3balls golf reputable dealer?

[johnclayton1982]

I ordered a putter from 3balls, a TaylorMade Spider.  It cost about 30% of what it was in my store and arrived very fast.  No compliants, and I will order from them again.

Re: Shill Bids, I don't see why that isn't reputable.  Not to attempt a hijack, but either the club is worth the price to you or it isn't.  If it is, who cares, if it isn't, don't buy it.  There is no difference between them using shill bids to get the price higher and some setting a high reserve, or at least I don't see the difference.

[Jmdmbike]

Originally Posted by Sandtrapper

Saw some good deals on some r9 irons through this website on ebay. anyone have experience with this company? Are their clubs the real deal or knockoffs? What site out there has the best deals on genuine equipment?

Originally Posted by sean_miller

If my 3balls experiences are in any way indicative, expet the following. A decent club that is consistent with the rating, but probably needs to be regripped.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend them to other Canadians based on shipping costs (surprise - another bill from FedEx!?!?!?) but if you're in the US, this shouldn't be a problem.

have bought from them a couple times - very reputable and clubs are basically as advertised. Gotta agree with SM's comments on shipping. Shipping charges to Canada are crazy and often make the purchase pointless unless it's an item you can't get your hands on locally.

[Russtopher]

It pays to keep an eye on their website, more than a few times I've been by just to window shop and they were displaying a countdown timer, during which time all orders would ship free regardless of cost. Scored a Cobra driver for $20 that way.

I have two friends who've purchased from them as well via the website (not eBay) and they both ended up ordering more from them down the road due to the great prices and fast shipping. Depending on your order, $13 for FedEx can be a bit steep, but the quality of their used clubs, and overall decent prices, make it worth it IMHO.

[Datsyuk]

I ordered a putter from 3balls, a TaylorMade Spider.  It cost about 30% of what it was in my store and arrived very fast.  No compliants, and I will order from them again. Re: Shill Bids, I don't see why that isn't reputable.  Not to attempt a hijack, but either the club is worth the price to you or it isn't.  If it is, who cares, if it isn't, don't buy it.  There is no difference between them using shill bids to get the price higher and some setting a high reserve, or at least I don't see the difference.

Conflict of interest - unethical.

[Pablo68]

It's unethical to artifically inflate the price of an auction. If they don't want to sell it that cheap then they should start the listing higher.

I've bought from them since I've gotten shill bid up but now that I know what's going on, I snipe their auctions and don't get carried away.

[meenman]

Does anyone have any real proof of shill bidding? or is this just sour grapes from people that dont understand that many auctions get bid on in the last few seconds?

I have bought from 3balls many times from their website and on ebay and have seen nothing out of the ordinary. Maybe I should get upset because I bid $50 on a $200 club only to have someone willing to pay more...............

[Dave2512]

If it's an ebay store it's pretty easy to see. You can look at the bid summary of members bidding on an item. When it says their bid activity is 90% with just that seller it's pretty obvious. How many people using ebay would spend all their time and money buying items from one seller? I don't know anything about 3Balls but I see it all the time with musical instruments being offered in big ebay stores.

[gwlee7]

Originally Posted by Dave2512

If it's an ebay store it's pretty easy to see. You can look at the bid summary of members bidding on an item. When it says their bid activity is 90% with just that seller it's pretty obvious. How many people using ebay would spend all their time and money buying items from one seller? I don't know anything about 3Balls but I see it all the time with musical instruments being offered in big ebay stores.

This.  Plus, even using a "sniping" program I have have been beaten out by "buyers" that "purchase" 90% or more from them.  That said, I stopped buying from them on ebay and if I want something from them, I get it directly from their website.  They do have good prices and quality.  I can't get mad at them when I buy directly instead of bidding against them.

[meenman]

There is still no proof to these accusations, they have a ton of stuff listed and several of the same item, several people could be bidding on the same sellers stuff, as one gets priced too high, they move onto the next. My gut feeling is that some people dont understand why they dont get something for nothing every time they bid. I have been the high bidder for new clubs with them with bids as low as $25.

[Pablo68]

Originally Posted by meenman

There is still no proof to these accusations, they have a ton of stuff listed and several of the same item, several people could be bidding on the same sellers stuff, as one gets priced too high, they move onto the next. My gut feeling is that some people dont understand why they dont get something for nothing every time they bid. I have been the high bidder for new clubs with them with bids as low as $25.

My gut feeling is that someone doesn't realize how Ebay works.

You CAN see bid histories and as others have stated, it's highly unlikely that 1 person is bidding on multiple items from them; ESPECIALLY if it's from different dexterities (Left/right handed) or different flexes, etc........

It happens and I'm still buying from them.......I'm just going in with my eyes wide open.

[Dave2512]

Originally Posted by Pablo68

My gut feeling is that someone doesn't realize how Ebay works.

You CAN see bid histories and as others have stated, it's highly unlikely that 1 person is bidding on multiple items from them; ESPECIALLY if it's from different dexterities (Left/right handed) or different flexes, etc........

It happens and I'm still buying from them.......I'm just going in with my eyes wide open.

It's not just multiple items but multiple items over an extended period of time. All I can use is my own example but I know when I use ebay I don't limit my bids to one seller for a month or more. It's common with merchants offering guitar gear. I gave up with a vendor selling aftermarket licensed Fender guitar bodies because I kept getting outbid by the same users over a period of several months. The bodies sell in the $300 range. I can't see how someone would buy dozens of them in a few months. There were users with more historical buying transactions with that merchant than the amount of items they had listed at any given time.

[Pablo68]

Originally Posted by Dave2512

It's not just multiple items but multiple items over an extended period of time. All I can use is my own example but I know when I use ebay I don't limit my bids to one seller for a month or more. It's common with merchants offering guitar gear. I gave up with a vendor selling aftermarket licensed Fender guitar bodies because I kept getting outbid by the same users over a period of several months. The bodies sell in the $300 range. I can't see how someone would buy dozens of them in a few months. There were users with more historical buying transactions with that merchant than the amount of items they had listed at any given time.

If I wasn't clear earlier, I DO suspect this vendor (3balls) is shill bidding but will still shop from them.

As you have with those guitars, I've been shill bidded up on several different items but usually it's hard to spot. With a large volume vendor, it gets easier to see what's happening.

[Dave2512]

Originally Posted by Pablo68

If I wasn't clear earlier, I DO suspect this vendor (3balls) is shill bidding but will still shop from them.

As you have with those guitars, I've been shill bidded up on several different items but usually it's hard to spot. With a large volume vendor, it gets easier to see what's happening.

I wasn't disagreeing with you just offering more to what you said regarding how it happens, how ebay reports user history with regard to % of bids over time.

[Wisguy]

I've bought clubs from 3balls over eBay and found that the quality of the clubs were slightly better than advertised and they shipped quickly.  I won the auctions by sniping, which is how I do eBay 98% of the time with an auction.

However, I don't approve of shill bidders at all - it is essentially fraudulent price manipulation.  Start the damn auction at the lowest price you'll accept instead of trying to play games with buyers using a fraudulent account.  Years ago I won an auction for a "New" PDA that arrived broken and obviously used.  The seller was a complete pr*ck and told me to go F-myself when I demanded a refund.  I took a better glance at his feedback and discovered three instances where his auctions were "won" by the same "buyer" and the dishonest dumb*ss had confused which of his account was the shill buyer and which was the seller, stating "WONDERFUL seller - prompt shipping" when he left feedback from his selling account for his buyer account.  That experience taught me to do a better idea of checking out seller feedback before bidding on auctions.

[mdez13]

hey guys,

as a 3balls employee i can guarantee there is no shill bidding. we have a high number of local and overseas resellers looking to get the best deal on bulk items, hence the high bidding %.

- matt

[Wisguy]

That's a bit self-serving of a statement.  I don't think many genuine shill bidding sellers (bit of an oxymoron there) would ever say "Drat!  You caught me red-handed bidding on my own auctions!"  Note:  I have no knowledge of, and take no position on, whether or not 3balls shill bids.

[newtogolf]

I don't do much business with 3Balls on eBay so I can't comment on the accusations about shill bidding.  I've bought a lot of clubs from their website and found their prices to be great and their clubs to be in better condition than described.

[mdez13]

haha. correct, as it was meant to be. i've only been here a couple of years as a web manager so i decided to search the web and came across forums talking about it so i thought i'd just clear the air. people are going to believe what they want to believe, but i thought it may help.

im also, just starting to actually get into golf since i've started working here. Suggestions on a driver? i have a cobra hybrid, cleveland tour action irons and an odyssey white hot tour putter.