Do people really believe "NOS new in box"

I see lots of auctions saying NOS (New Old Stock), NIB (New In Box), etc.

But just because they still have the original packaging doesn't prove they never used the boombox.

Like how about this one. Does anyone really believe it was never used?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-PANASONIC-NATIONAL-RX-A5-BOOMBOX-GHETTOBLASTER-VINTAGE-NEW-IN-BOX-NOS-/332251125202?_trksid=p2047675.l2557&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&nma=true&si=JwL7kBssEfHcb4YWcoKiPxeQPRM%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc

There's a difference between 'new in box' and 'new with box' but it's probably uncommon to find a box with the staples still intact and totally sealed up from the factory.

Damn thats a lot of coin for that box NIB or not.

The scuffs to the speaker cabinets suggest more use than the seller makes out but wo did the bids go high. To be fair, when will you ever see another almost mint in box?

but still. Meh.

Hisrudeness said:

There's a difference between 'new in box' and 'new with box' but it's probably uncommon to find a box with the staples still intact and totally sealed up from the factory.

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That's just it, sellers are putting the word "NIB/NOS" in their auction when it's not.

I think part of it us opinion an amount of use.

Take a "New" car for example. You look at them from the dealer. They still have the sticker on the window, plastic on the floor mats. But they usually have at least 50 miles, some times a couple hundred from being test driven. Yet they're called "New."

So you get a radio, that's got the box, packaging and manual. But maybe it's been taken out and used a couple hours. Is it still technically new? Maybe, maybe not.

I work at my dad's body shop, there used to be a Ford dealership across the street, and we would fix stuff all the time, either from shipping damage, moving the cars around the lot, or even test drives. As long as the damage bill didn't exceed something like $1000, (maybe $3000, can't remember) then they could still sell it as a new car, and not disclose the damage.

They could sell a repaired car, as NEW!!!

So... I'm comparison, a radio that was maybe taken out of the box, to be tested or whatever, maybe used a couple hours, I don't mind if they call it New, IF it's the original box and packaging.

"NOS/NIB" is like "mint". The latter is a term used in auctions (the kind they have at Sotheby's) to describe pristine condition. It is almost never the case with the stuff advertised as mint on the bay

trippy1313 said:

I think part of it us opinion an amount of use.

Take a "New" car for example. You look at them from the dealer. They still have the sticker on the window, plastic on the floor mats. But they usually have at least 50 miles, some times a couple hundred from being test driven. Yet they're called "New."

So you get a radio, that's got the box, packaging and manual. But maybe it's been taken out and used a couple hours. Is it still technically new? Maybe, maybe not.

I work at my dad's body shop, there used to be a Ford dealership across the street, and we would fix stuff all the time, either from shipping damage, moving the cars around the lot, or even test drives. As long as the damage bill didn't exceed something like $1000, (maybe $3000, can't remember) then they could still sell it as a new car, and not disclose the damage.

They could sell a repaired car, as NEW!!!

So... I'm comparison, a radio that was maybe taken out of the box, to be tested or whatever, maybe used a couple hours, I don't mind if they call it New, IF it's the original box and packaging.

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Well, new cars are called new because they've never been sold before.

But the boombox in that auction was sold to someone 35 years ago. And that person opened the box and broke the seal. So, it ain't new anymore.

If you buy any electronic product from Best Buy, take it home and open the box, look at it, and then decide to return it, the store can't call it "New" anymore. It would be called "Open Box" or "Refurbished".

People exaggerate what they're selling, period. That or the seller doesn't understand these acronyms, but the former is way more likely.

People have done the same thing here in the past, i guess it's up to the buyer in the end

I don't know about anyone else but I'd rather buy a working but gently used item versus never used or "NIB". Most things we enjoy here in our community go bad with time (belts, capacitors, etc). So a new walkman from 1986 that's never been opened isn't going to work. It'll need belts at the least and possibly caps.

I wonder if selling an item as "never used" or "NIB" is an easy opportunity for the seller to say..."How could I know it didn't work? It was never used". I also wonder how many people have new items that are 30+ years old that don't realize they most likely have a non working item. So basically its an unused but broken item. Hmm. I guess if you are into never opened items that may or may not work and paying big bucks for an unbroken seal containing a non working item....hats off to you

Just because its never been out of the package doesn't mean father time hasn't taken its toll. That's why I have always said..play em. They are going to expire whether they're used or not Enjoy them. Neither us or our devices are forever

I have seen listings of actual sealed​ carton NIB radios and the seller went to great lengths to prove it in pictures​.

I think 98% of these so called "NIB" are just nice used units, which is good, but I think the ads are misleading.

My opinion is still out in the whole "original box adds mega value" thing. I think, to some extent, for display in your collection purposes, it's cool, but some people think a $300 radio is a $1500 radio because they have a tired old piece of cardboard. I personally don't.

Lasonic TRC-920 said:

I have seen listings of actual sealed​ carton NIB radios and the seller went to great lengths to prove it in pictures​.

I think 98% of these so called "NIB" are just nice used units, which is good, but I think the ads are misleading.

My opinion is still out in the whole "original box adds mega value" thing. I think, to some extent, for display in your collection purposes, it's cool, but some people think a $300 radio is a $1500 radio because they have a tired old piece of cardboard. I personally don't.

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The example used by the OP was excessive a wild one. Personally, if you're gonna use the radio often, I never saw the point in hunting for a CIB. Maybe for other collectibles like video games, but definitely not radios. And as Transistor said, a NIB radio will likely have faulty parts.

Some rich Russian bought it i think..
I wouldnt pay more than $50 for it..
mind you most of my boomboxes I find at yard sales and thrift shops for less than $50.. hahaha

I always take such descriptions with a grain of salt. However, that being said, that boombox is rare enough in used form but to have one complete with all the packaging and accessories brand new, which are rarer by many orders of magnitude than the boombox itself and the price it sold for was certainly reasonable in my opinion. Some of you wouldn't be interested in that model, and perhaps don't think any box is worth more than $50, but that doesn't mean it's only worth $50 and more importantly, it's also why you didn't or wouldn't win it since someone else would regard that box much higher than you.

As for BNIB boxes being just like a used one, I would disagree on that note. I have a couple that are NIB (or at least advertised in that way when I got them) and they look, feel and sound like they are brand new, without all the glitchiness associated with older machines, controls smooth as glass, etc. Lots of us got into collecting these for sentimental reasons. When all else is broken and failed, what would it be like then to be able to open and put into service, a brand spanking new M90 or M70 or M9994 or (whatever boombox is your personal grail) 50 years later and be able to experience all that again -- priceless if the sentiment is important enough for one to re-experience all over again.

Anyhow, as far as keeping an item sealed or not to retain BNIB status... therein lies a dilemma. Would any of you be willing to shell out $3000, $4000, or even over $5000 or more, to buy a carton that has never been opened before? Because either the seller opens and photos it for documentation, or YOU will open it out of curiosity when you receive it. Either way, it will no longer be sealed BNIB. Unless of course you keep it sealed, but then how do you know that someday years later, you won't open it to discover a carton full of used telephone books? I would say that while keeping a true BNIB item sealed will be better for a buyer, the potential lower asking price due to a buyer unwilling to pay bucks without knowing what's exactly inside the carton makes it better for a seller to open and document the contents.

Anyhow, that's my humble opinion.

I would definetly want to check a nib item when i buy one. To me if unit still looks and works new with no wear then most likely it was used only few times if not at all.

Holy crap - over $3000 with 50 bids ....expensive. Is that price really worth it?

Over $3,700 with shipping. I smell a fish.

They usually go for only $500-600 without the box

Reli said:

They usually go for only $500-600 without the box

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Is that how much they've been going for lately? Because I paid closer to double that for mine and I have 2, although admittedly it has been a long time since I purchased mine & current market might be different

Yeah I got 2 for something like $450-550 each. One from a dude in Canada with crappy photos, so I think people didn't trust him.

It just depends how often they appear on Ebay. If a model hasn't been on Ebay for several months, its price tends to double or even triple due to its perceived rarity. But as soon as it sells, a few other people list theirs to try and get a piece of the action, causing the average price to drop back down.