Question for those who have bought used reels off of Ebay

[cart7t]

If you purchased a reel off of Ebay that was described as operating smoothly and you took the reel out of the box when you got it and there was a grinding feel along with a loud noise when you turned the handle, what would you do?

Choice 1. Inform the seller immediately of the condition of the reel and ask for a refund.

Choice 2. I'd start by stripping the line off that came with the reel so I could put line of my choice on despite the fact the reel is making a grinding noise. After that I'd disassemble the reel and squirt oil all over the internal parts, ie, spool ends, the spool itself, mag brake etc. to see if that would stop the grinding. If that didn't do it I'd ask for a refund.

I'm just curious.

[Aaron]

I would go with choice one.  Communication is key in internet transactions.  I always give people an opportunity to make things right.

[5bass]

Save the line and the oil, go the refund route.

[skunked_again]

i bought a 5600 CL that was described as "new" with no box. when i got the reel it wasnt smooth at all. i emailed the seller and he asked that i disassemble the reel, clean the level wind and add a small drop of oil on the bearings. since i did want the reel i did as i was asked and  the reel came right to life afterwards.

was the seller out of line? maybe. im  not the best reel tech in the world but lucky for me the 5600 series reels arent that hard to break down.

most problems like this can be worked out IMO.

p.s. id not shoot lube on the mag brake myself  

[Koop]

Option #1 would be my choice.  My lack of knowledge of anything beyond basic reel cleaning and maitinance would prevent me from being comfortable opening it.

[Steven Ladner]

Save the line and the oil, go the refund route.

I agree with FBL, don't waste any of your line. I would go with option #1.

[CWB]

Before doing either and even bidding on a used reel, I would contact the seller and make sure the reel is returnable if it does not function as described upon receipt. That way you have a "papertrail" if you decide to return it, which would be my choice. If they do not respond or say no, keep looking.

[SirSnookalot]

I would not buy used in the first place unless it was a vintage item no longer made and it was for collection and not use.

[cart7t]

Before doing either and even bidding on a used reel, I would contact the seller and make sure the reel is returnable if it does not function as described upon receipt. That way you have a "papertrail" if you decide to return it, which would be my choice. If they do not respond or say no, keep looking.

The reel was advertised with a 3 day refund policy.

[Muddy]

SHARKBITE would not listen to me and bought 3 Trions off EBAY; all for 45 bucks all with shot Drag bearings!

I have bought 17 reels from the Flea Market; all for at least 1/2 price , 4 were Trions used for myself and resold\

The other 13 were all given away and still in use by recipients of the Give away program

EVEEY ONE OF THESE REELS ARE STILL IN ALMOST DAILY USE WITH NO ISSUES

BEST SELLER FOR USED REELS; CART-7, hands down

another EXCELLENT source; ffotackle.com; they recon a lot of returned reels and come at deep discounts and 90 day warranties, and we have several of these working just fine, well after the 90day period.

ps 2 weeks ago I bought a 70's vintage ABU Ci5500 for 40 bucks in near mint condition, with the orignal booklet and spare parts in tact

IT is now my everyday cranking reel

You can't beat our Flea Market for price, value and quality!

[cart7t]

The majority of the answers to my question were exactly what I expected.

I'm in the middle of downsizing my rigs. I'm dropping 3 off the list as their uses are redundant and overlap with other rigs. I decided to sell 2 of my supremes baitcasters. They were in very good shape.

The buyer notifies me that the he got the reel out of the box and immediately noticed a grinding feeling when he turned the handle and a loud noise. He wanted to return it for his money back.

Now, I know that reel worked perfectly when I shipped it so I pried a little.

His response was, despite the fact the reel made that grinding noise he stripped the line off of it so he could put his own line on.

He then disassembled the palm plate and "oiled" the reel to see if that got rid of the grinding.  Of course, unless he's an odd one, his response, especially stripping line off in order to put his own line on makes no logical sense if the reel is broken and NOT as described in the item description.

I told him to return the reel but that I would not refund any money if the reel had been damaged or altered by him.

I immediately found the cause of the grinding noise when I removed the palm plate. The mag brake holder was falling out of the brake assembly. I found oil all over the inside of the reel, on the spool ends, on the spool surface itself along with oil underneath the mag brake assy. That's when I knew he had pulled that brake assy off.

If you know anything about those style mag brakes, if you disassemble them, they're a pain in the rear to put back together. The natural inclination is to snap the magnetic holder back onto the mag brake assembly. If you do that you break the catch on it that allows it to ride on the cam. That's exactly what I found.

I immediately notified him he'd have to file a claim, that I wasn't refunding his money and told him what I suspected he did to the reel. I told him I'd be happy to return his reel along with a couple sites that could sell him the part he needed to repair the reel he broke.

It just goes to show you that while many folks are afraid to deal with ebay due to unscrupulous sellers, there are quite a few buyers who think nothing of trying to put the screws to a seller.

[tnbassfisher]

SHARKBITE would not listen to me and bought 3 Trions off EBAY; all for 45 bucks all with shot Drag bearings!

I have bought 17 reels from the Flea Market; all for at least 1/2 price , 4 were Trions used for myself and resold\

The other 13 were all given away and still in use by recipients of the Give away program

EVEEY ONE OF THESE REELS ARE STILL IN ALMOST DAILY USE WITH NO ISSUES

BEST SELLER FOR USED REELS; CART-7, hands down

another EXCELLENT source; ffotackle.com; they recon a lot of returned reels and come at deep discounts and 90 day warranties, and we have several of these working just fine, well after the 90day period.

ps 2 weeks ago I bought a 70's vintage ABU Ci5500 for 40 bucks in near mint condition, with the orignal booklet and spare parts in tact

IT is now my everyday cranking reel

You can't beat our Flea Market for price, value and quality!

I looked up ffotackle.com with no luck.

[Lucky Craft Man]

That recently happened to me.  I did option 1, in which I was able to negotiate a partial refund, then did option 2, where I stripped the whole reel down, cleaned every part and replaced the drag washers.  Reel works great now and with the refund, I got an unbelievible deal.