Ebay "online stores" for fishing equipment, What's the deal - The Hull Truth

Tiara33 · 03-01-2008, 07:49 AM

I have been looking on Ebay for some Okuma titus gold reels, 30's or 50's. I feel their 2008 reels with the carbontex drags are a good value (not the equivalent of my Penn International 50S) but a lot less money.

From an online tackle shop, the reels are around $350. From some of the "online Ebay stores" they are around $240. I am a suspecious person by nature and if something is "too good to be true", it usually is. I contacted one of the sellers and they claim these are brand new 2008 reels and they "buy them right" which allows for the low price. Not to come across bad, but I don't beleive they are bought that low without them being re-furbs or rejects or something.

Anyone know what's the deal with these guys??? I realize there is a wide range of people selling on Ebay and some are pretty self evident, but some are in the too good to be true catagory. I find Ebay prices to be Not very good unless the products are used or there is a manufacturers close out going on. I have found for $10-20 more I can buy things online from a low priced store (such as Tackle direct ) and have all the normal safeguards on your purchase.

thomas70 · 03-01-2008, 08:01 AM

It's the same with electronics. Some vendors have price protected goods, and if you have a regular storefront you can't sell or advertise for less. But if you sell like that on the net they don't have to worry about it. It's real fair to us that try to sell out of a shop or store. That's why the net is putting alot of us guys out of business.

ALLTACKLE · 03-01-2008, 09:40 AM

Ebay is widely know as a fencing operation. There are alot of stolen items being sold on ebay. One group was recently busted for stealing high priced items from Home Depot and selling on ebay for pure profit. The same thing occurs with fishing tackle.

When you buy something, you must consider the seller's reputation. We sell on ebay with a 100% seller rating. We cannot sell the Titus reels you mentioned at that price, since we would lose money on the deal.

If it looks too good to be true, it most likely is.

offshorebri · 03-01-2008, 02:40 PM

Check the guys feedback rating and then look to see if he has sold many of the same or similar products recently. If everything looks good, go for it...............I have bought and sold 20 or so reels on Ebay with great results in all the transactions. Typically, these sellers are honest guys with little or no overhead that sell in volume, with low profits. It isn't all "hot" stuff......at least the stuff I sold wasn't..............

tprice · 03-01-2008, 03:00 PM

Like Keith said if it looks to good to be true IT IS.

Sometimes a seller's id will get hijacked and someone will come on and sell items with a buy it now at a great price and then try and get you to pay
via Western Union instead of through ebay.

Be careful

I buy some used reels on ebay and I am always amazed at how much someone will pay for a used reel, in my case I will not pay more than 1/2 price of what the reel sells for new if it is used.

Some people will get caught up in the auction mood and pay as much for something used as if you went and purchased it new and in my case if I am going to buy a new reel I will go to the store and buy it

JDBer94 · 03-01-2008, 07:27 PM

MAP Prices for:

TG-30 $299.99
TG-30-II $369.99

Which one are they selling for $240? Must be the TG-30 correct?

Tiara33 · 03-01-2008, 07:56 PM

The TG-30-II IS $240. I could see if it was last years model, as they made improvements for 2008, but the seller claims 2008 and the pic's back him up.
Here is the post

View larger picture

price: US $239.99 Buy It Now >

Save $10 with new eBay MasterCard Apply

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

End time: 9 mins 57 secs (Mar-01-08 19:04:34 PST)
Shipping costs: US $13.85
UPS Ground
Service to United States
Ships to: United States
Item location: USA , United States

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PFO · 03-01-2008, 10:49 PM

I have bought a few of 2007's models new under 200.00 with out any problems at all last year. If the seller has good feedback i would go for it.

gerg · 03-02-2008, 07:56 AM

For the okuma reels at least, what you find are overseas sellers who buy in bulk direct from the factory. The prices are low because (I believe) the dollar is so weak right now they can get excellent leverage selling direct through ebay with little or no overhead. Shimano and Penn will only deal through authorized distributors who have strict pricing agreements.

Just realize that you probably aren't getting US warranties on these reels, but if you can live with that then go for it (as long as the feedback supports doing biz with them). I have bought from taiwan before and it was delivered as advertised.

The local internet shops hate this btw. They have to buy from US distributors and can't buy the reels for the price these guys are selling them for. Ahh, the new world economy.

Wolakrab · 03-02-2008, 08:17 AM

Good feedback doesn't really say that much. All it tells you is the ebayer has not had many complaints. It does not tell you if the item they are selling is stolen or not, or it is from a foreign seller. I do not like ebay, and will not buy anything off it....especially electronics. Like Tprice said....
I know many will say it's my loss, but I never missed it in the past.

ALLTACKLE · 03-02-2008, 08:28 AM

Imported reels are more expensive than ever. If the dollar is weak, it will take alot more of them to pay for a reel paid overseas using stronger currencies, such as the Euro or Yen. The U.S. importers are getting squeezed by the week dollar. We are exporting at a rapid rate, using the weakness of the dollar to our advantage.

There is no way this Okuma reel deal is normal. It is either a mistake, a closeout or some other atypical situation.

Quote:

gerg - 3/2/2008 6:56 AM

For the okuma reels at least, what you find are overseas sellers who buy in bulk direct from the factory. The prices are low because (I believe) the dollar is so weak right now they can get excellent leverage selling direct through ebay with little or no overhead. Shimano and Penn will only deal through authorized distributors who have strict pricing agreements.

Just realize that you probably aren't getting US warranties on these reels, but if you can live with that then go for it (as long as the feedback supports doing biz with them). I have bought from taiwan before and it was delivered as advertised.

The local internet shops hate this btw. They have to buy from US distributors and can't buy the reels for the price these guys are selling them for. Ahh, the new world economy.

Tiara33 · 03-02-2008, 10:37 AM

The ebay seller I was looking at is poor_fish_store

There are several selling Okuma reels $100 below retail prices:
http://stores.ebay.com/Baileys-Outdoor-Store
http://stores.ebay.com/Reel-Studio

An overseas connection maybe how they get them so low. Alltackle is correct about the dollar being weak and working against someone importing them. Even with a weak dollar, importing may explain this pricing. I agree that this pricing is not "normal" and there is something going on here. The poor_fish_store has an exceptionally good rating, so he takes care of his transactions. I have emailed him several times and so far he has not offered an explaination, just assurances. (those and $2.00 will get you a cup of coffee these days).

I have bought off ebay in the past, one time the item was used, which explains why it was a good deal. The other time I bought wicker chairs at a low price. The seller bought a trailer load of them that were rejected from a department store because the color was not right, explaining the low price. BTW, I didn't like the color either and wound up painting them which made the deal not worth it in the long run. At least this seller was forth coming on what I was getting and why it was a low price for a "new" item.

JDBer94 · 03-02-2008, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Tiara33 - 3/1/2008 6:56 PM

The TG-30-II IS $240. I could see if it was last years model, as they made improvements for 2008, but the seller claims 2008 and the pic's back him up.
Here is the post

Did some checking and cost on that reel is approx. $250 to $260. So if he is selling below that number it must either be a non-usa model or hot !! My guess is the second. Best of luck if you purchase it from that seller.

funbiz99 · 03-02-2008, 06:30 PM

with 12000 + feedbacks hes got a good reputation!! You have a $2000.00 paypal guarantee and fund it with your amex ..now you have double protection...i wouldnt worry this guy could be buying auctions etc there are all kinds of deals out there...i wouldnt give you my connections either if i had it.. i would highly doubt hes selling stolen stuff since 1/05/02

Tiara33 · 03-02-2008, 07:54 PM

funbiz99,

I am not worried about getting ripped off. I feel confident that I will get a reel in the mail for the agreed upon price. I do want to know if it is the exact same reel I will pay $100+ for at my local tackle shop, or online shop. Even if is not, I may still buy it and it may be a great deal, but I want to know what it is before buying it, then I will decide if its worth it or not. Not knowing makes it NOT worth it for me. Thats just me, as I have been burned enough in the past when I don't question things.
The best speculation I can come up with is its an oversea's reel. It may be put together with all metric hardware, which would be OK with me. I would like to know before I go taking it apart and strip half the hardware because I am using USA tools.

If OKuma doesn't have the same pricing policy as Shimano, Penn, ect.. that would explain the low price.

If its hot, I will pass, as I am sure most people will. I have emailed the seller again and I will post what his response is.

Major Woods · 03-03-2008, 09:12 AM

Quote:

Tiara33 - 3/2/2008 6:54 PM

I am not worried about getting ripped off. I feel confident that I will get a reel in the mail for the agreed upon price. I do want to know if it is the exact same reel I will pay $100+ for at my local tackle shop, or online shop. Even if is not, I may still buy it and it may be a great deal, but I want to know what it is before buying it, then I will decide if its worth it or not. Not knowing makes it NOT worth it for me. Thats just me, as I have been burned enough in the past when I don't question things.
The best speculation I can come up with is its an oversea's reel. It may be put together with all metric hardware, which would be OK with me. I would like to know before I go taking it apart and strip half the hardware because I am using USA tools.

If OKuma doesn't have the same pricing policy as Shimano, Penn, ect.. that would explain the low price.

If its hot, I will pass, as I am sure most people will. I have emailed the seller again and I will post what his response is.

FYI
I purchased 2 Okuma Gold 50-speeds from that e-bay vendor late last year.
No problems with the sale.
No problems with the reels in use during tuna/shark fishing.
Disassembled them during the winter for clean and greasing, they are the same internally as the Okumas purchased at Shark River mail order (domestic purchase).

ACF Marine Inc · 03-03-2008, 09:23 AM

I purchased 10 Okuma Titus Golds two years ago from a seller on ebay who had very attractive pricing. My understanding of the deal was he was in Japan and the reels cost less over there. Everything showed up looking good and very quickly. They have also held up very well for me.

Tiara33 · 03-03-2008, 04:59 PM

I called Okuma today. I talked to a sales person in their California headquaters. They told me they do have a price protection policy on the Titus reels (didn't get specific about gold, silver, base) and that they are made overseas. They only have one version of each model, there is not a US versus an overseas version. They basically said if it says Okuma on the box and the reel looks like the latest and greatest, it is.

I pressed them on how they can be sold so low on Ebay and they said that they do their best to prevent that from happening and they have investigated or gone after some of their US distributers to stop them selling below the proper price.

After my talk with Okuma, I think that the Ebay stores do get them at "slightly" lower prices than normal on occasion, for one reason or another, and the ebay seller is cutting his profit very low and also making some back on shipping, which they charge $35 for. This jibes with the positive experiences others have had and as I have looked more on ebay, there is a range of prices on the reels. Some are low like I have been reporting, and they go all the way up to the standard price found on line.

One last thing to add, Boaters World is selling a combo with this reel (Tg-30-II) with an all aftco roller standup rod. Their price is $400. The rod normally sells for $180. If the reel can be had for $250 and I buy a $150 rod, I am at the Boaters World price without paying $35 each for shipping. Decisions, Decisions......