# Selling DirecTivo



## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

When the HD-DirecTivo comes out in the spring, I will probably want to sell one of the DirecTivos I already have. What sort of stumbling blocks will I run into? I think I read somewhere that the new owner will have to purchase a new card. What are some of the problems with selling DirecTV receivers? Thanks!


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## EricG (Mar 28, 2002)

How about the fact that anyone can walk into Best Buy or Circuit City and plunk down $99 or less and get one. Unless you've got an upgraded drive in that thing and are willing to sell to a hacker, you're DirecTiVo isn't worth much anymore.


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## Karl Foster (Mar 23, 2002)

The new owner has to buy a new card for $20, which Directv will FedEx to the new owner. That is the only thing. Make sure you pay for all the PPV"s you bought when you owned it so that the new owner doesn't get stuck with any purchases. Otherwise, it is easy to sell. I sold a standard receiver on our board here and got the asking price in pretty short order and didn't have to pay EBay anything.

Now, if I were you, I'd keep the DirecTivo and hook it up where you have a standard receiver (if you have one) and enjoy the DirecTivo in your bedroom, den, etc. You've already made the investment, you should enjoy it.


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## swinslow (Oct 22, 2002)

Chris Blount said:


> When the HD-DirecTivo comes out in the spring, I will probably want to sell one of the DirecTivos I already have. What sort of stumbling blocks will I run into? I think I read somewhere that the new owner will have to purchase a new card. What are some of the problems with selling DirecTV receivers? Thanks!


Chris, how about an update now that you've had your DTivo's a couple of weeks. Anything you REALLY miss, and what cuold you NOW not live without? Can you comment on picture quality vs Dish and anything else that might push some of us off the fence!

Thanks...Steve


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Chris, 

There are always people on the TivoCommunity and AVS that would buy it no problem. Nothing special with the DirecTivo vs. selling a regular D* receiver. Basically you'll call up DirecTV and cancel the receiver on your account. At this point you can pretty much just cut up the access card if you want. Then sell it and the new owners will need to get a new card as above. It is very rare for D* to activate a card that was already used under someone elses name.

But, if the $4.99 mirror fee doesn't bother you, I'd put it in another room or use it side by side your new unit for more recording capacity. That's what I plan to do. I'll have a "movies only" D'Tivo and the other for everything else.


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

Thanks for the information guys. I don't plan on selling anything at least until the HD-DirecTivo gets released. Right now I already have one unit in the living room and one in the bedroom which is all we need. On the other hand though, after I purchase the HD-DirecTivo, it may be nice to have an extra DirecTivo around to take on camping trips.  .



swinslow said:


> Chris, how about an update now that you've had your DTivo's a couple of weeks. Anything you REALLY miss, and what cuold you NOW not live without? Can you comment on picture quality vs Dish and anything else that might push some of us off the fence!
> 
> Thanks...Steve


After the holiday channel is all setup and running, I plan on sitting down and writing a detailed review of my experience with the DirecTivos. So far I'm really enjoying them. After using them a couple of weeks there is nothing that I REALLY miss (except for maybe the caller ID). At first I missed having the RF remote but that problem was solved. http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=20491.

It's really quite a culture shock going from Dish DVR's to Tivo. While they basically do the same job, they do it differently. Tivo's are much more menu driven which is nice. There are also lots of shortcuts to get you where you want to go instead of using the menus.

The PQ difference between Dish and DirecTV is noticeable on some stations. Dish tends to soften their picture a bit to hide digital artifacts and blocking. DirecTV has a sharper picture but yet artifacts are more noticeable especially on larger TV's. I prefer a sharper picture myself even with artifacts because then I know I'm getting the best possible image.

Some channels look much better on DirecTV. CNN to name one. There also seems to be less of a smearing effect when objects move. I see that all the time on Dish but never on DirecTV (or at least with the channels I have watched).

Last night I watched the first 5 minutes of a couple PPV movies on DirecTV. They definitely don't look as good as Dish PPV.

I'm glad I made this move. It's nice having receivers that work as advertised. I haven't had any trouble with the DirecTivos and yet, my Dish 508 has already locked up once since switching over. I also have more channels I didn't have before in my locals package and, of course, Trio which Dish has never carried.

If I had to do it all over again, I would still switch to DirecTv and the Tivo. Much less hassle, easy to use and it works!


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## dishrich (Apr 23, 2002)

Chris Blount said:


> When the HD-DirecTivo comes out in the spring, I will probably want to sell one of the DirecTivos I already have. What sort of stumbling blocks will I run into? I think I read somewhere that the new owner will have to purchase a new card. What are some of the problems with selling DirecTV receivers? Thanks!


If you decide to do this, there is an easier way to solve this problem - when you get your NEW receiver, take the card out of it & swap it with the card in the old receiver. Then call D* & tell them that you want to do a receiver swap out on card# xxxxxxxxxxxx. (the existing card you ALREADY have activated) Then, just put the NEW card back in your OLD receiver & sell it. The caveat is, you'll have to make SURE the person to whom you are selling that old receiver/NEW card to activates it within 90 days, or YOU will get a charge on your CC for failure to activate.

I have done this several times with NO problems whatsoever & this way, the person buying your old receiver doesn't have to go through the hassle of buying a new card through D* & waiting on it.


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## Phil T (Mar 25, 2002)

Chris. Great comments and the same experience I have had since switching.

My brother in law was considering the switch (he has a DishPlayer that ate all of his recordings recently) and came to check out my set up yesterday. He is an avid golfer and was having a hard time with the decision because the Golf Channel is in AT-150 but not in Total Choice Plus. To get it you have to buy the $12.99 sports package with DirecTV.

It will be interesting to see if golf wins out over functionality.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

dishrich said:


> If you decide to do this, there is an easier way to solve this problem - when you get your NEW receiver, take the card out of it & swap it with the card in the old receiver. Then call D* & tell them that you want to do a receiver swap out on card# xxxxxxxxxxxx. (the existing card you ALREADY have activated) Then, just put the NEW card back in your OLD receiver & sell it. The caveat is, you'll have to make SURE the person to whom you are selling that old receiver/NEW card to activates it within 90 days, or YOU will get a charge on your CC for failure to activate.
> 
> I have done this several times with NO problems whatsoever & this way, the person buying your old receiver doesn't have to go through the hassle of buying a new card through D* & waiting on it.


I'm suprised this would work. The card is *usually* married to the receiver, thus useless in another one. But great for you if it's worked, but I personally wouldn't count on it.


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## dishrich (Apr 23, 2002)

bonscott87 said:


> I'm suprised this would work. The card is *usually* married to the receiver, thus useless in another one. But great for you if it's worked, but I personally wouldn't count on it.


OK, even though I've ONLY done it dozens of times as a dealer...    
(just did TWO last week)

The smart card IS married to the receiver, BUT can be "remarried" to another receiver in seconds by any D* CSR. Now, in Chris's example above, when he goes to take his old card out of his existing receiver & places it in his new D-Tivo, he WILL get an error message on his screen to "please insert a valid access card". After he calls D* to do the switch, the message will disappear & the receiver will work just fine. (The same thing will happen to the OLD receiver with the NEW card - but everything will work just fine)


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

cool


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## SouthernSky (Jul 15, 2003)

Have you had any problems with used receivers bought at garage sales not being able to be activated even with a new card because the former owner hadn't paid his bill?


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## dishrich (Apr 23, 2002)

SouthernSky said:


> Have you had any problems with used receivers bought at garage sales not being able to be activated even with a new card because the former owner hadn't paid his bill?


No, because with D*, the balance is ONLY tied to the CARD, NOT to the receiver itself like E* does. (which is STUPID, but that's another story...) By the same token, swapping a card on an E* receiver WITH a balance will not do any good.


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## tivosmart (Sep 14, 2003)

Chris Blount said:


> When the HD-DirecTivo comes out in the spring, I will probably want to sell one of the DirecTivos I already have. What sort of stumbling blocks will I run into? I think I read somewhere that the new owner will have to purchase a new card. What are some of the problems with selling DirecTV receivers? Thanks!


Ei Chris, sorry I don't mean to put salt on your candy, but isn't this Tivo one that has the infamous 1-year commitment? If so, I'm not sure you can sell it before the commitment ends... Just wondering, as I don't know the answer to that myself... Anybory wants to comment on that?


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## Chris Blount (Jun 22, 2001)

tivosmart said:


> Ei Chris, sorry I don't mean to put salt on your candy, but isn't this Tivo one that has the infamous 1-year commitment? If so, I'm not sure you can sell it before the commitment ends... Just wondering, as I don't know the answer to that myself... Anybory wants to comment on that?


Yes, I thought about that. If that's the case, no big deal. It can wait. I still have money left over to purchase the HD-DirecTivo from previous sales I've made of Dish equipment. Soon I will be selling a 721 which will also add to the pot.


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## dishrich (Apr 23, 2002)

tivosmart said:


> Ei Chris, sorry I don't mean to put salt on your candy, but isn't this Tivo one that has the infamous 1-year commitment? If so, I'm not sure you can sell it before the commitment ends... Just wondering, as I don't know the answer to that myself... Anybory wants to comment on that?


The "commitment" is for NOT disconnecting the SERVICE, NOT the equipment - IOW, you must stay on a minimum of TC for 1 year, which is standard D* practice.


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## bonscott87 (Jan 21, 2003)

Correct, you could sell all of your recievers tomorrow and keep just one and you'd be fine. It's all about the programming. They don't care about the hardware.


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## spanishannouncetable (Apr 23, 2002)

I believe you have to keep the same number of receivers on your account for the initial contract period. They just don't have to be the same receivers that were installed to start with.

Say you take a standard 3 receiver installation as a new customer. You cannot cancel 2 of the receivers the next day and sell them, as your contract states you are supposed to keep 3 receivers for the year. Directv will not write off the loss of these receivers as they expect to collect 12 months worth of extra receiver fees to help offset their cost.

However, you CAN buy a DirecTiVo at BB for $99 the next day, bring it home and replace one of your standard receivers with it. You then have 3 receivers on your account, are still honoring your 1-year commitment and are free to sell the extra receiver you no longer need.


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## Firefighter (Nov 15, 2003)

spanishannouncetable said:


> I believe you have to keep the same number of receivers on your account for the initial contract period. They just don't have to be the same receivers that were installed to start with.
> 
> Say you take a standard 3 receiver installation as a new customer. You cannot cancel 2 of the receivers the next day and sell them, as your contract states you are supposed to keep 3 receivers for the year. Directv will not write off the loss of these receivers as they expect to collect 12 months worth of extra receiver fees to help offset their cost.
> 
> However, you CAN buy a DirecTiVo at BB for $99 the next day, bring it home and replace one of your standard receivers with it. You then have 3 receivers on your account, are still honoring your 1-year commitment and are free to sell the extra receiver you no longer need.


I went to Circuit City and the Tivos cost $99 each. 
I can't find any for $49.

Buy some for me and I will pay you for them!!


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## Kenster (Apr 24, 2002)

Phil T said:


> He is an avid golfer and was having a hard time with the decision because the Golf Channel is in AT-150 but not in Total Choice Plus. To get it you have to buy the $12.99 sports package with DirecTV.
> 
> It will be interesting to see if golf wins out over functionality.


For an equivilent thrill he could save the $1.99 and go outside and watch the grass grow. LOL


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## spanishannouncetable (Apr 23, 2002)

Firefighter said:


> I went to Circuit City and the Tivos cost $99 each.
> I can't find any for $49.
> 
> Buy some for me and I will pay you for them!!


  Where did I say they were $49 ? I said they are $99 at Best Buy, the same price CC has them for.

I *HAVE* seen them going for $48 at several online dealers, but that only applies to new customers


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## Phil T (Mar 25, 2002)

I got 2 at CC for $49.00 ea., plus the multi room rebate ($100.00) and the pizza rebate ($100.00). I am a new customer. My cost after tax was -$96.00. 

My brother in law was unsuccessful in getting the same deal.


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