Trusting Ebay

[DDBowdoin]

What do you guys think about clubs and ebay? I am so weary of using ebay but I'm sick of dropping full retail price for my sticks

[FAHooGolfs]

I've bought 1 club from ebay and had a good experience. Like anything else, I think you've gotta be selective in who you buy from. However, I think most of the sellers out there with high ratings are reasonably fine to buy from.

[Maverick]

I've bought 1 club from ebay and had a good experience. Like anything else, I think you've gotta be selective in who you buy from. However, I think most of the sellers out there with high ratings are reasonably fine to buy from.

yeah,

look at their seller ratings and, if any, negative feedback and you should be OK. I've bought numerous times with 100% satisifaction.

[Wood]

I had a buddy who bought some Callaway irons on E-Bay, and liked them. He took them with him to Asia on business, and upon reentering this country, they were taken by a customs official. The customs official showed him, through manufacturers markings, that they were counterfeits. Then, the clubs were confiscated, since my friend could not prove he didn't buy them in Asia, and destroyed. He says there is a huge market in Asia where you can buy these clubs that look exactly the same, but are clones. As a result, I'm sure that they make it in to our country, and are sold on E-Bay.

When I recently bought my Mizuno irons, I took the E-Bay median price to my local shop, and they matched it. I'd try this first.

[pgonza2723]

I've had really good luck with buying clubs on ebay. Every club I have gotten off there, I've registered with the manuf. and have not gotten a response for invalid serial. Far as I know, they are all genuine clubs. Like they said above, read the sellers ratings and review the negative ones. As long as you are careful, no reason not to be able to save a lot of money on ebay.

[Dinkoh]

I think buying "new" clubs from sellers are a bit risky. You have to wonder why sellers are selling them new? How did they get them? For free? Why sell them for such a lower price? Or are they counterfeits? Used clubs seem more credible since alot of golfers try clubs and want new ones for whatever reason.

Of course, you'll find genuine sets of irons for a great price. But spending $500+ on a set not knowing if they are real isn't worth it for me.

[ragontona]

Quite a few eBay sellers that have new clubs in stock are legitimate brick-and-mortar stores that use eBay as a way to easily get into the e-commerce business. I stick with those types of sellers, and shy away from individual seller types.

[Lomi]

So long as you stick with sellers who have a good rating you have a very slim chance of getting ripped off.

[ragontona]

eBay and Paypal are really good about getting your money back to you in case you get screwed over. It happened to me once (non-golf related) and they took care of it (though it took a few weeks).

[DanB]

I recently bought 2 clubs off ebay, the first was a titelist driver and I just bought a La Jolla 5 wood for $25 shipped because it had nicks on the top from the showroom. I also bought a lot of stuff to repair my motorcycle this winter and have had nothing but good transactions. Just check out the sellers feedback. If their feedback is over 95% positive I would trust them to do good business. I dont have a lot of cash to spend on new clubs so ebay has been great, anyone take a look at the used club prices at a golfshop? damn they are steep.

[thehillgolfer]

i've had one good and one bad experience. the first one the guy listed the club wrong, saying it was left handed when it was really right handed, but when the guy realized his mistake he was quick to apologize so i didnt have to pay anything, and then i got shoes for really cheap, and i got them the next day, it was crazy.

[Drphil1013]

I bought a set of Mizuno MP-60 irons on ebay 3 days ago for $645. At first, I was a little skeptical of buying stuff off of ebay. Especially merchandise over $200. And now after reading Wood's comment, I am scared. As soon as I get these clubs I'm going to check with the manufacturer. How do we do this again? Is there a website?

[SheriffBooth]

I got every club in my bag off eBay and have been buying and selling clubs there for the last 6 or 7 years. It's a great resource.

Look at a seller's feedback and be sure you pay using Paypal and using a credit card. This gives you double protection in case of some a-hole.

I've got over 150 eBay transactions, mostly golf clubs, and have only been ripped off once. And that was me being stupid - the guy had a few negatives in his past but most were older so I trusted his recent feedback.

[BigAl5150]

As most have alluded to already, check the feedback, use Paypal and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

[GoingfortheGreen]

eBay has worked great for me. Latest example - bought the new Callaway BB 2006 (steel) for $455 delivered. They sell for $599 + tax retail. That's quite a saving. Besides the fact that I hated the clubs, the transactions on eBay have always gone well. I assume the clubs were legit, as I traded them in at 2nd Swing and got $372 credit towards buying new irons. They didn't question anything. In the past 6 months, I have traded almost 8 clubs/putters at 2nd Swing, and not once have they said that they were fake. Let's hope they know what they're doing....

[A.J.]

I've had a lot of success on eBay lately. I have a second set of Orlimar (I'm on an Orlimar kick) irons that are brand new coming this week and a Hip Ti driver today. I also picked up my current set brand new and a great putter. Like others have said, buy from reputable sellers that have done a lot of sales with low negative feedback.

I have saved huge $$$.

[shortgame85]

I do not have a long history with eBay but, in my limited experience buying a Japanese golf bag, one putter, a box of very nice Titleist gloves, some golf shirts and a three wood, I have had a very good go of it. I prefer not to buy irons on eBay because I would rather go through a fitting process. I always check the sellers reputation before I bid. He must have a 95% or better before I will bid. Always remember: caveat emptor.

[erniebanks]

I am addicted to eBay clubs. I have a room full of them . Resold several on eBay. I have never had a bad experience, but I always make sure the feedback is good. You can read all feedbacks and tell if you have a good seller.
A good site to weed out all the good feedbacks is:

http://toolhaus.org/cgi-bin/negs?

and it's free