Beware purchasing second hand kites

I agree, the things that bothers me the most are the non-original bar (should have been mentioned - of course, you might expect worn lines) and the general unclean condition of the kite. If I was going to sell a kite, I would pump it up, check it all worked, clean the sand off it with a dustpan brush, sounds like the seller had used it half an hour before posting it off still wet and full of sand.

However, if you are going to spend such a little amount on a kite, no point buying it sight unseen! I'm sure there are plenty of sub $400 kites going around in NSW that you could have gone and had a look at. At least it's easy to send it back or walk away from the deal if you are unhappy. In my mind, saving money = taking more time and paying a premium = saving my time. So you have to work out how much your time is worth. If you want to buy a sub $400 kite and don't have the time to run around town looking at gear then don't be surprised if you get burnt.

Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware) at all times.

As to a ratings system on sellers, being a forum, sellers usually have a posting history and you could check their posts. I would be happy buying gear from WA if I knew it was someone well known and active on the forum. That's better than a ratings system. After all, how many times a year would most people on the forum buy and sell things? Probably not enough to build up a decent feedback rating.

I hope the experience doesn't put you off Seabreeze. Most of the people here are honest and most would have only good experiences from using the buy and sell. I know I have.

I have no problem selling dodgy kites to a windsurfer or someone who does 'streetSUP'...

Name and Shame

Why not? sounds like seller doesn't care about his rep

I have seen everything I have brought even from NZ

Everyone should have a camera phone. Just ask the person if you can video call them
And you just guide them over the item till your satisfied.

Only 1 person said my phone does not have a camera. I laughed and hung up.


Works for me.......

Just a suggestion.... If you can't check out the item first, consider using an escrow service. They act as a sort of 'middle man' and hold the cash until the goods have arrived and checked out to be 'as described'. I have done this in the past and it worked fine.

The 'video call' suggestion is a good idea and worth remembering.

Also known as Cash On Delivery (COD) service. Aust Post offer it for a percentage fee.

Oh, I almost forgot, if a sale from seabreeze buy & sell goes a bit pear shaped, give Laurie the chance to try to sort it out before going having a public rant.
No doubt Laurie may not be able to resolve all issues, but if I was running the site I would appreciate the chance to fix it before it goes public. IMHO once a public stoush has been started, there is less chance of it being resolved to the satisfaction of all.

Maxiy, you may have done this? If so, just take my comments as a heads up to other seabreezers.

Maybe you could have avoided this heartache by having the kite inspected by a third party before agreeing to the sale - looks like lots of shops might do this for free (www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Kite-inspection-service/), and if the seller isn't keen, I'd walk away.

It is an unfortunate outcome for me and very disappointing one at that. However I do admit it is partly my own fault. Like many of you have mentioned I should have been more cautious with inspecting the kite and should have had a thorough look over the kite. However i still believe there should have been a level of honesty from the seller that he did not display

That sucks balls mate sorry to hear about your bad buying experience.

But i'm not super stoked you've thrown that up there. I see someone made a comment about never buying second hand gear on seabreeze, with a lot of green thumbs. I only buy second hand gear now because i can generally find a good deal and save some cash. I've bought and sold a few kites on this site and all has been good.

I was about to list some gear for sale. Hope this toppic hasn't put people off using the second hand gear section because it's awesome.

+1 for for buying 2nd hand from a shop, 9 times out of 10 they will have checked the kite and be upfront about any repairs that have been done and what could need being replaced. you also usually get what you pay for, i have only ever heard of a few people out of everyone i have ever known getting a good 2nd hand kite cheap.

beware of ads like this, it will surely make you cry when you open the package!

12m (brand) kite great condition, never flown in wind over 20knots, washed, dried brushed off and folded free of sand on packdown. one lady owner only flown on weekends and never kitelooped. kite has only been in saltwater once to test relaunch. sorry for bad pics my camera sucks.

$400.00

I have to admit I was guilty of not thoroughly checking 2nd hand kites when I first got into retail (ignorance not intentional). Learnt my lesson the hard way. Luckily it was not checking a kite on the way in rather than having to live through the embarassment of sending out a kite which was dangerously faulty.
Im sure most, if not all shops, have a system like ours now where a thorough, point-by-point RAC type, inspection is done on every kite passing through the store.
At KSS we have a proforma check list that covers every conceivable inspectable feature - and its still being updated with new things to check as we learn more about what can go wrong.
To give you some idea of how careful you have be - our pre-flight check takes about 30 mins - not counting the 3 hrs we allow for the inflation check.
If I was buying a kite 2nd hand from anywhere Id like to see the seller commit to his/her detailed "flight check" or at least a "pre-flight check" of the kite. Not just ask "is it in good condition? & "are there any repairs?" That is just leaving yourself wide open to getting what you would have prefered NOT to have paid for.
First time buyers BEWARE.
You should NEVER buy sight unseen.
You should NEVER even buy after seeing the kite unless you had an experienced kiter with you when you inspected it. You MUST know what to look for. Having done lessons wont give you those skills.
Unfortunately there are way too many (kiters & others) out there quite happy to sell shonky kites & even dangerous kites for the sake of a few bucks in their wallet.
Happens all the time.
SHAME - makes me really mad.

Sorry bout your bad deal Maxiy,
I'd be spewing if some kook sent me some messed up piece of S**t that was the end result of a bunch of lies and negligence.
Escrow, paypal, are all great, essential things to back up the Buy and Sell service which we all use and is an absolutely awesome way of keeping the love going round this awesome community we have here. There is always someone coming through who is at the perfect level and weight to be suited to your old gear, why not make it available if it's only going to sit in the garage for 3 years?
But if you can't be honest and fess up to the actual state of the item, then comments should appear in a buyers & sellers comments & rating section that would be viewable in your members profile. Similar to e-bay. Slandering and outing of members in general and specific discussion forums like this is absolutely not on.
Monty Pythons witch trials come to mind, as does Arthur Millers play. Can of worms here well open to abuse by the overly emotional and slightly vindictive side of all of us. We come to the forums here for ideas and information not nepotism and public hangings.
All the same I would definitely mail Laurie about your situation pronto if you haven't already.
Good luck m8, hope to hear of a positive result for you.

I recently bought some second hand kites off seabreeze and didnt have any major dramas.

There were repairs that I hadn't been told about but the bladders seemed ok.

I didn't check for line stretch though before I used the 10.5 and launched on the beach. Raised the kite up to 12 and as it went to the other side, I had to full lock the bar in the opposite direction to stop it from contacting the ground.

Long story short, the left hand line was about 2 inches longer than the right.

When you get a second hand kite, first thing I do now is to check the line lengths before you use it.

As to buying new vs second hand, it depends on what sort of person you are. If you look after your gear, buy new. If you don't care too much about your gear, buy second hand as it will bother you if you look after your gear and buy someone elses crashes!

Seriously though, check your lines!

$950nzd,,,,is that about $250aus??