Ebay

[The Deacon]

Let me rephrase it: if you're buying from an ebay store that runs a business selling knives, then it's probably okay. If it's a regular member selling on ebay, then I wouldn't count on the knife being in as good as the described condition or even the pics (pics often aren't all that accurate.)

I will try to say it more clearly. My experience has been different. Of several hundred older Spydercos I have purchased from regular eBay members, all but a very small number have been at least as good as they appeared in the auction photographs. Granted, I do tend to take phrases like "mint", "like new", "pristine", etc. with a grain of salt and put more stock in what the photos tell me.

[THG]

I will try to say it more clearly. My experience has been different. Of several hundred older Spydercos I have purchased from regular eBay members, all but a very small number have been at least as good as they appeared in the auction photographs. Granted, I do tend to take phrases like "mint", "like new", "pristine", etc. with a grain of salt and put more stock in what the photos tell me.

Oh, I wish I could say the same, then.

[whovey]

I agree with the comment that you have to be knowledgeable. Know what to look for, what to avoid, how much you are willing to pay, and all will be good. I have found that almost all of Ebay sellers have been honest. Some have been not quite as described, (sins of omission), but more often a seller has described a like new condition knife as used. Only once could I say that I had been burned by a seller.

[bh49]

If you buy off ebay, just don't expect the knife you get to be as good as the one you saw in the pics.

I strongly (but respectably) disagree. Most of mys discontinued knives and quite a few "in production I bought on e-bay". No real complains. But I do my homework. I am trying to be careful. I will never buy from the seller with feedback less than 99+%. Even than I read all negatives. I do research on what I am buying, I know how it should looks like and I never hesitate to ask questions. I bought on e-bay from dealers and private people. my worse experience happened about a month ago, when seller didn't ship my knife I got my money back through paypal.

What about spydie guys on ebay.

I bought quite a few knives from him. Only positive experience.

[cckw]

An Ebay seller is loosing like 12% to ebay and paypal. So I would encourage folks to find a seller who you like and who's prices you like and support him directly.

Don't support ebay or the fraudsters that sell there.

[The Deacon]

An Ebay seller is loosing like 12% to ebay and paypal. So I would encourage folks to find a seller who you like and who's prices you like and support him directly.

Don't support ebay or the fraudsters that sell there.

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, and to spend your money as you see fit. However blindly labeling all eBay sellers as fraudsters ignores the fact that both legitimate stores and individual collectors, some of whom are respected members here, sell there. I'm sure they would find your comment offensive. I'm equally sure that some folks here who have purchased from them would not blame them in the least for doing so. In know I wouldn't.

As an example, one eBay seller I have purchased several knives from is Sal's son, Eric.

[cckw]

You are certainly entitled to your opinion, and to spend your money as you see fit. However blindly labeling all eBay sellers as fraudsters ignores the fact that both legitimate stores and individual collectors, some of whom are respected members here, sell there. I'm sure they would find your comment offensive. I'm equally sure that some folks here who have purchased from them would not blame them in the least for doing so. In know I wouldn't.

As an example, one eBay seller I have purchased several knives from is Sal's son, Eric.

Blindly saying I condemn all e-bay sellers ignores what I and others on this thread actually said. Support the good ones directly was the main point. When you buy from Sals son on e-bay he gets 9% less money, then if you buy directly from him, or 12% if you pay by MO or check.

But you are entitled to spend you money as you wish.

[ssmtbracer]

I did not mean to cause all this heated posting. But its all good info.

[chinook]

Ebay is certainly a mixed bag as far as quality and prices. As with any online source one needs to exercise caution and restraint in the case of auctions. I take as many detailed pictures of my knives as I can and use a strong LED flashlight to highlight any defects or scratches and describe same in the text. A seller lives or dies by his feedback.

I just finished selling 40 knives (most all older spydies) and a few gold coins to aid in funding my daughter's upcoming wedding. There is no way I could have found the buyers who would be interested in those knives in the time I had, and gold merchants are scarce as this is a small coastal tourist town and sleepy in this offseason.

The fees for Ebay and Paypal and shipping totaled less than 10% and my daughter has $6k more that didn't come out of my pocket. Advertising or consignment fees I feel would have been higher and slower and probably a lower return.

And I got a bit left over to buy a couple upcoming Spydies I like in the prototype thread.

[Caly E]

The fees for Ebay and Paypal and shipping totaled less than 10% and my daughter has $6k more that didn't come out of my pocket. Advertising or consignment fees I feel would have been higher and slower and probably a lower return.

+1

Not many places offer the exposure to your items such as ebay. Often people/potential buyers gripe about prices and what nots (imagine if they went to a REAL store), but its all about being patient and smart about it. If your looking for a deal, then ebay is the place to go IMO, many open auctions in which the sellers allow the buyer to set the price is a great option. On the flip side, when you see a discontinued one at an open auction than sometimes expect its final price to blow your mind :eek: Dont hate ebay or the seller for that high price though, the buyer set it (unless your a shill bidder, (you know who you are )

I read one post mentioning spydieguys prices being higher then the norm, I want to add, I bet spydieguys also lets MANY of his items go for less than what he paid in his open auctions. Of the 5-8 spydercos I have purchased from him, he has probably never made a single $1 on me, unless he pays well under 50% of msrp. Few deals I got from him include a NIB Urban for under $60 (msrp $150), top end baliyos for $13, Kukuri for $75 (msrp $225). Ive seen him sell $200 mariner salts for $50-60 bucks, OUCH!!!!! One of the cons to auction style listings. Its too bad some people have had bad run-ins with him, Ive had the exact opposite.

Like with almost anything, just do a little research and you will be good to go.

[Hillbillenigma]

Like with almost anything, just do a little research and you will be good to go.

Good advice.

Re Spydieguys, they have 72 Negative Feeedbacks this year, 7 this month and that's not counting the folks that have left a Neutral. If you want to gamble that you are not going to have a problem that it is your Money.

My advice for Ebay;

1. Check the Feedback. More than a couple of negatives in any month (no matter what the total Sold) and you are taking a chance. Statistics work against you as a Seller if the Buyer sells hundreds of items a month. *Try to read the Negative Feedback if possible.

2. Ask questions. Nothing seperates good Sellers from bad ones like a prompt, thorough and courteous response to a question.

3. Research what the Seller normally sells. If he/she sells mostly older Bicyle parts and then lists a dozen old Spydercos ask a quick question or two - (ie. Are these new? Are you the original Owner? How is the lockup? Is the Blade centered?), etc. After you ask a question - refer back to #2.

4. If possible, research what others are saying about the Seller. Check the Ebay Forums for any mention of that Sellers ID. In our case, do a Search on all the related Knife Forums for that Sellers ID.

Just my $.02

[JspyEDC]

I've read that resorting to ebay and paypal protections takes time, but doesn't it also work if the knife is materially misrepresented? I recently had an issue with a large seller who has received some negative attention here in the past. As soon as I spotted the issue, (after auction closed but before shipping) and didn't receive what I thought was the appropriate response, I ramped up with communications to the seller and to ebay resolution center. The problem was resolved in a way that was most difficult for the seller, and made me the happiest, instead of just refunding my money which would have turned me off the seller, but left me satisfied.

I really appreciate you posting this. And feel free to use our name. I understand why you didn't though. As I have always said, and it's quoted in EVERY listing on eBay and all over our web-site.... If you are not satisfied for one reason or another LET US KNOW. Preferably via email or phone as opposed to on a Forum as a rant which seems to be the popular way to do things on the Internet. You let us know and we handled it. When a buyer really wants help or answers, a little due diligence can result in a buyer's satisfaction. Thank you for wanting answers and a solution. We found a solution, and I am very happy you were satisfied.

We have blocked over 150 eBay user-names in the past 4 years. Blocking an eBay user keeps them from buying or bidding on any of our listings on eBay. It's a last resort kind of thing, but in this "easy to be a belligerent ***-hole" kind of world the Internet seems to cultivate, eBay knows it to be a necessary option for high volume sellers. We block when a user harasses us or any of our employees, we block bidders who will not give us an opportunity to satisfy them, and we block users who forget that their eBay name is the same as their Forum name and respond to a thread and describe "How to Scam an eBay dealer with Pay Pal." Why should anyone object to being blocked? Why would they want to come back if our service is so horrible? The individual I am referring to ultimately changed his Forum username as well. When I figured out that this same individual had changed his Forum name and was back with those same type of posts, I quickly "blocked" that name also on eBay, and sure enough I received an email from this "new" individual a few days later asking why he was blocked AGAIN!. Duuuuuuh. This person I am referring to is usually the first to chime in on the 'bash spydieguys' threads that have become so popular on the Forum.

There is also another individual on this Forum (again, I will not use actual names) who concocted a thread on this same Forum and completely "created" an untrue statement of facts in the thread by creating a scenario on eBay using a new eBay user ID. To make a very long story short... This person using a new eBay ID purchased 2 knives from SpydieGuys on eBay on consecutive days and also purchased a knife from our web-site. This person sent two very generic, even complimentary emails to us though the eBay email system, both emails were answered within hours. All three knives were tracked and delivered within 3 days, and we never had any other communication with this individual, NONE. A few days later a thread was started describing a complete nightmare suffered by this person at the hands of SpydieGuys, and how we ignored them, and pleading to all Forum members to not do business with us... and on and on. That thread was complete and utter bullsh_t and lies. That person was right about one thing.... yes, we do block some bidders. But the big mistake this person made was creating a new eBay ID after being blocked, to facilitate buying and bidding on SpydieGuys listings, not to mention then going on a public Forum and describing the experience in an untruthful way to boot. Being blocked from bidding on a seller's site, and using a different username to go back to do business with that same seller subjects that individual per eBay rules to permanently being banned from doing any business on eBay in any way. Needless to say, I reported this infraction along with supplying the complete paper trail to my Account director at eBay. It is currently under investigation by Trust and Safety personnel, according to my eBay Account Director.

You know, I can handle the truth and I can certainly handle the consequences when my company screws up. But I cannot handle an individual who will stoop to creating a false scenario to get their jollies on the Internet. Someone who would do such a thing should not be allowed to do a lot of things, including being a member of this Forum. Just my opinion.

[BHDKnifer]

Your negative feedback is a reflection of how you run your business...not one persons rant. If you have to block 150 people you are doing something wrong. Take care.

[JspyEDC]

Your negative feedback is a reflection of how you run your business...not one persons rant. If you have to block 150 people you are doing something wrong. Take care.

If you dealt with the public on eBay to the extent I have on eBay in 4 years, you would have that many blocks or more as well. I have been told that for my volume, my blocks are fairly low by eBay standards.

Also take one more thing into consideration.... MATH. I have 7 negs in the last 30 days and nearly 800 positives. Yet I have over 1,400 transactions in the last 30 days. SO..... less than 1% have given a neg. How can one do better than satisfying 99.5% of our customers THIS MONTH? Especially at that volume.

[Fred Sanford]

BHDKnifer, nothing wrong with Jess and/or SpydieGuys. I buy from him quite a bit and have had ZERO problems. He's a good guy as far as I'm concerned. I've also had good experience with Katie that works for him.

I have sold quite a few things on eBay and I realize being a seller that a lot of people do try to scam you. Sellers have to be careful also.

Heck I've called up Jess on the phone and ordered a knife before from him. There are a few on this forum who seem to want to just attack him.

I just add people that annoy me to my ignore list. That's all he's doing by blocking people. I have people blocked on eBay also. People that would bid and then never pay. I had one guy just bid a knife up to like $4500 (for a FRN Spydie) and then would never pay. The knife wasn't worth it but then I have to relist and it's a pain in the butt.

For goodness sake, please quit adding SpydieGuys to every thread that mentions eBay and then bashing him.

Come on.........eat a PB&J sandwich, and take a ride in the Relaxi Taxi. ;-)

[amar]

How safe is it to buy spyderco on ebay are they most of the time real and not factory 2nds? I know your not allowed to sell fakes on ebay. But where do most of you get your from

I don't trust eBay when large money is involved (large for me is anything > $20). I search the "Cheers & Jeers" forum on bladeforums.com, and spyderco forums here to pick up any feedback about the eBay seller, before I decide to go ahead with the deal.

As for where do I buy from -- most of the times it is fellow forum'ites on bladeforums. If the seller is a Gold or Platinum member with lot of recent activity and no negative feedback, then the deal turns out to be good always. Secondly, there is a benefit here - the more you deal with forum members', the more confident you become about the deals, and the comfort level rises too. The only negative is, you may not get what you immediately want. If I want it yesterday, the probably cutleryshoppe.com and Tom from spydercovt.com (though I have never personally dealt with him, Tom has very good reputation).

Good dealers will always, always, strive to ensure they do a very fair deal, and there is no reason why someone should post a negative feedback about a fair deal. Being a seller too, I know it is far more important to go that "extra mile" and ensure a fair deal, rather than risk the wrath of buyer. Good luck, and "look around" for good deals.

-Amarendra

[SteelDragon]

For goodness sake, please quit adding SpydieGuys to every thread that mentions eBay and then bashing him.

Come on.........eat a PB&J sandwich, and take a ride in the Relaxi Taxi. ;-)

Does eating a PB&J and riding on the relaxi taxi really work? I may try that next time someone at work gets on my nerves :)

Glad to finally see JD post, I kept seeing these rants about spydieguys and kept asking what the deal was. My only question is how in the he!! did he get so many Blue Manix. Not that I blame him for getting so many but he could of left a few to sell to his good bud's on this forum and then let the others fight over the expensive ebay stockpile. With that large of an inventory it would be impossible to please every buyer, and I beleive him when he says to contact him and give him a chance to hear about the problem and work with the buyer on it. Most ebay people I have dealt with treat me more then fair and I always try to do the same. atleast 4 of the positive feedbacks he got in the last 30 days were mine, well packaged, shipped fast, excellent communication , thats all I ever expect and he has always treated me right. When I buy something on ebay I pay as soon as the auction ends, not the next day or whatever, and normally my knives are shipped the next day as well.

I have only had one bad experience and it was on another forum and not ebay. sold a knife and agreed to ship the same day he was sending money, bad decision on my part I guess. You guessed it he got the knife and I didn't get the money. It didn't end that bad though, it costs me some time and gas money but in the end we both learned a lesson. Honesty and trust goes along way and I would say 99% of the guys on all of the knife forums are great to deal with and very trustworthy.

[North61]

Ebay and Paypal have built in protections that help the buyer. I have had mostly good transactions but one recent one wasn't so good.

2 weeks ago I received my holy grail knife that I finaly "won" on eBay auction. It was listed as a C49 and the auction had contained a nice pictures and a description of a Spyderco Wegner Jr. Blade length listed as 2 7/8ths and the fellow had good feedback from 100% of nearly 100 transactions.

I went in and won it. Waited 1 month for US Post (common to Canada) and took delivery of a FULL SIZE C48. AHHHRG, THIS was not the JR. The picture on the auction had no scale and the C48 and 49 without this are nearly identical in photographs. I was very upset as only a knife collector could understand. I have looked for a C49 for 5 years. I started a claim via paypal. It was a very well supported process. I exchanged 2-3 emails a day through the claim center with the seller. It was mostly semi-cordial. I determined it was likely a sin of ignorance. I educated the seller...he was not a knife guy. I was offered full refund but not including shipping costs one way. That bugged me. We went back and forth. I like the C48 and can always use another. I finaly settled on a healthy refund and kept the knife. Both myself and the seller were semi-satisfied. Done in three days. If we couldn't solve in a month paypal would step in and consider the case and make a judgment.

At no time did I feel a helpless victim.

There are unscrupulous people everywhere but if a seller wants to keep selling on eBay they need to keep good feedback and the paypal dispute resolution isn't a bad process.

[SteelDragon]

This could be an honest mistake?

Spyderco Manix2 C101GPBL2 Collector# New Release NR
http://cgi.ebay.com/Spyderco-Manix2-C10 ... 20b045dd2c

[Buckles]

This could be an honest mistake?

Spyderco Manix2 C101GPBL2 Collector# New Release NR
http://cgi.ebay.com/Spyderco-Manix2-C10 ... 20b045dd2c

i think he just uploaded a few of the endura by mistake. the other pics are of the manix.

ive bought 2 spydies off ebay this week. got pretty good deals on both of them.