ShadowStitch wrote:I'm sure someone will end up deleting this message posthaste, like most of the messages that have something to say about Woot's business practices, but...

I HIGHLY recommend that anyone interested in picking these up read a little from the Nov 5th Sansa sale forum. A lot of us had significant issues with our purchases, debatably Sandisk's fault for blind-boxing incomplete, damaged, or in many cases, grossly mislabeled players...and woot's fault for trusting them without checking to see what they were actually selling. Few of us have gotten our order straightened out even a month later.



tl;dr -- The last Sansa sale was a trainwreck, Woot blamed Sandisk's refurbs, because they don't open boxes to check what's inside. Be warned.

I agree with what he said, I too purchased the 2 gig sansa250, received the 250R instead. I still haven't gotten a reply from anyone at woot about reshipping my actual order. So I ended up selling it off but don't think I will trust woot anymore.

Mystic` wrote:oh yeah and I'm pretty pissed off I got the 2 when a bunch of people ended up with the 6gb instead

You mean there's a possiblility of getting a larger capacity than what you were expecting??? That's cool!

Mystic` wrote:It would be nice if they didn't put that damn metal stamp that say refurb (rox0rz!) on the back of your ish, but it is good otherwise.

earphones my 2gb came with were absolute garbage, but nowadays everybody has 3 pair of decent ones so that doesn't matter too much either.

I do have an issue with the OS reading straight ID3 tags instead of paying attenion to folders, if you make a mix and put it into a single folder, then move it to your player, it doesn't show up as an album you can play- it shows up as all the different artists and albums the tracks orignally game from..which sux0rs

Actually the stamp is just glued on metal letters that come off very easy with a razor blade, took them off the back of my 2gb without a scratch

joeashcraft wrote:And it's Linux compatible!

I have a c240 that I wooted about a week ago (1GB, smaller)

1. SanDisk does refurbs quite well. It seemed new, to me.
2. Sansa players seem really good so far -- this looks quite nice for a small player. I got my 1GB to run with, so that I wouldn't trash my 30GB Zen.

If you're on the edge about this, looking for something light and nice for music but don't want a huge HDD device, go for it!

I just bought this thing at Best Buy for $99. Works great with Rhapsody. I also picked up the 8Gb version at Costco for $89.99. It's a good sounding player with crazy battery life. I don't know what they refurbed in these, though.

I picked up one of these last Christmas for my daughter, and I thought that it was a good deal at $175. A year later, she still uses it daily and it works like a champ!

cjtenny wrote:I have a c240 that I wooted about a week ago (1GB, smaller)

1. SanDisk does refurbs quite well. It seemed new, to me.
2. Sansa players seem really good so far -- this looks quite nice for a small player. I got my 1GB to run with, so that I wouldn't trash my 30GB Zen.

If you're on the edge about this, looking for something light and nice for music but don't want a huge HDD device, go for it!

Oh yeah, and it works with linux and everything. (The c240, so this probably does too.)
MTP / MSC mode both are great. MSC = like a flash drive, drag and drop (DRAGON DROP!). MTP = windows media player, linux has plugins for it too.

ShadowStitch wrote:I HIGHLY recommend that anyone interested in picking these up read a little from the Nov 5th Sansa sale forum. A lot of us had significant issues with our purchases, debatably Sandisk's fault for blind-boxing incomplete, damaged, or in many cases, grossly mislabeled players...and woot's fault for trusting them without checking to see what they were actually selling. Few of us have gotten our order straightened out even a month later.

Wow really? I bought 2 that time. Both were perfect. I installed Rockbox on it and the music quality really went up A LOT!!! Also, the original wasn't loud enough at 100% while I only play at 80% volume with rockbox.

However, unlike most people here, I was very dissapointed with the FM tuner, even with rockbox. The reception is good, but the sound quality is bad, especially in the lower frequencies. If you have a good home theator or good car stereo system, go ahead and listen to one right after the other. You'll hear the huge difference. (And no, I don't believe it's my ear buds)

I already bought 2x4GB class 6 microSDHC to use with this.

I'm actually considering jumping on this deal and maybe sell my 2GB version.

FamilyGuyPsp wrote:The metal plated "Refurbished" on the back of the last one wasnt too attractive but still a great buy at this price. Most of us who would buy this already jumped on the 2Gb model though.

I really like that it has a FM tuner and recorder, so i can get to new songs i like from the radio right away so i can remember to look for them and find then on the net when i get home :D

refurb (rox0rz!) comes off with a razor

In for one. Here's hoping that Woot will verify that they're packaged correctly.

I love you woot!! I was actually waiting for one of the e200 series and there it is!! Got one for me ^_^ I bought the e250 for my friend a month ago and I loved the feel of it.

woodicted wrote:That link has no information regarding refurbished units.

Still... you can see the price diff and know that its a solid woot price... i think.

I STILL want these glasses. These were on sale just two weeks ago. SELL THE GLASSES WOOT!

me too .. .just bought the 1 gigs ...two of those ... damn

I blame all the shipping department. They are wearing the marx glasses laughing and not paying attention.

I bought the 1GB last week said it had FM but I think I got ripped off. Can not even find the model on SanDisk web site. What is with this one?

Anybody know whether this will keep its position in an mp3 file when it's turned off? I like to use mine for listening to audio books, but I don't want to lose my place when I turn it off (like the stupid RCA lyra series)

clarkbhm wrote:Anybody know whether this will keep its position in an mp3 file when it's turned off? I like to use mine for listening to audio books, but I don't want to lose my place when I turn it off (like the stupid RCA lyra series)

I'm not sure about the original firmware, but I know that bookmarking is supported by Rockbox (http://www.rockbox.org)

other than the memory capacity, what's the diff between this and the c240 sold a week or so ago (I bought that)? Anyone know if SDHC 4gb cards (and better yet, 8gb) cards work in either of those units? I'm gonna use rockbox though...

bobrhoades wrote:You mean there's a possiblility of getting a larger capacity than what you were expecting??? That's cool!

Yeah, if this sale is anything like that last Sansa sale, then there's a whole WORLD of possibilities.

You might get lucky and get a better player... or like my friend who ordered one, got exactly what he ordered, in perfect condition, and loaded rockbox on it, removed the refurb (rox0rz!) letters from the back, and couldn't be happier.

...OR... you might end up with a brick right out of the box, missing cables, a damaged headphone jack, a cracked screen, a dead battery, or a completely different player than the one you ordered. Heck, you might even get lucky and score an empty box!

You just never know with Woot, those wacky goofballs... always making with the funny descriptions and the "What? Customer service? lulzez" FAQ... hohoho!

I've said it before and I'll say it again... the e200 series is one of the best digital music player lines ever... though do yourself a favor and spring for the Rhapsody series (e260r), which unfortunately is sold only at Best Buy. The UI that comes with the "r" on the end of the model number is a much-improved version of the regular firmware. And by "much-improved" I mean the text is a bit sharper. Otherwise they're nearly identical. Great mp3 player, but you can get a brand new one, with twice the capacity, for $125 on Amazon.

Gregor Sansa :-) snort!.

I bought the e250 like a month ago and I am utterly impressed by it. I put rockbox on mine with the Cabbie theme and it completely kix @$$! However, the Sansa firmware is actually not too bad and would suffice for kids and non-techie types. Put the device into MSC mode no matter what.

Couple of tips: do NOT erase the orignal firmware no matter what when putting rockbox on this, since you need to boot into it (by means of holding the "<<" button upon bootup) to access it via USB, after you load Rockbox. The Rockbox build for these models doesn't have USB support, which at first sounds crazy but it actually a non-issue assuming you left the Sansa firware on it. If you actually did the superanal move of wiping your device and then putting rockbox on it, there is even a way of unbricking it, just search for that term on the install wiki on the rockbox site. That alone makes the device awesome! Plus that fact that it is just as good as an ipod but even better since it has FM radio! The "refurb (rox0rz!)" is a sticker on the back, easy to remove, and yes the screen is quite susceptible to scratches so be careful!

I would suggest for powerusers that want to Rockbox it, to turn the device option to MSC mode first, and then update the original Sana firmware first with the latest version (and then make sure to put back into MSC mode, again). Then, delete all the preloaded content or not, your choice, just not the Sansa firmware. then get the rockbox utility to install the latest version and any themes, fonts, etc. That Cabbie theme (had to edit the WPS slightly, very easy) and the Azure v2 are the shizz!

one thing rockbox was able to do for me that orig wasn't was to allow me to crank down the volume much lower than what was available using the Sansa firmware (I listen to audiobooks when I hunt, gotta be quiet ;-) Another thing was the "car adapter mode" (turns device off when not powered) and some other neat little things. With Rockbox, you can access any content from the SD addin card, only music with the orig firmware (true?). It is rumored that the Sansa can access microSDHC with Rockbox loaded.

Peace...this is a truly qualtiy item for folks who want freedom from the shackles of iTunes.

I bought one of these for my wife over a year ago. I worked pretty well for a while, aside from issues updating the firmware and one or two times when we had to take the battery out to reset it. It also had to be reformatted a time or two for the free space to show up. After about a year, the right channel stopped working. My wife took good care of it and didn't treat it rough. Other people have had the same problem. I don't think they engineered the jack very well. I wouldn't recommend.

I bought three of the e250 series media player from WOOT.
Online sites sell the device 4 a much greater price (refurbish aside).
Two things!!!!!!
I don't like that the only way to recharge the device is through USB. You think you need a computer to recharge but you can buy recharge "accessories" for wall/car plugs elsewhere. This means you have to spend more money to support this product.
Secondly, you can only own and use this product if you have Windows XP or greater operating systems. I couldn't even simply charge the device from a computer that had Windows 2000.

FrodoFraggins wrote:It is rumored that the Sansa can access microSDHC with Rockbox loaded.

Correct (atleast for the e250). You have to take out the microSDHC card and put it into a reader, and plug that in and you can just drag music onto that, plug it back into the player, and voila.

Edit: I've watched a couple movies on my e250. It looks/sounds okay, but you can't fast forward/rewind in the movie IIRC.

clarkbhm wrote:Anybody know whether this will keep its position in an mp3 file when it's turned off? I like to use mine for listening to audio books, but I don't want to lose my place when I turn it off (like the stupid RCA lyra series)

Both my Sansa e250 and M240 have this feature, so it's safe to assume the answer is yes.

I got the e250 that was on Woot about a month ago. I'm not overly thrilled with the UI or the button layout on the e250. Overall, I like my Sansa m230 better. The m230 has an easier-to-navigate menu structure, bigger better buttons and button layout, uses a AAA battery (which means you don't have to go running back to your computer when the battery dies), and has an easier-to-use FM radio than the e2x0 series. I'm not too happy with the FM reception, compared with two of my other players (Sandisk m230 and Insignia NS-DV4G). Sound quality on my e250 (the 2GB version of the e260) with Rockbox is fantastic, good with the Sandisk firmware. The voice recorder seems to be good on my e250.

Also, you need to use a very tiny (eyeglass repair size) Phillips screwdriver to remove the e2x0's battery. This can be a major pain if you don't have one lying around the house somewhere.

I've never tried the video stuff on my e250. The e2x0 players only have a 1.8" screen- why bother?

I bought an e260 off eBay for ninety bucks new a while back to replace my old player (MobiBlu DAH-1500i, the Cube) since the battery was only getting 1-2 hours of playback on a charge.

I love the friggin thing. It has real buttons and a mechanical scrollwheel, which is fantastic for people (like me) who hate hate hate touchpads. The screen is proportionately huge, and everything's pretty sharp and the colors look good. Plays video well. If you're wondering, (and I know a few of you are, this is Woot after all) anime gets squashed down too small to read subtitles.

Sound quality is on par with the Creative Zen Micro I'd eBayed before getting the Sansa (which had a touchpad and was laggy as holy hell - something to think about when comparing this thing to a 30GB Zune, flash is a lot more responsive!) and the microSD expansion slot is great - I've already got a 2GB card in my phone, and if I ever get tired of swapping it out between devices a second one will set me back what, $15, $20?

Negatives: the buttons are pretty tiny and are arranged around the scroll wheel in such a way as to make them as ergonomically giraffe-like and carpal tunnel-inducing as possible. It's a well-designed player, but why the hell didn't they make the buttons bigger? There's certainly enough room for it.

Also, the center button (inside the scroll wheel) feels REALLY cheap, like it's held on with a plastic clip molded into its back side or something. You can wiggle it around and I'm kind of afraid that I'd smash it if I pressed it too hard. This is the only part of the player that isn't rock-solid, and it's kind of a disappointment. They could have popped in a rubber gasket or something so it didn't feel so much like it was rattling around in the casing.

Other than that, it's all I could want from an MP3 player. The charging/sync cord is sweet (though proprietary) - it actually locks into the player and you can't accidentally (or deliberately) yank it out unless you depress the two little tabs on the plug. Just a little heads-up for anyone who might otherwise spend a couple minutes trying to yank it (like me... that was followed by a lot of "oh s***, did I break anything?" once I figured it out).

geomit wrote:I don't like that the only way to recharge the device is through USB.

You can buy wall-to-USB adaptors for like three bucks on eBay, FYI.

Oh, and the 20-hour battery is removeable/replaceable. SanDisk sells them direct for twenty bucks.

clarkbhm wrote:Anybody know whether this will keep its position in an mp3 file when it's turned off? I like to use mine for listening to audio books, but I don't want to lose my place when I turn it off (like the stupid RCA lyra series)

No bookmarking capability, sorry. It does turn on to whatever file you were listening to when you turned it off though, so maybe you could make each chapter a separate MP3 or something?

Sorry for the essay, but hey...

nice take on Kafka

well i bought the other model of this refurbished too.... came in plastic baggie... no box... kinda hard for someones gift in a baggie...

thanks anyways...

For everyone complaining about the metallic stickers (and they are just stickers!) on the back of the Sansas, just push them off with your fingernail or, if that doesn't work, use one of the other suggestions in this thread or previous Sansa threads. It's not a big deal. They do come off with a bit of effort and, after a good polish, the back shows no trace of the stickers.

I don't get it - People take the time to post in a forum about stickers, yet they won't take the time to discover how to remove them.

My first Woot. I'm sure it is the beginning of a bad thing going OK. I think.

did anyone get the 1gb ones which were on woot a week or 10 days ago ? Reviews ??

jaytech wrote:Both my Sansa e250 and M240 have this feature, so it's safe to assume the answer is yes.

--->Yes, especially with Rockbox it really works well. You can even set it in Rockbox to auto-bookmark every time you pause, or on other events as well, though I haven't found the need to do this yet. I, too, use it primarily for audiobooks and it does the task admirably. I have a 1st gen ipod shuffle which will probably still be working in 10 years and has amazing battery life, but try finding your place again without a screen and without the placeholding ability of this player, rockboxed or non-rockboxed.

The timing of this was scary/miraculous. I was just talking to my boyfriend about how I didn't like iPods and about the troubles he was having with iTunes... I wanted one with drag-and-drop capability. Five minutes later, this pops up. The only thing that flashed through my mind was about a sweet Christmas gift for him, me, and someone else... That might not be a healthy way to use credit cards, though.

I bought the refurbished e250 a while back to replace my other cheapo flash mp3 player, but I was surprised to get such a great product. The sound quality is great. You can't put wma lossless on the player, but you can convert lossless to 320 kbps mp3s with MediaMonkey (the free version). The fm recorder is very nice if you happen to hear a show you would like to listen to later. The firmware is crisp, easy to use, and allows you to do just about anything you could think of doing with an mp3 player. This comes with pretty good headphones, too. In fact, I liked the e250 so much that I bought a microSD card to expand it. I've borrowed the previous generation iPod nano from a friend, and I have to say that this is a superior product.

The only thing I don't like about this product is the Rhapsody portion. <Delete files> Problem fixed

nymustang77 wrote:Will this fit to an IPOD docking wire? I have one for my AVIC D# in my car and I tring not to spend 200 dollars on an Ipod.

while it is close enough in physical dimensions that you can push it into a iPod connector, the pinout is very different and it will kill the player in a flash of sparks and smoke !!

do NOT use iPod stuff on this or you will kill the player.

sansa made it this way so people would buy sansa stuff.

eyewerks wrote:I bought the e250 (2GB) refurbished unit from Woot last month and was extremely disappointed. It shipped without product packaging of any sort and without some of the accessories that come with the new units. The earbuds were NOT the ones that ship with new e200 series units, but rather extremely cheap ones. Unit was stamped "REFURBISHED" in huge silver letters on the back, so it is not suitable as a gift. I have purchased refurbs before from other online retailers and have always gotten like-new items, but this Woot experience was horrid.

"Woot" is my new synonym for "rip off".

Yea I got those reallllly cheap earphones
The REFURBISHED letters on the back can actually get peeled off if you try hard enough

I forgot.
The buyer should make sure that the battery is charged and at least functional.
I bought 3 of model e250 and got one device that had a battery that was completely dead and that needed the battery replaced (I spent $10+ 2 to get a new one). Batteries!!!!