As a matter of fact, I was the guy to purchase a new in box vortex scope. The deal was sketchy , It was $200 less than what I could get it at Academy. I took the risk.
Well, what I got was a dropped shipped vortex scope direct from Academy sports. Yes, new.
I am not sure why they lost money on that deal.
Or perhaps they had nothing to lose. Maybe just need to wash money.

Papa

 

EBay is very safe. It was the wild west back around 2000 when all this was new. These days you pay cc and eBay will refund for almost any reason. I actually feel sorry for the legit sellers who are regularly scammed by dishonest buyers. Its a full 180 on who you trust and who does the cheating.

 

Buy with confidence. You are very protected as a buyer.

 

Yeah, just don't dare sell anything anymore!!! I've been bit doing that and once was all it took!

 

I have never had a problem either buying or selling on eBay.

 

Ditto

 

Friend of mine recently bought on EBay what he thought was a Holosun red dot, new, for less than $100. Sounded a little sketchy although the picture in the ad was of a Holosun. What he received was a new, factory-wrapped red dot marked “Holosan”. It works but it’s nowhere near the quality of the genuine article. He sent eBay a complaint, received an immediate refund, and the seller apparently doesn’t want the “Holosan” returned. It may just work for years.

 

and the seller apparently doesn’t want the “Holosan” returned.

My guess; He doesn't want anybody knowing his address, or even the town he lives in. (assuming it's in the states.)

Roger

 

Ebay has become my thrift store, yard sales and wrecking yard now. No need to chase around/driving looking for an item.
No problems so far!!!

Just 2 cents......

 

EXACTLY. Some scumbags recently stole the tail lights out of my sons F150.

It's got the lane sensors in it, Platinum model.......over $1,000 new at the Ford House. No local junkyards had them. Junk Yard in Mississippi- $360, shipped. He had them within 3 days and they were good as new OEM....

 

I've had good and bad on eBay, but mostly good. Deals can be found at times.

 

I sold a light weight but long car part on eBay recently. With fees, tax and shipping the buyer paid $194. I netted $86. So eBay, gov, and USPS made $108!

 

As both a buyer and seller on Ebay for over 20 years I can tell you that there is no E Commerce sight that is safer for buyers. I've had people return items and get full refunds (costing me shipping etc...) for any reason and no reason. And, any issue I've had with a seller was quickly remedied.

I buy something on Ebay several times a month it seems. Amazon is great for some things but if you want a used item- maybe it's not made anymore, a book that's out of print, and used is just cheaper......no place is better.

Lots of big companies ----Euro Optic, Optics Planet, Camera Land to name just a few that are shooting related, sell on Ebay and often, not under their regular trade name. They will often offer substantial discounts vs. what their own website shows for the same item. I dunno why, but I've bought items on Ebay and had them show up sent from those sellers and I know exactly what it would have cost on their website because I was "price shopping" when I bought the thing on Ebay.

 

I will disagree I ordered something the seller changed my shipping address and I never recieved and no one would help paypal was waste. They go we got a tracking number and it shows delivered. I am like the picture is not even my house.

 

They haven't used Paypal since in a decade, literally. It's not the same as it was, at all. They realized in order to compete and stay relevant with Amazon in the world they had to change, and did.

 

i have better luck on ebay then other things in my life.

 

I recently bought a Honda transmission oil filter on ebay. Seller showed a pic of an OEM filter and stated item was OEM Honda. Item arrived and it was in an opened Honda bubblewrap, and was a cheap aftermarket junk filter; the type sells for about $7. I had paid around $27. I emailed and confronted seller and he doubled down. I ordered a genuine filter from a Honda dealer ($45) and when it arrived doublechecked; ebay seller's was fake. I returned it to ebay and got my money back but wasted a lot of time. Ebay seller's item did not have a pressure relief valve inside and had gobs of epoxy with a large off center spring. Some years ago I ordered iridium spark plugs for the same Honda. About 5k miles later it started running rough and the last thing I looked at was the spark plugs as I knew they were new. Turns out they were fake - the gaps had opened up huge. Careful examination side by side with the real name brand plugs and boxes showed the difference. Not sure why anybody would go through the trouble of making fake spark plugs and boxes, nor filters. It's buyer beware on ebay for stuff like that. If prices are too low it's a red flag. I've gotten screwed in recent years selling things due to ebay's policies; it gives the buyer and unfair upper hand.

 

Some people buy on a stolen card then sell the merchandise for clean cash. The same for stolen merchandise, a big problem in California.

Many companies sell their show displays, salesman samples, store/online returns via ebay. Sometimes employees will use their discount and dropship as a side hustle.

 

Some people buy on a stolen card then sell the merchandise for clean cash. The same for stolen merchandise, a big problem in California.

Many companies sell their show displays, salesman samples, store/online returns via ebay. Sometimes employees will use their discount and dropship as a side hustle.

I've been told that it's not really stolen in California unless it's valued more than $900. Seems hard to believe.., but it is California.

 

I get scammed by Amazon sellers as much or more than Ebay. Amazon takes the seller at their word that they shipped the item. USPS tracking shows that the label was printed, but the item was never picked up. Amazon eventually ponied up, but not before I had to point out that the last 15 seller reviews stated the exact same thing.., item never received.

 

Same as aztarget, not even my house!

 

I have had good luck with ebay, I had one guy sell me stuff he never had once. He had a 100% rating but it was only on a few sales and purchases. Mostly gaming consoles, etc. I was buying electronic ear muffs.

I never received any shipping or tracking info so I contacted ebay and explained the situation. He had put several brand new items on his listings at a great price. Like he had bought them in bulk or clearance.

Anyway about a week later I got a refund in full. Inconvenient but no money lost.

Another time I bought a leupold scope that was listed as in perfect working order, when I received it, I removed the target turret cap and checked the vertical turret. Much to my surprise it started unscrewing for the scope body. I contacted the seller, a pawn shop in Washington, and explained that it was broken and would he please credit me back $17.50 to ship it in for warranty. His response was “ Sorry, I didn't realize it, and said he was going to immediately refund $35 for my inconvenience.

So mostly all good transactions, saved some big time money on a few things, found some things that I couldn't find in several gun shows. I prefer it to Amazon for some items.

 

OTOH, I have an item ordered that was never received (eBay). Notified seller (I alway check the seller rating and if it is less than 98+% I don't do business with them) and he sent me a replacement. A week or so the original order (thank you USPS) arrived. I notified seller that I finally received the original order and was willing to pay him for it...he said forget about it. My point is only do business with seller with high ratings

(FWIW mine is 100%..if you are unhappy, I will reimburse rather than let it affect my rating)

I buy a lot of little stuff from eBay and some is stuff that is 'restricted' (I live in Calif and the EPA restrictions stop Amazon from selling things like lightbulbs other than LEDs and only low flow shower heads.....dear God protect us from them) or is no longer available like ink for old model ink jet printers.

 

I still use eBay on a regular basis. But only to buy stuff. Selling is a waste of time and money. All the fees are absurd. In EBay’s infancy it was worth it to sell. Now it’s mostly business accounts with a random personal sale.

 

Does anyone contact the seller with questions before they buy ?
If you don't get the answer you like , don't buy it.
It's worked out for me so far.

 

I do sometimes. On that supposedly OEM Honda filter, I inquired prior to buying it and seller assured me it was OEM, as seller did after it arrived. Both lies.

 

I love eBay.. I got a set of F150 lane sensing taillights for like $20. Sold them to a junk yard in Mississippi for $220... Made a killing... (kidding) Shouldn't someone (I'm thinking @LtCrunch or that gun friend guy) start complaining about the childrens on the lawn?

 

I buy stuff on there from time to time. Never an optic though. I don’t trust it that much.

 

Hit or miss. First thing I sold on Ebay, a fancy radar detector, came back fried.
fortunately the warranty was still on, and they fixedit for me. And I sold it again .
Bought a bunch of jwh bolts for min offer. They had 30 listed for auction at the same time.
They got pissed when i asked for a break on the shipping since they all fit nicely into one flat rate box.
Then a few years later I dribbled out a bunch of oem bolts for top dollar. Only had one complaint, I shipped too slow.
The buyer thought I was Amazon and delivered same day by drone. So I told them to reverse the sale , since now I was never going to ship it to him. Re listed and sold for more.
Bought a lot of Mueller scopes from their secret outlet . Queen Donna and I became good friends. But she lost her job when the company was sold and moved to California.
And VQ has an outlet too!

 

I buy on ebay all the time. A low price and free shipping are always attractive.
That said, a couple years ago I watched a documentary on the massive shoplifting problem major retailers face. The CEO of a major drug store chain stated that if you see genuine items in original packaging at serious discounts on the internet that most likely it has been stolen. I remember his quote "when it comes to a dollar most Americans patriotism is a mile wide and a quarter inch deep". He said their margins are so thin that they have to price as low as realistically possible, so seeing things priced at half that should raise red flags. But sadly, no one cares.

 

Been buying on eBay for years with very few issues. eBay may be without a doubt my favorite way to purchase things I need and some things I don’t need. Have a great day

 

There's a LOT of room for profit on Vortex scopes.

Palmetto has been selling these for months at $200.

You can purchase the same scope on eBay with a free hat for $400.