Posted by We are only 5 weeks into 2025, and I have already sold 7 items on Ebay. Three items were refurbished Xbox One Controllers for an average profit of $7.40 each. I might be pricing them too low because they have been selling within 24 hours of being listed. I don’t think a used controller should cost more than 50% of a new one. I have started listing only one per week and currently have 4 that are ready for sale and 2 that are in repair mode. I have abandoned ShopGoodwill for sourcing used controllers. The high bids and shipping prices make it impossible to make a profit after the repairs. Plus, you are gambling on the condition of the controller. Sometimes they tell you if it powers on, but nothing beyond that.
From a repair standpoint, I feel like I’m continuing to make progress. I successfully replaced a trigger button switch to get a controller working again, and I have replaced several complete thumb stick assemblies. I added a set of micro probes to my multimeter. This helps testing, but it is still difficult to find faults in the smaller components in the circuit. Things that are still difficult to resolve are no power on the USB port, broken sync buttons, and some drift issues. One controller came to me with a broken thumb stick. After replacing it, I noticed that there was no vertical motion. I found damage on the opposite side of the board under the thumb stick. The controller must have been dropped onto a hard surface, which broke the thumb stick and cracked the circuit board. Something like this is basically unrepairable. I used the IO board to fix another controller.
I needed a couple OEM battery covers and found a listing for 2 of them. The seller was located in a state near me and sent me a discount offer. I decided to place the order on 1/23/25. The package was scanned at a post office in Greenfield, IN on 1/24/25. On 2/4/25 (11 days later) the package had no updates. I sent the seller a message asking if they could check with USPS. They replied stating that the package was most likely stuck at a USPS hub in Indianapolis. I did a quick Google search and found that this USPS hub was down for staffing issues and thousands of packages are stuck there waiting to be processed. I have gotten used to getting deliveries within 7 days. Having to wait any longer than that feels like being in the old days when you would order something and 30 days later it would arrive. Having a shipping hub shut down is unacceptable.