As-Is, What does it mean?

This is a response to the question posed by Kjg. In California (where I live) there is implied in every contract a covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Simply put, when two people enter into a contract, the law presumes an obligation on each party to act in good faith towards the other. Thus, you cannot say that the amp is working well when you know that only one channel is working well. This is merely another way to say that parties to a sale cannot lie to each other about the subject of the contract. If the unit is sold "as is" and there are no representations made about its condition, well, that is your problem for not asking about it. But if you ask about it and are lied to, you have a legal action regardless of the "as is" statement.

When I purchase things online, I usually ask specific questions in emails about the condition or functionality of the unit. When there are written representations about the purchase, those will likely supercede a more general "as is" type statement in the ad. Of course, if someone states that it has not been used in years, or a channel is blown, etc. and the product is being sold "as is", well, you should expect that you may have to fix things. For example, I sold on old circa 1975 Luxman turntable. I had not used it in 10 years and did not even have a phono preamp to check it out. I sold it "as is" because I had no idea what the functionality was, other than that it turned on and seemed to hold a correct speed according to the strobe. I explained that to the buyer. DOA is a different problem. Something could function great and after shipping with UPS, not have a chance of working. That is what insurance is for!

Of course, the downside to the whole issue is that if misrepresentations were made, and you live in California and bought something from Virgina, it would be very difficult to get an enforceable judgment and collect on it anyway.