Should people buy used regulators off ebay?

[peterbj7]

I agree entirely that eBay is conceptually a great vehicle for selling and buying, and I often use it myself. But having had stuff stolen and then sold on eBay made me realise how easy it is to abuse the facility. When I went to eBay with what I thought was incontrovertible evidence that several auctions were of goods stolen from me I expected them to act. I didn't expect them to refuse to act to stop the first auction and to ignore communications I sent them about others. I lost 3 CCRs and two VR3s. as well as a lot of smaller stuff like Mk25s and SS backplates, total value $72k.

All I ask is that you check the provenance of items you are considering buying. Though of course there are people around who are happy to buy goods they know are stolen so long as the price is right and they don't run a risk of losing those goods in a subsequent legal action. In the UK, if you buy stolen goods in a private transaction those goods are subject to confiscation, even if you didn't know they were stolen. Your recourse is then against the seller, not the victim. I don't know the general position in the USA.

eBay sanitises the deal and makes it a commercial deal, so that confiscation is no longer likely. That is why it is so popular with thieves - and eBay know that, or so the Dallas police tell me.

 

[Isaac-1]

I agree this can be a problem with ebay, the real question is how, as a buyer do you determine a given item is not stolen. If there were some sort of database with serial numbers of stolen scuba gear that the public could access that might make it different, but there is not (at least not that I know of), so do you trust the story that is being told. Things like "I know nothing about this gear, it was bought by my ...... (unavailable/dead/ex....)"

 

[Ed Palma]

Bought both of my regs of eBay. Two good deals, but buyers should know what they are getting. Read the sellers feedback rating. Know a thing or two about regs before getting them. And before you start getting into a bidding war, know your maximum limit for a certain item.

 

[ReefHound]

I agree entirely that eBay is conceptually a great vehicle for selling and buying, and I often use it myself. But having had stuff stolen and then sold on eBay made me realise how easy it is to abuse the facility. When I went to eBay with what I thought was incontrovertible evidence that several auctions were of goods stolen from me I expected them to act. I didn't expect them to refuse to act to stop the first auction and to ignore communications I sent them about others. I lost 3 CCRs and two VR3s. as well as a lot of smaller stuff like Mk25s and SS backplates, total value $72k.

I understand your problem but not sure why you feel this is an ebay issue. This is a law enforcement issue and ebay has no interest in getting involved in a dispute over ownership. If you could really prove ownership then turn it over to police, who could subpoena ebay for the name/address of the seller. Or wait til after the sale and get the name/address of the buyer. It works the same in the USA as UK on possession of stolen goods.

Why didn't you win the auction, get your stuff back, then reverse the charges on your credit card?

 

[Scubadaddy]

I use Ebay frequently and have only had one bad experience so far. I sold a game for the Nintendo Wii, received payment, and then shipped it. 3 weeks later the buyer claimed he never received the item and filed a claim against me. Without a tracking number to verify the shipment (my mistake, I should have spent the extra few bucks for a tracking number) I could not prove the item was ever sent and had to refund money for an item that I mailed away. Not sure if it was stolen from the mail or if the buyer was just being dishonest.. but I learned my lesson and will always cover my arse with a tracking number.

As far as buying Scuba gear, I have been looking at new & used regs and will not have any problem buying them on Ebay if I beleive I am getting a great deal.

 

[hobodiver]

I use Ebay frequently and have only had one bad experience so far. I sold a game for the Nintendo Wii, received payment, and then shipped it. 3 weeks later the buyer claimed he never received the item and filed a claim against me. Without a tracking number to verify the shipment (my mistake, I should have spent the extra few bucks for a tracking number) I could not prove the item was ever sent and had to refund money for an item that I mailed away. Not sure if it was stolen from the mail or if the buyer was just being dishonest.. but I learned my lesson and will always cover my arse with a tracking number.

As far as buying Scuba gear, I have been looking at new & used regs and will not have any problem buying them on Ebay if I beleive I am getting a great deal.

Not to get too off-topic, but one of my co-workers actually ordered a Wii mail order from Walmart or some other big retailer, and never received it either.

 

[hobodiver]

So for those of you that have bought regulators (or other scuba equipment) through ebay or something similar, where do you take them to get checked out if you aren't qualified to do it yourself? I'm wondering if the local dive shop isn't going to refuse to service/check it if it wasn't bought there, or otherwise under warranty.

 

[redacted]

So for those of you that have bought regulators (or other scuba equipment) through ebay or something similar, where do you take them to get checked out if you aren't qualified to do it yourself? I'm wondering if the local dive shop isn't going to refuse to service/check it if it wasn't bought there, or otherwise under warranty.

If you have a good dive shop, for a reasonable fee they will service any regulator they can. But stupid shops may charge excessive fees or flat out refuse service. In NJ, you should have no problem finding a good dive shop within 25 traffic lights.

 

[Web Monkey]

So for those of you that have bought regulators (or other scuba equipment) through ebay or something similar, where do you take them to get checked out if you aren't qualified to do it yourself? I'm wondering if the local dive shop isn't going to refuse to service/check it if it wasn't bought there, or otherwise under warranty.

I take mine to the same place that services all my stuff. They're more than happy to do work in exchange for money.

Terry

 

[Richard Paul Halstead]

I have bought a lot of scuba gear from e-bay. You need to know the ins and outs but you can protect yourself. I have gotten burned a couple of time. Once due to the death of the seller. What luck. I guess you take your chances in what ever you do. As far as doing your own servicing go for it. It isn't hard half of the battle is doing it. Just like having your car serviced, when you do it yourself you know whats been done. By the way it's a lot easier. Like what's been said before set a limit and stick to it. Try different times of the day and also on weekends. Just keep trying. Just got a SP R156 balanced adjustable for $31 and had it rebuilt with in an hour of getting it and got it two days after the bid ended. The nicest breathing reg so far.