ebay. to buy or not.

i have not perdonally brought any items of tackel from ebay or any other internet sites and i am wondering is it really worth it. i have looked over the site and although people may advertise their tackel as "brand new" and "never used" it could really be a piece of old misused tackle. so do you think itr is worth it or not?!!!

Neil: It depends on the bid price and the P&P. But I pref ere to use the tackle shops. As if anything goes wrong and it,s not your fault then you can take the Item back for a repair/new one: EBay I don,t think that you can?

Neil, I've bought and sold loads of fishing tackle on Ebay and never had the slightest problem. Just make sure you read the description properly and check the sellers feedback.

Now we have no tackle shop in town I buy a lot off the net, mainly Ebay and can honestly say I've not had a bad deal yet. If you know exactly what you're looking for then everything should be ok. I've saved a lot of money but if the local tackle dealer was still here I would support them. Sign of the times I suppose. Life's not easy for the smaller independent retailer. I'm involved with one myself and it's no easy task.

Check feedback, pay by Paypal only. Safer than the shop in that sense.

Doesn't work so well if its something you need to handle before you buy - like a pole - or see what it looks like if its clothes etc.

I have used Ebay for a number of items. All brand new and sold by Tackle Shops that use ebay rather than setting up a costly website.

I bid for a Shiman Aero GTE6000B (rrp £125) and got it for £52. It arrived within two days. First turn of the handle and 'crunch, scrape" there was a problem. I thought I had been done. I immediatley contacted the seller, who arranged for a courier to deliver me a replacement and pick up the defective reel next day. Now that's good service.

Also, if you use Paypal then they can act as a mediater if you ever do have a problem an end up in a dispute.

Ebay is definately good for selling gear you no longer need and giving you some funds to upgrade...

So long as your eyes are wide open with sense rather than greed, then it's great.

Check what you are buying, look up comparitive prices on the other web sites and DON'T bid just to win. Set a maximum and stick to it. If it's not a well-know branded item be careful and if any doubts, contact the seller and ask.

I've only had two stings, both with lures. One I didn't read properly and it said "Rapala <u>styled</u>" and it was a load of rubbish so I lost £6. Another I KNEW it was a fake Rapala and bought it for £4 including P&P. I told the seller andhe admitted he was taken in as I proved to him that the "Rapala" sticker on it had been scanned and printed on a standard label. Why did I buy it? Well, the nice people at Masterline who import Rapala had sent me a free sample of braid and I told them about the fake - doin a favour in return if you like.

Otherwise, I have bought a £60 branded rod for £12.50, a £140 reel for £50, a £120 rod for £70, other lures galore all at bargain prices. I AM HAPPY WITH EBAY!

Just be careful and don't bid more than you can afford to lose, but note also what Evan the WELSH WINDBAG says. pay by Paypal, it gurantees you.

Can't argue with Jeff's logic or experience - listen to the man - he knows.

if your familiar with the products you are after then go for it, but don`t get drawn in to an auctionby one of those idiots who is always willing to pay a bit more, better still go for the buy it now option.

Neil

personally I have bought quite a few things on ebay, the best bargain had to be my Youngs Purist II centrepin saving over £80, the next a Grey's barbel rod, brand new and saved £30 after p&p. Of course the money saved was then spent elsewhere but that's the beauty of a bargain. Oh yes, I have never had a 'wrong un' yet.

Lately been trying to get me a cheap cane rod for river work but as previous people have said, I'm always careful not to get into the auction trap of bidding that little bit more to get something. There's always another bargain coming along soon.

For safety sake ..... PayPal, PayPal, and PayPal!

Just bought a brand new JW Young 11' 9" Tench rod complete with hard case, with a recommended retail price of £149, for £42 plus postage.

Can't argue with that eh.

Ian

I have bought several items from ebay and I am quite satisfied with what I got for the money I paid.

My last purchase was a set of big pit reels (3), I was bidding on them and the price went a bit high so I dropped out. They went for £100, next day got an email from seller stating he had another set for "buy it now" price of £60 inc P&P.

Moral? You dont always lose the itemif you lose the bidding!