[RollingPanda]

Originally Posted by BioRage

Results vary, you could have a guy with high feedback and still sell you a piece of shit.

Usually though, if their feedback is good, they won't, but just putting it out there.

Some guns you buy used depend on the owner, each owner are different. Some people are OCD and clean them and maintain them 120%, where as some are "whatever," "in the closet" etc...

SPECIFICS for AEG's, I can't tell you since I'm a GBB kinda d00d.

Definitely, its like buying from eBay. A good track record great to have, but isn't a 100% predictor of future behaviour as they can turn on you any time

Originally Posted by Fenrir92

In addition to looking at their Trader Rating, look at the how much detail/information is provided in the post (once you get AV'ed that is). The more information the better.

An ideal detailed post would generally provide info about:
- the condition of the gun (new, almost new, stock, upgraded, broken etc.)
- how many rounds have been put through it or how many games has the gun been used
- FPS (feet per second), RPS (rounds per second), approximate range
- list of parts (internal/external) if the gun is upgraded*

* Be wary of posts that say "upgraded" without providing any detail. To some people, an "upgraded" gun can be a stock gun with a sight and suppressor.

Great, thanks a lot for the list!
The ad I was looking at listed a bunch of upgrades that I could not value nor did I know what they were. I'll have to look into those questions and parts more if I do but used (in the future)

Originally Posted by pestobanana

I will almost never buy a used gun, unless it is guaranteed bone stock, functional, and unpainted. Even then, I am weary. Half of the time "upgraded" used guns are worse than stock, because most of the time people have no idea what they're doing. I got a gun off ASC a few months ago, I didn't think there was anything wrong with it until I sold it to BioRage up there. He messaged me later saying the HOP UP RUBBER WAS FUCKING MELTED.

I've bought used "upgraded" guns from the classifieds when I was new. They all called themselves gun doctors or took them to reputable ones. What I found was shit like a completely rusted inner barrel, cracks in the receiver, misfit screws, fucked up internals... You name it. To a noob, the sellers looked pretty reputable too. One of them had over 100 positive ratings.

I have gotten some pretty good deals from the classifieds, so I am still open to buying used guns occasionally, but it must be guaranteed bone stock and un-fucked. As far as "upgraded" guns go, I will only buy them from a builder I trust, of which there are very few. One guy offered a gun to me as a trade, it was an instant bag of NOPE from me. It was built by a guy that some seem to think is reputable, and would sound like an amazing build to people that are clueless. Just looking at the posted performance specs I could tell that something was wrong with the shimming, something was wrong with the air seal, and that a gigantic hole was drilled in the stock to install the MOSFET.

Thanks for the advice and sorry to hear that you and BioRage had that experience. I'm getting more and more swayed to buy new, especially considering that it is just a basic starter gun. So someone with no experience like me definitely won't be able to tell if something has defects if experienced people still encounter mishaps.

Originally Posted by Hectic

For used stuff it's best to buy local. That way you can go take a look before you commit. Trader ratings are helpful however used stuff is used. Just like a vehicle you never know how it was maintained. Who did the work on it. What kind of parts they used etc... so you must be aware that you may get a good solid gun or you may wind up with a bunch of repairs the first time you fire it.
I will give this advice, without trying to sound leetist or something.
If i was gonna buy a low end gun (cyma, jg, the entry level gandg stuff like you are looking at) I would buy new because let's face it they aren't that expensive, and they aren't that quality so at least buying new you will know how many rounds and what abuse it suffers.
If i was looking higher end (vfc, LCT systema) I would browse the classifieds for a deal but likely would just buy new unless I could save 40% or more or get a bunch of "freebies" like mags and sights n such

Yep, the plan was to buy local and meet face to face at the beginning as I would at least like to see it in action or try it personally. (And to also get a gut feeling, vibe sort of a deal)

Nope, you didn't come off leetist or anything, I appreciate your advice. It would make more sense to buy new now, and then consider other options in the future.

Originally Posted by BioRage

If you're new and don't know anything, buying local or not doesn't help. It helps to an extent that it works on the spot, but the next time you use it .. it could be busted :\

Trader rating does go a long way, but doesn't mean that the product won't be "broken." I've done numerous of trades, some bad, some good.

As Hectic stated, if it's a cheap brand like G&G lower end models, CYMA, JG, etc.. just buy them new.

Only when you start going 300+ I'd look into used VFC's.

True, used is used and if I was going to spend an amount, I might as well go new for now. Thank you!