sell used Tivo - service number

[skierrob]

I'm selling a Tivo HD with lifetime service on Ebay. Several potential buyers want me to give them my name and Tivo service number before they purchase so they can validate my Tivo has lifetime service and can be transferred.

My worry is they could take the information to possibly transfer my lifetime service to another unit, or do other bad things with the information.

Should I provide the information or not?

Thanks!

[techieunite]

Technically, with that information, I could call Tivo and have them transfer service to the same model for free as long as the lifetime was less than 3 years old.

DO NOT give them this info.

On old tivo's I do ask for it. But if you're using Ebay and selling a newer Tivo hd or Series 3, you should be fine. If buyers really want this info, they may be trying to scam you.

[lessd]

I'm selling a Tivo HD with lifetime service on Ebay. Several potential buyers want me to give them my name and Tivo service number before they purchase so they can validate my Tivo has lifetime service and can be transferred.

My worry is they could take the information to possibly transfer my lifetime service to another unit, or do other bad things with the information.

Should I provide the information or not?

Thanks!

Tell buyers that without any trust they can't purchase from E-Bay (although PayPal has a new buyer protection service that will cover the buyer for any dishonest seller) as you could give them the TSN of a TiVo with Lifetime and ship one without Lifetime, or a box of rocks for that matter. Years ago this did happen to me, the seller had, by mistake, shipped me the incorrect TiVo, he quickly refunded me the cost of purchasing the Lifetime myself from TiVo.

[ZeoTiVo]

On old tivo's I do ask for it. But if you're using Ebay and selling a newer Tivo hd or Series 3, you should be fine. If buyers really want this info, they may be trying to scam you.

If I was going to buy a TiVo on ebay and it advertised lifetime I would ask for some assurance it had lifetime, If a seller is not going to give me that assurance they may be scamming me. It goes both ways.

[newskilz]

If I was going to buy a TiVo on ebay and it advertised lifetime I would ask for some assurance it had lifetime, If a seller is not going to give me that assurance they may be scamming me. It goes both ways.

That is what PayPal is for, they guarantee your money back in most cases. You just have to make sure that PayPal is covering that item for the full purchase price. So if it's not right, and the seller won't initially solve the issue. PayPal and Ebay will step in because then it's an item not being sold as described. But yeah, there are still those you would have to watch out for.

[CrispyCritter]

That is what PayPal is for, they guarantee your money back in most cases. You just have to make sure that PayPal is covering that item for the full purchase price. So if it's not right, and the seller won't initially solve the issue. PayPal and Ebay will step in because then it's an item not being sold as described. But yeah, there are still those you would have to watch out for.
Have they changed policy? My understanding was that they guarantee the physical description of the item, and that it works, but that they don't guarantee future service commitments. (They don't want to be on the hook six months from now so they only guarantee accuracy at the time of receiving shipment). This was a while ago, though.

[TonyTheTiger]

Why not just go to the info screen and take a picture? You can blank out the service number if needed.

If that's not enough proof, then you probably don't want to be selling it to them anyway!