Is ebay a good place to find reenacting stuff

[cjc]

Is ebay a good place to buy reenacting stuff. Is paypall a trust worthy service.

[maillemaker]

Well I would say as with buying anyplace online, "buyer beware". You can find good things and crappy things on eBay. I don't visit eBay very much anymore for two reasons:

1) It is mostly a storefront for stores, not really auctions at all.
2) It's too easy to "snipe" auctions by not bidding until the final seconds of an auction. On sites like gunbroker, any bid in the last 15 minutes of an auction extends the bid an extra 15 minutes. This eliminates sniping.

PayPal is fine, though some people have had problems with then freezing your account for various reasons, usually suspicion of fraud. They also tend to side with buyers more than sellers which means as a seller you can get stiffed. I've used them for years, though, without any problems.

Steve

[reddcorp]

It really depends on what you are in the market for. I have gotten some good deals on shovels, tools, cooking items, glasswares, camp chairs(the funeral parlor style seen in CW pictures) and the like. But I have not been impressed with any clothing items that I've seen for sale there. And it is amazing what some sellers call "Civil War" items. So, it's hit or miss. Like a thrift store, you have to check often.
As for PayPal, I use it a lot and have encountered no problems.

A. Redd

[Ala-Sippi Rifle]

Paypal is a faily reliable way to purchase stuff but ebay is "buyer beware". Some things on there are made by good folks with high quality but most that I have seen (especially new) are just imported, poor quality trappings. Take heed of what folks here and on the ac forum tell you. Yes,you may pay more for a higher quality item from one of the recommended vendors but buying on the cheap usually causes you to eventually spend double because of constantly having to replace shoddy equipment. Use the classifieds and sutler sections here and also the search box. As it has been stated before on numerous similar posts, there is no "one stop shop" for everything you will want or need in this hobby. And remember also that there is not one person in the hobby that has "the perfect" portrayal(no matter what they might say). Each one of us is striving to be better than we were at the last event and constantly learning about how the brave men we attempt to represent lived and in many cases died in that bloody conflict.

[johnduffer]

Any gear being sold on eBay that's close to right is probably being passed off as original.

From quite a bit of experience on the receiving end the only payment option better than PayPal is cash from their hand to yours in person.

[Pennvolunteer]

When I first began in the hobby, I bought a forage cap that looked pretty good in the pictures, but was junk upon delivery and I only got part of my money back. When I look at ebay, as someone mentioned earlier, hardware and cookware may be okay, but for clothing I learned a long time ago (the hard way) in this hobby you get what you pay for. Go to a quality vendor for clothing, accoutrements and uniforms. It is better to buy good stuff a little at a time and build a quality kit for a good impression.

[Blair]

cjc,

ebay is not a bad place to find reenacting stuff.
The qualifier here is that "you" must know your stuff first and for-most.
Should you not have this kind of research back ground to back you up... stay away from it.
Just my opinion,

[SackCoat]

I have only come across one item, an authentic bayonet, that I purchased on Ebay. This was from a seller who had a good score and where the item was returnable so I would have time to confirm its authenticity.

Everything else I have seen is pure junk. A number "low end" sutlers use Ebay as an additional sales outlet, which should give you an idea of the quality you will find.

Would still look on Ebay, you may find that Diamond in the rough, but be extremly careful!

[captdougofky]

Ebay---For those Folks that have to watch their money or the Newbie who might not want to spend lots of cash. Example you take a young couple with children, cost are bad enough with the average Infantry Kit. Take the Family into consideration and those same cost add up quick. For reenactors who want only the best or those who are required to be Battle specfic to both uniform and weapon, Ebay would not fit their requirements. Average everyday Reenactment, those that are not being filmed or involved in a History heavy event Imports and Ebay work just fine. Level of Kit for a lot of Folks isn't about quality they want, but he or she can afford. I have both Import and Handmade, both get the job done. Ebay is like everything these days buyer beware.

Always
Doug Thomas
Lyons-Kentucky CS

[Tarheel57]

cjc,

ebay is not a bad place to find reenacting stuff.
The qualifier here is that "you" must know your stuff first and for-most.
Should you not have this kind of research back ground to back you up... stay away from it.
Just my opinion,

I agree. I purchased a Tim Bender slouch hat on Ebay for $75 shipped. With persistence and/or luck it is indeed possible to find quality items there.