Stretching the definition of "lightly used" until transparency is achieved . . .

[buddhasummer]

Memory lapse, I did recently buy some .141 levers but am not convinced they are OEM, sigh. But ...they do seem to work just fine if not a little too easy to bend but at a 1/4 of the price of genuine OEM can't complain too much.

 

[BRT]

Over a year out from his FleaBay nightmare, I finally had a chance to test my friend's "bargain" basement full-face mask, while on a dive in Carmel, after tuning the second stage, just a bit.

Everything worked well in the shallows and at over thirty meters, near a drop-off. No leaks; no wet or hesitant breathing, even while "standing" on my head.

All said and done, he was only within about two hundred and fifty dollars of buying a new set-up, last year -- after the corroded and rat-eaten parts were backordered from Sweden; the labor and kits that I supplied at cost; his continued headaches with a foreigner who had posed as a US seller; and Paypal's odd reticence about getting involved, even in the face of fraud -- essentially, blaming a buyer, for having, unwittingly, dealt with a EU vendor.

Too much effort, for my tastes; but, in the plus column, my friend claimed he hasn't so much as purchased a mouthpiece from eBay since 2019 . . .

I have bought a bunch of regulators on Ebay. The vast majority worked perfectly.

 

[Mark IV]

I've had nearly flawless results with ebay for years, on countless parts/accessories for everything from bicycles to guns. The last 2 years or so, I've gradually picked up various scuba-related items ( 1st and 2nd stages, complete regs, instruments, wetsuits, a nice mask and knife, reg rebuild and o-ring kits,etc.) and have been extremely happy with the deals, and the quality/condition of the product.
Just last week, on a single late bid, I lucked into a clean, low-miles pair of Mares Avanti X3 open heel fins (black, size regular), for $20...... delivered !
A week or so earlier, after balking at prices I was seeing on-line on hooded vests, I floated a "best offer" and scored a nearly new Aqua Lung Aqua Flex 6/5/3mm hooded vest, for $30 delivered !
Obviously, you have to be careful, don't get greedy or emotional, read the fine print, scrutinize the feedback, and admittedly, have a little luck on your side. But, as long as you don't stupidly stroll right into a wood chipper, like the OP's friend, ebay is generally a great resource.

 

[Bigbella]

I've had nearly flawless results with ebay for years, on countless parts/accessories for everything from bicycles to guns. The last 2 years or so, I've gradually picked up various scuba-related items ( 1st and 2nd stages, complete regs, instruments, wetsuits, a nice mask and knife, reg rebuild and o-ring kits,etc.) and have been extremely happy with the deals, and the quality/condition of the product.

I have had similar results with the odd spare tool or other gear without moving parts.

But, since 2010 or so, I have rebuilt regulators for friends or clients, all purchased off of eBay, as either "fully functional" or "due for an annual;" and about twenty percent of those were absolutely irredeemable -- so damaged were the sealing surfaces of the first stages, from either cross-threading (I can't imagine how) or simply ham-fisted o-ring removal, that a reliable and steady IP was impossible. Second stages frequently had bent -- useless -- servo valves; stripped screws; or rotted diaphragms.

The rodent damage on this thread was a first for me; and it still hangs on my wall of shame.

Some items were easily returned; others required lengthy fights over PayPal; and still others -- as illustrated in this thread -- were foreigners with fake US addresses, whom eBay had little interest in pursuing; and who, otherwise, fell into legal gray areas. All, by the way, possessed stellar reviews; and oddly, the resultant poor reviews from my friends and clients, particularly for "Power-Sellers" frequently went missing from their later profiles.

Now, the site even requires a seven day waiting period, in order to post a negative review, for some "privileged" eBay clients:

"If the seller is a power seller then it is an eBay requirement that less than positive feedback cannot be left for seven days. You are to use this time to allow the seller to try and solve your problem. If they do not solve your problem then you are free to leave your feedback after sever full days have elapsed . . ."

 

[Mark IV]

Well, I did say, "...and admittedly, have a little luck on your side".

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

I trade on ebay , 99% of deals have been great , find some rare items I would never find locally . Most people are honest and with the buyer protection you have to watch out more for crooked buyers ...

 

[Couv]

I trade on ebay , 99% of deals have been great , find some rare items I would never find locally . Most people are honest and with the buyer protection you have to watch out more for crooked buyers ...

This has been my experience too.

 

[Bigbella]

I trade on ebay , 99% of deals have been great , find some rare items I would never find locally . Most people are honest and with the buyer protection you have to watch out more for crooked buyers ...

Well, that's great -- but your experience doesn't remotely reflect mine; or, that of the many repair jobs that I have performed on supposedly "fully functional" eBay purchases, which, as it turned out, largely funded the flight to my last dive destination.

As a matter of fact, I am currently working on one of those fabulous eBay finds, this weekend, bought at a price, I was told, that was "just too good to be true," which has a current working IP of over 14 bar (203 psi) . . .

 

[CT-Rich]

I don’t buy much dive gear on eBay. Mostly because I can be patient for most items on Craig’s list and get a chance to look at the gear in person. I know my local dive shop sells old rental gear on eBay so they aren’t competing with themselves for local sales. I do look at vintages gear On eBay,but keep my expectations low.

The last lemon I bought on eBay was a steel 72. The reason I went for it was it had a vintage harness and j-valve that were virtually new (I think it was part of a store display). It wasn’t being sold by a diver, but was listed as usable condition. I paid with PayPal (my daughter says they will give another layer of purchase protection). I didn’t bother asking for additional pictures.

I got the tank and two shops declined to send it out for hydro (one because of the liner the other because the serial number was obscured by paint). I filed for a refund with the seller through eBay and got my money back a week later. The nice thing was he didn’t ask for the tank back, so I got the parts I really wanted for free.

I gave the seller five stars across the board because he stood behind his product, even though it was a turkey.

 

[Bigbella]

Here is another, rather extreme example of some "fully functional" eBay scuba equipment, from a while back. In the client's defense, the DIN valve had been covered -- concealed -- by a rubber cap, in the original listing.

Here is that connecting stem; the sintered filter; and locking screw from a 2960 Poseidon regulator. The only time I had ever seen similar damage, was when a regulator bag was crushed by a Toyota Tacoma in Baja Sur -- and a great deal of alcohol was involved.

Yet, it was sold in this condition, by a "power" seller; and it posed quite a challenge to remove, since any hex key use was absolutely impossible. Colorful language was used.

It took some doing to get the seller to replace those trashed parts; and only after the client promised said seller, not to leave any negative reviews . . .