Never buying a second hand helicopter from Ebay again

[phil67]

I bought a T Rex600n from Ebay from a seller in Ireland a couple of months back. It was a reasonable price, was delivered in a week and i put it away in the workshop till i had a chance to check it out. I gave the seller positive feedback as it had arrived and looked complete.


Well yesterday i had a spare few hours, and so thought i would give it a spring clean and a check over, i took the canopy off and all i can say is what clown built this, for a machine which had never had a rough landing and only 10 flights.

Screws were missing out from all over the place, the reciever mount and tail boom mount were cracked, upon further investigation the clutch was broken in half the nut on top of the clutch shaft had been cross threaded,which had caused the bearing to sit wonky which caused the plastic clutch housing to split as well.

So thankfully Fast Lads were open and i managed to buy some of the things which i had already stripped down and cleaned.

I know some people moan about the align bearings, but surely you should get more than the rumoured 10 flights out of them

I had hoped to give it its maiden flight today, but that will have to wait now.

Well am i the only one who has bought a duff one, and if i had only remembered the saying if its seems to good to be true it prob is.

At least its giving me a refresh on building a heli up from the ground, but this time with threadlock lol

[jayfrs]

i know the feeling mate, i dont buy secondhand unless it off someone i know or is well known as its more hassle then what it can be worth.
i have bought two heils off here on from Jack bishop which was perfect and another from Sao and that was perfect, but i got a few off ebay in the past and it would have been cheaper to buy it new buy the time i put it right!

[GIXERMAN]

It pays to buy new, or from a trusted seller s/hand, seems to be lots that won't to be tight and buy the cheapest they can get. But I think you pay for it in the long run IMO, plus I would always check model over or strip before flyin anyway.

[helijohn]

I've have bought more than a few off eBay and one or two have been really bad but these get sent back. I wouldn't advise giving +ve feedback unless it has been properly checked. It seems often to be the case that if they have one fault they have many.

On the other hand I have had many many more which have been cracking buys.

Then again I have bought used from a shop and had a few that have been shoddy and I'd say the shop hasn't done it's job in checking what they are selling.

In short, buying used is a risk no matter what the source but as long as there is customer protection in place then the risk is mitigated.

[scoobystig]

Both my Trex 500 and Trex 600 were 2nd hand, but bought from members on here

both were in suberb condition and well looked after - so buying 2nd hand isnt always bad

[Pabs]

My raptor came from ebay @ £122 all in - turned up with a knackered engine & broken undercarriage. I complained and got £40 back from the seller, then sold the 35Mhz Sanway radio gear and servo's for £50 so ended up paying about £30 for the rest - added my own engine and bought some new electronics and think I've got a very good condition rappy for about £140. I'm chuffed to bits with that, and I learned a lot about the model i the meantime.

Also got a Trex 600n inc. .50 engine for £140 recently, ok it's the older version with the belt drive for tail, but IMO that's better for a learner like me and the rest is in excellent condition.

Just have to look carefully at what you're bidding on and be prepared for a full-strip down and a few issues and you can still get some bargains. Just don't get the auction "bug" and pay over the odds for something!

[panosg]

Both my Trex 500 and Trex 600 were 2nd hand, but bought from members on here

both were in suberb condition and well looked after - so buying 2nd hand isnt always bad

Isn't bad from here, especially if ti's a known member.
From ebay you are asking for trouble in opinion. If it's a big machine then more likely the seller will be a member from an online heli forum,so more likely the heli will be up for sale on that forum.
From ebay, it's more likely, someone bought one (thinking it's a toy, crashed it, bodged it and put it up for sale on evil bay!

Buying new, or from someone known in here it's the only way. Even BMFA worry me!

[ChrisB]

I agree I always buy new from Hong Kong and sell on for not much loss on original price then repeat process.

Very hit and miss with used stuff.

[simon1]

I never buy from ebay now for 2nd hand helis, i've bought 3 all had issues 1 or more issues, buying from a seller on here with a good rep or a kit from Hong Kong new is the way I've gone for the last few buys, without a problem.

[phil67]

Looks like another trip in the morning to Fast Lads for the clutch etc. Its good job they are open till 12.

[Dan22]

I took a chance and bought a second hand 600N airframe, a HK450 and a Raptor 50 Titan kit off ebay, all from different sellers and all spot on as described.

Guess i got lucky!

Dan.

[p41mer]

All my helis bar my 450 are second hand. I took a chance with my 600nsp. Got it at a steal, but it was a basic heli at the time. Went fbl and a new os55 but apart from that its been great and it's always with me every Sunday.

Both my 700's I bought from a member on the site. Brilliant builds and good guy to deal with... thx JasonCook..

If it hadn't been for the keen prices of the second hand market and the cracking deals you get from trusted members from this forum I could never of had the kit I have today.

David

[Bronek]

Re: Never buying a second hand helicopter from Ebay again

I bought my "first" heli (trex 450 pro) from ebay. After binding and first (intentional) spool up I decided the vibration is too bad and since I have no idea how to deal with it, I may as well write it off and buy new one. That one from ebay turned to be source of spares and eventually I've found it had bent flybar. Never even put it in the air. Never will buy heli from ebay again, waste of money.

However I'm tempted to buy 2nd hand, there are great occassions. Here on this forum, only from someone I can trust.

[The Jim]

Re: Never buying a second hand helicopter from Ebay again

I havd bought from ebay but its a lucky dip tbh, i will happily buy s/h from rcha as uts a good crowd.

[trillian]

Yeah, it's a bit of a gamble sometimes. I have had a couple stinkers on EBay but some real bargains as well. One of my biggest gripes in general is that I am too often just gobsmacked at the poor level of packaging. Either some people have a crazy idea that the courier is going to deliver the package on a feather bed carried in a sedan chair like royalty or something, or they're just lazy lazy ignorant sods.

I once bought a canopy from the BMFA classifieds and it was just heart breaking to see the utter stupidity and lack of care in how it was packed (and naturally it was broken and then the seller was a jerk and wouldn't own up to it being his fault etc etc.).

All my Robbe helis are 2nd hand and I love them. I never would have been able to afford them when they were new (which was way before I started flying anyway) and so far they have all been very well cared for.