15 May 2007
Losing My Leupolds & Finding Them on Ebay
Posted by Darrell under: Tips & Ideas; Gear - Tips, Reviews, Wishlist .
Last year when I began bow hunting again, I quicky found that to be a successful bow hunter, I would need an accurate rangefinder. Prior to this, I had never used a rangefinder. Imagine my surprise when I first went to look at them. Some models cost more than my first car! After much research and trial, I finally settled on the Leupold RX-II laser rangefinder. I liked this pair because they are waterproof, compact, lightweight, and feature true ballistic range – which gives you a more accurate reading when shooting from an angle (I spend a lot of whitetail time high up in trees).
I quickly grew attached to my Leupolds and felt not a bit of buyers remorse, even though a pair will set you back over $300 at Bass Pro Shops or Cabellas. I bought mine at Bass Pro. I would, from time to time and for whatever reason, end up using a friends Bushnell or Nikon rangefinder and always find myself pining for my Leupolds.
A few weeks ago, I loaded my bow and some of my other archery equipment, including my rangefinder, into the backseat of my truck after shooting some practice at a friends house. Before ever unloading the truck I found myself at Bass Pro Shops – where I purchased some accessories for my bow. I put the tail gate down on my truck, unloaded my bow, and accessorized it right there in the Bass Pro parking lot. I loaded everything back into the truck and headed home.
When I unloaded the truck I discovered that my Leupold rangefinder was gone. Vanished. Missing. Gone forever! I searched every nook and cranny in my truck and throughout my gear but they were gone. I then realized that they probably had fallen out of the truck at Bass Pro. I called, but no one had turned them in.
This began my second search for a rangefinder. After more research and holding and playing with various models, I once again decided on the RX-II. However, I just couldn’t bring myself to pay $319 + tax for them at Bass Pro or Cabellas. Thus began my search online. After about an hour I had made no headway. No one was selling it for a good enough discount to justify not having a store to take them back to. I almost went ahead and purchased another pair at Bass Pro.
I decided to check Ebay first. Boy, am I glad I did. At first it seemed like I, again, had struck out. The best deals seemed to be over $275 which just didn’t justify the risk of buying them online from an unknown seller. Then I made a mistake which saved me $220. I accidentally misspelled the Leupold RX-II and lo and behold I found a seller with 3 of them for $184 each on a buy it now. All were brand new in box with the factory warranty. There was no sales tax and shipping was only $8. It seemed too good to be true, but the seller took paypal so I figured there wasn’t any real risk to me – other than a possible hassle. After purchasing one pair I called a couple friends that I thought might also need a pair. Within 10 minutes both of the remaining pairs were gone.
I received the box containing my new rangefinder and opened it with some hesitation. Was it really possible to save almost $140 on something like this and really get an authentic brand new pair?
It turns out that not only is it possible, I actually did it. I received exactly what was described in the Ebay listing. A brand new – factory sealed Leupold RX-II laser rangefinder. Boy, was I ever excited!
Although the experience of losing the rangefinder in the first place was a bit sour and made me feel like a real idiot, the joy of saving $140 on a new pair kind of soothed my pain in some sort of weird way.
I learned a couple valuable lessons: 1) Be careful with your gear when your loading and unloading it from your truck (especially in a parking lot!) and 2) An hour spent scouring the internet might save you 40% on your next gear purchase ( of course, it might not either).
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