# Should I buy it.



## jlesser27 (Sep 4, 2020)

I’ve been looking to buy a reamer set and found this on eBay. There are 0 bids as of today and the starting price is $125. The seller is local and I offered him $150 today for local pickup. He replied with $175 today. Should I wait until Sunday when the auction ends or should I buy today at $176. Help. 







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## tq60 (Sep 4, 2020)

Just wait. 

Make another offer lower and after close he may contact you.

There will be others

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## benmychree (Sep 4, 2020)

I'd be tempted to do it, that is an average of about $6 each, and a nice box in the bargain.


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## jlesser27 (Sep 4, 2020)

Two opposing thoughts so far not making my decision any easier. Lol. 


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## tjb (Sep 4, 2020)

benmychree said:


> I'd be tempted to do it, that is an average of about $6 each, and a nice box in the bargain.


*WHO-O-O-O-O-AH!!!!!!!!!* 
You listening Jeff, Mike, Mikey?????  (Don't worry, jlesser27.  I don't plan on bidding.)

Regards,
Terry


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## jlesser27 (Sep 4, 2020)

Uh oh! Hope I didn’t set myself up for failure here. I don’t think anyone of you would do that to a fellow brother. 


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## Diecutter (Sep 4, 2020)

If you wait till the auction ends he has no obligation to sell it to you at all.  If you bid $125 now and there are no other bids, he must sell it to you at that price.  Or as tq60 said, you can offer a figure after it closes.  Good luck.


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## tjb (Sep 4, 2020)

jlesser27 said:


> Uh oh! Hope I didn’t set myself up for failure here. I don’t think anyone of you would do that to a fellow brother.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Don't worry.  It's a bit of an inside joke regarding boxes.  I think it's safe to say that none of us would ever try to muscle on someone else's find.  I actually have received some very good advice from here on bidding strategy with ebay.

Good luck.  Hope you're the winning bidder.

Regards,
Terry


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## jlesser27 (Sep 4, 2020)

I figure that it was an inside thing. I’m still confused on what to do. Does anyone have an opinion of value for the product? Is it worth $175 would it suck to lose it for $50? I’m new to these tools so my eBay bidding spider sense isn’t calibrated for these items. 


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## benmychree (Sep 4, 2020)

Another positive aspect to this is that the advert states that they are USA brands.  So far as strategy is concerned, my practice is to use E Snipe exclusively in my e bay bidding; bid the maximum price that I am willing to pay, and 6 seconds before bidding ends, my max bid is shot in, and if nobody bids more, its mine, if there are lower bids, mine prevails at whatever minimum bid increment is set according to e bay's policies, like perhaps $1 in amounts under $100.


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## NC Rick (Sep 4, 2020)

My first post... not a know much of anything guy but consider that I tend to use reamers in specific sizes for dowel pins and while I would like having that kit, many sizes would be unused and other sizes I would want unders and overs. Overs for sure.  Once I start that then the box has less allure, assuming it already isn't filled with =/+/- sizes.   Assuming they are sharp, the price is worth it all day long.  I was able to purchase a box of metric reamers for $80 with most sizes and the big ones, 17, 20, 25mm were brand new USA brand with rust preventative on them still.  If you use them often in those sizes waiting may not make sense.  Why not just bid what you are willing to pay and close your eyes, leaving it to "fate"?  I promise not to bid.


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## Aukai (Sep 4, 2020)

Ask for close up photos, see if you can determine usage. You can look online to get pricing for the same item.


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## mikey (Sep 4, 2020)

According to the seller, those are all L&I or DoAll chucking reamers; these are good quality reamers. Most are straight flute and without it being stated, one assumes they are on-size reamers and not under or over-size. It looks like a complete set and the boxes look like those used by L&I, one of the premier reamer manufacturers (now out of business) in the US. As to value, if you got that set for $125 it would be a steal. A set like that, new, would have gone for well over $1,000.00 from L&I. It would be more if they were from Alvord Polk.

You cannot tell much about the condition of the reamers from the pics you provided. You will need to contact the seller to find out. I am going to guess that most of the reamers in this set are un-used and in mint condition but the common sizes - 1/8", 1/4" and so on may have seen the most use.

Buying reamers is hard to advise on because we don't know what you need them for - press fits, close tolerance through fits, etc. If you need on-size reamers and will make things to suit you needs then this is a good set for you.

The same seller has three different sets of reamers up for bid so it is likely he is selling off stuff he bought from a closing shop. I think he is pricing his stuff a bit high but if I wanted this set I would put in your $150.00 bid within the last 10 seconds of the auction. I don't think you will have a lot of competition and if you're the only bidder you'll get it for $125.00. Might be worth a shot. If you lose, don't despair; there will always be another opportunity later.


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## jlesser27 (Sep 4, 2020)

Thanks everyone I think I’ll do the last minute sniping thing and see what happens. I don’t know what my future needs are but I do know I need at least two of them for a current project. 


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## mikey (Sep 4, 2020)

Reamers are not a frequently used tool in a hobby shop. It might be cheaper to just buy good reamers in the sizes you need, as you need them. 

I'll give you a tip that may serve you well. Search ebay for "reamer index". Many times, sellers are trying to clear out a shop and have no idea what they have. A full set of top quality reamers will often be sold exactly like this. If you pass on this auction and decide to be patient then this search may get you what you want at a fraction of the cost.


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## mmcmdl (Sep 4, 2020)

If you don't get them , I have a full set of L@Is down the basement . I think the other set went over to Hawaii , but these are here for the taking also .


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## gr8legs (Sep 4, 2020)

There are 29 piece new sets (imported) available from several sellers for about $130 or so. 

How often are you going to use each one to justify buying the lot, even if they are wonderful USA-made ones?

I have an index with a bunch of US made reamers I bought at a garage sale for $5 and have yet to use any of them - but $5 is a lot different from $175 or $1,000 for a new set. Not a tool that most people need enough to justify buying a whole set. But very pretty to look at as your bank balance dwindles. You decide.

Stu


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## jlesser27 (Sep 4, 2020)

Yes I can buy import for less but I rather buy used USA when possible. I’m not sure how much I’m going to use them but on average I’m seeing individual pieces sell for $10-15. I understand the bank dwindle thing all too well. Lol. Maybe I should just buy the two that I need for the project I’m working on. 


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## tjb (Sep 4, 2020)

jlesser27 said:


> Yes I can buy import for less but I rather buy used USA when possible. I’m not sure how much I’m going to use them but on average I’m seeing individual pieces sell for $10-15. I understand the bank dwindle thing all too well. Lol. Maybe I should just buy the two that I need for the project I’m working on.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Decisions, decisions.  We feel your pain.

Regards


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## mickri (Sep 4, 2020)

Esnipe is the way to go.  Put in the max you are willing to spend and Esnipe will do the rest for you.  Lots to be said for buying the sizes you need as you need them instead of buying a set with sizes you will never use.  Only you can make that decision.


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## BGHansen (Sep 4, 2020)

I'd probably pass though it is a nice set.  I find that my over/under reamer set gets used a lot more than my loose reamers.  The over (+0.001) under (-0.001) are great for slip fit or interference fits on dowels.  My set goes from 1/8" up to 1/2" by 1/16'ths.  It's an import set that was around $50 as I recall.  I have replaced a couple in my set with U.S.-made reamers off eBay.

Bruce


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## Z2V (Sep 5, 2020)

jlesser27 said:


> Uh oh! Hope I didn’t set myself up for failure here. I don’t think anyone of you would do that to a fellow brother.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


No, absolutely, we would not. I have an AP set but it doesn’t have a nice wooden box. Good luck


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## tjb (Sep 5, 2020)

Z2V said:


> ...it doesn’t have a nice wooden box...


What a shame.  Condolences.


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## Papa Charlie (Sep 5, 2020)

I went and looked at it. Still no bids, I would not do anything until the 11 hour 59 minute. You may be able to pick it up for much less than your original bid.

If it were me that is what I would do. I try to set a price for something that I want to pay and then stand by it. If I loose the item, then I figure there will be another. Most of the stuff we work with are not rare, there are many of them out there. 

One other thing, if you look closely, it appears as though some of the reamers are different than the others. So while it may have all the sizes, they are not all the same. Although that really doesn't matter, or would it?


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## nnam (Sep 5, 2020)

Talking about reamers, I was also thinking of getting them, then I learned to do it correctly, a very specific drill bit size needs to be used.  When I buy a drill bit set, it only goes on some increment of 1/64.  Is that enough of an increment for using reamers? Do you actually look up 3 charts to find your drill size before doing reaming?  Also, what are the size ranges you would use reamers for? (I would assume larger sizes, you would just bore them out).

Here's an article about 3 step look up to find the correct drill size (could be specific to this brand, but I think it's not the case):



			https://yankeereamers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Tech-Info.pdf


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## jlesser27 (Sep 5, 2020)

So much good information here. I think I will end up buying the two that I need at the moment and keep my eye out for really good deals. Thanks everyone. 


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## vecair (Sep 7, 2020)

jlesser27 said:


> I’ve been looking to buy a reamer set and found this on eBay. There are 0 bids as of today and the starting price is $125. The seller is local and I offered him $150 today for local pickup. He replied with $175 today. Should I wait until Sunday when the auction ends or should I buy today at $176. Help.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Its right by you, you save the shipping, there are 7 watchers, you can actually go see it, if you lose it you will probably have to pay for shipping next time, you want it, its a nice set, go buy it man!  Whats 25 bucks today?  One dinner out?  Buy it.


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