Why you see a stock photo

Most of what we sell is brand-name returns and overstock, and most of it shows up in perfect shape. Photographing a sealed box tells you nothing a stock photo doesn't — so for undamaged items we use the manufacturer's photo, so you can see exactly what the product is.

If you see a real photo, it shows damage. That's the only time we take one. The condition code and the written description do the rest, and they're written with the item in hand.

The seven codes

Tap a code in any listing and it brings you here. Codes 3, 4 and 5 are always customer returns — somebody bought it, sent it back, and we're telling you what shape it came back in.

1. 1

   Code 1: New, sealed

   Factory sealed. We did not open it. Stock photo.

2. 2

   Code 2: New, open box

   Opened by us to check it. Complete, unused. Stock photo.

3. 3

   Code 3: Return, like new customer return

   A customer return. Complete and appears unused.

4. 4

   Code 4: Return, used customer return

   A customer return with signs of use. Checked; nothing obvious missing.

5. 5

   Code 5: Return, incomplete customer return

   A customer return with parts missing or a fault we found. Listed as-is.

6. 6

   Code 6: Damaged

   Shipping or box damage. The real photo shows exactly where.

7. 7

   Code 7: As-is / untested

   Sold as-is. Not tested (retail under about $20) or could not be tested.

How much we check

• Sealed, high-piece-count items are never opened. Think a 500-piece tool set or a furniture flat-pack — we don't break the seal to count parts. That's a code 1.
• Items under about $20 retail aren't tested. The time to test them costs more than the item; they're listed as-is (code 7) and priced that way by the bidding.
• Higher-value items get opened, checked and, if anything's wrong, photographed. If it's a code 2, we had it out of the box and it's all there.

If the description was wrong

Everything is sold as-is, and the codes exist so you know what you're bidding on. But if an item is genuinely different from its description or its code, we'll make it right: file a claim at biddyup.com/refunds within 14 days of the auction close — your lot number, your phone, a short note and a few photos. If the description was wrong, we refund that lot.

Change of mind and "it didn't fit" aren't refunds — the code and the description are the deal.