Why are so many things on Ebay even more expensive then what the item would be brand new from the store?

I was searching for a Motorola MA1 Wireless Android Auto which is $80 brand new in a store, but on Ebay they are anywhere from $100 to $200. Even if it is pre-owned. It seems impossible that anyone is ever going to buy this so what is the purpose of these listings?

  • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
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    1 year ago

    Since you have one of these, I have to ask if it’s easier to switch users than the stock.

    My SO and I just got a 2019 Honda with Android auto and it seems to require both bt and USB to work, the bt has to be connected first, then plug in the phone by usb and then auto becomes available; the problems start with both of us having our phones connected to the car over bt… So the bt on the car will pick up one of our phones, and the other will be driving, plug in their phone for Android auto and the whole thing jams up on itself.

    This leads to a fun dance of unplugging the USB, going into the stereos bt and forcing it to the correct phone, which may take several minutes to even show the phones to pick one, once the bt is sorted, plug in the USB again and finally things start working, usually takes 2-3 minutes to figure out.

    If we can eliminate that song and dance when switching between us, that would be ideal.

    Do you have any insight into how the aawireless unit handles this?

    • ParanoidPizzas@aussie.zone
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      1 year ago

      I haven’t tried the multiple phone song and dance on the unit. It lives in my old 4x4 which my wife refuses to drive.

      We do have a similar issue with our other car however '05 Subaru Forester (non Android Auto). It randomly connects phones - as in I can be sitting in the car, start up to go somewhere and the car connects to my wife’s phone while she and it are in the house. The only reliable option I’ve found (only practical if we’re both in the car) is to quickly tap Bluetooth off on one phone before starting the car. If your Honda is starting with a Bluetooth connection, then I’m guessing the same solution should work.

      • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago

        I do that for her when we’re both in the car before she powers on the radio. I’ll just bump mine off if she’s driving, then after she’s all connected, push it back on so my smartwatch can reconnect to my phone. It usually works, but sometimes it glitches out anyways.

        I’m going to look into getting the aawireless unit. I looked at some information about it and it looks like the phone connects to that and not the car, which should solve the problem, since only one thing will be taking to the car itself at any time. The unit itself was built to be used with multiple phones, and you can set one as primary so if multiple are present it will prefer the primary over all others.

        Seems perfect. I am going to curb my enthusiasm since something that’s perfect on paper, rarely is when you use it. But for the cost, even just having Android auto available wirelessly will be a guaranteed agreement from her. Simply, she was less than impressed when she found out she has to plug in her phone each time she gets into the car, for Android auto to work… So as long as it doesn’t do any worse than the car does with a wire, this will get a big thumbs up from her. If the other stuff works, so much the better.

        My current problem is that the unit only seems to be available through Amazon, and only via the UK and US versions of the store. I’m in Canada… I can order from Amazon US and they will ship to Canada, but it’s going to be extra for that. At the end of the day it will likely cost around $100 USD to get it. Even at that price, it’s worth it for us.

        Thanks for the tip on this, I appreciate it.

        • ParanoidPizzas@aussie.zone
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          1 year ago

          No stress, glad I pointed you down a hopefully workable path. Good luck mate 😉 And yes the US tax. Purchased mine from Amazon US, I’m down in Australia. Even with the higher cost it has been an absolute joy even with my single-phone use case.

          • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
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            1 year ago

            I saw some reviews that say the audio skips every 10-15 minutes. My partner is also concerned about audio fidelity. Can you make any comments that may satisfy her concerns?

            • ParanoidPizzas@aussie.zone
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              1 year ago

              Never had any issues with the unit. As mentioned I have an old 4x4 with an aftermarket head unit (Sony XAV-AX5000) and have never experienced any audio issues. This car is our family “adventure vehicle” so we use it for long road trips and camping adventures - in short when it gets driven it’s often for a longer multi-hour journey, with music playing the whole way