What is TalkTalk's official stance on the Eero being sold on Ebay

[gameinn]

I've been looking to get an Eero system and obviously Ebay is a good way to get anything for a decent price. I couldn't help but see all these brown Eero boxes all sealed in which ~£150 Eero Pro 6 was going for about £60 on Ebay... I thought I had hit the jackpot in getting a 3 pack setup for under £200 compared to the ~£350 Amazon want.

It became apparent that this is simply not the case that I got suspicious and learned they are all basically TalkTalk branded. There is so much information about this on places like reddit or other forums that it's hard to know what is right (especially recent info anyway).

The most common thing is either TalkTalk periodically liaison with Eero and "brick" every Eero not on the TalkTalk network (even brick eeros not talktalk branded if you add extra "legitimately"). Another is they get bricked after the users contract period is over.

Now don't get me wrong I have nothing against TalkTalk. Protecting their investment is fine but there is too much feet dragging. It seems to be in a middle ground right now. TalkTalk customers CAN list Eero on Ebay with no recourse even if they know it's going to likely lead to major problems for the customer in a couple months time (i.e. a very expensive paperweight).

I feel like TalkTalk has to either allow routers branded for the network that have been bought on Ebay to be easily unlocked by emailing Eero directly or they have to completely forbid the sales on Ebay. Even just make ebay put up a notification box that if the user inputs an Eero router then state "if this is a router given by TalkTalk it cannot be sold".

I know unlikely to get an official response on this matter but I feel like TalkTalk has to tackle this situation. About 10 of these things get listed per day on Ebay and it's getting to a point I have to message every seller with stock photos of the Eero for actual photos and every time it's a brown box... sometimes even with the talktalk leaflet still attached.

[KeithFrench]

Please see my original post on this, there is no need for any further discussion on this topic:-

"Any TalkTalk product remains the property of TalkTalk. No one else has any right to sell them at all."

I shall lock this thread now.

[ferguson]

Hey, feel free to buy any Sky TV box, BT TV box, numerous other provider supplied equipment acquired as part of a service and then sold on by individuals on eBay. It has been going on for years. Why do you imagine these appear to be "bargain" prices? Caveat emptor. 

And I am sure that TalkTalk think about their customers. But as you are not one, why should they?

[gameinn]

"They are not controlling distribution for anybody, other than those who are selling TalkTalk supplied eeros in breach of TalkTalk T&Cs"

Exactly what we are discussing (people selling talktalk routers). Ofcourse I'm not talking on a broader scale that would just be borderline idiotic. I was hoping that was obvious... but the excuse me statement seems... evidently not.

"What precisely do you suggest TalkTalk could/should do about this, other than they are already doing i.e. making sure they won't work?"

Dsiscussed this in the OP. I'll copy/paste it again if you didn't see it (maybe you were too busy thinking about where to move the topic lol):

"to be easily unlocked by emailing Eero directly or they have to completely forbid the sales on Ebay. Even just make ebay put up a notification box that if the user inputs an Eero router then state "if this is a router given by TalkTalk it cannot be sold"."

"Nobody can be held responsible for what is sold on eBay other than sellers and eBay themselves."

If enough stink is put on a brand then the brand can change that. e.g. if a prevalent eero fake was showing up you can guarantee that Amazon or similar would be putting a ridiculous amount of pressure on Ebay to be vetting listings for eero devices. TalkTalk could do the same but as stated it's just more of a feet dragging issue not actually caring because the contract states they get to recoup the loss regardless. They don't have to think about the customer.

It looks like I got my answers so you can close this topic if needed.

Thanks

[ferguson]

I am moving this to the Lounge area as it is clearly not a TalkTalk support issue.

[mrwrighty]

I was billed £50 for an item that I returned but wasn’t received. It was late in the post. That was for the original router not the hub2. It was removed in the end after I provided proof of postage.  

[ferguson]

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@gameinn wrote:

I don't think it should be Ebay's job to essentially control distribution for a company especially when they have no real knowledge if it should even be sold or not. Plus they get seller fees so even less incentive to actually do anything. It should be TalkTalk. If a company contacts Ebay about this then they will take action.

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Excuse me? They are not controlling distribution for anybody, other than those who are selling TalkTalk supplied eeros in breach of TalkTalk T&Cs. What precisely do you suggest TalkTalk could/should do about this, other than they are already doing  i.e. making sure they won't work? Nobody can be held responsible for what is sold on eBay other than sellers and eBay themselves. 

[gameinn]

Do you happen to know what the charge amount is for not returning? It can't be much if people are selling it on at 5-10 a day.

[gameinn]

I don't think it should be Ebay's job to essentially control distribution for a company especially when they have no real knowledge if it should even be sold or not. Plus they get seller fees so even less incentive to actually do anything. It should be TalkTalk. If a company contacts Ebay about this then they will take action.

[ferguson]

I'm sure you have. In which case you are more likely to have recourse with the seller. Check the topic title and OP's comments again though, to remind yourself what we are talking about here. 

[mrwrighty]

@ferguson Not only eBay, Ive seen TT devices for sale in modern day pawn shops like Cash Converters etc.

[ferguson]

I think you should be taking this up with eBay, rather than TalkTalk, they are the ones who are effectively allowing devices not fit for purpose to be sold. 

[mrwrighty]

As @KeithFrench has said nobody should be selling TT kit as it belongs to TT.

That said it should work as TT Eero devices are locked to TT services and cannot be used on another ISP. Once a contract has expired users are supposed to return the equipment to TT or there is a charge applied to their account. Some might prefer to take the hit and attempt to selling to the uninitiated on EBay hoping to make a quick profit, but buyers thinking they have a deal are stuck with devices that only work with TT.

It is my understanding that additional Eero nodes purchased from elsewhere should not be impacted by the TT Eero version.

I don't believe that TT will brick or block third party routers even if they are Eero, imagine the fallout if that happened. Lots of people would be claiming for replacements from TT. I've used 4 or 5 different routers with TT over the years and never had an issue with TT ever attempting to compromise them.

[KeithFrench]

Any TalkTalk product remains the property of TalkTalk. No one else has any right to sell them at all.