Where to find quality used equipment?

[Trace Wilson]

Hi all,

I'm a new diver in NE Florida, and been lurking here for a few months. I'd like to start acquiring my equipment, and the allure of reduced prices for used equipment is pretty strong. I'm not an avid auctioneer, having used eBay about once a year for the last decade or so. I've read the 'avoiding scams' posts in the Classifieds & Craig's List, and I can certainly see the logic on dealing locally. But the reality is, I doubt I'll have significant luck in finding all the equipment I want locally via ScubaBoard.

I see a fair number of Classifieds being bought here, and I'm assuming many, if not most, of the transactions are not local either. Given that many of the initial posts here seem to be pretty basic on info, how do the experienced users here a) determine that the equipment is in good shape, and b) arrange payment? Do most use Paypal, send a check, or something else?

Thanks in advance for the help...

 

[boulderjohn]

One of the advantages of buying through ScubaBoard is that sometimes the seller is very well known on the board, either as a seller or just as a participant in forums. If something is being sold by someone whose presence shows him or her to be a veteran diver with a solid reputation, you can feel better about that purchase than you can in those other online resources. For example, a few years ago my neighbors made a very major purchase on eBay from someone with a good rating. It turned out that the seller had gotten that rating by selling a lot of tiny, low-cost items. Once the rating was achieved, the seller offered a large number of high end products, defrauded everyone who made the purchase, and disappeared, probably only to reappear later with a different name.

 

[ReefHound]

Hi all,

I'm a new diver in NE Florida, and been lurking here for a few months. I'd like to start acquiring my equipment, and the allure of reduced prices for used equipment is pretty strong.

Here's the problem... the new diver is generally the least qualified to buy used gear safely and wisely. I typically recommend new divers use their LDS to buy their first kit so that they can start off with new and safe gear that is fitted and configured correctly. (No incompetent LDS flames, please.) After gaining a few years' experience then the diver will have been exposed to a variety of gear from buddies, will know what features are important or not to him, and what fits well.

That said, my top sources in order, both buying and selling, would be FB Gear Swap, Scubaboard Classifieds, and Ebay. I've gotten some steals on Craigslists - once got a crate for $25 with about $500 worth of weights, belts, jetfins, clips, accessories - but for the most part it's antique junk that people way overstimate the value of. I seldom bother anymore. Too much noise to signal. I've never found any worthwhile deals in the used section of online stores with the exception of Northeast Scuba Supply. You can get some good closeout deals at Piranha.

 

[guruboy]

Hi all,

I'm a new diver in NE Florida, and been lurking here for a few months. I'd like to start acquiring my equipment, and the allure of reduced prices for used equipment is pretty strong. I'm not an avid auctioneer, having used eBay about once a year for the last decade or so. I've read the 'avoiding scams' posts in the Classifieds & Craig's List, and I can certainly see the logic on dealing locally. But the reality is, I doubt I'll have significant luck in finding all the equipment I want locally via ScubaBoard.

I see a fair number of Classifieds being bought here, and I'm assuming many, if not most, of the transactions are not local either. Given that many of the initial posts here seem to be pretty basic on info, how do the experienced users here a) determine that the equipment is in good shape, and b) arrange payment? Do most use Paypal, send a check, or something else?

Thanks in advance for the help...

What equipment are you looking for?

A) look for good pictures and details in the post about condition. Some sellers actually know how to inspect gear.

B) Online deals are usually paid with Paypal.

 

[2airishuman]

I'm looking for places to buy quality used equipment. I'm not looking for the greatest deal ever. I buy low mileage, great condition used cars from CarMax and save 20% vs. new. I have never had a problem.

Looking for the same as I go to replace some 25 year old equipment that has recalls and can't be serviced.

So we have:
ScubaBoard.com classifieds
eBay
Craigslist (hard to figure out how to buy safely out of town)

Dive Shop:
Discount Divers Supply

If you know other could you post them here? Thanks in advance.

The problem, in general, is that all the places you could check are saturated with worthless gear and with overpriced gear. It takes a lot of looking around to find good deals on things that you might actually want.

A lot of the traffic has gone to various Facebook buy/sell groups. I think it's unfortunate because the fraud protections there are very weak, as are the search features.

I have found good deals on cylinders, regulators, and a compressor, both locally on craigslist, and nationwide on ebay, Facebook, and here on the SB classifieds. My other gear is new.

 

[boulderjohn]

The problem, in general, is that all the places you could check are saturated with worthless gear and with overpriced gear.

You wonder what people are thinking sometimes.

I know someone who had a whole lot of open circuit gear, especially cylinders, that he decided to sell when he went closed circuit. I was interested. I had, in fact, just been looking for some used cylinders on sites like Craig's List. In all the cases I had been looking at, and in the case of this person selling off his gear, the asking prices for the cylinders were just about the same, and sometimes higher, as you would pay for brand new ones from online retailers.

You would think someone would check those things before setting a price.

 

[mdb]

You wonder what people are thinking sometimes.

I know someone who had a whole lot of open circuit gear, especially cylinders, that he decided to sell when he went closed circuit. I was interested. I had, in fact, just been looking for some used cylinders on sites like Craig's List. In all the cases I had been looking at, and in the case of this person selling off his gear, the asking prices for the cylinders were just about the same, and sometimes higher, as you would pay for brand new ones from online retailers.

You would think someone would check those things before setting a price.

Noted before: Leisurepro-large selection, great prices, open box, closeout specials.

 

[scubadiver888]

@boulderjohn Sometimes people are also ignorant of how ripped off their were. There is a shop in my area notorious for 'discounted' gear if you buy it before your first class. People buy the $3000 worth of gear for ONLY $2000, take the first class and find out it wasn't for them. The shop won't buy it back because it is used and been in a pool (chlorine). They go online trying to sell their gear. They figure it is worth $3000 and only been used once in the pool. So they should be able to get their entire $2000 back. They are shocked to find out they could have bought it new for $1200 to $1500 from any other shop in the area. They don't want to believe they overpaid for the equipment. So they get mad at the first few people who offer them $600 to $800 for the gear.

 

[divinh]

I just started buying gear and I found Alec Peirce's Scuba Tech Tips on YouTube to be really helpful in explaining what to look for.

As for deals, at least presently, Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales seem to have been extended on a few sites. I would just look up "black friday scuba" or "cyber monday scuba" to find the online sales.

 

[boulderjohn]

There is a shop in my area notorious for 'discounted' gear if you buy it before your first class. People buy the $3000 worth of gear for ONLY $2000, take the first class and find out it wasn't for them. The shop won't buy it back because it is used and been in a pool (chlorine).

This is a strategy promoted in a scuba marketing workshop I attended, a workshop given by the head of a well known agency. Much of the workshop was spent teaching how to talk students into buying gear before class, even telling them the money was fully refundable if they change their mind. (Small print--you have to change your mind before you use it in the pool.) If you could not get them to buy it before the class started, there were methods to get them to make the purchase before the class ended.

There was a major discussion in ScubaBoard about a shop using those techniques. The woman who initiated the thread talked about how she came in to inquire about scuba instruction, and then, over a couple glasses of wine with the owner, decided to buy the full set of gear before class, thinking it was all refundable. She did not finish the first pool session before she decided scuba was not for her, and she was shocked to find none of it was refundable. She was most upset about the rebreather she could not return.