Buying clubs on Ebay

[pmm5557]

Anybody ever go this route? Curious because you can find great prices, but I am worried about counterfiets. Anyone know if there is a way to verify if clubs are authentic?

[PowerXSwing]

Anybody ever go this route? Curious because you can find great prices, but I am worried about counterfiets. Anyone know if there is a way to verify if clubs are authentic?

I've bought 2 sets of Ping nickel ISI irons off Ebay. Both were exactly as described. Look at the rating of the seller. Don't buy from them if they have bad feedback.

[pmm5557]

I've bought 2 sets of Ping nickel ISI irons off Ebay. Both were exactly as described. Look at the rating of the seller. Don't buy from them if they have bad feedback.

What would you say if the seller had over 1,000 sales and a feedback of 99+%? How about if the clubs were 60% of retail? Sounds almost too good to be true.

[Rafcin]

What would you say if the seller had over 1,000 sales and a feedback of 99+%? How about if the clubs were 60% of retail? Sounds almost too good to be true.

go for it. I buy almost exclusively from eBay, unless I want it customized.

if you are watching feedback level you can't go wrong. Most of them are small pro-shops, which overstocked and trying to get inventory down... I've 106 transactions under my belt and haven't get burned yet.

[Everardo]

Agreed..I've got over 100 as well and haven't had any courterfit clubs. The feedback rating is a huge help. If you're still doubting the sale then buy get the money back gaurantee from PayPal or check with your credit card companies policies for their fraud policies.

[lightrider]

Agreed..I've got over 100 as well and haven't had any courterfit clubs. The feedback rating is a huge help. If you're still doubting the sale then buy get the money back gaurantee from PayPal or check with your credit card companies policies for their fraud policies.

If you can use paypal credit card, that is pretty good protection. But, check the

http://valueguide.pga.com/ to get an idea what the going prices on ebay are. Chances are if you see something really high or really low, you should be cautious.

[Ole_Tom_Morris]

The clubs I've bought on E-bay are old and cheap, not the kind of thing that would be copied by those knock-off mills in China. (Who the heck would counterfeit a well-worn set of 1970 Hogan Apexes? Or 1985 Wilsons, for Pete's sake?
But when I look at new Nike, Callaway or Titleist models offered by a seller from, especially, California, or some port city -- well, I wonder.
Did ya see that 60 Minutes program about counterfeit golf clubs?
One manufacturer, I think it was Pure Spin, started putting hologram labels on their clubs to try to deter counterfeiting. But small Asian companies are so clever and adaptable, they could soon counterfeit the label.
Maybe manufacturers need to implant a chip in expensive clubs that includes an authentication code, serial number, and date of manufacture, that can be read at any golf shop by plugging a standard reader into the grip cap. Also could help identify stolen clubs. My gosh! Electronic circuitry in golf clubs? What is the world coming to???

[PowerXSwing]

What would you say if the seller had over 1,000 sales and a feedback of 99+%? How about if the clubs were 60% of retail? Sounds almost too good to be true.

I'd say, you can't please all the people all the time. That's a pretty good ratio. As far as 60% off goes, must be used. If it's new, he's quoting the manufacture's dream price. Check out the price first with someone like Golfsmith.

Dan

[lightrider]

[Mod: post removed. We do not support copyright theft at The Sand Trap. Please link to articles that support your point, quote a few pieces, but don't re-post them in their entirety.]

[Ole_Tom_Morris]

if you are watching feedback level you can't go wrong...I've 106 transactions under my belt and haven't get burned yet.

I respectfully disagree with Rafcin. My experience over 70 transactions is that problems occur in about 2% or more of Ebay purchases. (Lost everything on only one purchase so far.)

Ebay officially understates the occurrence of fraud/loss. As far as Ebay feedback goes, there is pressure on buyers to leave positive feedback. [See this excellent site warning about buying HP calculators on Ebay http://www.hpmuseum.org/ebaywarn.htm which applies to other items as well.] Some Ebay sellers are painstakingly careful in their descriptions, while others are about as reliable as a used-car salesman. I bought a wedge some days ago that had a bent metal shaft with a dent in it; the seller did not see fit to include that little fact in the description! His feedback rating? 100%. Also, buyers may be leaving feedback before they have detected counterfeit golf clubs. If new clubs don't feel quite right, you don't jump to the conclusion that they are knock-offs for a few weeks. A lot of folks may never know (maybe it's me and not the club!).

[Wizardvette]

We got the ebay thing out of the way...good feedback probabmy means good deal.

Now what about the rest of the question. Does anyone have any tips on spotting counterfeit clubs?

[Rafcin]

...I bought a wedge some days ago that had a bent metal shaft with a dent in it; the seller did not see fit to include that little fact in the description! His feedback rating? 100%. Also, buyers may be leaving feedback before they have detected counterfeit golf clubs...

Sorry to hear about your bad experiences, I guess I was the lucky one. I'm just curious how many feedbacks did this guy have to make up his 100%? I rarely buy from anybody with less than 100 transactions. Of course it limits the price/ware selection, but seems to work. Sometimes if a deal looks to good to be true - it is.

The couterfits (if detected) could be reported via follow up to a feedback. If it happend to me I'm sure will do ANYTHING to let other buyers know about it, but you right, some people might not care. It is risky place to buy, but with some patience and care you can land a decent deal (just last friday Ibought brand new (with stickers) Launcher 460 for a friend - $230 delivered in 2 days (buy it now - needed replacement for tourney) - would've paid at least 299 in a store.

[Rafcin]

..Does anyone have any tips on spotting counterfeit clubs?

If you see set of i.e. callaway X-18 pro for $400 - it's a fake.

Unfortunatelly other than that - you can't tell. The factories in China are really high quality Feedback ( combined with # of transactions, 3 100% feedbacks won't do!!!) should make the assurance of authenticity better. What I'm looking for is a pro-shop selling their overstock, most of the time you can tell from the eBay account name. They wouldn't risk selling (knowingly) counterifts... good luck

[wyldkard]

My Tommy Armour 845u irons came from eBay. I don't have a single complaint about them. If they are counterfeit(which I doubt), they don't hit like counterfeit irons.