Good/Bad experiences with the secondary market

Odds

Odds

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Recently acquired some previously owned knives and I was wanting to hear about some of your good and/or bad experiences. It’s always a crap shoot and you can’t really get your money back if you are not happy.

I just got a Native 5 G10 today and it was a pretty good deal ($60 Canadian). When I flicked it open I was surprised to see the previous owner had convexed it. There was no mention of this in our correspondence and the picture he sent me I really couldn’t see the grind. I wasn’t too picky about getting a lot of pics because of the price. Luckily I like convex grinds and was actually going to experiment putting one on my Persistence. I sharpened it up and I really like it but to someone else this could have been a major disappointment.

What are some of your good and bad experiences?

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This thread might get moved to GBU, a mod will make that call. Mo2 Mo2 has a point. Regardless, I don’t think hearing a concise summary of folks’ experiences is irrelevant.

Most (but not all) my secondary market purchases have been via the Exchange on BFC. While I haven’t had any truly ‘bad’ experiences, I’ve bought a few knives that weren’t in quite as good condition as advertised. None had use/wear/problems that were significant enough for me to consider sending them back to the seller. All have been significantly discounted from their original retail price.

If I can’t accept the risk of a small imperfection in a knife, I’ll buy new from a retailer. I’m sure others have different opinions and different thresholds of what they consider significant.

I did have one purchase where the seller went dark and squirrely between “I’ll take it” and the PP transfer. It was a red flag and I backed out of the deal. The seller was subsequently banned from BFC due to shenanigans.
 
I almost exclusively deal via the secondary market. 200+ transactions later and I'm still buying, selling, and trading weekly. While I've had some issues, I have never had a return, never had a PayPal claim, and have never had a lost nor stolen package.

I feel no urges nor possess any desires to pay more for something I could easily acquire "used" at a significantly cheaper price.

The trick of dealing with the secondary market is realizing what you want out of an item. Most sellers will describe and portray an item in favor of their end, the seller. Ergo, it's important to know what must be before you buy. Do I care about overall condition? Lock up? Centering?

These are the questions I will field BEFORE buying. I will also ask for pictures. This request serves a dual purpose in that it puts a seller to the test, via asking them to do something in order to make a sale which believe it or not weeds out a lot of the unscrupulous and undesirable sellers. Their reaction will tell you everything you need to know, more often than not. Plus, now you have pictures.

I will continue to access the wonderful and dependable secondary market as I despise paying retail. I see no reason not to. Be smart, be prudent, and accept beforehand any and all risk that's unavoidable.

If we're being honest, a few years back, when st least half of my feedback was earned, I sold everything I posted without insurance. Knowing full well it was my responsibility to make things right if they went astray. That was back when my habit was more affordable of course...lol. Nevertheless, without insurance, never a problem.

Often times, the prospect of shipping or selling something of a very high value will alienate a lot of noobies because it's nerve racking and deservedly so.

Despite this, I have come to know and accept that while there is risk involved, if you're prudent, it's vanishingly small.
 
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You should make a list of questions you should always ask about an item for sale.

This list sort of sucks because it's common for humans to answer one of those questions only or a few of them but rarely never all of them. So sometimes ask a question or two then get a response and ask another.

In anycase, ask how many buyers has this knife been through. Has it been sharpened and how, on a system or stones, what kind of stones. Skill level of sharpener... Etc. You get the point. Be as thorough or bland as you want. If a buyer doesn't have the time or want to answer all your questions, it may be idea to move on. But it's your job to ask the important questions. Even though they should have done due diligence... That rarely happens.
 
It's important for you to be familiar with what you're buying, and to ask questions. It's also important for the seller to disclose wear and faults clearly.
 
I buy almost all my knives in the exchanges(sell all). Full disclosure(it's subjective and not everyone has the same eye for detail) is the area where a problem may come up. I am not overly picky, so I can let most little things slide, but every once in awhile I get a real clinker(maybe a handful out of a few hundred ). If you want to be cautious , that is what would key on-go over description, ask ?'s and request photo's. Full out scammers are fairly rare(had none), and most my transactions have had zero problems.
 
4mer_FMF said:
If I can’t accept the risk of a small imperfection in a knife, I’ll buy new from a retailer
Click to expand...
This is the attitude which appears to be needed more. :thumbsup: I see too many buyers who seem to put the knife under a jewelers loop and find a minute scratch or mar and get upset. :rolleyes: This is why I don't sell (here or anywhere). :(
 
Lone_Wolfe said:
It's important for you to be familiar with what you're buying, and to ask questions. It's also important for the seller to disclose wear and faults clearly.
Click to expand...

I should also add, if the seller makes a mistake, lets something through that they should have seen and disclosed, they should be willing to make right. That doesn't mean they should be a patsy for a scammy buyer, but they should rectify their own mistakes.
 
I can understand if items are truely not close to the described condition ... but just being honest for as many truely knowledgable members as we have on BF ... condition and what one calls "mint" ... or "smooth" and my all time favorite ... "it's BNIB except for some minor wear from causually carrying it twice" ...

and I believe the vast majority of our members are honest and try to be accurate in descriptions ... but human nature for most to lean to their favor trying to get that extra $2.00 ...

I don't sell much ... I should to free up several that just never got used ... but I hate listing and selling ... so I do it rarely and gift a knife here and there ...

but honestly when it comes to sharpening ... many just don't know if it's been convexed by stropping or not ... or sometimes even the type of grind ...

so when I buy used I try to ask anything that matters to me ... but I try to be aware I am buying used and there might be a minor thing I didn't think about ... but unless it's a big deal I just sharpen it and realise it is used.

Not trying to excuse any seller from doing their best to be accurate and even error on the side of favoring the buyer ... but that's just my personal opinion ... and worth about as much as most opinions ... :poop:
 
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