# Used Tivo value



## Default User (Dec 6, 2006)

At work they have one of those charity auctions going. Someone donated a Tivo unit (used) with a lifetime subscription. It's a Phillips PTV300 HDR31201. The former owner says it works fine, they just upgraded to HDTV.

So, what's a good top figure for me to think about bidding on the item? I saw one on ebay with a "buy it now" of about $200. I'm not sure if that's a reasonable figure or not.

Thanks.


Brian


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## funtoupgrade (Mar 15, 2005)

These have been going for $200 - $300 on eBay depending on condition and extras, if any.


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## Default User (Dec 6, 2006)

funtoupgrade said:


> These have been going for $200 - $300 on eBay depending on condition and extras, if any.


Thanks. The condition is used, and I can't tell much more than that. It's just sitting on a table with other stuff. I don't have and PVR at the moment, and this seems like a way to get in the game.

Brian


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## VanGoghLikesTivo (Jan 18, 2005)

EBay auction prices on these have been above $200 for the past 2 months. People are buying now to transfer the sub over to a S3 unit under the VIP deal.


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## joker81 (Nov 13, 2002)

You need to get the donator's information to be able to transfer the lifetime or you will have a headache trying to do it with the tivo CSRs.

Value of lifetime can really be anywhere from $300-350 for tax purposes I would guess.


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## Default User (Dec 6, 2006)

joker81 said:


> You need to get the donator's information to be able to transfer the lifetime or you will have a headache trying to do it with the tivo CSRs.


It's a guy here at the office, so hopefully there wouldn't be any trouble along those lines. I don't know if he knows currently that it was transferable and worth some money, but that's another issue.

Brian


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## Default User (Dec 6, 2006)

VanGoghLikesTivo said:


> EBay auction prices on these have been above $200 for the past 2 months. People are buying now to transfer the sub over to a S3 unit under the VIP deal.


I gather that for older units this is pretty open-ended (no time limit), so I could use this unit for a while and then get a new one and still be able to transfer.

I have a question in to the owner as to when he purchased the subscription, as I understand the timing can be important. I would suspect it was bought when the hardware was.

Brian


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## Gai-jin (Feb 28, 2000)

Default User said:


> I gather that for older units this is pretty open-ended (no time limit), so I could use this unit for a while and then get a new one and still be able to transfer.
> 
> I have a question in to the owner as to when he purchased the subscription, as I understand the timing can be important. I would suspect it was bought when the hardware was.
> 
> Brian


No, the option to transfer service to a S3 HD tivo is only good for a short while, end of December or January I believe.


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## Default User (Dec 6, 2006)

Gai-jin said:


> No, the option to transfer service to a S3 HD tivo is only good for a short while, end of December or January I believe.


The information that I had was that if a lifetime subscription was purchased before January 21, 2000, then it can be transferred to another unit without a time limit. I'm trying to verify that, and to find out hold old the subscription is.

Brian


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## ah30k (Jan 9, 2006)

I should save this, it gets posted so much.

Regarding grandfathered lifetimes:

http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?t=290723



> Q. Can I transfer my Product Lifetime service contract to new hardware?
> 
> A. For Product Lifetime, the answer is no, just like today. This isn't really part of our announcement and the rules haven't changed, but since this is a frequently asked question I'm including it here. Product Lifetime is always tied to the specific box that you activated, as defined in the terms of the Product Lifetime Description: http://www.tivo.com/0.4.asp
> 
> ...


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## Gai-jin (Feb 28, 2000)

Default User said:


> The information that I had was that if a lifetime subscription was purchased before January 21, 2000, then it can be transferred to another unit without a time limit. I'm trying to verify that, and to find out hold old the subscription is.
> 
> Brian


Ahh, yes. That much is true. I thought you were referring to the S3 transfer program.

Be aware thought that very few tivo's were sold before that date, and so the odds of it being grandfathered are slim.


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## Default User (Dec 6, 2006)

Gai-jin said:


> Ahh, yes. That much is true. I thought you were referring to the S3 transfer program.
> 
> Be aware thought that very few tivo's were sold before that date, and so the odds of it being grandfathered are slim.


Information that I have from him is that he got it about five years ago, but isn't sure. So likely it doesn't fall under that. As I'm not likely to buy a Series 3 in the short term, I have to think of this unit as having a subscription through its lifetime only, and not plan on transfering it.

Thanks for the info, and thanks to ah30k for posting the Tivo information. I'd looked around for that but unsuccessfully.

This helps clarify my pricepoint. If I get it in the auction, I might try to find out more specifically how old it is.

Brian


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## Einselen (Apr 25, 2006)

Default User said:


> If I get it in the auction, I might try to find out more specifically how old it is.


Since you said the Tivo is sitting on the table look at the back and copy the TSN. Then call Tivo and you can verity that is a) it does have lifetime and b) when it was activated.


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## Default User (Dec 6, 2006)

Einselen said:


> Since you said the Tivo is sitting on the table look at the back and copy the TSN. Then call Tivo and you can verity that is a) it does have lifetime and b) when it was activated.


That was a good suggestion. I called them and they were able to tell me that the unit was purchased in 2001 and that the lifetime subscription is valid. So it's too new for that grandfather rollover.

I appreciate the help from everyone.

Brian


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## Einselen (Apr 25, 2006)

Default User said:


> That was a good suggestion. I called them and they were able to tell me that the unit was purchased in 2001 and that the lifetime subscription is valid. So it's too new for that grandfather rollover.


It is too bad, but there is the $199 transfer option or you can keep it. Lifetime is a nice feature to have, it would also help save $6/month on your second box. Leaving aside prepaid plans you can figure that if you buy lifetime at $200 that is 33 months in which the savings of MSD will equal your price. If that is unclear I am saying you can have that lifetime Tivo and another Tivo on the same account and the $6/month savings on that second tivo (due to the lifetime Tivo) will even out after 33 months, then you will be saving money if you just bought a Tivo today. Once you buy one Tivo you will probably want more. Also it goes towards charity. I am not trying to convince you to buy it or not but it, just mentioning other ways to look at it.

Also if you can keep us updated on what it sold for, I would be interested to see how much it brought in.


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## Default User (Dec 6, 2006)

Einselen said:


> It is too bad, but there is the $199 transfer option or you can keep it. Lifetime is a nice feature to have, it would also help save $6/month on your second box. Leaving aside prepaid plans you can figure that if you buy lifetime at $200 that is 33 months in which the savings of MSD will equal your price. If that is unclear I am saying you can have that lifetime Tivo and another Tivo on the same account and the $6/month savings on that second tivo (due to the lifetime Tivo) will even out after 33 months, then you will be saving money if you just bought a Tivo today.


Ah, interesting. I'll keep that in mind. It's a bit of a crap shoot with a five-year-old piece of hardware. I gather the hard drive isn't too big a deal to replace if it goes down (although I am an engineer, so you have an extra layer of destructive boneheadedness). If the power supply goes though, could be trouble.



> Once you buy one Tivo you will probably want more.


Heh. We'll take it a step at a time. Probably the next item would be a DVD recorder, whether with full DVR capability or not I'm not sure.



> Also it goes towards charity. I am not trying to convince you to buy it or not but it, just mentioning other ways to look at it.


I'm prepared to bid, and very interested, just formulating a strategy at this point.



> Also if you can keep us updated on what it sold for, I would be interested to see how much it brought in.


Sure. The auction runs until next Friday, it's one of those "silent auctions" where you write down bids.

Brian


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## ashu (Nov 8, 2002)

If it's an S1, and you don't plan on availingo of the S3 Lifetime transfer, allow me to do the uthinkable and recommend you get an S2 (free, with a 1-2-3-year contract, different rates per month) or even a Dual (one digital) tuner S2 instead 

But then again, if you're just getting into the PVR game, this isn't a bad first unit.


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## Default User (Dec 6, 2006)

ashu said:


> If it's an S1, and you don't plan on availingo of the S3 Lifetime transfer, allow me to do the uthinkable and recommend you get an S2 (free, with a 1-2-3-year contract, different rates per month) or even a Dual (one digital) tuner S2 instead
> 
> But then again, if you're just getting into the PVR game, this isn't a bad first unit.


A lot will depend on how things go. If I win this for under $100, then I think it's not a bad move. It improves what I have now for relatively low cost. I can then explore the other options down the line.

Brian


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## ashu (Nov 8, 2002)

True ... this will retain all/most/more? of that value (on ebay, at least) for a long time, because people will always hope there'll be another grandfather clause or onetime Lifetime transfer to the S4 etc


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## megazone (Mar 3, 2002)

Default User said:


> I gather that for older units this is pretty open-ended (no time limit), so I could use this unit for a while and then get a new one and still be able to transfer.


That would be gathered from me over on alt.video.ptv.tivo. ;-)


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## Default User (Dec 6, 2006)

megazone said:


> That would be gathered from me over on alt.video.ptv.tivo. ;-)


Indeed. Figured I'd hit both resources.

Brian


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## Default User (Dec 6, 2006)

Einselen said:


> Also if you can keep us updated on what it sold for, I would be interested to see how much it brought in.


I promised I would, so the winning bid was $160. I wasn't the winner, I'd set a price in my mind of no more than $150, and I try to stick with my numbers in auctions.

Unfortunately there was just a guy determined to get it and with the money to back it up, he's a former executive here, now retired and working as a contractor.

Thanks for the info, everyone.

Brian


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## Einselen (Apr 25, 2006)

Default User said:


> I promised I would, so the winning bid was $160. I wasn't the winner, I'd set a price in my mind of no more than $150, and I try to stick with my numbers in auctions.
> 
> Unfortunately there was just a guy determined to get it and with the money to back it up, he's a former executive here, now retired and working as a contractor.
> 
> ...


Thanks for giving the final number. Sorry you didn't win, but at least it was fun while it lasted right? Good luck on the Tivo search.


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## Default User (Dec 6, 2006)

Einselen said:


> Thanks for giving the final number. Sorry you didn't win, but at least it was fun while it lasted right? Good luck on the Tivo search.


It was kind of fun. Basically, people laid low until the last minute, then we gathered in the room at the deadline. The Tivo pretty much turned out to be a real auction.

Our secretary reports that the total auction raised over $680 for charity.

Brian


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## TiVoEvan74 (Sep 11, 2004)

At least the $ went to a good cause... but even better, rationalize this... you avoided the headaches of a 5 year old unit, where all sorts of stuff might be going south real soon! You may have dodged a bullet! Now you can get a brand new unit for little or no $! Or even one with a DVD burner in it, and have it under warranty...


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