that is poor form. i'd be looking for my money back.
have you contacted laurie?

spewin, sorry to hear

what a douche

name and shame I say

a rating system is not really fair to those sellers who are new or rarely sell anything and have no rating. plus the shop pimps could set up bogus sales just to top up their positive feedback.

I agree stamp but im sure Laurie will be able to come up with a solution, we manage to get by as nearly everyone on the buy and sell section is great to deal with (myexperience over the years) . All it takes is for a few users to really start selling bad goods for the reputation to fall and the nightmare of ebay kitesurfing to gain momentum.

If you are buying from anyone in Perth "Kite Surf SUP" would be happy to have the seller bring the kite in for assessment along the lines of the way we check every 2nd hand kite we put on the shelf - including those on consignment.
Our kite assessment regime is:
- a 3 hr inflation test.
- check every bridle line for equal length (we dont work from brand spec advice - too complicated).
- record % of wear on parts like 'P'Lines.
- check every panel & record damage or repairs.
- check the LE & record damage or repairs.
- assess the usage in terms of % of life used (pretty arbitary but we do our best)
- record any signs of excessive wear & tear.
Our Bar Test
- check line lengths are equal (not many arent equal lines any more)
- check the full length of every line for any knots or cuts or weaknesses
- check all pigtails are colour coded correctly & that knots & loops match the kite.
- check the safety mechanism is appro & working.
- check that the safety release action follows thru to depower.
- record the % wear & tear of all lines individually.

We could also offer a market value assessment based on the prices we have to work to to put 2nd hand in the 'worth buying' category in our own ads.

Id suggest that if a seller wasnt prepared to have the kite assessed you could be pretty sure he/she is either sure of its condition & value & saleability or there is reason for you to be wary.
All this for free - if we find it is valuable enough to both buyer & seller we may look at charging a fee sometime down the track. It generally takes the best part of 45 mins to an hr from packed to checked & repacked so thinking $50 would be reasonable if ppl want it?

I agree - an enormous % of sellers on SB are 100% reliable but theres always the cheats.
You should see some of the kites newbys come in with that they bought "for an absolute bargain" off Gumtree or Ebay.
Latest was a "hardly used" 14M Naish Aero on a 55cm unmatched Bar. This was "the perfect beginner kite" for 2 x 65/70kg learners to get started on. Apparently the seller had "no problem teaching myself on it" and he must have been fair dinkum because "it wasnt even trashed" !!!!
Happens all the time.

Floater said...


And pay for the item either with paypal or even better, COD.

COD is good as far as exchanging goods for money but the buyer does not get to open or check the goods before paying for the delivery unless Australia Post has changed their policy.

Rating systems do work, other sites I have used require 50 proper forum posts, not just drivel, before u can advertise at all. Then poor feedback requires a dialogue between buyer and seller, moderated by mods/site owner, else seller is banned.


In the absence of that, and the fact he is not a serial fraudulent offender so laurie can't help, and the fact he has not answered your queries, yes I agree with default - name and shame.

Seabreeze has been the safest online gear selling ever, in part due to a small market in a small country and most of us know each other, and problems here are rare..... so when the w^nkers come along they need to be outed

Sorry to hear... Just for the record I've always received good quality products from seabreeze buy and sell. Most have been without seeing the item first. I am always a little worried until I receive the kite. Have found a good chat on the phone with a bunch of questions has been enough to judge the seller. I would be guttered handing over hard earned for a lemon!! Don't give up!!! hunt him down, and be a VERY squeaky wheel[}:)]

Yort said...


advertised as a 2009 kite in good condition from interstate only to receive a 2006 kite in not so good condition.

hey im sure fair trading would help you sort this out.
have dealt with them a few times and have had great results.

thats a low act and totally unfair.

I too have had really good experience throught SB buy n sell, but have heard of this happening a bit more frequently.

kitch

All I can add is that it's extremely rare.

The last instance I got informed of was Sir V & friend 12+ months ago, which turned out to be that the item was lost by Aus Post (also extremely rare!)

In addition to tips above, getting photo's are the best way to "see" it first...

sci said...
eBay is a prime example of how a profile, rating, feedback systems builds trust and peace of mind.

Yeah, that's good in theory but Ebay is a marketplace that deals in almost every conceivable product. Also there is a dispute resolution system (backed up by Paypal) that protects buyers and sellers. Seabreeze could not reasonably offer that. Remember this is essentially a single website administered by one full time person and a band of volunteers. Ebay is a massive multinational with offices all over the world, dealing with all sorts of jurisdictions. It's like trying to compare my local corner shop to Woolworths.

Seabreeze only deals in a few products, that people do not buy and sell regularly. Most people who buy or sell items on Seabreeze might only do 1 or 2 transactions a year, so it would take years to build up a good reputation. Even if you were a gear monster that bought a new 3 kite quiver and boards every season, selling the old stuff on SB it would take a while to build up a rep.

Personally I have used Buy and Sell once and it was just like using the Trading Post. I rang the dude, drove past on the way home from work, had a look, made an offer and came back with the money the next day.

My preferred means of using Buy & Sell is to only deal with people you can meet face to face, like a classifieds paper. This way you can check out the goods and then decide if you want to buy. The only way I would deal with an interstate seller would be if the person was either a mod, site sponsor, or a well known poster on SB.

JOYRIDER said...
Fair trade blahhh, photos first blahhh.

Go to your local shop!

they all have tonnes of 2nd hand gear, you can feel, touch, rub, smell as much as you want.

And if there is any issues, guess what??? you can go back there.

seems a hard task to some, but believe me it works.

The only Blah Blah mate is your comment, if you cant help out with an important issue then dont Blah Blah.

Yort and Maxiy, NAME and SHAME please.

Some of us have moderate google skillz and might be able to turn up some other info to help you track down seller.

I am more than happy to spend some time helping if I had something to go on.

PS I have bought/sold a number of things and both parties satisfied every time, as good or better than described.

kiteboy dave said...
Yort and Maxiy, NAME and SHAME please.

Some of us have moderate google skillz and might be able to turn up some other info to help you track down seller.

I am more than happy to spend some time helping if I had something to go on.

PS I have bought/sold a number of things and both parties satisfied every time, as good or better than described.

Yort and Maxiy,
kiteboy dave is good at this. His efforts in the past have been both effective and entertaining....

All well and good.

But if the guy is a genuine Knoob or has NFI then hey may think its a 2009.
Especially if he is selling it for a second time.

Good luck