I think the title says it all, Should people buy used regulators off ebay? What are your thoughts on the matter?
Should people buy used regulators off ebay?
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I believe that any used regulator should, before being used, have complete service done on it... and at that point, if the service was done correctly, I would be happy to use a reg that came from anywhere, including Ebay...
I think divers should be able to buy whatever they want, including regulators, online including eBay. They should not have to suffer from "price fixing" and warranty issues because of where they bought their gear. Once you buy it that serial # should give you full warranty if covered so you can get it serviced anywhere. But it don't work that way so here's what I'd recommend:
1: Service you own gear? Know how? Buy it anywhere (including eBay) for best price as long as you can get parts.
2: Don't even want to fuss with it? Buy it from a decent dealer that offers full warranty and decent service. If you buy on eBay you'll get slapped with higher service charges for parts etc.
3: Buy a new reg on eBay, sell it in 2 years on eBay and buy another new one. May be cheaper than servicing your reg through some rip off dealers.
1: Service you own gear? Know how? Buy it anywhere (including eBay) for best price as long as you can get parts.
2: Don't even want to fuss with it? Buy it from a decent dealer that offers full warranty and decent service. If you buy on eBay you'll get slapped with higher service charges for parts etc.
3: Buy a new reg on eBay, sell it in 2 years on eBay and buy another new one. May be cheaper than servicing your reg through some rip off dealers.
Packhorse
Contributor
So after every time you use a reg it needs to be serviced?
All my regulators are brought second hand.
I test them all before diving and if test fine I dont service them.
When I do service them I service them myself.
I believe its better to buy a second hand top performing regulator than to buy a new regulator for the same money. But thats just me
If it's new and bought from a dealer, why not? If it's used I'd be concerned with more than whether it's been serviced. I have on several occasions watched equipment stolen from me being sold on eBay. eBay would not stop the auctions even though I had serial number proof that the items were mine. I believe (and the Texas police agreed with me) that stolen goods are frequently disposed of this way.
TN Traveler
Contributor
I will buy regulators wherever I please. N
R
redacted
Guest
If you learned to test and inspect a regulator, you could probably be confident diving just about any regulator. Too much dependence on a reg tech is not a good thing.
Hoosier
Contributor
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It is depending on the price and service availability
An eBay price isn't good all the time, specially used stuff. If you adds up a service cost (kit and labor), sometimes you had better get the serviced one from either the shop (LDS or Internet) or ONLY NEW one off eBay.
If you track down the eBay regularly, you can notice that there are a couple of Power Sellers who bought the stuff from eBay at the cheap price and re-sold it in the same condition at eBay. To secure their profit, they jacks up the market price at eBay (Higher starting price or higher "Buy it Now" price). Yeah, they are doing business in eBay, but they are evils to the average Joe divers.
As for the service availability, you have to know what you are doing. For the proper service, you might need to get a lot of tools and stuff. Many tools are mostly convenient factors though. It will take a long to do the same job and make a lot of cosmetic scratches on the reg without the right tools. And, you have to make sure of the annual part availability in the market. The part cost isn't cheap as well.
This factor is also related with a previous reg. condition. You never know what story the reg. had behind. Based on my experience, almost half of my purchase requires a heavy service loading (long cleaning/bath, de-rusting and part replacement (non-annual service parts)). So, I got what I paid for.
Even though I have my own service bench, sometimes it is worthless to get the used reg. off eBay. If you don't have a right tool and space, you won't be happy with all hassles you have to go through.
In sum, go ahead if you know what you are doing, like a DIY and have more time than money. Otherwise, from eBay, I will only get the new one.
Just my 2 bar.
An eBay price isn't good all the time, specially used stuff. If you adds up a service cost (kit and labor), sometimes you had better get the serviced one from either the shop (LDS or Internet) or ONLY NEW one off eBay.
If you track down the eBay regularly, you can notice that there are a couple of Power Sellers who bought the stuff from eBay at the cheap price and re-sold it in the same condition at eBay. To secure their profit, they jacks up the market price at eBay (Higher starting price or higher "Buy it Now" price). Yeah, they are doing business in eBay, but they are evils to the average Joe divers.
As for the service availability, you have to know what you are doing. For the proper service, you might need to get a lot of tools and stuff. Many tools are mostly convenient factors though. It will take a long to do the same job and make a lot of cosmetic scratches on the reg without the right tools. And, you have to make sure of the annual part availability in the market. The part cost isn't cheap as well.
This factor is also related with a previous reg. condition. You never know what story the reg. had behind. Based on my experience, almost half of my purchase requires a heavy service loading (long cleaning/bath, de-rusting and part replacement (non-annual service parts)). So, I got what I paid for.
Even though I have my own service bench, sometimes it is worthless to get the used reg. off eBay. If you don't have a right tool and space, you won't be happy with all hassles you have to go through.
In sum, go ahead if you know what you are doing, like a DIY and have more time than money. Otherwise, from eBay, I will only get the new one.
Just my 2 bar.
I have picked up a few on eBay with reasonable results.
I think it's important that the buyer be knowledgeable and able to do their own testing if not repair. The regulators that I have followed would not have been worth buying if I needed to add a retail priced service job to the eBay selling price.
I start with the Leisure Pro price as a reasonable rock bottom new price if one is available. Then subtract $25 per stage for service. If the eBay selling price is significantly below best retail- service then there is value there and I will bid accordingly. Otherwise I might as well be shopping for new and avoiding all the risk.
When you start looking at vintage or collectible stuff you usually are a savvy buyer and rules all change.
Pete
I think it's important that the buyer be knowledgeable and able to do their own testing if not repair. The regulators that I have followed would not have been worth buying if I needed to add a retail priced service job to the eBay selling price.
I start with the Leisure Pro price as a reasonable rock bottom new price if one is available. Then subtract $25 per stage for service. If the eBay selling price is significantly below best retail- service then there is value there and I will bid accordingly. Otherwise I might as well be shopping for new and avoiding all the risk.
When you start looking at vintage or collectible stuff you usually are a savvy buyer and rules all change.
Pete
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