Buying Used vrs. New

[m bryan]

This topic was lightly hit on not long ago but I swear I cant find it.......Looking at the classifieds there seem to be some good deals. A lot of the sellers only have a couple post.....Not saying their not legit but it makes me wonder. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty with me. But I'm a little leary of sending a good chunk of change to someone with no feedback. Buy new is safer but you could get a top of line used unit for the price of a new mid range.....whats the odds of getting scammed?

 

[slowNsteady]

Hi,
There is always a chance of getting scammed. Seems there is always a bad apple somewhere, but it mostly comes down to having faith in other people. You can always get their phone number and talk about the item before anything takes place. But again, no guarantees. I have bought 2 detectors from people on this site and have had great experiences both times. But, I do wonder the same thing.

 

[Woodland Detectors]

The risk is, you don't know what the last guy did to it.

Buying new with a warranty, is the safest bet in my opinion.
However, Treasurenet classifieds has had a great success rate of good working, used detectors.
besides, if someone were to sell a "bunk" detector here he would be shunned and outcasted.

It's just a risk.

I personally, have had bad experiences in the past purchasing any "Used electronics"

Mike

 

[Smudge]

If you find one for sale on Craigslist or Backpage, at least you can meet them and try it out since they're local.

I have both bought and sold used machines here on Tnet and never had a problem. Like 4-H says, if you get scammed, let everyone on the board know. That'll shut people like that down pretty quickly. Also, check to see if the seller has been posting here for awhile. That increases your chances they're legit.

I think the same would hold true on Ebay. Check the seller ranking and see what the feedback on them is like.

 

[Iron Patch]

Either stick with someone who's name you are familiar with on a forum, or others know him enough to say you'll be ok. Ebay is fine too, but to be safer buy from someone who has had an account for a while, decent feedback, and you are pretty sure is probably going to be selling stuff after your detector purchase. This means quite a bit because Paypal totally favors buyers on claims, but there has to be money for them to grab. If the seller sends the cash back to their account and takes it, and there's no more coming in, you get squat even if your claim goes through.

That being said, for a few more hundred dollars you have piece of mind and a warranty.

 

[Dick from IA]

That being said, for a few more hundred dollars you have piece of mind and a warranty.

AGREED !!!

 

[UncleVinnys]

I dunno . . .
people are hurting financially, so sometimes you can pick up a really good
deal on a top-of-the-line machine.

Example, Minelab Sovereign - they are built like a Sherman tank, never die,
and are excellent machines. If you can get one for a few hundred and
know it's working, it might be better than the junk you get new.

 

[deepskyal]

I've bought a few used detectors, at good deals and they were fine and still work many years later. But they were White's machines and they are pretty durable. And if something does go wrong, White's will fix it if you ship it to them. They have excellent service. Have heard lots of stories of them actually doing the work free....but...it's been a while. They may charge a nominal fee for one out of warranty.

I'm sure there is a risk of getting burned on a deal from someone with a few posts...but it could also be someone overzealous and decided they didnt like the hobby and this site seemed like a likely place to sell it. No ebay fees. I sold a detector on Craigs list about a year ago. But it was local, the guy saw it before we exchanged cash. He got a good deal and I unloaded a detector when I bough a newer one. He got a DFX with several accessories several hundred dollars cheaper than he could have bought it new. And it was in great shape!

There's bargains to be had, just be careful.

Al

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I bought my last Excal for $475 off the boards from a respected member in Oct 2009, it arrived working perfectly, only the decal was scratched up . I then bought a used WOT coil for $90 and spliced it on the Excal, then I added a homemade straight shaft for $25 more. A total of $590 and it works great. Saved over $600 over the cost of a new Excal.

Since then I have also added the Team Orca Headphones to it on a deal I made with The Buligarian. The headphones were a fantastic addition to it.

 

[birdman]

I have bought 5 used detectors and never had problems with people being honest but I have seen a couple of people get rooked but not often. I bought a ID excell a few years ago that worked great for about 6 hours then the coil went out. The machine looked new but used is used. A new coil cost me 125 bucks..
I traded that machine for a cibola and it has been great,no problems what so ever.

 

[treasurehound]

I bought my DFX 300 on eBay from an elderly gentleman who lived very close to me. It was new and he used it less than one hour and found it to be too complicated for him. I asked a lot of questions before I purchased. We agreed to meet for me to inspect before I paid him. He was very nice and everything he said was true. So I got a new machine $400 cheaper. Then I bought a new $150 coil for it on eBay for $35. My purchase turned out very good for me. But I would not do that all the time. There are many people who have been burned buying used. I would always recommend buying from a dealer. Sometimes dealers have used machines as well. The only reason I bought mine was because it was practically brand new. If it had been 6 months or older I would have passed and bought new from dealer.

 

[OutBack Duo]

I think a lot of people get into this hobby and figure they will start with a top of the line detector and then they realize it is harder than it looks on the tv comercials. They may keep at it for a couple weeks and post a time or two but then they realize it isn't for them and decide to sell their brand new top of the line detector just to get rid of it and to get the wife off their back for spending so much on something that sits in the closet.

I think in most cases it is ok to buy used, I have sold 4 or 5 detectors on Ebay and know a couple buddies who have purchased used machines and have never had a problem.

I say go for it!

 

[Woodland Detectors]

I dunno . . .
people are hurting financially, so sometimes you can pick up a really good
deal on a top-of-the-line machine.

Example, Minelab Sovereign - they are built like a Sherman tank, never die,
and are excellent machines. If you can get one for a few hundred and
know it's working, it might be better than the junk you get new.

Vinnie your my buddy, but a single spilled cup of coffee or soda can on the face of the unit will ruin it's day.