I sold an MX850 on eBay recently. In the auction, I stated that the remote will not function over RF, only IR. I tested the remote with three different RF bases. I got an email followed by a open case with ebay from the buyer stating I sent the wrong item, because it states it is an MX700 in the battery compartment. I should have probably written the serial number down before sending it, but I just wanted to confirm that this is actually how URC numbered the remotes. I vaguely remember this being the case, but haven't dealt with them much in a few years, so just wanted to check.

I have an older MX-850 in my hands. Unlike the MX-700, it has seperate buttons for up/down/left/right/ select.It is charcoal in color, says Orion on the bottom front, and on the back it has the following FCC ID: 0Z5URCMX700. The battery compartment should have the sticker with the model number MX-850, firmware version, and on the bottom the serial #. The later model ones are named Areos on the bottom front. Hope that helps.

That does help. I vaguely remembered something to that effect but couldn't remember for sure. Thank you for posting it. I mentioned to him already that the buttons are separate unlike the MX-700 as well as the color difference.

Totally different color as mentioned above. Also says aeros on some 850's. MX-700 has the model clearly stated at the bottom.

Yeah, I know all the difference, but wasn't sure about what was actually labeled in the battery compartment. I told him about all the differences but wanted further proof the item is exactly as it was described. He is basically claiming that I lied. He wanted to be a genius and snipe a auction in the last few seconds for $55 for a remote that clearly stated it did not work over RF, and then email me to tell me I was stupid and it worked and I was doing something wrong. Now he is pissed that is not the case. I really do not like eBay.

the back of my mx-850 has a sticker with 0Z5URCMX700, I think it was sold to a customer around six years ago. I've had it the last three. It even works with the RF dimmers.

The sticker on the back of the remote under the LCD screen will say ---MX700 as indicated above. It should be noted that the actual MX-700 does NOT HAVE such an FCC sticker, as it is not RF.

The little white serial number sticker inside the battery compartment may or may not say MX-850 on it (mine does). Regardless of what it says, if it's in the dark grey case it's an MX-850 unless someone purposefully swapped out the circuit boards (and I don't think there's any way to prove that either way without opening it up, and even then on newer units they're all the same with the exception of the antenna).

If it is an actual MX-850 and RF is not working, chances are high that the problem is that the RF antenna has broken off inside due to impact. It's a fairly common occurance.

I suspect that maybe your buyer is referring to the FCC ID label and not the serial number label.

The first versions of the mx850 used the original FCC license for the rf transmission so it had an FCC label saying mx700.

Either way it does not matter because you have a brain dead eBay buyer to deal with. If it were me, I would offer an immediate full refund and arrange for return of the remote. Dealing with eBay and pay pal disputes (as a seller) just isn't worth the headache.

i have done plenty of ebaying and agree with the above as well, just offer to refund his money upon return of the remote

ebay's rules definitely favor buyers

Maybe good advice, except I'd make no assumptions about the buyer. The buyer isn't a URC expert and is probably just worried they have fallen for an ebay scam. If I were the seller I'd first write him a polite email explaining why the confusion exists and perhaps even include a link to this thread so the buyer can see he received the real thing. Of course the OP might want to edit one of his last post first ;-).

Found your ebay listing. If the remote is physically an MX-850 - and that's pretty easy to tell, since only the MX-850 looks like an MX-850 - then you made it very clear that RF was not working. Not to mention that it sold for half or less than what 850's normally go for. Plus, besides for RF and cosmetic differences, the MX-700, 800 and 850 are all functionally the same.

I've explained all the difference a few times and he just keeps playing ignorant. In his last email back, he said this:

""just to further clarify. i do not expect the remote to have functioning RF. in fact, i haven't even bothered to test the RF. i'm just surprised that it is not the MX850. in response to your statement that all MX850's are black, you should look at auction # 190484470095 where the MX700 is identical in visual layout and color as the MX850"

This is the auction he referenced:
[Link: cgi.ebay.com]

I informed him that is in fact an MX850, as you can tell by color, the directional keypad/ok button, and the clearly labeled Aeros at the bottom. Also the fact that the guy is selling it as a RF package with an MRF base station when an MX700 is an IR only remote. I have yet to hear back from him on this one.

For all practical purposes his MX-850 that doesn't work over RF is exactly like the MX-700. Learning, pc programmable IR remote.

Have him ship the item back and refund his money. He pays to ship it back to you.

List it again and sell it to someone who knows what it is. No point in trying to force this guy into understanding that he doesn't know what hes talking about.

I'm guessing he's ignoring the 20 other auction examples clearly showing an MX-850 with that case? When URC switched to printing fancy model names, they did not clearly put the model number on the remote... obviously that "MX-700" seller is doing what your auction winner did, and going simply by the FCC sticker. If it says "Aeros" on the case, it's an MX-850.

His latest response:

"hi i did some research. the mx700 does come in black in different brand labels, such as in auction #250748656042. i don't care about the RF feature and that is why im okay with bidding on your item, but i do expect it to be mx-850. the serial # of the one i got from you is 0503 001215. the ones i have are A070309 0242163 and K021706 094099.""

This is now the auction he has referenced:
[Link: cgi.ebay.com]

I am not entertaining his stupid questions anymore. He can send it back and I will refund him, and sell it to someone who is not a complete moron. For those that say he is just uninformed, I have explained everything, sent him links to real info not associated with ebay, and even suggested he call URC directly to ask them. And he keeps coming back with stupid responses like this one above.