Anyone buy a new bat off of eBay before?

[orickx]

Hey all, I'm looking to purchase a new 2013 COMbat B4 Portent for my son for Christmas. (He needs a new bat & if I can knock out a 2 for 1 & get one for Christmas, then everybody wins ).

On eBay they have a lot of Sellers who are selling them brand new for $199.99, which is $100 less than any website or retail store. The ads on eBay say come with receipt and full manufacturers warranty. Anybody have any experience good or bad with a bat purchased off eBay?

How can these guys be selling them for $100 less?

I know I have 45 days Paypal protection if anything, just wondering any input.

Thanks in advance.

[bbrages]

I have bought a couple of new bats off of Ebay. I usually bought them after the season or even a year or two old.

I assume the markups on them is pretty large, so sports shops can slash the prices pretty deeply to move out old stock.

I bought a LS Dynasty small-barrel composite for pretty cheap last year.

You have to be careful that your organization will allow the bat. In the case of the Dynasty, I think it had been banned by Little League but it was still legal in my son's league...

[d-mac]

I bought a B4 Portent from ebay seller DDsporto for $132 a few weeks ago. This is about the 4th bat I have bought from him, and outside of one wood bat, Ebay is the only place I buy bats. I have had to warranty quite a few bats and I have never had any issues.

[tg643]

Hey all, I'm looking to purchase a new 2013 COMbat B4 Portent for my son for Christmas. (He needs a new bat & if I can knock out a 2 for 1 & get one for Christmas, then everybody wins ).

On eBay they have a lot of Sellers who are selling them brand new for $199.99, which is $100 less than any website or retail store. The ads on eBay say come with receipt and full manufacturers warranty. Anybody have any experience good or bad with a bat purchased off eBay?

How can these guys be selling them for $100 less?

I know I have 45 days Paypal protection if anything, just wondering any input.

Thanks in advance.

They often don't have retail rent overhead and a bunch of employees. Just check the buyer satisfaction rate. I bought every one of my kids bats and gloves up to college online. Sometimes it was EBay. The great thing about college all the equipment is free.

[Bolts-Baseball]

I've bought tons of equipment off ebay... Every transaction has been great so far.

[Coach C]

I've only bought gloves on Ebay. Never a problem....but heed TG's note on checking out the sellers satifaction rate before you buy.

[cps]

I bought a B4 Portent from ebay seller DDsporto for $132 a few weeks ago. This is about the 4th bat I have bought from him, and outside of one wood bat, Ebay is the only place I buy bats. I have had to warranty quite a few bats and I have never had any issues.

I have bought quite a few bats from DDsporto, and have never had an issue with any of them. He will send you a receipt upon request. Whenever you buy of EBay, stick to the top rated sellers.

[edrock13]

I've also bought two bats from DDsporto...got one warranty receipt, no issues with the return/replacement...

[edrock13]

Sorry...double post...

[pcarnette]

Echoing others comments here, DDSporto is the way to go on eBay for new bats.

I had success purchasing a used -9 Easton Rival from baseball-bats.net.

The key with anything bought through eBay or a forum is to ask a lot of questions up front, get good quality, large pictures if you can especially for used stuff, and research the seller's feedback.

[Santoball]

I also have used DDSPORTO with no issues, just find someone who will give warranty and you will have no problems. Actually I have never had to send a bat in for warranty, guess I'm lucky.

[Ursa Major]

Orickx, hope the purchase worked out for you; let us know how it went. Funny, I thought DDSporto was my own little secret, and, yes, it's great.

Bear in mind that when you buy bats from less reputable EBay dealers for unbelievable prices, they're often bats that have been stolen by employees of brick-and-mortar sports retailers. It's just too easy for one of those bats to get lifted as they come in the loading dock. (This is a frequent complaint from our local baseball specialty retailer, who finds himself competing for sales against his own bats!)

[The Glovedoctor]

Ursa - I just got my son the B4 (27/17) off Ebay for $80!!!!! Got it two days ago and gave it to him today. I just looked and there are several for sale in the $80 range.

[orickx]

Orickx, hope the purchase worked out for you; let us know how it went. Funny, I thought DDSporto was my own little secret, and, yes, it's great.

Bear in mind that when you buy bats from less reputable EBay dealers for unbelievable prices, they're often bats that have been stolen by employees of brick-and-mortar sports retailers. It's just too easy for one of those bats to get lifted as they come in the loading dock. (This is a frequent complaint from our local baseball specialty retailer, who finds himself competing for sales against his own bats!)

Hey there, yes I purchased the bat for over $100 less than they are selling for online & in retail stores. Bat came very quickly, in the original combat box with a receipt & all.

The box has been wrapped up & sitting under the tree for about a week now & he will open it tomorrow morning.

He keeps asking what the long slender box is under the tree & I keep telling him it's an umbrella so he can use it when it rains & he is walking home from school. He is not very impressed by my umbrella Christmas gift. Lol.

Thanks everyone for the help on this post, great forum I love to read even though I don't post too much.