Ebay Remains Risky Place to Buy Knives

Vivi said:
...not trying to sound rude, but why are you so concerned with budget knives? You seem like you've read a lot of info around here, and from what I gather you own a couple knives. Why not just spend a little more, get a quality piece, and be done with it, rather than gambling with CRKT and the like?
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I guess I'm just into these knives for the tactical aspects. Years ago I was attacked and beaten badly. I also had to use a gun in Washington, D.C., to keep my date and me from getting in trouble with a group of bad assses in an underground garage. So I tend to see knives I can use for not only tools, but for defense.

I worked for the NRA back in the '70s and recall one meeting when my boss came in, sat down beside me and pulled out a large locking folder and put it on the table in clear view of the others. He leaned over and whispered that he'd used the knife to deter two bad guys from following him to his care the night before.

"Well, that's nice," I said, "but what would you have done if they'd pulled out their own knives?"

He grinned and replied, "I would have shot them...."

So when I buy expensive knives, it's for beauty. The CRKT titanium S-2 with an ATS-34 blade is about the best knife anyone could want. It just doesn't grab me, though.
 
I ordered another T3 and I got underwear. The seller was J. Rush Wimberly, he had a P.O box, so I couldnt send him the evidence. Watch out.
 
It seems to be a 10-15% getting burned rate on ebay. I buy much less on ebay today because of it.
 
I simply refuse to buy from anyone without a return policy. When it comes to some of the other things people have talked about if the seller won't answer questions then I wouldn't deal with them either. What I buy on ebay are normally older collector slip joints...not too many counterfeits there but on other things...normally if it is a great deal, the seller won't accept returns and they don't have many sales I just walk away. Oh...also I will not do business with anyone on line at any auction site that will not accept paypal, when they will only accept a postal MO that is a red flag as well. I have had a couple of burns but always got my money back thanks to paypal.
 
I've only bought a few knives on ebay, maybe five or six, and each time I had a (email) dialog with the seller before & after bidding. I won't buy anything off ebay if I can't have clear communication with a seller.

Masteroffajitas said:
Rather buy it new.
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I agree, except for the fact that some of the knives I wanted couldn't be found new any more.

thx - cpr
 
I don't trust ebay either. I have only bought one knife there, but I knew the seller. He is a fourm member here and on other forums. The knife was one that is hard to find and it was exactly as described.
 
I've bought lots of knives on ebay and have never had a serious problem. Besides, if you use paypal it's all good.
 
Bought LOTS of knives on EBay, never had a problem.

Actually, never had a problem at all on EBay.

Usually it is fairly obvious to me when the seller is a scammer, though I do not know why...just something about the listing that seems shady to me.

Also, I check feedback religiously.

I am sure that my rip-offs are coming, but so far, I have been lucky.
 
I just got a fairly expensive brand new knife from a dealer today, through eBay.
As soon as I opened it I noticed two rub marks on both sides of the blade.
They have a return policy and a 100% rating and they are taking it back.
No different than buying it from any other dealer that wants you to keep them in mind when shopping.
 
I've had no bad experiences buying on Ebay. I suppose it can happen to anyone but has already been mentioned; check their feedback, make sure they will accept a return and only buy if they will accept paypal. If these check ok you'll likely have a decent transaction.
 
Since PayPal is now the *only* form of payment allowed by ebay, that may give some of you a little more peace of mind. As a frequent seller, I don`t particularly agree with their decision, but ebay is still a fairly good place to do business....you just have to be a little more street-wise these days....
 
I ask a lot of questions if I'm in doubt.
A few days ago I had been watching a knife that was listed as ATS-34 and there were three in stock, So I asked if the box and knife were marked ats-34?
The answer I got was none of the ones they had in stock were....
This particular knife is always marked with blade steel. Looked a couple days later and they hadn't bothered changing the listing...
 
I buy almost all of my knives off of ebay. It's really not that hard to avoid being scammed. I place orders with sellers that have large numbers of feedback ratings, and I typically purchase my knives from the same 4 sellers.

In all, I've had more than 150 transactions on ebay and have probably saved ten times that in money by using ebay.
 
Tripton said:
Bought LOTS of knives on EBay, never had a problem.

Actually, never had a problem at all on EBay.

Usually it is fairly obvious to me when the seller is a scammer, though I do not know why...just something about the listing that seems shady to me.

Also, I check feedback religiously.

I am sure that my rip-offs are coming, but so far, I have been lucky.
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+1 on that. I usually buy older, discontinued items and I don't mind some wear if it's clearly ID'ed.
 
I have both bought and sold on ebay. When I sell, I try to post a minimum of two or three photos of the knife, and as much as I know about it's materials and history. I have a 100% refund policy if the buyer is not satisfied.

When I buy, I only buy from sellers with clear photos, a refund policy, and I usually buy knives or brands I am familar with. In six years and hundreds of transactions I have only had one bad experience.
 
who can recommend a great online place to get benchmade knives? i dont like ebay
 
SchneiderMan said:
who can recommend a great online place to get benchmade knives? i dont like ebay
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Newgraham.com, gpknives.com, and knifeworks.com all have decent prices on Benchmade brand knives, and are reputable sellers.

I've bought from, and would recommend any of them.
 
Just got the shaft on another "deal" today so I'm a bit lite with sle-bay right now.

For many of us the "bargain" doesn't work out. I think I would have been better off to have worked entirely with a good dealer and paid what they wanted for items. Would have saved me from being stuck with some questionable garbage and in the end I think the amount of money spent would have been the same, plus I wouldn't have the headache of trying to deal with sle-bay.
 
I've bought dozens of knives off ebay. Spyderco, Benchmade, Lone Wolf, etc.... I've never had any problems.

I don't do anything special. You have to read the description throughly. Buy from highly rated sellers.
 
Teague said:
I've bought lots of knives on ebay and have never had a serious problem. Besides, if you use paypal it's all good.
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:thumbup: I've had people try to burn me a couple of times, but if you use paypal, you're really very safe.

I also always check the seller ratings before buying.
 
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