scubadude1188
ArboristSite Lurker
Anybody have any experience getting used saws of ebay? I was thinking of getting one and wanted to know what you guys thought about buying a saw off ebay. Thanks for your advice.
Several of my saws are eBay "jewels". When I bid on one, I ALWAYS establish communication with the seller prior to bidding. You can usually tell which sellers are "know nothings" and which ones actually can accurately describe a saw and its condition. I have walked away from many opportunities to bid due to a general lack of comfort with the seller.
Small Wood;958014 . The feedback system at best is just rough indicator of a seller's rep. All that being said said:I buy used. About 1/3 are good and honest, 1/3 deceptive to a point of dishonesty, 1/3 inbetween, in my experiance.
I had bad experiances with high rated sellers as much as any.
The first saw I bought advertised a good usable saw was a wrung out saw needing much repair , packaged to look like it got damaged in shipping. Parts were loose , coming off and the saw was soaked with oil inside and out. Most people would have complained right away and his line was I am sorry it got damaged in shipping. I needed the saw so before I made contact I tried starting it and it run,so I cleaned it throughly taking covers off and replaced a few small things and then took it out to use and the oil tank leaked under the muffler from the gasket being burned out by the muffler being run loose some time. The bar was junk and 3/8 pitch and chain ..325, barely enough compression to run fair. I asked him for $50 back because the saw was unusable when I got it and I had more then 5 hours in it ( mostly cleaning ) + I sealed the oil tank with red high heat silicone so I could use the saw. I explained it like this and he emailed me back,"sorry it got damaged in shipping, here is the # if you want to collect insurance." He was 99.9% + over 4000 rating feedback score and mostly tools and power equipment transactions.
I have always got something sent to me but you need to watch for those taking your money and not being able to track them down. A steady flow of feedback is a good indication the user ID has'nt been stolen and I find comments give me an idea what to expect.
I just bought an MS200t off EBAY. Only paid $287 with shipping. Had a brand new bar and chain, and runs great. Needs a little tune up, but all in all still in good shape. It's a little hard starting, and loads up a bit when you get after it when its been idling for a couple seconds with no chain spin, even with new spark plug.
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