Ebay?

Personally, I think ebay is pretty good. Pay close attention to seller feedback(higher feedback is usually better, means more transactions.) Also, I like to avoid sellers who make their feedback private.

Read the full info for info on returns and guarantees. Often the seller will allow you to be refunded or return an item and such. Because of that I do not think it is a problem or a worry about doa, bad products, etc.

paper trails can me minimized by creating a "one time" email, like on yahoo, and setup your profile info on the yahoo email as something diff. But I wouldn't worry about it too much, not like you're purchasing a quarter pound or something.

Same goes with identity theft, you'll be safe. Things have changed, and are much more safer. Just don't give out your credit card number, social security, etc....but this is all common sense. The only times you will need these are when initially setting up your ebay account, and with paypal. Don't respond to any ebay emails asking for your to put in information for your account, those tend to be bogus.

Hope that helps ya out some. So in short, I recommend ebay, I have had nothing but good experiences(even when I had a product I needed to return)

 

alota taht shit only happens to retards.if your not retarded and know the obvious scammers, simply dont deal with them. if someone only has a score of 0-3 for selling things (has only sold/bought that many items) and is selling something really expensive, obviously dont buy from them, especially if their feedback shows that their score is 3 because they bought from 3 people, most likely because they wanted to kind mislead you by showing thye have some feedback.
the used stuff i get from there looks 100% new. i give it a 9/10. good deals. alot of stuff that has made my grow room 50X better is from ebay. my 400 watt light, my nutrients, mylar pretty much i can only find on ebay.....its a dream super store. not everyone has hydroponic stores by them or whatever so ebay comes in handy alot. i've only been dissatisfied 3 tiems and it was from buying rolling papers from a seller who made a mistake, and buying some wierd ass lighter that leeks, that seller was a piece of shit.
30 minutes ago actually i bought a 37$ 130gram jar of tarantula nutrients and shipping is free and it comes with all these free goodies...normally that stuff is 43$ +s/h with no free goodies (the goodies are just three 50g sample things of all kinds of advanced nutes).http://cgi.ebay.com/Advanced-Nutrie...QtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItem?hash=item120040689877

and a huge paper trail? i dont know about that but the fucking govt. isnt going to go through every persons file on ebay and see what they bought and try to get you for it. that would be illigal i think....and just really retarded and a waste of money for them highly unlikely.

 

pay attention , no worries

 

good explanation there, buying any kind of this stuff is risky, sum cop could wait outside the shop n follow u home then wherever else, if ur not careful u will get caught but take all necessary cautions and most often you will be fine

 

My experiences with eBay are fantastic - only problem I've ever had was caused by me, only I didn't know that at the time: my payment didn't clear so they didn't post my item, haha.

My advice? Use eBay if you want, its a great place to get things cheaply and an especially great place to get things that aren't available in your area. But be warned - any large-quantity purchases of highly suspicious things such as toxic chemicals or laboratory style equipment may attract undue attention. But thats not what we at GC use it for...so no worries!

 

look for sellers that keep your ebay name private on some items. i use it all the time never had any concern over the last 7 yrs ive used it . just keep a eye out and read every thing and look at the feed back of the seller

 

ive purchased about 90 percent of my hydroponic equipment from ebay.... nevr had one problem

 

I've never bought growing supplies on eBay, but I've bought and sold quite a few other things ranging in price from like $5 to a couple hundred. Only ever had one bad experience and it was really not worth making a big deal over (like a $20 auction for a sega that didn't always work perfectly—i only wanted it for parts anyway).

 

i think ebay is great. just make sure to read the whole page of the description. sometimes there is some fine print at the bottom (like a no return policy) and if your buying something "questionable" check to see if it's a confidential and private deal. i've never gotten ripped from ebay, buying or selling.

 

I think ebay is where idiots go to get ripped off by con men.

 

Why so negative?

 

eBay is wonderful for someone looking to start up a grow. It has literally everything you're looking for at the cheapest prices available on the net (generally). As long as you buy from reputable sellers I say go nuts - eBay's great!

 

Now spanishfly I know you and whats is face have a feud going but, I know you are not calling me an idiot, Cause I use ebay for most of my supplies. They have Identical Items to what you get at a traditional hydro store. Mainly because most of them are Hydro stores.

Sides your horse manure doesn't work so well with my bubbler system.

For everybody else, EBAY is the budget minded person haven.

 

OK, I will make no more negative comments about anyone, but I must be an idiot then, I got ripped off US$25 by a con man on ebay. Not a huge sum, I will survive it.

There have been a number of exposés about folks getting ripped off on ebay on UK TV, so it certainly does appear to happen.

And difficulties are not improved by the unhelpful attitude of Paypal, ebay´s own method of payment. And being the other side of the pond doesn´t make things easier either.

 

I make a lot of purchases online through Horticulture companies, but Ebay is one I would never deal with.

You purchases are there for all to see, and if some do-good-er thinks you have made to many purchases pertaining to the cultivation of marijuana, then he/she can report it. I have seen it done to an acquaintance of mine.

Not to mention that if you drop a few hundred dollars on lighting equipment, there is no warranty. I spent almost $1600.00 on lighting, but it was worth the extra cash for the piece on mind knowing that should a problem arise, I am covered.

 

I don't think you can make a broad generalization like "eBay is great" or "eBay sucks." EBay is a collection of individual sellers, each with the potential to offer great service or to rip you off.

I have used eBay for grow supplies and for other things and personally never had a problem -- great service, great prices. As others suggest I always check the seller's reputation and terms, and I only deal with those who have many rep scores that add up to overwhelmingly positive, no small operators or spotty track records.

 

But if one of these fine individuals does rip you off, and you have paid by Paypal, eBay´s own money handling system, then don´t expect any help from eBay.

 

Some excellent points there maximus. Good food for further thought. +rep