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cheung_victor

Joined
Aug 10, 2005
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Hi, everyone i few days ago i was on ebay looking at knives and multi tools. I found some for dirt cheap prices like 1 cent! I was just wondering if these are safe to buy...or if i should take any precautions while looking/buying these. :confused:
 
Check what the shipping costs are. I have seen listings before were the buy it now price is 99 cents and the shipping is $40. Sellers do this because they pay a percentage to ebay on the sale price only.

Other than that, check the sellers feedback to see if other buyers have been happy with their purchases. This is usually a good indication, but not a guarantee. Caveat emptor.
 
Besides the overinflated shipping charges, the $0.01 items are generally bottom-of-the-barrel Chinese-made crap, bought by the crateload and sold on eBay or at swap-meets/flea-markets. :barf:

Oh, one more thing: check where the seller is located. If they're being sold from an asian country, don't expect to actually receive the item you pay for.

And when checking their feedback, look out for a preponderance of buyers who are also out of the country, or the same buyers buying dozens of items. The same unscrupulous merchants who flog their crap for $0.01+$20 shipping aren't above inflating their feedback with shills.
 
Gryffin said:
Oh, one more thing: check where the seller is located. If they're being sold from an asian country, don't expect to actually receive the item you pay for.
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This not a very fair statement at all.

I purcahsed an item from ebay from a seller in Hong Kong. When after a few weeks when the item did not arrive I contacted the seller and he appoligised and sent out a replacement at no extra cost to me.

You can only judge people on their merits. The are many unscrupulous merchants right here in the USA.
 
gatch said:
This not a very fair statement at all.
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You're right, it's not fair. But in my experience, and that of others I know who've fallen for similar "too good to be true" deals, unfortunately accurate.

The only reason I singled out asian countries is, that's where I'm seeing the bulk of the shady deals these days: obvious fakes, bad clones sold as the originals, $0.01 + $20 shipping, obviously inflated feedback. It's cheaper for them to buy crates full of crap items wholesale from China due to their proximity, then sell to suckers in the States who can't resist a "bargain".

Sure there are unscrupulous sellers in the US, but at least here, you have some legal recourse if/when you get shafted. (More theoretical than practical, admittedly...) When the seller is working out of Hong Kong, you're just plain S.O.L.

It's wasn't intended as a slight against Asians, just against the scams.
 
Also, you live in Canada and they will probably charge you a higher price to ship up here. In addition, Customs will charge you duty and then there is the GST and possible PST. On some instances, all these government taxes can add 50% to your purchase price. And stay away from 99 cent knives, save up the money and get a decent knife that will serve you well!
 
cheung_victor said:
when you guys say that...how about if they all ready said that the shipping is for example $3.00
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If it's only going to cost you $3.01 for the item and shipping then why not just buy it? At worst you will only be out $3.

What is it that you are thinking of purchasing?
 
gatch said:
If it's only going to cost you $3.01 for the item and shipping then why not just buy it? At worst you will only be out $3.

What is it that you are thinking of purchasing?
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Ok, here's my 2 cents about that. Why pay even $3.01 for crap that will break the first time you use it when you can buy a qulaity item for $15. and last you a lifetime?
 
felinevet said:
Ok, here's my 2 cents about that. Why pay even $3.01 for crap that will break the first time you use it when you can buy a qulaity item for $15. and last you a lifetime?
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You are quite correct sir - if you buy junk you pay for it over and over every time it breaks, doesn't do the job, etc. On the other hand, you pay for a quality product only once. You don't have to spend an arm and a leg for a good knife, but you should at least buy the best you can afford.
 
felinevet said:
Ok, here's my 2 cents about that. Why pay even $3.01 for crap that will break the first time you use it when you can buy a qulaity item for $15. and last you a lifetime?
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I didn't say that I would by it, but I can't see what the worry of maybe losing 3 bucks is. We don't even know what it is, granted it can't be up to much at that price.
 
Getting back to the point:

cheung_victor, what is it you are thinking about buying? (If you don't mind telling us)
 
I hjave been buying up a bunch of knives on eBay lately, and I have not had a single problem. I got a KABAR 1226 NIB, current production, at $20 delivered (with a free Chinese knockoff SAK). I have also bought a lot of used knives, many of them DHS/TSA confiscation items at very reasonable prices. Be sure to check the sellers feedback, and ask questions before bidding.
 
mp510 said:
I have also bought a lot of used knives, many of them DHS/TSA confiscation items at very reasonable prices.
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Yeah, you can usually find real bargains if you're willing to purchase stolen goods. :rolleyes:
 
The first eBay listing, if I read the listing correctly, is only for the rod, not the entire sharpmaker. This may explain why it's priced at $11.99.

The second listing shows the range of prices for new, and also used, Sharpmakers. $44 dollars sounds about in the ballpark. Anything higher should also offer some additional features, otherwise it's just overpriced.
 
I bought a Sharpmaker from seller "usone1". Transaction went very smoothly and the price was great. ($38 + $10 shipping).

cheung_victor said:
I was looking at the spyderco sharpmaker 204 and things like victorinox's and the sog trident. And also out of the second link which one of these sales seem reasonable

http://cgi.ebay.com/Spyderco-Triang...goryZ475QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://search.ebay.com/search/searc...rom=R8&satitle=spyderco+sharpmaker&category0=
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Over the last couple of months I've become and e-Bay addict...(step # 1, admit your addiction), I've bid on purchased over two dozen knives and multi-tools on e-Bay, NIB and used. I've received them all and with the exception of one guy who sent me a trashed used knife (he described it as "in good gondition"-since it was a CRKT M-16 12M for $12.00 w/shipping, my exposure wasn't much).

As I just posted, I just picked up 28 Victorinox SAKs for about $ 5.00 ea., I dunno what condition or even what they are since they were listed as assorted, large Victorinox knives.

But as long as you're dealing with a reputable seller and you use reasonable precautions, the chances of being burned are minimal.

Now does anyone know how to break this viscious e-Bay addiction ?
 
Sniglet said:
Over the last couple of months I've become and e-Bay addict...(step # 1, admit your addiction), I've bid on purchased over two dozen knives and multi-tools on e-Bay, NIB and used. I've received them all and with the exception of one guy who sent me a trashed used knife (he described it as "in good gondition"-since it was a CRKT M-16 12M for $12.00 w/shipping, my exposure wasn't much).

As I just posted, I just picked up 28 Victorinox SAKs for about $ 5.00 ea., I dunno what condition or even what they are since they were listed as assorted, large Victorinox knives.

But as long as you're dealing with a reputable seller and you use reasonable precautions, the chances of being burned are minimal.

Now does anyone know how to break this viscious e-Bay addiction ?
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There is no way to break the addiction. And if you get PayPal, it just gets worse, because it takes about 30 seconds to make a purchase.
 
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