Recomendations for Gear buying

[coho21 0]

So I'm looking at buying used gear from a couple of people online. I am wondering if any of you have suggestions on how I should go about this as I don't want to get stuck with a $3,000 garbage bag? I have worked a deal with someone for the Container/Reserve and it looks like this is going to be a COD deal. As for a main, I am a little more worried. I don't want to get stuck with something that actually has 600 jumps when it is advertised as 60 jumps.

I'm also trying to figure out how I can get all of the gear checked out by a rigger before paying for it. Any hints here as well?

As a side note how do you get the faces up in the text of the message?

Thanks.
BS
Jensen

J
YSD#0009

[freefalle 0]

I havent had too much experience with buying gear through the mail but I have heard of other people that have and I believe this is what was suggested. Find a DZ or gear store that is willing to act as a third party, have the person you want to buy the gear from send the gear their to be inspected. If its what you want after its inspected give the DZ or store the money and they can send the seller the cash if its not what you expected, at least pay the shipping cost to have it returned to the seller. That may not be exactly how it should work but its a thought. good luck I hope you find what you want.

[fool 0]

I bought my main from skykat online gear shop, and the way they worked it was that I paid for it, they sent it to me, I had 5 days to get it checked out or whatever, and if I didn't want it, I could send it back for a complete refund...never got to try out the refund policy...

S.E.X. party #1

"Life's journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "f*#k, what a ride".

[petur 0]

In my opinion, think above all of a safe first main canopy with an adequate margin for errors. Don't worry if it already has "some" jumps on it, the slippery Zero P fabric will be a lot easier for you to pack and you will probably be downsizing in a hundred jumps or so.

You might be able to contact a friendly dropzone near the seller and have him turn it in for inspection before you buy it... better yet, if you don't trust the sales speech, have it sent to the manufacturer for a check. That's what I would do if I didn't know the owner or if I hadn't seen it before emptying my wallet.

That's what the voices in my head would tell me to do...

I myself, weighing 148 pounds, bought a Spectre 170 with approx. 3-400 jumps on it for my first canopy, jumped it 100 times, demoed a 150 Sabre2 for a few days and eventually chose a 135 which I really enjoy.

---
P.
"It Hurts to Admit When You Make Mistakes -
But When They're Big Enough, the Pain Only Lasts a Second."

[riggerrob 562]

ditto,
Ask the seller to ship/take the parachute to a rigger that you trust for inspection.
You may want to put the money in some form of escrow account while it is being inspected.
A rigger who works for a major dealer is probably your best bet. I know that I inspected hundreds of used rigs while working for Square One. Most of the used gear only needed minor repairs and I only grounded 1% of what came through. After a while, gear sellers realize that major dealers are serious and quit sending junk.