Buying New on Ebay

S

Squid

New Member
Joined
Aug 23, 2023
Messages
18
Reaction score
1
I've pursued several posts here on this forum about buying on eBay. They are all fairly old posts though, talking about brands/ models, and eBay sellers that are no longer available. Do folks still recommend purchasing HA's from eBay? I am specifically interested in the Opticon Real model and there is a seller from South Korea with 100% positive feedback (fromtheheart6912). Any recent advice would be appreciated.
 
I like to Buy and Sell used hearing aids on EBay.
  • paying extra for Audiologist services is not something that I value
  • having a warranty is not something that I value (I expect the devices to keep working)
  • I buy Oticon because the rechargeable batteries are replaceable, also I like Oticon
  • I have a source for reasonably priced rechargeable batteries
  • I like to buy at lower prices from private parties (from someone not in the hearing aid buying and selling business)
  • I like to buy one or two generations old hearing aids
  • I get EBay notices when a new listing appears for a model that I want
  • For auctions I determine my price beforehand and bid in the last 5 seconds
Though, you are talking about buying new hearing aids from EBay. That's a little different from what I do. IMO> the newest Oticon Real models are only slightly better than the Oticon More models so I could easily buy More's at half the price of new Reals. But that's just me. YMMV
 
The only issue I see with NEW from South Korea is no handy local-audiologist support for warranty support such as changing the rechargeable batteries before the warranty expires. And, it's still too much money ($3000 USD or so) for me. But YMMV ;)
 
I purchased my noahlink wireless from fromtheheart6912. All in all it was a good experience.
 
I've been buying used (prescription) analog hearing aids since they stopped making them. I set up an Ebay alert on the brand and model I like, then just wait until one pops up for sale. Never bought new, though.
 
Wow, now there's something you don't see every day! An analog hearing aid wearer. ;)

Back-in-the-day many ppl were bemoaning the new-fangled digital hearing aids that were replacing their beloved analog hearing aids. Those first digital hearing aids just didn't work very well. Apologies for going off topic.

Also to the OP/Original Poster; Since your method of payment is via credit card, then you can use your credit card chargeback rights given to you by state and federal law to fix a transaction that went wrong, by disputing-the-charge with your credit card company, and they will usually claw back your money. You just have to attempt to negotiate a return with the seller (first) before filing a dispute. From my experiences, this worked for me a few times and the dispute works way better than an EBay dispute. Though it takes 5 or 6 weeks.
 
Thanks for the replies. The reason I am interested in the latest Opticon Real's is because I have significant tinnitus and was told the Opticon's have a feature to help with (but not eliminate) this.
 
The Oticon Real is a very good hearing aid. It is among the best ones available nowadays. However, in my experience, the tinnitus function in these hearing aids does not help that much. I own a pair of Oticon More and have constant tinnitus. I tried the tinnitus feature in my Mores, but in the end I found it tiresome and sort of doing the opposite of what it was supposed to do. Whenever I am having a bad day (tinnitus-wise), I take off my hearing aids and listen to good music at a volume loud enough to forget I have all those noises in my head. Since this is such a subjective and personal matter, do not take my experience as necessarily relevant to you: YMMV
 
Well, turns out I am a gullible consumer. I went in to Costco for the audi testing, and they sold me a pair of Rexton BiCore C models. I hadn't even heard of Rexton before, but the audiologist was ecstatic about them. They arrive in a week, and there is a 6 month trial period, so I figured if something is bad I can return them. And they are half the cost of the ebay Opticon's.

Is the professional programming software available for Rexton?
 
Yep, check your PM/Conversation shortly RE: Rexton Connexx 9.8.5/RexFit9.8.11 for Newer/Current
 
Squid said:
Well, turns out I am a gullible consumer. I went in to Costco for the audi testing, and they sold me a pair of Rexton BiCore C models. I hadn't even heard of Rexton before, but the audiologist was ecstatic about them. They arrive in a week, and there is a 6 month trial period, so I figured if something is bad I can return them. And they are half the cost of the ebay Opticon's.

Is the professional programming software available for Rexton?
Click to expand...
I think you picked a good route to buy from Costco, especially because it seems like you're not 100% sure what you really want. I would ONLY buy from eBay if I know EXACTLY what I want, and also if I have experience in programming that brand of hearing aid as a DIY person already.

As for buying from a South Korean dealer, I think @pvc hit the nail on the head there regarding the unlikely ability to provide warranty support. Same with any other out of the country vendor (like from Germany, for example), unless they EXPLICITLY guarantee that they will honor the mfg's warranty. But that doesn't mean that an eBay vendor's in the USA ability to provide you with warranty support is a given either. They may tell you what you want to hear hoping that you'll never cash in on the warranty. But if you have to call on them for warranty support and they refuse to help you by then, and it's already passed their return date and your ability to refute the payment on your credit card to them, then what are you going to do? This is not considering having to ship expensive aids back and forth over long distances. What if things get lost? Who's going to be responsible? You've already paid for the items a long time ago by then, so it's unlikely you'll have much recourse.

If I buy HAs from an eBay vendor, I would personally not try to count on any kind of warranty support and need to accept the risk that I'd be SOL if the aids go bad before the 3 years. If it's the receivers then it's an easy replacement fix. If it's the actual aids, then there may be outfits on eBay who can try to fix it for you, depending on the nature of the repair.
 
Yes, the 3 year warranty helped sell me on the Rexton's. Are they as good as the Phillips 9040 that Costco also had for the same price? As I read more about hearing aids, it sounds like the Phillips are made by the same company that makes the Opticons, so I assume most of the same features are available.

Or should I just wear the Rextons for awhile and see if they are sufficient?
 
RE: Software questions about Rexton Connexx 9.8.5/RexFit9.8.11 for Newer/Current;
  • The Software is compressed into a Zip folder.
  • The Zip folder will need to be unzipped/uncompressed using one of the standard Internet Utility tools.
  • After Unzipping, double-mouse-click the Install.exe file to install Rexton Connexx 9.8.5/RexFit9.8.11 for Newer/Current

Yes, there is a User Manual. To reference the User Manual from the Fitting Software; Click Help/Electronic User Guide, or here's a -> Link

Yes, you will need a hearing aid programming device, namely (for this model it's Noahlink Wireless) and it is wireless so you don't need cables.

If your hearing aids need to take a firmware update (at some point in the future) then it will be downloaded from cloud storage by the fitting software.

RE: Philips having most of the same features as Oticon. No, I wouldn't put it that way! They have similarities. But they are different.

ETA: Whoops - fixed bad link, also executable = Install.exe not Setup.exe
 
Last edited:
Squid said:
Yes, the 3 year warranty helped sell me on the Rexton's. Are they as good as the Phillips 9040 that Costco also had for the same price? As I read more about hearing aids, it sounds like the Phillips are made by the same company that makes the Opticons, so I assume most of the same features are available.

Or should I just wear the Rextons for awhile and see if they are sufficient?
Click to expand...
I think both the Philips and Rexton all have 3 year warranties, no? Are you saying that you picked the Rexton because the Philips doesn't have a 3 year warranty like Rexton?

The Philips 9040 uses a lot of same periphery technologies as the Oticon Real, however the core technologies between them are different. The Philips 9040 uses Artificial Intelligence training to improve speech in noise. The Oticon Real uses AI via the Deep Neural Network to balance the sound scene and follows the open paradigm.
 
Vol: Both the Costco Phillips 9040 and the Rexton have the same warranty and price. I'm just wondering if I should have gone with the Phillips instead, but I haven't really heard a compelling argument to do so yet.

PVC: Thanks for the software and documentation link. Are the Noah Wireless available anywhere cheaper than the about $130 I see on ebay?
 
Looks like the Noah Wireless 2 devices are set to be released next month, and at $68. I can wait until then.
 
Next question: Can I perform a REM at home myself? If so, what would I need to do so? At initial glance it looks like like I'd need a speaker calibrated to some standard, and then a small microphone that could be placed in the ear along with the hearing aid. Is this an impossible dream for the home DIY'er?
 
The best you can do at home is in-situ audiometry test. It's similar to your audiogram test in a booth at your HCP's office, except that it's now done using the actual hearing aids you're wearing. So it takes into account the real aids and also how it sounds inside your ear canals with the fittings you choose.
 
Back
Top