY

I bought an I-Pilot Terrova 2 on Ebay in April and am now having issues with it. I called Minn Kota and they said the warranty is now void because I am technically the 2nd owner, even though I bought it brand new on EBAY. So just wanted to caution anyone who is looking to buy something like that on Ebay.. unless you know you are buying from an actual dealer, I definitely wouldn’t recommend it as I now am out $300 to fix my trolling motor when it should have been covered under warranty.

Sometimes that can be expected. I hope you saved more than $300 on your purchase price over purchasing it locally.

That is terrible. My foot control went to crap on a trip to Canada last summer. The guy that fixed it,never even asked that. It is a used item I purchased a few years ago. It might have to do with the guy that is doing the warranty work.

That doesn’t say much for Minn Kota, if it new they should cover it. I know most companies would. I would try them again.

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That doesn’t say much for Minn Kota, if it new they should cover it. I know most companies would. I would try them again.

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The motor may have been a factory second, thus no warranty. There are several manufacturers that won’t warranty items bought on ebay and other internet sites unless they are an authorized dealer.

There are also several manufacturers that use Ebay to liquidate their returns and holdover stuff.

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There are also several manufacturers that use Ebay to liquidate their returns and holdover stuff.

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Yes they do and they generally will have some type of warranty. If not, they state that they don’t.

In order to have replacements and parts on the shelf, there needs to be an advantage to being an authorized dealer…. EBAY is not, it’s pretty simple.

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In order to have replacements and parts on the shelf, there needs to be an advantage to being an authorized dealer…. EBAY is not, it’s pretty simple.

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I bet U can get the parts on eBay also

Under warranty

Your situation is weird because when I bought a used terrova off craigslist last Summer I called Minkota before I bought it; they told me it is warrentied by the manufacturing date on the motor (from the serial number) and I didn’t even need any reciept. All I had to was bring it in to any authorized Minnkota delaer for warrenty work. the dealer could look everything up based on the serial number.

Maybe policy change??

CONTACT EBAY

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There are also several manufacturers that use Ebay to liquidate their returns and holdover stuff.

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Yes they do and they generally will have some type of warranty. If not, they state that they don’t.

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I’m in the business of selling returns/holdover items. My employers buy the items by the semi-load, then I sell them off. When we buy them, the bar codes are removed. When an item is destined to be auctioned off, they are getting a tax break on the “loss” from each item and at the same time the item is being sold, so all warranties are void.

When you see a store liquidating its merchandise its most likely selling for a small loss and taking the tax break.

With that being said, sorry to hear about the trouble with the minnkota. That’s the price you pay for buying cheap on ebay. Whenever you go to buy something off ebay that will have a warranty (rods, electronics, etc) make sure you always buy from an actual physical store that is selling on ebay. You can message the seller and ask if they have a retail store. If so, you get a warranty. If not, you are SOL.

I have never had a problem with any company not honoring a warranty issue on an item I bought on ebay, because I make sure to buy from a place that is a real store. Plus, they deserve my money more than a company in jersy that buys shipping containers full of items from china and sells them on ebay.

Thanks everyone for the replies. Unfortunately I didn’t get a great deal on it, probably saved $100 counting tax but I suppose I did learn my lesson. I may try calling Minn Kota again as well.