ebay beware again - Premium Fishing Auctions

[Braddles]

Just a word of warning... and before you all say "sucker" - I have to agree by the old saying "if it seems to good to be true - it probably is"

I have purchased a few fishing rods from Premium fishing Auctions... Some rods they claim to be on par with Sabre blanks from USA - and I am no expert but they appear decent quality... while some rods are just cheap and nasty... but at 30 bucks for a 2 peice hollow fibreglass surf rod - if it craps itself - I shall just throw it away..

Now - reels - well DONT GO THERE>

First one - an imitation TLD25 (called PLD 25). It comes with the washer screwed so hard down, that the drag had flat spots in it - so it was either full on, or full off

An eggbeater style reel - meant to have 9 ball bearings and be the ducks nuts, - well my hand rotary beater has more precision and balance. Cranking the handle past 2 o'clock sees you nearly break your wrist with a jerk lol..

I emailed them via ebay - and told that all their reels are expertly inspected prior to dispatch.

I advised that their "expert" didnt detect a washer being screwed down so hard I had to use a ratchet device to undo it, and the above story about the spinning reel.

Their next email was "Send it to us and if we deem it faulty - we will replace it, however we expect it was damage in the post - postage cost is up to you"

Nothing like a quality product and after sales service.

My fault though for not forking out the dollars and supporting the local boys I guess. Bloody e!bay...

[spears]

Nah its not e_bay to blame as you had a choice to buy or not… from a seller.You thought i might do alright..but lost out.
Your not the only one who has gotten caught out by cheap stuff.

I bought some reels and rods and ended up giving them away without ever trying to fish with them.

The only bargains you’ll pick up is brand names at the right price..
With good seller feed back and full manufacturers warranty.

E_bay was good with variety upto a year ago buts its been going down hill with some really cheap stuff.

If any one is looking for a good spinning reel fairly smooth and cheap buy a eurostar event..not bad for a cheapie..E_Bay-wholesale fishing supplies..Its a silstar reel..one deep and shallow alloy spool..big drag washers.....size 2000,3000,4000,5000..

[TuffTackle]

If you're after a bargain at a low price, most ebay fishing gear is sold to beginners, that don't want to spend much to find out if they even like fishing.

My advice with anything on ebay, is check the warranty / return terms and conditions first.

Most sellers offer a 30 day return policy, and if you read the conditions they make it almost impossible to return it, if you don't like it, or it is faulty.

If it is a brand name and they are offering a factory warranty, but their history is not very old, chances of getting customer service backup later on is also doubtful, unless they are openly advertising they are a local retailer, with a retail address just moving out old stock.

If it's brand name and they offer the factory warranty, and they do not have a retail store, chances are it's an illegal import, so the distributors warranty will not be in the box, it will be USA or EUROPE or ASIAN warranty, not valid in AUSTRALIA, without the local distributors authority, such as Dumphy sports Australia for Shimano etc.

And you have to be suspiscious about quality when the warranty is only 30 days regardless.

Although the items might be cheap, (below wholesale) if the quality is reliable, then the seller would have no issue puting up a warranty to at least the expected life of the product.

30 days just says the seller has no confidence in his own product !

As for LD reels below $100, don't touch them. The LD 9000 which sells by the truck load on ebay is the worst piece of garbage I have ever seen, and can be bought for as little as $6 is china.

A good after market Lever drag reel cost at least $150USD from the factory up to $240USD.

The precision to make an LD is very expensive and requires very precise machining (high manufcature costs)

The TLD is cheap for what they are because they've been making them for so long.

[spears]

Hey tuff you offer a good deal with warranty.
But if people never go to a forum they don’t know ..do they

[TuffTackle]

Hi spears,
We do, but I'm not on here just for work, I am a fisho as well, and have alot of experience with aftermarket fishing tackle, so i mostly cruise the forums for info to help me catch more fish as well as build a better business and increase my knowledge, if I can offer some advice that helps fellow fisho's with what i know best I will.

It's a shame alot of people get sucked in by the 'hype' and catchy slogans and alot of BS on ebay after market gear, it makes my job that little bit harder.

For example someone registered them selves on ebay as REXHUNT123 or similar, and started selling used reels claiming they obviously belonged to rex hunt.
Rex hunt is very famous in China as a fishing GURU and sells alot of his own brand to the Asians, I somehow don't think he's got an interest to sell his old reels on ebay.

We've been talking alot about ebay lately and other options, I refuse to wholesale and not get paid outside Melbourne or have the product bast#rdised by a competitor's distributor.
So the logical option is to get some videos happening on the net, and consider fishing , boating and camping shows, in each state, and try to detract from the ebay reputation of cheap and nasty.

Simon

[reidy]

Or fishos looking for basic cheap boat hacks eg the gear you loan to mates or the missus knowing they are going to drop,bang,dip,throw etc.
No care gear,dent scratch rash.Only a bit of grease and de-salt at the end of the day.
Cheers
Reidy

[scuttlebutt]

For example someone registered them selves on ebay as REXHUNT123 or similar, and started selling used reels claiming they obviously belonged to rex hunt.
Rex hunt is very famous in China as a fishing GURU and sells alot of his own brand to the Asians, I somehow don't think he's got an interest to sell his old reels on ebay.

Simon

Well you'd be wrong. I e-mailed a query to Rex Hunt's website and they confirmed that he is registered on E-bay as RexHunt1234 and has been selling reels from his personal collection (which numbers in the thousands). I wouldn't pay more for a reel just because it is one of the thousands that has been owned by Rex, but this is one legitimate seller.

cheers,

steve

[pommy]

BEWARE CHOANLAODA OUTBOARDS!!!!!

Don't buy one of these, particularly you kayak or micro tinny guys. The 2-3Hp motors are, in my experience, no bloody good.

Returned mine to Sydney, after 2 outings. Cost me a small fortune in postage, although the company did refund the money.

Regards, Rob.
Ballina.

[the gecko]

Nothing wrong with CrimeBay, you just have to be careful and do some research. I started with cheap reels from ebay before I got serious about better gear.

The Forsyth SY6000 baitrunner cost me $28 with postage, and has stood up well to decent GTs and Tailor in the Southport seaway. The drag is excellent for a cheapie. Ive still got a couple as backups for mates to use, even tho I now use the Shimano Baitrunner. the Tassie seller imports some reasonable chinese gear, and hes been on ebay for a few years now with good feedback.

Spend some time googling the brands before you buy, and you might find a bargain. I saw another members post here today, where he is using chinese ebay reels to catch jew regularly.

Ive bought low end brand names in tackle stores that werent as good as some ebay reels. Abu Cardinal and Penn Captiva both last only a few weeks.

Andrew

[flairj]

As said before, do your homework and be prepared to wait for the right thing to come along.

I have scored some excellent deals on the Bay, but they weren't without a bit of risk I must say. My best score were 2 Team Daiwa Zillion HLA that were new but had no box and had been handled at some kind of tackle show. Never spooled with line and no marks or scratches. I got them both for AU$440 to my door. They were perfect and I wish I had bought all four he was selling as one TD-Z will retail for that here.

Since the dollar shat itself, I find you are better of going to your local tackle store these days

Josh

[flatzie]

As and keen fisho and Ebay Powerseller, its interesting reading these comments. I dont sell fishing gear but despite all the jargon, Ebay is a huge market place where the discerning well researched buyer can get a good deal, as is mentioned above. If people actually took the time to learn how to use it properly they would never get ripped off by any scammer on Ebay. A sellers feedback is a huge bonus for buyers, Eg you can have hundreds or thousands of people telling you the seller is dinky di.

People catch themselves trying to get quality for a super cheap price, then whinge when its crap. You can do that at most tackle stores as well they all have their cheaper ranges of goods that no serious fisho would touch.
I have bought almost all my Daiwa and Shimano reels from Ebay in USA and they have been terrific, at way cheaper prices. I usually buy three of the one I want, sell on the other two and the profit from those two gives me my reel pretty much free!
Cheers
Flatzie

[sandlizard]

For the best deals you should go to the source. Japan. I did alot of research and found that there were some real bargains on the japanese online auctions. Like their cars the japs use a reel for a season and have to have the latest one next season. I picked up a team daiwa, 8 bearing, megaforce brake system, low profile baitcaster for 120 bucks. It was barely used and from the pics it looks mint ... get some.

[hooknose]

Agree with Flatzie, I have bought all my Stella's from e-bay USA, top prices and absolutely no whinges from me. Steer clear of cheap and nasty ' too good to be true' no name brands and you should be right !!!

[yalta]

you think some of the gear is bodgey
check out some of the postage costs some of these guys charge.
some of the postage is worth more than the gear you are buying.
you might think you got a great deal on a lure for a buck then you
run around telling everyone how great it is that you got it for a buck.
but you dont mention it just cost you $17.00 to get the bloody thing posted to you.now bloke's like kamakazie and the like only pay a buck for the lure to start
with so he is making his money on postage.and some people may pay a lot for his lures and he's makes even more money out of you.they are just cheap sh#t
from china made by people who have or never will see the ocean. let along no
what they are making so i would be doing my research and buy good gear not this cheap sh#t they are selling.so therefore stick to the people selling the good gear they are there you just have to look a bit harder...try looking at their
feedback to start with. then search the internet for their product ..

[yalta]

forgot to mention yes i make lure's and yes i am getting sick of these blokes on
ebay selling this cheap junk.i have seen some of them and the only thin pretty
about them is they are pretty cheap rubbish. yes i do sell on that site also but
at the price they are worth.and at the correct postage price. there is also other ausfishers trying to make a few also ..
but how are we going to compete with this rubbish from china.