they seem to be a go-between for used gear. are they reliable? is it a trustworthy site?

It's run by backcountry.com. I've bought stuff on it, only from backcountry.com though, not from any of the individual sellers. But if it's backed by bc, I'd think you'd have some protection against scammers.

Edit: As noted below, you pay geartrade.com, which holds the money in case the buyer has a complaint about the condition or claims not to have received it. They require sellers to ship with a tracking number so buyers can't pull an "I didn't get it."

Edited by jrmacd on 04/30/2010 08:55:34 MDT.

I purchased an Arc Teryx solo jacket from an individual through geartrade, and the transaction went very smoothly. Rather than paying the individual, I paid Geartrade. This seems to make the transaction a little less risky.

It could be easier to navigate though...

I just posted an ad to sell my Osprey Kestrel 48 backpack on that website yesterday.. they do take 12% from the seller but seem to offer some protection by holding the money in between.

Could indeed be easier to navigate.. so difficult to find my own ad.

(No one here would be interested in something as "heavy" as the Kestrel 48 I presume..)

I have bought a used set of REI carbon trekking poles and an old Sierra Designs flashlight Clip 2 tent from "individuals" and the transactions went smoothly. I have bought Numerous things on geartrade from Backcountry and have been 100% satisfied with both the gear and the shipping (price and speed)

I've only bought stuff from backcountry's account on geartrade.com but everything went very smoothly. Nabbed a down vest, and some mountaineering boots for half off. The only caveat (at least if you buy from backcountry's account) is that because most of the gear is used, or new without tags, it's similar to an rei garage sale in that all sales are final! Best try on a product in person at a local store before pulling the trigger on geartrade.com

Make sure you grab the item fast too. I was going to order some black diamond gloves, but they were gone before I had the chance to find them somewhere else to ensure that the size would fit me.

I went ahead and ordered a houdini XL for $50. i hope its a good buy. the houdini seems to get stellar reviews on BPL.

I've bought a couple of things from Geartrade from individual sellers. No problems.

HJ

I bought a couple things with no problems. However, I also bought a Mountain Hardwear fleece that, it turns out, had been severely shrunk in the wash. Had a hard time getting my money back. It seemed like they really didn't have a good process in place, as some of the emails I got from the staff were along the lines of "Oh man, I totally forgot to contact the seller. My bad, I'm really new at this!" Come to think of it, I don't know if I ever actually got my money back...

> I also bought a Mountain Hardwear fleece that had been severely shrunk in the wash.

??????? Synthetic fleece shrunk in the wash ??????
News to me.

cheers

Roger, I was thinking the very same thing. Maybe we should contact the guy would was able to do it and find out if he has some secret formula or something (kind of like "flubber")

I've had a negative experience with Geartrade and I'm not sure I would deal with them again.

I purchased and paid for a sleeping bag with Backcountry as the seller. I waited patiently for shipping information that never came. One week after placing the order, I got a cancellation from Geartrade because they did not receive shipping information from Backcountry. There was no communication from Backcountry or Geartrade to let me know why the order was not fulfilled.

I had to contact Backcountry and they replied that "the item is no longer available". Yeah, duh.

And to add to the problems, they had a hold on my funds the entire time! So my money is tied up for two weeks when they probably knew 30 minutes after I ordered that they could not fulfill it.

The order should have been canceled with an explanation sent to me as soon as they became aware of the problem and the hold released immediately. And if I can purchase and pay for an item that they later claim is out of stock, it may be time for a system upgrade.

To be honest, I have a feeling that some Backcountry employee saw the listing and is now enjoying the bag that I purchased.

Very disappointing.

That's a really good point; I'm surprised it never occurred to me. Maybe the seller bought the fleece as a factory second? It fit about 2 sizes smaller than the exact same fleece at my neighborhood gear shop, so something was definitely off...

I have used it for 6-7 transactions thus far. Everything went great! I got many items for 60 - 70% off.

I've only had one item get canceled and it did take two weeks to get my money back, but as long as you read the fine print on the website -- it states that it could be longer than 2 weeks -- you know what to prepare for.