Interesting article on fake North Face Gear. I made the mistake of buying a fake jacket on Ebay. Luckily the seller gave me a refund once I pointed out the jacket was a fake...others may not be so lucky! There is loads of this stuff on ebay and is best avoided.
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 The nub of the problem, I think, is that it's not that hard to work it out once it's in your possession, but a lot more difficult when you're on the internet looking at pics.
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 I personally think that Ebuy is a waste of time not only for outdoor kit but for most other things as well.Why can't trading standards look at the rubbish thats being peddled on their, I have no doubt their are genuine sellers but if things are really cheap then they are probably fakes, like the old saying goes buyer beware!!!!
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 that's what happens to fashion clothes.
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Whats Ebuy??? Its wrong to 'discount' Ebay as a waste of time. There are many excellent sellers on the site and many ways to check whether what you are buying is authenic.
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 Ebay is FAB! I have got most of my climbing stuff from there (via shops that sell surplus new stuff, not individuals selling second hand), plus loads of outdoors stuff (new and used), and saved a packet.
Latest bargain - brand new Salomom SM Lites for £57 inc postage. RRP is £130
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 I too think ebay is great - never bought any clothing on there but I know a number of people who have bought tents and sleeping bags etc tho. However, you do need to be careful. My housemate bought a £900 laptop on there 9 months ago... the laptop still hasn't turned up and the police can't do anything because we are in england and the seller is in scotland and apparently the police forces are separate so nowt can be done!
However, most of the time ebay is pretty good... its ashame some people have to ruin it for the rest of us!
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 sounds like B'lox to me.
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 It's brilliant for records.
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 There's abig issue in US cities at the moment. TNF has become the thing to wear and people are being robbed at bus stops and things for their North Face jackets. Will it be Peter Storm next? ;o)
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My appologies Anthony, slight slip of the finger with the spelling!!!!
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 I'm not convinced by eBay. There are so many people bidding that prices are often more than you could buy new; I've seen that on numerous occasions.
If you look around e-retailers, and real shops, you'll often find stuff as cheap, if not cheaper than on eBay, and with better consumer protection.
And frankly, I can't be arsed with all the faff of searching through piles of dross, and 'bidding'.
For buying second hand, I'd stick with dedicated forums such as this, and UKC, where people are 'known'.
I flogged 54 platypus bladders and two Vango sleeping bags on UKC last year, and all deals went smoothly. If people weren't UKC regulars, I asked them to send a cheque first, and no-one objected.
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 Being a sap for the latest bits of shiny kit, I've been using Ebay to flog off 20 years worth of outdoor gear over the last few months in order to fund my habit.
I've managed to offload everything so far, and have found that if you have reasonable kit to sell you can get back a good chunk of your initial outlay.
I sold a couple of windstopper fleeces recently for two thirds of what I paid, so I had a couple of years use for not much cost. The good thing about that was that I replaced the fleeces with Microtherms for less than I got for the old gear and find them a much better thing for the hills.
My trusty tent went last week for £142 after I paid £250 new, so I had two years use of it for just £108.
When Karrimor went down the tubes last year I got 2 new Jaguar rucksacks for £62 each on Ebay when most shops were still selling them at £150.
I'll be putting up another genuine TNF jacket this week which will fund the latest Berghaus Paclite Trek I've just bought for my wife. I'm looking at outdoor kit now as something you simply trade in after you get bored with it, so you never need to pay the full price again.
The main thing is don't get carried away with the bidding. I've seen second hand TNF duffles go for more than the Cotswold's current sale prices. My rule of thumb is don't pay more than half the retail price unless you really want it.
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