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Buying on Ebay - pros & cons

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Radia999

Radia999

Member
Mar 23, 2018
36
0
NJ, United States
I got a chance to buy a new rifle on Ebay. That is in stock, now... That same rifle is backordered for 3-4 weeks. on all other airgun sites...The only hitch is , Itll cost me 113.00 more on Ebay, no big deal...Then I saw a post awhile ago here, that you should'nt buy rifles off Ebay...I cant find that post again...So just wondering what could be any major drawback to buying from there
 
As with anything on Ebay, it pays to be more cautious and to do research when buying expensive items, and especially complex items such as air guns. My worry is people offering not-genuine parts or aftermarket parts in a gun, yet claims the gun is brand new and unused with only 100 shots through it. Or, is perhaps defective and the owner wishes to offload quick. I'm not saying everything on Ebay is a scam, but I would certainly exercise additional caution when buying from there. On the flip side, I have met some very honest sellers that I will continue to buy airgun supplies from, just not entire rifles though. It also helps if you know how to take down your gun to inspect it thoroughly too. Hope this helps. 
 
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Over 1500 transaction on eBay,only a couple of problems,first get sellers feedback,look at it...it should be 100% Make sure the sellers has a lot of feedback,the more the better,say 100+...at least 20..another thing ,make sure his or her feedback is for SELLS ...you want a great seller not a great buyer....check out shipping cost....use PayPal.....

That is just a start,take your time to check out pictures and ask seller for more or whatever you need to be sure your safe....

Do Not t get caught up in a bidding war,...I have seen so many used items go for a higher price than a new one because of emotions.

It may be better to buy something new or a least see the item....than to go to eBay......another thing is some items are very popular=more people interested=more bids=less of a good deal....please do not count on luck.
 
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I believe now if you’re buying it from a company that you are charged the sales tax for your state. I’m not sure about individuals, I’m not sure how they would collect it. However I brought something recently and had to pay sales tax. Which to me means anything over about $200 I’m not going to buy anymore from eBay unless it’s from an individual.

in the past I’ve bought and sold quite a few things with no issues.

mike


 
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I believe now if you’re buying it from a company that you are charged the sales tax for your state. I’m not sure about individuals, I’m not sure how they would collect it. However I brought something recently and had to pay sales tax. Which to me means anything over about $200 I’m not going to buy anymore from eBay unless it’s from an individual.

in the past I’ve bought and sold quite a few things with no issues.

mike

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eBag started collecting sales tax for all sales sometime this year. April 1? Here in PA anyway. eBag collects the tax for the sellers because they do the transactions. eBag collects and remits the tax Like a consignee. And they also get their little fee. It was a Supreme (clown) court decision to allow states to do it. I think 40 states were involved. Probably more piling on now. What greedy state dept of revenue could resist eBag sales tax? MONEY!!!!!

I see a nice condition used Beeman San Rafael Webley Vulcan Mk2 on there now. Bidders will run it up. Good little gun for the opening bid amount if you know how to stone the trigger sear.
 
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My basic eBay rule is at least a 50% discount over the same item new. Anything less and I'll keep looking. I've had some problems, mostly dealing with overseas vendors. Beware of anything from China. I've done lots of buys, but when they are late, they like to string you along till eBay's time limits for filing complaints is passed. Got burned on that one once, never again.

Over 400 buys, only a handful of problems. Do beware of buying anything used. eBay is buying used, blind. You really need to trust the seller. Nothing under 100 or so sales, and I prefer 1000 sales. look at the responses. Under 98% positive makes me nervious. Seems kind of high standard, but it's my money.

Good luck, I've been using eBay for more than 10 years, but it's not perfect.
 
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I have bought lots of vintage target air pistols on ebay and never got ripped off yet. I read the descriptions very carefully and always pass when the seller won't commit to whether it works as it should by saying that they didn't test it. That to me means either they did test it and it didn't work right or they had doubts about it so they didn't test it. Whenever I sell an airgun I always test it and give the buyer a chrono reading on it. I also offer the buyer to take a picture of it with anything in the picture with the item so the buyer knows it's my item in the picture and not a picture of someone elses stuff taken from the internet. I have only had one seller refuse when requested to do it for me.
 
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Is it my imagination or are prices on average higher on eBay? I have got more then a few things from eBay, good and average deals.

For instance I can walk down the block and into my tiny towns sporting goods store and buy a Hatsan 95 for 150 new. It’s one without the Hatsan name engraved into the stock, it’s VERY nice looking. All of them were n eBay are over 220 easy... why?
 
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No protection whatever on ebay...good enough for parts etc but be careful on used equipment.
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With all due respect, you’re wrong. Ebay is very careful to look after it’s buyers, almost to the detriment of sellers.

Also, though many sellers will claim there are no returns, this is patently untrue and eBay will oftentimes return a buyer’s money without even contacting the seller should the buyer open a case.
 
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I have bought and sold many things (mostly camera and photo equipment) on eBay and never had a problem. Of course, one has to be careful, pay attention to the cues in the listing, what it says and what it does NOT say. Finally, NEVER get caught up in the emotion of a bidding war. Set a price you are willing to pay and WALK AWAY if it goes over that, even by $1. I have often seen (and even sold) a few items where a bidding war drove the price over what one could pay on Amazon for a new unit. Absolutely crazy.



Chris
 
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