Where to find quality used equipment?

[Charles2]

I have bought a lot of both new and used equipment on ebay with substantial savings. Echoing what has already been said, identify what you want, watch several of them sell and note the selling price. Then, set your own target price and be willing to pull the trigger when you find what you want at the price you want. I usually just click on "watch" and then I wait until the last few seconds to place my bid in hopes that I will not start a bidding competition. Sometimes that works, most of the time it doesn't. My son takes the ebay recommended approach and that is to just go ahead and bid your max. I don't think that he has any better luck than I on winning bids.

Recently, I was looking for another dive light for my grandson. On ebay, the one that I wanted was normally selling for between $15 and $20. I really did not want to hang around for the last few minutes just for a dollar or two savings, so I bid $7.50 on three different offerings. I figured that I would get a notification on maybe one of them that the bidding was about to end and the price was still a bargain. What really happened is that I won all three for $7.50 each. My wife laughed when she looked at it a little differently saying that instead of paying $15 for the light it looks like I paid $22.50. As usual, she is right.

 

[Atagrob]

I just bought a brand new Scubapro MK25/s600 for $280. No box, no paperwork. Never been in the water. Found it on OfferUp. I'll add R195 Octo and an Oceanic Pro Plus 2.1 most likely bought new and I should be good for about $1,000.

God only knows where and how the guy got his hands on the equipment he is selling.

I was going to buy new until I came across this deal. Most of the nice used stuff wasn't discounted enough to prevent buying new.

 

[ljpm]

Also keep in mind you will need to service any reg you buy on line. You will also need Hydro and vis on any tank you purchase. Find out how much your LDS is going to charge and factor that into your bidding. Some LDS's like to charge more for service for items purchase on line. If at all possible avoid those shops.

 

[CT-Rich]

My shop sells their old rental gear online, ebay and amazon. If I am planning on looking for used gear, I tell them and they take a look for me. I give them a fair price, or what my budget and desires are. I can see it before I buy and if they say it’s serviced and ready to go, I save the money on having it checked. They don’t do it openly, because they don’t want to undermine the sales of new gear. It doesn’t hurt to ask and you support them, instead of the shops two states over that are unloading their used gear.

 

[Atagrob]

This story just got a lot better!


Bret Borchers owner of
All Wet Scuba
1006 E WARNER AVE #112
TEMPE, AZ 85284

Was a PADI certified shop owner in my neighborhood who defrauded a lot of people out of money. When he went out of business he was suppose to be getting a new bcd for my wife. We lost both the money and the bcd when everything went down.

The MK25/S600 I bought was from his shop's inventory according to ScubaPro. So in the end I almost break even on the whole event.

PADI wouldn't take any action against him because he has a relative who works for PADI protecting him.

Needless to say never do business with Bret Borchers.

 

[Diver0001]

This story just got a lot better!


Bret Borchers owner of
All Wet Scuba
1006 E WARNER AVE #112
TEMPE, AZ 85284

Was a PADI certified shop owner in my neighborhood who defrauded a lot of people out of money. When he went out of business he was suppose to be getting a new bcd for my wife. We lost both the money and the bcd when everything went down.

The MK25/S600 I bought was from his shop's inventory according to ScubaPro. So in the end I almost break even on the whole event.

PADI wouldn't take any action against him because he has a relative who works for PADI protecting him.

Needless to say never do business with Bret Borchers.

It is a common misconception that if a shop is qualified to sell PADI courses that PADI "owns" or "manages" the shop. Nothing of the sort is true.

PADI is a certification agency and the extent to which they manage shops is limited to the product "diving lessons". You can see this in the same way that Mares does not "own" or "manage" a shop if they sell the Mares brand of gear.

IN this case, where it concerns the failure to deliver of a product that was paid for you probably should have taken legal action to have your money refunded.

R..

 

[guruboy]

Also keep in mind you will need to service any reg you buy on line. You will also need Hydro and vis on any tank you purchase. Find out how much your LDS is going to charge and factor that into your bidding. Some LDS's like to charge more for service for items purchase on line. If at all possible avoid those shops.

You don't have to service everything you buy used, but you need to get it inspected at least (or know what you are doing).

Tanks that are in hydro do not need a new hydro until the current hydro expires. VIP/VIS is a shop thing, so YMMV on that one.

 

[CT-Rich]

A tank that is current on everything is pretty much ready to go unless it has a visible defect, like a bullet hole.... A couple of years left on hydro is worth an extra few bucks in my book.

Service is a trust thing as much as it is anything else. A used regulator that has been sitting for ten years after never being rinsed isn't something you should be using. On the other hand if a regular dive buddy says "hey, I bought a new regulator, you want to buy this one?" and you know how he takes care of it, there is no law saying you need to drop it off to be looked at. Although, the first time you dive it he should be with in easy reach.... just in case you need to throttle him before you drown. When you buy it, think about how much time he is hanging around your wife? Has she been updating wills and insurance?

 

[ljpm]

You don't have to service everything you buy used, but you need to get it inspected at least (or know what you are doing).

Tanks that are in hydro do not need a new hydro until the current hydro expires. VIP/VIS is a shop thing, so YMMV on that one.

Thank you for the correction. It is still a good idea to assume you will need to have the regs serviced and factor that into the price you are willing to pay. And as CT-Rich said, a couple years left on hydro is a bonus. You might also want to get a price for tumbling. If your LDS doesn't like on-line purchases you may find your tanks need to be tumbled as well.

 

[BRT]

A tank that is current on everything is pretty much ready to go unless it has a visible defect, like a bullet hole.... A couple of years left on hydro is worth an extra few bucks in my book.

Service is a trust thing as much as it is anything else. A used regulator that has been sitting for ten years after never being rinsed isn't something you should be using. On the other hand if a regular dive buddy says "hey, I bought a new regulator, you want to buy this one?" and you know how he takes care of it, there is no law saying you need to drop it off to be looked at. Although, the first time you dive it he should be with in easy reach.... just in case you need to throttle him before you drown. When you buy it, think about how much time is hanging around your wife? Has she been updating wills and insurance?

The reg most likely to fail is the one that has just been serviced.