drone auctions - What should I be wary of?

[Chameleon99]

Hey folks, what would make you think twice, when looking at a drone up for auction?...

I read and see things that ring little alarm bells....so I wondered what anyone else would be 'alarmed' by ...
What would be your tip for either staying well clear of bidding for it, or conversely, being a definite one to keep and eye on....
The sorts of things I'm thinking are alarms, are
description saying things like

- great flyer, bar a few luckless flights having bitten the dust (erm..don't want a crashed one)
- flies really fast (I hope to find something that hasn't been flown hard)
- haven't used it much over 2 years (have batteries been stored properly?)​

and on photographs

- dirt/grass stains on props or body​

and the reassuring ones?...

- approved pilot / use it for work
- clear descriptions of care, such as battery care, always hand caught, no hard flying etc?​

Thanks

 

[Meta4]

Hey folks, what would make you think twice, when looking at a drone up for auction?...

I have bought a couple of used drones and had good luck with them.
But I would only buy if I was sure I was getting a genuine little used, never crashed machine.
And preferably if I could test fly it first.
There are too many potential unpleasant surprises in an older, much flown (or much crashed) drone when you have no idea of its history.

 

[FL_Mike]

Hey folks, what would make you think twice, when looking at a drone up for auction?...

I read and see things that ring little alarm bells....so I wondered what anyone else would be 'alarmed' by ...
What would be your tip for either staying well clear of bidding for it, or conversely, being a definite one to keep and eye on....
The sorts of things I'm thinking are alarms, are
description saying things like

- great flyer, bar a few luckless flights having bitten the dust (erm..don't want a crashed one)
- flies really fast (I hope to find something that hasn't been flown hard)
- haven't used it much over 2 years (have batteries been stored properly?)​

and on photographs

- dirt/grass stains on props or body​

and the reassuring ones?...

- approved pilot / use it for work
- clear descriptions of care, such as battery care, always hand caught, no hard flying etc?​

Thanks

I can't speak specifically towards high consumer grade UAS's at auctions, but I can speak towards auctions in general.

I attend auctions regularly and find that no matter how great something appears, it will have been well used. Every auctioneer I've bid toward calls EVERYTHING "like new" it could have been built 40 years ago and looks like a college dorm room castaway and they still call it "like new."

In my own opinion I would consider any DJI product from an auction as a parts donor. You may get lucky and get a good aircraft, but you would be just that, lucky.

 

[LarBear360]

It seems many new posters to this forum are arriving with issues after just purchasing a used AC off of E-Bay.

If I really wanted something used, I would go to the classifieds on this forum. I've seen some good deals here from people with a long history on this forum. I've also seen outright scams. Those are easy to spot: too good to be true, fake websites, and less than 5 posts.

 

[Chameleon99]

I would consider any DJI product from an auction as a parts donor

Thanks for the thoughts

 

[Chameleon99]

And preferably if I could test fly it first.

Good advice, cheers. (I'll keep that in mind when considering where the auction items are)

 

[Chameleon99]

I would go to the classifieds on this forum.

Cheers for the info...I've been watching what gets put on there. Thanks