A person is trying to sell his locally, its in mint condition. I can hardly find any pricing details on it, ebay only shows one sold, for $750 which seems ridiculous, maybe because that included Tektronix 2220 voltage probe... or maybe there is something special about this model!
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/261384111292

Specs are given as
60 MHz Bandwidth
4 Channels
1 GS/s Sample Rate

What I like about it is that its 4 channels, bandwidth is sufficient for my needs. How are the current Rigol 4 channel models compared to this?
When was this model released? Any problems with the model?

 

It's going to be tough to beat this, at least for the price:
http://www.rigolna.com/products/digital-oscilloscopes/ds1000Z/ds1074z/

You get a smidge more bandwidth and a LOT more memory depth with this than the tek (12Mpts vs 2.5kpts) at a lower price point.

If I could get the tek from the guy on craigslist for less than $400 (with probes if you don't have any) I might do it. Otherwise I'd probably go with the Rigol. I might go to $450 for the tek, but boy that's cutting it. I'd be trying to get that thing for closer to $350 really.

Another thing - it depends on if you're using the scope for home or business use... if you're using it for business use I'd go with a tek or agilent straight from the manufacture... nothing else.

The same class Agilent model:
http://www.home.agilent.com/en/pd-1...-mhz-4-channel?nid=-34250.884296&cc=US&lc=eng

 

A person is trying to sell his locally, its in mint condition. I can hardly find any pricing details on it, ebay only shows one sold, for $750 which seems ridiculous, maybe because that included Tektronix 2220 voltage probe... or maybe there is something special about this model!
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/261384111292

Specs are given as
60 MHz Bandwidth
4 Channels
1 GS/s Sample Rate

What I like about it is that its 4 channels, bandwidth is sufficient for my needs. How are the current Rigol 4 channel models compared to this?
When was this model released? Any problems with the model?

A new TDS2004B sells for over $3000.

http://salestores.com/tektronixtds15.html#.Uw2g9oWaMek

Your call on price for used one. If it's what you want and is in mint condition, it looks like a OK price to me. Might try to get some kind of warranty on it. You could also try to lowball him. I have done that before on ebay.

 

I'd be trying to get that thing for closer to $350 really.

I'd be surprised if anybody would sell one in prime condition for that. You can get some old TEK scopes for that, but the newer dig ones not so much especially the nice smaller ones with color LCD displays.

 

Maybe you're right, but maybe you're not. You never know what the motivation is for the seller to sell something. Maybe they fell on hard times and need the capital quickly, maybe they don't have much money invested in it, or maybe they just want it out of their garage.

This is how my brain thinks when buying a scope for home use:
One thing is for sure - I wouldn't dream of spending $750+ on this scope when there are better scopes on the market at a lower price point. At $350, it's a no-brainer, get the tek... the closer you get to $485 the less likely I am to purchase the tek because the Rigol is a better scope (at least on paper). And for just $100 more you get more bandwidth, larger memory depth, a 3 year warranty. Also a no brainer in my mind.

FYI - the TDS2004C is much less than $3k - $1740 from the manufacture
http://www.tek.com/oscilloscope/tds2000-digital-storage-oscilloscope

Just this week I bought a Fluke 87... I refused to pay over $100... and they are selling for at least $150 on fleabay. I waited for a year and limped by with a crappy radio-shack DMM, but I hit my price... I got a cherry one for $80. Nearly half what they are going for on ebay. It gives me more purchasing power for parts and other gear I need.

Again if it is for business use: Buy a Tek or Agilent that meets your design requirements from the manufacture and be done with it. You're time is way more valuable than searching for a better deal or messing with a lesser brand name. The Rigol's are gaining ground in the hobbyist arena, but they sure look like relabeled reject Tek's and Agilents to me.

 

I am buying for home based business. One thing I noticed about Tek is they give a lifetime warranty, at least on this model. Technically not transferrable but some times you can work with the seller on that. How much better is this lifetime warranty compared to other brands?

----------------
Reduce your cost of ownership with a Limited Lifetime Warranty that comes as standard with the Tektronix TDS1000B, TDS2000B and TDS2000C Series oscilloscopes, simply by registering your product.

The Limited Lifetime Warranty is a minimum of 10 years, and can last up to five years after Tektronix discontinues manufacturing the TDS1000B, TDS2000B and TDS2000C Series.
from
http://www.tek.com/service/tds1000b-tds2000b/product-limited-lifetime-warranty

 

I am buying for home based business. One thing I noticed about Tek is they give a lifetime warranty, at least on this model. Technically not transferrable but some times you can work with the seller on that. How much better is this lifetime warranty compared to other brands?

The quality isn't in the warranty, it's in the product. Rigol may be OK, but they are a relatively new company and have no track record. Tek has always been the gold standard for scopes. When I worked at Nat Semi, every single lab bench was issued a Tek "lunch bucket" digital storage scope. In the 20 years I worked there, I never saw a single one that ever failed or needed service. Obviously, the older Tek analog scopes with a CRT do wear out eventually just like a CRT television, but the new ones with an LCD display probably have a longer service life.

Decide what you think is a fair price and make an offer. I have lowballed on ebay, it's part of the game. Another trick is to try to do a web search for the same item and get a range of comparable prices. I did that on ebay but saw no other like the 2004 currently offered. There are a lot of older Tek digital storage scopes with CRT that are cheaper but obviously they have a higher risk of failing. You see those in the $400 ballpark a lot.

 

Here is a similar one that is under auction and current bid is $350 (reserve not met):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tektronix-TDS-2004B-/321326321685?pt=BI_Oscilloscopes&hash=item4ad08a9015

Guy's buy price is $950 but you may be able to get it for less depending on the bids.

 

Something is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. The true test of what someone is willing to pay for something, is an auction. I see that despite being a "buy it now" listing (not an auction), someone paid $750 for it, so it was definitely worth $750. I wouldn't have paid $750 for it, but that doesn't mean it wasn't worth it. Could have been worth even more, we may never know. I recently sold some stuff on ebay auction; found out that this one Fluke HV probe that I thought was worth a lot of money, was only worth a little over $4 (someone in this thread knows something about that ).

And, what someone is willing to pay for something, is dependent on many factors; supply & demand, who is selling it, condition, competition in the market, how fast they can get it, how many people know about it, etc.

I suspect that whoever bought the scope in your link, was using big company money; they had a TDS2004B and it broke, and they were looking for a direct replacement. When it broke, they went straight to the computer and typed in "TDS2004B," this popped up, and they clicked "buy it now" without thinking twice about the asking price. I have seen this a lot in my previous job as a maintenance technician. Some specific part on an old machine would break, and rather than letting me replace it with a generic multi purpose part that would have done the job better than the original, ship immediately, and cost a reasonable price, my supervisor would insist I find an exact direct replacement. This exact direct replacement would usually come from some small specialty shop in europe and cost several times what you intuitively estimate its value to be. These shops exist only because of people like my supervisor.

You will see things on ebay sit for months or longer at an "inflated" price, and the seller never budges. You see it, and you think "yeah right, what is this guy thinking?" Well, he's like these specialty European shops. He knows that one day, logically or illogically, someone with blinders on is going to be looking for that exact part and will pay whatever they ask to get it. Perhaps if the seller in question had put a price of $2,900 for the TDS2004B they still would have sold it, despite the fact that the TDS2004C, newer version of the TDS2004, is available brand new for $1,700. I consider sellers like this to be abnormal, but they do exist, and that tactic does work. It's just slow, and is dependent on idiots.

 

As an idoit, I resemble that.

I've bought things on Ebay on a whim, or based on someones recommendation, then later came to regret it because I didn't read up on the item in question.

I'm learning to do more homework, and to assess my real need for something.
If you need top of the line, and you can afford it, then why not go for brand new out of the box.

I also do some nistalga shopping on Ebay, and that too is proving to be a learning experience. It's harder to research certain things.

Good luck with your purchase.

Gary

 

Hi Gdrumm,
I bought a beautiful Tek 2465A DV on ebay for $400 awhile back. Not a scratch on it. It looks brand new inside & out!
Yes it's an analog, but I wanted the most bandwidth for my money.