Re: what ?'s to ask an ebay seller
On a drive that old, I'd guesstimate it likely has similar wear and age problems to yours, he just doesn't realize it. It sounds like yours is perfectly functional but could stand to have a good rebuild/reseal with a few new parts. Why not just do that? Then you'll know EXACTLY what you have.<br /><br />Or buy a fully remanufactured unit for yourself and put YOUR outdrive on Ebay with an honest description? As it does work, I promise you'll still get good money for it.<br /><br />Another observation is that he has a reserve on the auction. In my Ebay experience, reserve auctions often have reserve prices that are MUCH higher than you're probably willing to pay, so you won't win the bid anyway.<br /><br />Third, outdrive rebuilders eat these things up on Ebay so they can get good cores and spare parts to put in other drives. So you're going to be bidding against people and businesses who have stockpiles of parts laying around and have a much greater interest in buying this drive than you do. So if it indeed meets reserve, I'd bet it'll go much higher than you think it will.<br /><br />I sold a Bravo outdrive once on Ebay that was insurance company salvage...it was a complete upper and lower unit that had hit a rock so hard it had completely busted up both cases...there were huge cracks and missing chunks taken out. That stupid thing sold for about $800!<br /><br />Of course Bravos are worth much more than what you're looking at, but I think you'll be stunned at how expensive this thing will sell for IF it meets the reserve.<br /><br />If you do win, I'll predict that shipping on this thing is going to eat you alive! The seller only has 2 feedback ratings and he didn't specify ANY type of shipping cost estimate...I'm not convinced that he knows what he's in for either when it comes time to ship this thing and it hits the scales at the local UPS store! If you can pick up in person this problem won't rear it's head, but if Texas is too far for you, I know UPS would likely be charging somewhere in the hundreds of dollars to move something that heavy. The Bravo drive I sold I largely disassembled it and shipped in 3 separate boxes to keep costs a bit more reasonable, it was still over $100 to move it across the country.<br /><br />He has no serial number listed. Outdrives are easy to steal and are all over the black market. What are the sellers guarantees that this drive is not "hot?" And what recourse will you have if you win it and he ships you a drive with the serial number filed off?<br /><br />Not trying to scare ya, as it's probably perfectly legit as he described it, but you just never know...<br /><br />Ebay's a funny thing...it takes some experience to figure it out on higher dollar items. Good luck with whatever you decide!
