Kindle - Demo Unit ONLY

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

Could I spoof it to use my K3 serial? Or is that out of the question?

No need to spoof the serial, I think. I successfully registered a "debricked" k5 demo for personal use . Others have registered other demo models too. I would not resell such a demo as a "normal" kindle though, because amazon COULD blacklist demo serials later if they so choose.

Because amazon links the serial with the mac address in their registration database, you would also need to spoof the matching serial and mac address together, if you really want to spoof. And I would only use the information from a dead kindle. It would be bad to use two kindles with the same ID.

[Jessica Lares]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

No need to spoof the serial, I think. I successfully registered a "debricked" k5 demo for personal use . Others have registered other demo models too. I would not resell such a demo as a "normal" kindle though, because amazon COULD blacklist demo serials later if they so choose.

Because amazon links the serial with the mac address in their registration database, you would also need to spoof the matching serial and mac address together, if you really want to spoof. And I would only use the information from a dead kindle. It would be bad to use two kindles with the same ID.

Good deal then. Put me down for one too. I'll just deregister my Keyboard.

[hippy dave]

i could be interested in a dxg, if you'd be willing to ship to the uk and that wouldn't cost an unreasonable amount

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by hippy dave

i could be interested in a dxg, if you'd be willing to ship to the uk and that wouldn't cost an unreasonable amount

To reship a paperwhite kindle box costs less than $15USD to UK, as I recall. These demos do not come in boxes though, so some kind of protective packaging would be required and would not be free, but I will look for low cost shipping packages and protective padding. Liquor stores have free boxes, so I may end up designing and making my own boxes from recycled liquor store box corrugated cardboard. If somebody needs a non-liquor box for whatever reason, I would need to find another source of materials...

I plan to charge the batteries and test all of the kindles. We will see how many are actually good (not even a corner of a screen damaged, which could spread)...

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by stangri

...
I'm up for a dozen (or however many are still available) of DXs if the screens are intact. Considering only 18 are said to have good screens I wouldn't go over $700 before shipping on that auction.

Since we don't know how many of the Touch/K3 models have broken screens, I'd say $15 a pop is a fair gamble on these. If the shipped (to me) price is kept under $25 per unit, I will take 4 of each, again, conditional on the screens being flawless.
...

I am willing to go higher than that for my max bid. It would suck to bid what is a "fair" price and have somebody else get the batch for $1 more than your bid.

I prefer to bid high and hope for a lower price. If it ends up costing more than you want (after dividing the price plus shipping to me by the number of good units), people have to decide what they want at that time.

For now, let's hope for the best. I like to snipe at the last minute with bid a bit higher than I really want to pay, to avoid getting sucked into a "feeding frenzy" (bidding war) at the last moment. Getting a "not so awesome price" is better than missing an otherwise reasonable price. Let the current high bidder get complacent...

[hippy dave]

great, liquor boxes are fine with me

[cavorite]

I would be interested in a DXG if you are successful with the auction.

[geekmaster]

I got a message back from the guy whose auctions I will bid on today. He is basing his good screen count on what they look like with the POWER OFF. Any damage done to the screens while off will not be visible until recharged.

I sure hope they were handled and packaged carefully to avoid flexing or pressure to the screens. It would suck to pay more for a demo than I can get a used "normal" kindle for, after counting only the ones with good screens.

Now I just need to decide how much to bid. This feels like gambling (which I do not do). I like to know what to expect before I pay. But I will bid anyway and hope for the best. This is a significant amount of money. I hope I am doing the right thing here...

[JoHunt]

Originally Posted by geekmaster

Now I just need to decide how much to bid. This feels like gambling (which I do not do). I like to know what to expect before I pay. But I will bid anyway and hope for the best. This is a significant amount of money. I hope I am doing the right thing here...

You are gambling, but I think only you can determine how much to roll the dice for based on the information at hand. I guess the most important question to ask yourself is why you want to buy the lot (instead of for example buying fewer units which you know work) and then go from there.

Either way, I wish you luck with your bid

FYI, my experience in buying pigs in pokes on eBay has resulted in 50% success.

[geekmaster]

Originally Posted by joehunt

You are gambling, but I think only you can determine how much to roll the dice for based on the information at hand. I guess the most important question to ask yourself is why you want to buy the lot (instead of for example buying fewer units which you know work) and then go from there.

Either way, I wish you luck with your bid

FYI, my experience in buying pigs in pokes on eBay has resulted in 50% success.

Who has lots up for auction (or Buy-It-Now) with fewer known-working demo units? The guy who ships them in bubble wrap envelopes so they break during shipment?

I would feel better bidding on smaller lots, if they WERE indeed offered. Your advice would be useful, if it provided such useful details, but it does not, so it is not...

Thanks for the luck. I hope I do not get burned. With the interest in DX demos, I wish there were 40 of them instead of 40 K3 demos... And are those K3 demos REALLY 3G like it claims? That seems odd for a demo to include extra unused hardware. Or does the K3 demo let you USE that 3G? ???

[geekmaster]

My bid is locked into my sniper for the K3 lot. I hope it closes at a fair price, considering any damaged screens. I hope they are REALLY 3G like the listing says... I will only know LATER when I test them.

EDIT: I hope my sniper program does not misfire. I have missed great deals before (rarely) when my bid SHOULD have won... Fingers crossed... This makes me feel a bit sick to my stomach, like gambling...

[geekmaster]

Hmm... I just got a reply back about the 40 K3 units. He said that the 75% he tested as "good" powered on, but that the screens did not change when pressing buttons. Let's hope that is "normal" behavior for these, because that *could* potentially be a sign of damaged screens. I hope that the price is right. My bid is awfully high for any less than 30 good screens.

EDIT: I got a clarification message now after requesting more details. The screens DID change at power up. Great!

[geekmaster]

I got the K3s. Not a great price like I wanted. Somebody else bid more than $600 at the last moment (i.e. sniping). I ended up with $611.23 plus $17.99 shipping.

I hope nobody here drove that price up so high for me. I would have lost the auction if I had not increased my bid beyond what I originally configured in my sniper...

[Shade1]

hmm so assuming 30 work well that would be around $20 each. if the 3g is not provided you can complain to the seller/ebay/paypal? that the product was falsely advertised. While the seller does say no refunds, false advertising might be able to get you your money back.

Good luck with the Kindle Dxs its ok to lose an auction if you feel the prices for each good kindle is too high. I'd guesstimate the number of working kindles you expect to receive from the auction and what reasonable price you expect from each.

[geekmaster]

I got the K4s too. In both of those auctions, they went for a little more than I wanted to pay ($600, and $200), but my high bid was significantly higher than I did pay.

We will see how many actually work after charging and testing them. Most of them, I hope...