How much do you trust ordering from eBay?

[tholmes]

I've bought several reels from ebay sellers, both new and used. I've got some great deals and never been burned. 

I limit my search to U.S. only and avoid sellers with less than about 97% positive feedback.

Only once did I break my own rules and took a flyer on an Ambassadeur 5500C3. It was listed by a seller with zero feedback and the description said only "silver and black". The pictures looked good so I put in a lowball bid and ended up getting it for $10. When it arrived, it was virtually perfect. 

 

Tom

[Chance_Taker4]

Everyone one of my reels I currently own came from Ebay. Revo X for $50, Gen4 Revo SX for $80 Tatula CT $75-$90 and my latest purchase was a couple Tatula SV for $129. As with everyone as long as they have a large volume and from the USA I buy. A lot of businesses use ebay to get around MAP restrictions. The 5 Revos I purchased last month were oddly shipped and sold by Bass Pro.

[J Francho]

I've bought MUCH more expensive items from ebay than fishing reels.  Use PayPal, and you will be fine if something goes wrong.

[Tywithay]

I just had two reels arrive within the last week from ebay purchases. Both were flawless. I've ordered dozens from there, from several different countries, and I've yet to be bamboozled. Clearly, there are some deals that seem unrealistic, especially if it's from China or something. I just try to stick to the old rule, "if it looks too good to be true...." 

[Dwight Hottle]

I order a new Shimano Bantam MGL 5.5:1 on ebay for $301 with free shipping from Japan. Ordered on March 2nd (Friday) & delivered today on the 6th (Tuesday). 99.5% positive feedback rating. He email when shipped with EMS tracking service. Great transaction. 

[38 Super Fan]

I've bought dozens of items through the years on eBay, and never had a problem. In fact, I've had more trouble with Tacklewarehouse than eBay.

[blckshirt98]

eBay has been good to me, just be sure to check the seller's feedback and you should be fine.  I've only been burned twice and that was because they were both super rare (non-fishing) items that never come up for sale, and I took a flyer even though the seller had no feedback.  eBay and Paypal's buyer protection is also solid.

[DomQ]

Story time!!!!!!

[Blacktail 8541]

I have made over 135 purchases on ebay. All were good to go. Just pay attention to the listing details and ask questions of the seller if you need to. The good sellers will get back to you within a couple of days. Look at their feed back, If there have been problems. Skip that seller.

[Basseditor]

I have full confidence in ebay. I have a 100% rating, buying and selling.

[RyneB]

I've made several ebay purchases and only had one issue. Ordered a MGXtreme for $210 brand new. A regular MGX arrived. It was brand new, but had a terrible noise. Sent it to Abu go get fixed and haven't received it back yet. 

[flyingmonkie]

Been using eBay since 96... never had a bad experience with a high-rated seller.

[th365thli]

Another ebay user. Unless the big stores have big sales, I order online. Prices are always lower.

Make sure the seller is in the US and has very very few negative ratings. Read those negative ratings. 

Also, Paypal is very favorable towards the buyer.

[Falkus]

On 3/5/2018 at 5:15 PM, The Bassman said:

I use E-Bay all the time.  Between Pay Pal and E-Bay you are at no risk.

That is not true - Paypal and Ebay didnt help me with the Chargeback scam with the purchase of the Curado 70 on ebay. 

 

I purchase from the seller last year and got a package from Cabelas. One month later, I got a chargeback letter from cabelas wanted me to pay them. It appears that he used a stolen credit card to order/shipped to me. EBAY/Paypal were no help for four months as I called them to fight it. I finally got a hold of Cabelas and they were able to figure out based the tracking number that the seller gave me on ebay. 

 

Will still use ebay - but I will use only those who have 99.9% ratings along with over 1k selling ratings. Just dont put your trust on ebay/paypal as they like to play games. 

[johnD.]

Most all of my reels come off ebay. Search USA only , "buy it now" , look for 99% good feedback or better.

The only reels I don't get from ebay are the JDM reels , for those I'll order from digitaka or Japan lure shop.

[JDV]

I've bought all my Daiwa Tatula CTs, SV-TWs, CT Type-Rs on ebay brand new, with zero problems.  Shipped and received on time, from businesses, not individuals.  You can get the Tatula CTs for $85, so $99 is overpaying in my opinion.   No need to pay more.

[LxVE Bassin]

I bought one reel off eBay and it was Daiwa Tatula SV. No issues at all, I will continue to buy my reels off eBay  but I wouldn’t buy a rod off eBay.

[Johnbt]

I buy a great deal of stuff on line, including ebay. My last purchase wasn't from ebay, but it was a new Conquest rod. Oops, nope, the last one was a Tatula LT 2500. Forgot about the 30% off email coupon I used.

 

The only problem I've ever had was a few years ago on ebay. I bought a used Sustain 2500 for a reasonable price. I had contacted the seller to make certain the spare spool shown was included in the deal and he said it was. Everything looked like new.

 

I got the Sustain box, papers and spare spool. The reel was a Stradic. Boo.

 

The guy wouldn't return a message, so after 3 or 4 days I turned it in to ebay. They sent him messages - no response. They said to send it back to him and they refunded my money.

 

Then the guy shows up moaning and groaning and saying it wasn't his fault he has somebody handling his sales, blah, blah, blah. He wanted me to change my review too. Good luck with that.

[onenutinthewater]

20 years on Ebay- purchase all of my reels except the JDM, Sad to say but I can purchase nearly everything cheaper online than local and I like many other spend a lot of money to support my hobby. Buying from sellers with 98% feedback with a long history- sellers will be very accommodating as they don't want any negative feedback on their record. 

I used to purchase numerous vehicles online as well and out of nearly 20 cars I was only burned once by a guy that shipped me a rusted out landrover....

[Shimano_1]

Every reel I own came from eBay because they're 199 retail and I've bought them for 120 a piece.  As stated I only order from sellers that have high volume of said reels sold and with excellent feedback.  Any of these sellers accept returns and you're protected by paypal should there be and problem. Knock on wood I've never had a bad experience.

[bigbill]

I do about $2k to $3 k a month spending on ebay on motorcycle parts for years now no problems yet. But look at the pictures closely. I have seen the sellers who didn’t know what they were selling. I purchased a as advertised 250cc cylinder that was what I thought was a 390cc cylinder by the picture that was a rare 420cc cylinder for only $39. I’ve seen these as high as $750. You need to know exactly what your looking at and buying. If not happy with your purchase send it back.

 

you must know what the going rate is for what your buying. Is the price a fair price or too high. If it high I make a offer to the seller. Search the net for what your looking at on eBay get the prices. Know what your doing. Shop smart.