# Ebay saws



## scubadude1188 (Mar 20, 2008)

Anybody have any experience getting used saws of ebay? I was thinking of getting one and wanted to know what you guys thought about buying a saw off ebay. Thanks for your advice.


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## Grace Tree (Mar 20, 2008)

I've bought a few new saws on ebay. Never any used ones because it's difficult to judge the condition of a saw on line. I have saws that are "wrung out" but still look pretty darn good cosmetically. With a little work I could sell them on ebay for decent $$ but they would still be very, very tired saws. Just no real way to tell. As far as trusting feedback I can speak from experience. We've received over 8000 feedback ratings; positive, negative and duplicate on about 10,000 transactions. We've received 6 negative feedbacks; all of which were unjustified. BUT and this is a big but. We probably had dozens of things we that we badly screwed up on where people didn't leave negative feedback or any feedback at all. They just ate our mistakes. The feedback system at best is just rough indicator of a seller's rep. All that being said, I still buy a bunch of stuff on ebay with virtually no problems. I just never buy used saws.
Regards,
Phil


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## 2FatGuys (Mar 20, 2008)

Several of my saws are eBay "jewels". When I bid on one, I ALWAYS establish communication with the seller prior to bidding. You can usually tell which sellers are "know nothings" and which ones actually can accurately describe a saw and its condition. I have walked away from many opportunities to bid due to a general lack of comfort with the seller.


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## SnaykeByte (Mar 20, 2008)

2FatGuys said:


> Several of my saws are eBay "jewels". When I bid on one, I ALWAYS establish communication with the seller prior to bidding. You can usually tell which sellers are "know nothings" and which ones actually can accurately describe a saw and its condition. I have walked away from many opportunities to bid due to a general lack of comfort with the seller.




+1............Ebay remains to be the best way to get porked, communicate with the seller BEFORE you bid. If he doesn't respond in a timely manner with an intelligible answer, don't bid.


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## buzz sawyer (Mar 23, 2008)

Unless you are real familiar with the seller, I would plan on an Ebay saw being a parts saw only and something you're going to put some money and time into. Of course, that can be a good learning experience. If you want to be assured the saw is in good shape, find a local dealer with good reputation who can sell you a used saw, or break down and buy new. You may not get the Stihl, Husky, Dolmar, etc. you have your heart set on but you will get your moneys worth.


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## retoid (Mar 23, 2008)

I bought a husky 2100 CD off of craigslist. It was obviously used. The guy said it ran when he last tried it which was a while ago, he also said it had a new fuel line in it.

When I actually got it I found that it had two fuel leaks. Needed a new fuel line and filter and a carburetor mount. Other than that the saw works great now.

Used ebay items are hit and miss. Good luck.


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## hornett224 (Mar 23, 2008)

*i've bought a lot of saws on ebay.*

i only got burned on one but i was gonna do a BB kit anyway.

i sold a bunch of saws on there and never had a problem.described it as it was and eveyone was happy.my feedback is 100%.that is what i look for in a seller as well.


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## Cliff R (Mar 26, 2008)

Treat each transaction as a unique experience. There are "trends" you can follow with most sellers. I see LOTS of saws from shops, you can pretty much bet there are HOSED unless the description states otherwise.

Lacking information tells me that the seller is typically being evasive, or knows full well the saw has MAJOR issues.

The very best purchases will typically be made from individules with little to limited experience, who just can't get the saw to run, because it sat WAY too long and the fuel system is comprimised with varnish, rotten lines, plugged up passages in the carb, etc.

If they state "low" compression, you can expect piston/ring/jug troubles, expecially if it's a pretty nice relatively "high-end" saw, as they didn't choose to effect repairs after having it checked out.

Here are a couple of other things to watch out for. Little if any description of the item. This usually tells you they are hiding something.

Acting like they don't know "squat" about the saw by failing to not only provide accurate information, but effectively answer and post questions about the saw.

Running a "reserve" auction with a low entry price. This pretty much insults the educated persons intelligence. Who has the time or energy to follow an auction for a week just to see what the seller had in mind for a selling price for their stuff? Reserve auctions are a JOKE. A serious seller will start the bidding at a reasonable price, and it should be the absolute LOWEST price they can live with!

Piss poor photo's or lack of photo's. Sellers who are selling decent stuff, and want top dollar, go to the extra effort of getting good pics, and from nearly every angle.

EXCESSIVELY high/utterly rediculous shipping charges. Everyones time is worth something, so I would gladly pay a seller a few extra dollars for a nice box, good packing, and even a short trip to a shipping service. HOWEVER, sellers who are charging over about $25 to ship a medium sized saw anywhere are making good money. To me it is like stealing. We can ship a 15 pound chainsaw anywhere for $11 to about $20. A box costs about $1.50, and another 30 to 50 cents for bubble wrap/tape/packing material. We continue to see sellers using "flat rate" shipping charges, from $30 to as high as $60. If a person is willing to overcharge for shipping, what does this tell us about their overall integrity? Things like this should be taken into consideration BEFORE bidding.

Lastly, be very, very careful with Pawn Shops and other "Power Sellers". Many of them, if not all of them, "boost" their own auctions. How do you think they can list a brand new $500 chain saw for $1 starting bid, and know for SURE that it will bring full market value? Back before E-Bay started hiding all the specifics about buyers and sellers, we caught SCORES of them "boosting" their own stuff. Now they can get away with it, with relative ease (why do you think many of them list their location as UNITED STATES, instead of where they are really at????)

We don't sell a lot of saws on E-Bay, but always make sure the buyer knows EXACTLY what they are bidding on, good pics, accurate descriptions, and WHY we are selling it.

Here's an example of one of our recent auctions: 

Echo CS-301 top handle chain saw. Excellent condition, original bar and chain, has less than 2 hours running time, apprx 3 tankfuls of fuel. We purchased two of these saws to clear some property when we built our new house. We did most of the clearing with our larger saws, and just trimmed a few limbs and small branches with the top handle saws. This saw starts on 1-2 pulls and runs flawlessly. Small, light weight and powerful, with a commercial grade high torque engine. These saws are among the lightest in the industry, and a favorite among professional tree services. The saw is equipped with a lanyard ring.

The saw will arrive razor sharp and ready to add gas/oil mix, and bar oil and start cutting.

Buyer pays the actual shipping charges, we aren't trying to make $20 to $30 OR MORE with unrealistic shipping rates. We have a UPS commercial account, the saw will ship within 1-2 days of payment in full.

We accept personal checks, money orders or Pay Pal.

We pride ourselves on 100 percent positive feedback, if not satisfied with this item, or it is not exactly as described, simply return it in the same condition as recieved for a full refund. Thanks and good luck bidding!

Now, after reading that, how would you approach buying the same saw, if the descriptions was?:

Echo CS-301 chain saw, used.

I wouldn't even look a the auction seriously without knowing EXACTLY what I was bidding on....FWIW.....Cliff


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## Brushwacker (Mar 26, 2008)

Small Wood;958014 . The feedback system at best is just rough indicator of a seller's rep. All that being said said:


> I buy used. About 1/3 are good and honest, 1/3 deceptive to a point of dishonesty, 1/3 inbetween, in my experiance.
> I had bad experiances with high rated sellers as much as any.
> The first saw I bought advertised a good usable saw was a wrung out saw needing much repair , packaged to look like it got damaged in shipping. Parts were loose , coming off and the saw was soaked with oil inside and out. Most people would have complained right away and his line was I am sorry it got damaged in shipping. I needed the saw so before I made contact I tried starting it and it run,so I cleaned it throughly taking covers off and replaced a few small things and then took it out to use and the oil tank leaked under the muffler from the gasket being burned out by the muffler being run loose some time. The bar was junk and 3/8 pitch and chain ..325, barely enough compression to run fair. I asked him for $50 back because the saw was unusable when I got it and I had more then 5 hours in it ( mostly cleaning ) + I sealed the oil tank with red high heat silicone so I could use the saw. I explained it like this and he emailed me back,"sorry it got damaged in shipping, here is the # if you want to collect insurance." He was 99.9% + over 4000 rating feedback score and mostly tools and power equipment transactions.
> I have always got something sent to me but you need to watch for those taking your money and not being able to track them down. A steady flow of feedback is a good indication the user ID has'nt been stolen and I find comments give me an idea what to expect.


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## Frank Boyer (Mar 26, 2008)

There are a 026 and a Timberwolf 6 on the San Francisco Craig's list today. Check it out.


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## EastwoodGang4 (Mar 26, 2008)

*watch out*

eBay Is really iffy. I'm 50-50 with it. I'm not going to beat a dead horse here about what's already been said, but I believe you're better off buying a used saw from you dealer or even craigslist. At least you can try before you buy and hear it run and inspect the piece. I've only been lucky with eBay saw purchases 50% of the time!:bang:


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## Ax-man (Mar 26, 2008)

Don't spend money on E-bay you can't afford to lose.

E-Bay is a good place for hard to find parts for saws that have been orpahaned by their manufacturer. A good place for part saws if you don't mind paying top dollar if you are stuck between a rock and a hard spot.

An e-bay saw that is going to be put into commercial use or semi-commercial use is very iffy. I too, have purchased many non running saws off of e-bay and even a few supposedly good running saws.One persons idea of good running saw is going to be different from another persons. 


I have repaired may of these saws to a good running condition but very few of these saws make the cut to be used in a commercial tree service or even as serious firewood saws. For part time use or as a back-up saw they would be great. A used saw from a dealer is the best way to go but is still a gamble. A used saw is a used saw and it cannot be expected to perform like a new one or one that has only a few hours on it. 

Larry


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## okietreedude1 (Mar 29, 2008)

Ive bought 5 saws off ebay and all are great running. I too though read the description more than once and if they dont have actuall pics, i wont bid.

I recently bought an echo 360t, paid over $100 less than new and it runs excellent. It was a clean as a saw new in the box.

I bought a stihl 290 in jan 07, run it almost daily since, it stihl runs great.

I bought a couple of echo 340s a few yrs back. One of them ran until last summer. It still runs, it just is showing its age so i replaced it w/ a 360T. the other crapped out a couple yrs ago.

Lke said, you get w/ you pay for. shop wisely.


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## bowtechmadman (Mar 29, 2008)

I'm 1 for 1, bought a Homey 330 and it came to me in pristine condition, well packaged, abolutely perfect.
Did as many have said...talked w/ the seller via email 3 times before bidding. I was very confidant when bidding since he had offered his home number and the shop he had bought it from's number to call them as well if I wanted.
I wouldn't buy w/o email connection to where I felt comfortable w/ the seller.
Good luck


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## KeyStep (Apr 6, 2008)

On average most of the used chainsaw sold on eBay are being sold for a reason - namely that it is on the lower end of their life or something is wrong with it. If you think about it why would you sell a near perfect saw? I am not saying that you can't find some good ones but in general buy new or from a person you can trust. ebay is good place to pick up used parts, etc... but my experience with buying used saws on eBay is that it will seldom exceed your expectation based on what you paid for it.


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## peterrum (Apr 6, 2008)

Personally I have done it once and will never do it again. Got burned.


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## sacred_dog (Apr 6, 2008)

*reference*

if you want a reference for a guy who sells only GOOD saws on ebay (he JUST started selling on ebay) just let me know. He is up in the Adirondacks of NY and gets really good saws. 

I bought one from him, an 066, to save shipping, I went and picked it up, and when I saw his OTHER saws he had there, I bought ANOTHER one too (no bidding). Good price.

in the first week I had them at my house, I have cut down every tree over 5 feet tall within 10 miles of my house. I'm pleased.

Tim


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## sacred_dog (Apr 8, 2008)

*good guy that sells good used chainsaws*

this is the email address of the guy who sells/repairs good chainsaws up in the adirondacks.

I got a 066 for 475 that runs like brand new, and a 310 for 250 that LOOKS as new as it runs.

his name is Art, and here is his email address:

[email protected]

got any questions for him, he is a great guy and sure seems to know what he is doing.

Tim


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## 460magnumMOD (Apr 12, 2008)

I just bought an MS200t off EBAY. Only paid $287 with shipping. Had a brand new bar and chain, and runs great. Needs a little tune up, but all in all still in good shape. It's a little hard starting, and loads up a bit when you get after it when its been idling for a couple seconds with no chain spin, even with new spark plug.


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## sharkfin12us (Apr 12, 2008)

*husky*



460magnumMOD said:


> I just bought an MS200t off EBAY. Only paid $287 with shipping. Had a brand new bar and chain, and runs great. Needs a little tune up, but all in all still in good shape. It's a little hard starting, and loads up a bit when you get after it when its been idling for a couple seconds with no chain spin, even with new spark plug.



i bought xp 372 never been to mechanic ive had it over 3 years now brand new 600 in regular place at that time was 739


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## treemandan (Apr 12, 2008)

There is nothing online I can't buy in person. Why risk it? I am not surprised by the stories of fraud, I am surprised by the stories of people who actually don't get scammed.
My truck is from Ebay. I saw it on there and just called the guy. I asked what his price was and he said the highest bid. It was up to 5600 so i said ten grand. He said OK. The description of the truck said it was in great shape and the guy said he would drive it anywhere. When I saw the truck I told the guy he was an idiot to drive it a mile.
I only had a bank check for ten grand which I gave the guy for the truck. I just let him write a personal check to me to make up for the truck needing so much. I think I paid 5600 for the truck. I fixed it all up with his money. is it worth ten grand? To me at least.
I haven't even looked at ebay in years, waste of time.


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