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eBay and sporting equipment?

Fletch

Member
Just out of curiousity...How many of you have purchased, or would consider purchasing your hunting and/or fishing equipment from eBay or another of the auction sites?

If not, why not? Is it selection, price, supplier credibility, etc.?

Just an informal poll...

Fletch
 
I've bought new accessories on eBay and have been able to get better prices than I could find online. I've also bought several used compound bows through ArcheryTalk.com's classified ads, and all have turned out really well.
 
I found a Mathews Classic for my moms bf and he bought it.. and its a great bow.. i will most definitely buy from there again!
 
Not only have I bought, I've sold stuff there, too! My first Mathews bow was last seen headed towards the state of Virginia on a UPS truck!

One slight word of caution, check out feedback from previous buyers. As of late, I've been checking out some decoys on ebay and will likely buy again.

MO
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If the feedback is OK then you shouldn't have trouble. I've purchased a bunch of hunting equiptment from Ebay and have yet to have a problem.

Do your research on the equiptment you are wanting (so you may spot frauds, fakes and breaks on used stuff), and do the research on the seller.
 
I've bought my trail camera, a nice new Burris scope,and many smaller things. We even buy alot of my boys clothes off of ebay, we can buy them at garage sale prices and not even leave the house. Half of them still have the tags on them. Just watch the feedback and shipping costs, they can screw you on them. I'll only buy small items from people with little or no feedback, have to at least give them a chance I had zero feedback once too.
 
eBay is the first place I look when I need something. If they have good feedback then 99 times out of 100 there will not be a problem. I bought my last two Matthews bows off of eBay and they were exacly as described.
 
I have bought and sold on eBay. I really like it and only once had a little problem that eventually became correct.
 
I buy quite a bit of stuff off there and sell a fair bit. Reseasrch the sellers by feedback and definatly ask questions if you have any about the item.
 
I buy & sell on Ebay. Buying is just like walking into a store - know what you're buying before you pay for it. I haven't had any problems yet & I always ask all kinds of questions about the item, shipping, return policy & payment. If it's too much work for the seller to respond then he doesn't want my money - I can always find the item somewhere else.
 
Here comes the old conservative person again. I have not purchased any thing on E-Bay or any other internet site. I have always been astounded at the extra low prices quoted by those who buy things and the much higher retail prices for those who sell there. Both just can't happen!! People aren't putting things on there and paying the fees just so that they can loose money and sell for bargin prices. The other thing that bothers me is this. How many times do we hear complaints of no local stores to buy things and or very poor service from the few stores that there are? Every single thing that you purchase on ebay instead of from a local retailer means less business for the retailer, less profits, less help, worse service, and fewer retailers. I think we are our own worst enamies when we addopt the Walmart mentality and then complain about how things aren't like the used to be and that you just can't get good service any more.
If you buy a bow on ebay and then take to a local shop to have it checked out, or restrung, or tuned up you are expecting to use that shops expertice but aten't willing to really support them by purchasing your bow there. They don't make much if any money on service work, especially considering the investment in training, equipment, and parts inventory, but we feel that they should work on our stuff even if purchased else where. I admit that most of my opinons come from my years in the auto business, but the same thing holds true for any retail business. If you want local service and availability then you need to support those local business even if you do pay a little more, other wise soon there won't be any local shops and then we all loose.
 
My rule of thumb for ebay is that the seller HAS TO HAVE 99% or better feedback. And as AJ said, watch out that they don't get you on the back end with ridiculous shipping charges.
 
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Here comes the old conservative person again. I have not purchased any thing on E-Bay or any other internet site. I have always been astounded at the extra low prices quoted by those who buy things and the much higher retail prices for those who sell there. Both just can't happen!! People aren't putting things on there and paying the fees just so that they can loose money and sell for bargin prices. The other thing that bothers me is this. How many times do we hear complaints of no local stores to buy things and or very poor service from the few stores that there are? Every single thing that you purchase on ebay instead of from a local retailer means less business for the retailer, less profits, less help, worse service, and fewer retailers. I think we are our own worst enamies when we addopt the Walmart mentality and then complain about how things aren't like the used to be and that you just can't get good service any more.
If you buy a bow on ebay and then take to a local shop to have it checked out, or restrung, or tuned up you are expecting to use that shops expertice but aten't willing to really support them by purchasing your bow there. They don't make much if any money on service work, especially considering the investment in training, equipment, and parts inventory, but we feel that they should work on our stuff even if purchased else where. I admit that most of my opinons come from my years in the auto business, but the same thing holds true for any retail business. If you want local service and availability then you need to support those local business even if you do pay a little more, other wise soon there won't be any local shops and then we all loose.

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It's the ebay way. I walk into a local store & buy something on clearence or that is cheaper in my region of the country or that is in great demand & short on supply. Then I take this item & list it on ebay starting at a "profit" covering my cost for the item & the listing fee (35 cents for items under $9.99). Then I let Capitalism take it from there. I let the buyer decide what he wants to pay. I'm not forcing anyone to buy anything from me. As long as my fees are covered, I don't care if I make as little as 1 cent profit - because I've helped someone get that one item they couldn't buy localy.

If I buy a hard to find $3 diecast car in a store, I put it on ebay & I get anywhere from $10 to $50 (depending on what it is, Mopar, Chevy etc.) Then I take that profit & go to my local sporting goods store & buy the items that I couldn't before because I now have the money to do so.

I can also go to the local store & buy an item sometimes for $100 less than someone else can in another part of the USA. Example-Not even 70 miles away in the same sporting goods store I can buy an ice house here for $50 less than I can buy one up there & my store will throw in a free $60 jacket. ( I don't have the money to do this but the opportunity to make money is there).

And most items I sell are because some people are so impatient & have to have it "right now". But I am the same way when I buy stuff. If I have the money & just gotta have it & my local store doesn't even carry the item then ebay is my store for the moment.

If you take the time to look there are some outstanding deals on ebay. When I needed scope mounts for my ML, my local stores had them for around $25. I bought the exact same thing on ebay for $8 brand new in the package & shipping was included. With the money I saved from that purchase I bought bullets & sabots from the local store.

I could go on & on. Ebay is just another store, everyone gets a turn at my money - ebay or local.
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I don't disagree that it is important to support your local stores to make purchases. I will say one thing about ebay. I will not buy an item from anyone on ebay unless it is at least at a 30% discount from retail. The biggest reason being the liablility factors involved with making a "blind" purchase. I wouldn't buy a bow on their either unless it was absolutely cheap enough I wouldn't feel bad about something not being right so to speak. When it comes to stuff like arrows I have purchased them as well as broadheads at least half the price of local shops. I can't turn away from a great deal like that. Although I will always buy a new bow from a local shop. Don't be afraid to use ebay besides, what do you think most archery proshops do with their inventory they don't move? They put it on ebay as well. Ebay can be an advantage for us consumers as well as the proshops! Did I mention it is tax free?
 
i sold my mathews i just bought a year earler (Paid $700, shelds would give me $200, and i sold it on ebay for $550) a little more work but its worth the 350 bucks i made, i then bought a new crossbow $699 at Gander, i bought it for $350.
 
I like hitting ebay for all the accessories. Especially from around Jan through June/July, off season. Less people on there searching for archery/hunting stuff. I don't think I would go for a bow unless I have atleast shoot that make/model. Heck this time of year at the shops aren't bad for end of the year bows either. I bought my Darton 2 yrs ago in Feb for half the MSRP.
 
ive brought a few items off ebay..have brought lures spotting scope some jewerly for my wife.(be alert if anyone does buy some jewerly some of it is fake) it may look nice on the site but its not..i shop on amazon.com also i have brought stuff from there also...im looking for a stabilizer and arrow rest for my bow right know..
 
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