What would you AND what wouldn't you buy used?

[ghostdiver1957]

Geez no wonder I can't find good deals on ebay anymore, we are all bidding against each other. Maybe we should start a thread and let each other know what we are bidding on so we don't run the price thru the roof!!

That's for sure! I used to be able to get great deals on scuba gear from Ebay. Not anymore. Everybody keeps outbidding me and in some cases paying darn near the price you can buy it brand new retail with a warranty for? I sit around and scratch my head... If I'm gonna pay that much... I will just go to the LDS.

 

[Creed]

Having recently looked at equipment for purchase, I'm in the dilemna (ebay or not?), from my observations and price comparisons, I've found Regs online seem to go for quite high prices, and some of the regs I've seen are out of service, or soon to be, and 5 years old or more. Add onto the price of the Regs, the cost of service, and anticipated spare parts, and you may find that you are paying only a few dollars/pounds short of what a nice new reg-set will cost, remember it may have been sat around full of salt for a year or two, and the hoses may be perished.

As for BCD's generally they are something that you want to try on, for comfort, you don't know whether it leaks, whether the dumps work on it etc, again, the prices of them online may be cheaper than new, but is it cost effective.

I bought my semi dry suit 2nd hand from my LDS, I got to try it for size, and inspect the state of it.

Rather than go the e-bay route, I would suggest approaching your LDS to check out their ex school kit, many reputable dive schools keep their kit well serviced, and replace it every few years, you can also try it out before you buy it.

Just remember, If you buy something and it has an annoying problem you are either going to have to pay more money to get it fixed, or end up getting rid of it and buying new anyway, and remember, regs are your life support system, do you want to take chances ?

Just know what you are buying. Could my LDS(if I HAD a "local" shop) supply me with two sets of Conshelf XIVs for $50? Even with a $100 bill each for repairing them in a shop, I'm still WAY ahead. And since I rebuilt them myself, I came out even farther ahead. That's $45 for a set that breathes better than any rental I've used.
Could they sell me a tank for $15? That was my last steel 72. Add a $25 fee for hydro and VIP, and I have a $40 tank. Can't beat that.
I simply could not afford to dive if I paid LDS prices. I look at it this way: they make a little money off of me with services and parts. That is money they wouldn't see if I couldn't afford to dive at all.

 

[Loneranger]

I have bought and sold everything from head to toe and saved $100's if not $1000's. Masks, bc's, reg's, fins, tanks and mish mash. Look at the feedback and stay away from auctions that look to be estate sales and the seller claims "they know nothing about this stuff." That is their out to sell 2nd rate abused gear. Expect to have to get the gear serviced and factor that into the price if the gear is used. I have mostly bought old stock but in unused condition, and have had excellent results. Buy in the winter and sell in the summer. Good luck!

 

[xiSkiGuy]

I wouldn't buy this bit of Scuba gear used on eBay. . .

Actually, I wouldn't buy that at all.

 

[Mo2vation]

I wouldn't buy this bit of Scuba gear used on eBay. . .

Actually, I wouldn't buy that at all.

Howd'cha find it if yer wasn't lookin'?

Wrong color?

---
Ken

 

[xiSkiGuy]

Wrong color?

No, too conservative. How about this?

 

[scubapolly]

Personally the only things I have ever bought off the internet is a set of fins and some dive booties.... oh and some t-shirts, none of which were used, or off e-bay.

There is very little gear that I would buy used & sight-unseen/ untested. I would be interested in some things if I wasn't going to dive them- an old school hard hat, or reg, to hang on the wall in my basement, or sit on a shelf in the house somewhere.... sure. But as for stuff I'd go diving with. From what I've seen used gear on e-bay falls into 3 basic categories:

1. A widdow special- someone selling off some dead guys dive gear, usually someone who know very little about gear, you could end up getting one hell of a deal, but who knows how long since it has been used, or if it is being properly described on the site. Or simillarly, someone who hasn't dove in several years, and thinks hey, lets see if I can make some money off of this cr@p. You might spend more money getting it into diveable shape.

2. Someone's purchasing mistake- someone who bought way to cheap of gear, only to find out it didn't meet their needs. Which likely is going to fall into the same category for you.

3. A dive shop selling off their rental gear- well if it is not in good enough shape for a dive shop to rent to people, why would you want to buy it?

As far as individual pieces of gear. I wouldn't buy anything that would blow my dive if I had a problem with it.

I wouldn't buy any sort of lifesupport off e-bay. Yeah it is likely to be OK, but I'm not going to skimp on regs, especially when you have manufactureres like SCUBA pro that offer free parts for life, you likely aren't going to save much money in the long run. I personally have seen a first stage crack at depth (rental gear) and just don't want to put myself in that kind of jeopardy. Not to mention what kind of shape are the hoses in?

BCs- Leaky BCs, malfunctioning inflators, broken dump valves, need I go on?

Computers- while I do know a lot of people who have bought off entry levle computers from friends that have upgraded, I wouldn't buy one off of e-bay. IMO dive computers are very much a personal preferance, I wouldn't buy one with out playing with it first, used or new.

Wet suits- there is nothing worse than a poor fitting wet suit- also, there have been a lot of advances in wet suit material in the last couple of years, that I'd rather fork out the extra bucks for a hyper stretch that fits well, than get a cheap one that is inflexible and a couple sizes too big or too small. Not to mention, I'll swim in my own bodily fluids only, thankyou very much.

Dry suit- if you add the cost of getting new seals added, and a bottle of aquaseal or two, how much are you saving?

Masks- again, I like to try them on first, nothing makes a dive suck more than a mask with a bad seal. Only exception might be if I have a particular brand and style of mask that I love, and see an identical one..... might be comfortable, but not likely.

Even booties do me no good if the zippers don't work.

Cameras and lights- if they've been flooded, they might make a good paper weight.

Polly

 

[Creed]

Personally the only things I have ever bought off the internet is a set of fins and some dive booties.... oh and some t-shirts, none of which were used, or off e-bay.

There is very little gear that I would buy used & sight-unseen/ untested.

That's cool. One less person to compete against
I've gotten 2 tanks, several BCs(including a Scubaquest wing that I have been wanting for a while), a wetsuit, a pair of like new booties and 5 functional regs off of ebay(that's just off the top of my head. I may have won more.) Actually, I know that I have gotten more than that. I traded some regs for other gear at a dive shop in Wichita. The wing had 2 minor leaks in the inflator and dump valve(which the seller disclosed), and I fixed them with spares from a jacket BC I didn't want anymore. Total price, something like $20, shipping included.
My point is not to tell every tom dick and harry to get their gear on ebay. Especially new divers, who wouldn't know what to look for. But if you are cautious, and don't lose your head in a bidding war, you can come out with some very good deals. I tend to stick with gear that is damned near indestructable anyway, like Conshelf regs and steel tanks. Haven't been burned yet, and sometimes been extremely well suprised, like my Aquamaster and the first set of Conshelf regs that I bought. YMMV.

 

[thor1]

ive bought several items on ebay and even bought a bc out of the classifieds here, and the one rule i always purchase by, no matter what is dont pay more than 55% of what the lds would charge you for the same item, that way it gives you the leway to have the item inspected and serviced and still saves you a good deal of money. the same thing works for other ebay items too. I have purchased a brand new titan reg set to use as a backup and for my wife for 100usd still in box with the plastic and rubber bands still on it with a clean warranty card and a oceanic datatranz plus with the updated transmitter a retracter and a compass for 70usd as a back up to my atom and an atomic ss1 for 80usd plus misc odds and ends all of which checked out good by manufacturers and the lds just remember to watch the sellers feed back rating.

 

[Divmstr223]

I'll pretty much dive with / purchase anything used. My only preference is to have a new Mask and snorkel, anything else is fine with me.

Until a few years ago, pretty much everything I had used student equipment.. Now, everything I wear was bought new.... I guess I have more spending money than I used too...:14: