Draft. I bought my 26" walkbehind off ebay. Heres my rule for buying equipment on ebay.

If its new, in a box, hasnt been touched or used before, go for it, you really dont have much to lose. 99.5% of the time its going to be a great purchase, and youll save a good amount.

If its been used, especially by a landscaping company..BUYER BEWARE. Be careful when you buy used gear, ask alot of questions and be specific. Check the feedback rating, see what they have sold and contact the people they have sold to.

Especially watch out for things that are listed as.."Just needs a little TLC" or "Just needs a little tune-up" These have the potential to be big bucks to get running.

Dont get me wrong, ebay is full of good deals, but my uncle bought a 36" lesco belt drive last spring which was listed as needing only a tune up cost him close to 600.00 to get cutting again. It was sold by a pawn shop that "couldnt get it started" but claimed a tune up (ie. new filter, fresh gas) would be all it needed.

 

I have sold mower before on ebay. Ask them for a phone number and talk to them. You can tell a lot just by the way someone speaks or talks.

 

THANKS PRO i am looking at a exmark 2000 26 efi 60inch deck with 249 hours for $ 6200 dont know how good of a deal it will be after $575 for shipping.

 

Dont do it, it has 200 some odd hours on it. I would if it had 5 but you dont know what you are buying, go to your dealer or trading post and look in there.

 

I just bought a 48in Metro a 98 model off ebay for 1300 grrr...Im not too happy with it, transaction went smooth though, it just wasnt as great as when I was reading about it on ebay. I bought a Shin T260 off ebay, gently used for 215.00 shipped and when it got here it had a cracked gas tank(or something, still in service) because the guy packed it like a idiot so now Im dealing with that mess. Proenterprises nailed it on the head with Buyer Beware. I did however buy a brand new 2003 Hayabusa last year and was very happy with that deal and saved about 800 from the dealer around here. So good luck!

 

I have got 2 mowers on ebay right now, the biggest thing is check out the feedback rating because someone with 100% and alot of transactions will want to keep you happy. If I sold a mower to someone and they thought that I mislead them about the mower in any way I wouldn't make them buy the mower, I would just re-list it so nobody would feel cheated.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2391613222&category=50377

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2391609244&category=50377

 

PJ-how come your sellin them

 

I bought 2 new hustler super z's with the 28 efi kohler motors this spring, also these were my back-up mowers so they really never got used much in the last 2 years.

 

I have bought and sold mowers on Ebay with pretty good results. But the last one the mower had some electrical problems the guy didn't mention (blade wiring was hacked up by him and didn't work) and a few small parts missing. It was also a fiasco about shipping since he was really dumb and gave me the wrong pickup address. But I factored that into the price and got it really cheap, so I still got what I guess is $1300-$1500 worth of mower for an investment of about $900 after the repairs.

If you had a mower with an engine or hydro problem that you knew was going to fail soon, you might be tempted to sell it now for top dollar while it's still working and get a new one. So remember that when buying and factor that into the price you're willing to pay.

Some good rules:

1. Feedback. Lots of good w/ little or no bad is a great sign, but not a guarantee. His other feedback could be from selling beanie babies or something. But of course more is better. Anything under 95% positive is a problem, since many dissatisfied buyers/sellers won't leave negative feedback fearing retaliation by him on thier rating. 5% negative probably means 10% or more in reality.

2. Information in the ad. Does it sound evasive? People with good mowers crow about them. People with something to hide give minimal details and hope you won't ask questions.

3. Payment: Try to pay via credit card directly. If not, ask if they will send it COD. Then Paypal if you feel lucky(minimal protection despite their bs claims). I would never send a check for an item like that.

4. Much better if you can inspect before purchase. A day's drive is worth it over $6000. That's a pretty wide range from your home.

5. Call and talk to the seller. Liars often sound like liars. Too smooth or too nervous.

6. Established businesses with reputations will probably be more honest than some guy selling a single item with no feedback.

7. How much are you saving vs. new? Is it worth the risk and having less or no warranty?

 

bruce i am hoping to save at least $ 2800 plus get a 90 day warranty on parts but if the seller does not want to use a escrow service i will not buy it

 

If you meant that you're saving $2800 off the price of a new '04 model by buying a used '00 model, that's no savings at all. True savings means paying less for goods of like value. That's getting harder to do on Ebay as it gets more popular.

I'm watching them and generally seeing the mowers in the price range I'm shopping saving only about $500 off new once you factor in shipping. And usually they're last year's models and such so even then it's not much better than just walking into a dealer. The big mowers may save more. But the more you spend the more I would be wary of problems too.

You're wise to insist on escrow. But a 4 year old Lazer if it's been used regularly is getting up there. An engine replacement and a couple of hydro pumps or motors and your savings just evaporated.