Buyer Beware!

[jburrill]

BUYER BEWARE!

Before you purchase a used board, make sure the seller discloses any damage and or missing edge life. Especially if you are interested in a board being sold by racers. If you cant see the board in person, then request clear photos of ALL the edges without wax on them. I have purchased two used race boards this season with excessive edge material missing. Im talking ALOT of edge missing. Not enough edge left to work with kind of missing. ANY racer selling a used board should disclose just how much edge is left and honestly disclose just how much use the board has had. I think that TEAM RACERS had better smarten up before they start unloading beat up crap boards to BOL members!

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[BobD]

Been there, done that. My Rossi 184 had been given one too many base grinds. Bought it on ebay UK, and didn't see it until a year later, when someone was able to bring it over

BobD

[Jack M]

My Kessler with 7 days and one tune on it isn't looking so expensive now is it? ;)

[CarvingScooby]

To "try" to disclose any imperfection. (Honest mistake still happend, right?:rolleyes:)

Cheers

RT:ices_ange

On the side note:

I received in a good condition board from Team Racer and awesome deal too:biggthump

[bobdea]

BUYER BEWARE!

Before you purchase a used board, make sure the seller discloses any damage and or missing edge life. Especially if you are interested in a board being sold by racers. If you cant see the board in person, then request clear photos of ALL the edges without wax on them. I have purchased two used race boards this season with excessive edge material missing. Im talking ALOT of edge missing. Not enough edge left to work with kind of missing. ANY racer selling a used board should disclose just how much edge is left and honestly disclose just how much use the board has had. I think that TEAM RACERS had better smarten up before they start unloading beat up crap boards to BOL members!

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yeah, very true but on the other hand it's something the buyer needs to be smart about and ask.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Here's a hint: it's a used race board.

[BlueB]

I recieved numerous boards in lesser then described condition... I always ask something like this: "Condition: edges, base, camber, top, anything else to worry about?"

While the thickness of the edge was mostly described pretty good, often there were completelly undisclosed conditions, including broken cores, broken sidewall, edge indent including delamination, cracks on the alu top sheet, delams, base ruined by grind, bent boards, etc. :(

I'm sad to say that most of the shady deals were from the top level racers, amateur racers and retired racers. At 2 instances I had to send the board back, while in another 2 I decided that it was sort of ok for the price I paid (still not ok that it wasn't disclosed in the first place!)...

To be fair to the racers, I had few funny ones from the non-racing BOLers. At one instance I had full refund without even having to send the board back. At another one seller offered some refund but didn't follow through. Craziest one was where seller wanted extra money for shipping (after the fact) even after I complained about undisclosed top sheet delam...

One failed deal through eBay (BOL member involved) seemed to be some kind of insurance scam and/or theft.

What can I say... One has to try and get as much information as possible. Pay with PayPal, so you have at least some kind of remmedy against the seller.

Also, use the common sense - if the gear was used for racing, it was likelly pushed way harder then an average weekend warrior would do...

_____

Finaly, I had lot of excellent experiences through Bomber, too. In some cases I recieved the boards in fantastic condition, fresh pro tunes, etc. I'd like to give props where due, few names that come on my mind of hand :

Thor von Rippington, Ursle... there are more, but I can't dig so much into my memory right now. Thanks guys! Keep Bomber an awsome place!

[guido591]

"To be fair to the racers, I had few funny ones from the non-racing BOLers. At one instance I had full refund without even having to send the board back"

What exactly do you find "funny" about that Boris? You should be thankful that the seller acknowledged the problem and was honest enough to provide a full refund, don't you think? ;)

[trailertrash]

Here's a hint: it's a used race board.

+1

[bobdea]

just for the sake of giving you guys measurements, I have a unridden coiler here that has never been tuned other than the Bruce tune it came with that with my spiffy electronic calipers reads 2.4mm of edge. I have another board that's never been tuned and it looks to be 2mm

my kessler that I got from a racer is thin but not real bad, 1.6 mm

anything less than 1 mm is useless. I'd of been pissed if my board was any less than the 1.6 that's on it

I've seen factory boards that come fairly thin, like 2mm or so.

you really have to ask though, racers tune constantly so edges go quick.

[BlueB]

"To be fair to the racers, I had few funny ones from the non-racing BOLers. At one instance I had full refund without even having to send the board back"

What exactly do you find "funny" about that Boris? You should be thankful that the seller acknowledged the problem and was honest enough to provide a full refund, don't you think? ;)

My shock when I figoured out that I had bought a broken board was "funny". The rest justified that the seller is a man of integrity. I bought another board from the same gentleman and it was a sweet deal. All transactions were smooth and communication pleasant. I'd do the bysiness with him again. I'd name the gentleman, if he wanted to be named.

[C5 Golfer]

Here's a hint: it's a used race board.

+2

OP -- would you buy a used race car and expect it to be ok?

[jburrill]

In this small and outspoken community of hardbooters there should not be any distrust when conducting used gear transactions. I would not sell a board to another person without disclosing details of the condition of the equipment. I would expect the same from others as well. Buyer beware, seller be honest. I think metal boards wear out fast and break too easy. Therefore making them a bad idea to purchase used unless you know exactly how much they have been ridden. I always have my 5 and 6 year old Doneks that have taken a beating and ride better than ever.

[Jack M]

In this small and outspoken community of hardbooters there should not be any distrust when conducting used gear transactions

I generally agree and I operate with that assumption. You may have encountered a seller who was not trying to be dishonest, but was just being lazy and/or a dumbass. Big difference between dishonesty and dumbassery. ;)

[Dan]

Big thumbs up here for all my transactions with Bomber members. Most of what I've bought here has been from people who have been around for a long time...I can't imagine that anyone would think it's worthwhile to shaft another member of a community that they've been in for a few years over a few hundred bucks. When I sell, I try to work in the same spirit -- better to be honest upfront than to have someone thinking to themselves "Dan can't be trusted as a buyer."

Having said that, it's true I've never bought anything from a former racer. I do think that non-racing BOLers baby their rides...they're cherished possessions for most of us. I imagine that racers are more likely to take a more utilitarian approach to their gear.

[John Gilmour]

I am sure it is not much of a consolation,,, but I would much rather own a race board with very little edge left than one with nearly 100% of the edge left.

The duds don't get ridden much. It is probably a great board.

[RideGuy]

So, my comment got deleted. I was being sarcastic. I thought it was obvious but I guess I should have put a smiley. :)