by raynor on Fri Sep 18, 2009 10:28 am
While I agree that actual pictures are nice and all, I would like to just state, as some of the other posts do, that not everyone has ready access to a camera or the ability to post said pictures onto the internet for whatever reason.
I would also like to say that in the case of buying used gear, I've not seen any truly used gear sold for retail price or sometimes even used price for what you are getting. So really, you'll still be saving a dollar in that regard and if you're not sure you want to deal with a 'used' gun, then wait and buy a new one or something. Maybe that's just me, but if you feel like you're getting swindled by people not taking accurate photos (I agree that text descriptions can make people leery), then don't purchase from them or ask to see the item in question first. After all, I doubt people are selling their gear because they want to make a fast buck from an idiot, at least, I hope not.
Hopefully I'm not ranting or anything, but being able to post in a thread about the seller certainly helps to make at least a slightly informed decision. More than anything, the money you are willing to spend belongs to you until you make the deal and hand over said cash. If you find you don't like what you got, then ask for a refund or something and if that fails, warn others to prevent the same thing from happening. Pictures can help alleviate this, but uploaded pictures of your gear won't necessarily stop abuse either; after all, I could 'take' a picture of that nice KWA M4 I'm selling that's only 'slightly' used when in fact, I just showed you something else entirely.
But that's just my .02; do whatever you want with it.