Before you buy online, read

[Squalus]

I was at the LDS I frequently dive with, fill tanks and what not. I noticed a dry suit on the work bench in desperate need of a doctor. I inquired about it and one of my firends replied, "oh thats a suit somebody purchased online (won't say the name, but you bid on items there), and they got taken to the cleaners". Instead of coming with the standard inflation hose, it came with an Air2 hose, neck seal all messed up, might as well say all the seals were bad. The person now for a 400.00 investment online also got a repair bill from the Viking tech who now has to make horrendous repairs in order to make the suit diveable again. Not intended to steer people from buying online, I know there are some reputable business's online. Be careful of what you purchase, the poor guy can't return it.

 

[scubasean]

I was at the LDS I frequently dive with, fill tanks and what not. I noticed a dry suit on the work bench in desperate need of a doctor. I inquired about it and one of my firends replied, "oh thats a suit somebody purchased online (won't say the name, but you bid on items there), and they got taken to the cleaners". Instead of coming with the standard inflation hose, it came with an Air2 hose, neck seal all messed up, might as well say all the seals were bad. The person now for a 400.00 investment online also got a repair bill from the Viking tech who now has to make horrendous repairs in order to make the suit diveable again. Not intended to steer people from buying online, I know there are some reputable business's online. Be careful of what you purchase, the poor guy can't return it.

Sounds like it is quite possible the buyer didn't do his/her homework....in many aspects of the purchase.

 

[Dive-aholic]

I purchased 2 dry suits from that bidding place (1 for me, 1 for my wife) and both were in very good condition. They will eventually need seals replaced, but that's regular maintenance. Like scubasean says, you just need to do your homework. No way we could have afforded 2 brand new dry suits at the same time. You just need to read the fine print. Also, that bidding place does have a complaint policy that will allow buyers to get most of their money back if the item was misrepresented.

 

[Quarrior]

Nothing wrong with buying on-line, I've purchased many items that way. But, as previously stated, do your homework. Know what you are buying, the correct price for it, and see detailed pictures before you spend the $$. Not really a hard thing to do, just use some common sense.

 

[Scubaroo]

Someone's bad experience buying a used drysuit on eBay is hardly a reason not to shop online. Someone simply got suckered on eBay.

 

[Web Monkey]

Sounds like it is quite possible the buyer didn't do his/her homework....in many aspects of the purchase.

It's a complete crap shoot.

There are no questions you can ask that will stop a dishonest person from screwing you on E-Bay.

They could promise you brand new Viking suit for $1, and send you a box of rocks and some moldy gym socks.

Since the seller gets the money up front, and e-Bay will do nothing except send them a warning, or possibly cancel their account (so what?), it's a 100% gamble.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I cancelled my e-Bay account.

I bought a can-light with a charger that caught fire, and an Ikelite Housing that didn't fit my camera (even though it was advertised that it would).

I sold a wetsuit for $40, to a guy in Canada, only to have FedEx come after me for a $17 Customs "Expediting" fee.

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Terry

 

[Dive-aholic]

They could promise you brand new Viking suit for $1, and send you a box of rocks and some moldy gym socks.

Since the seller gets the money up front, and e-Bay will do nothing except send them a warning, or possibly cancel their account (so what?), it's a 100% gamble.
Terry

I haven't had to use it, but ebay does have a policy in which if an item is misrepresented, they will investigate and refund all but $25 (processing fee) of the purchased price. I would think that if something is advertised as new or excellent condition and it can be proven it's not, ebay would have to abide by their policy.

Anyone have any experience with this policy?

 

[spectrum]

My experince with EBAY has been good with dozens of transactions. The things I have bought are usually more along the lines of old literature, manuals and parts for my snowblower collection. These are things that a fairly self eveident in a photo or two. You should be quite safe with new merchandise coming from a business with a stoire front. They aofen use ebay to move more merchandise however you aren't likely to get any super deals this way. Simple solid items like knives, fins and other well photographed items should also be pretty safe bets.

I have been watching dive gear and what I see is a lot of uninformed sellers. People who say they got a lot of gear in an estate sale or in cleaning a basement and are selling it off piece by piece or as a set. They often don't even have the name of the item tight. A few weeks ago there was a Sherwood Blizzard first stage listed, it was actually the second stage. When I contacted the seller it was obvious he was clueless. Given that they are not dive folks you can't expect anything but a superficial assesment of condition. You must be an informed buyer.

Pete

 

[Al Mialkovsky]

I instruct at a LDS and I know very well that about half of my students purchase things online because of potential money savings.

But the majority of them get burned somewhere along the line. Computers without warranty, gear that fits poorly or worse doesn't work. Not on every purchase of course but on too many.

I maintain that if your gear is of the lifesaving sort get it at your shop. The shop I instruct for will do rebuilds and inspections free, for life. Something that doesn't show up in the original purchase price but, it shows up.

 

[hardhat]

Let the buyer beware. Any-one who wants to save a buck or two by buying online deserves what they get. There is a reason the LDS charges a bit more, it's called expertese, they have people around that know the gear and how to fit it correctly and to maintane it properly, as well as the ability to show people the correct way to use some differnt pieces of gear. The other thing that I've seen is people bringing gear into the shop to get it fixed or tuned up, after buying online and they get told we can't do anything with the gear for a week or so. But the loyal customers get their gear worked on right away, because the gear was percashed at the shop rather then online. You deside for yourselves but I would rather have a good relationship with the LDS.