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Just this past week a young jumper in search of used gear believed he had found a good deal on the Internet for a complete system. After initially contacting the seller, which advertised in the classified section of Dropzone.com, the jumper thought the rig would be the perfect fit. But agreeing on an accepted form of exchanging the gear for the asking price became a bit sticky. The customer wanted the gear checked out by Chuting Star Rigging Loft before sending the money while the seller wanted the money upfront. Many riggers and rigging lofts offer to act as an escrow service, holding the money pending receipt, inspection and acceptance of the gear, for out-of-state gear sales. The seller and buyer need to have a trustworthy middleman and any established rigger or rigging loft is a good choice. When this customer suggested making the sale in this manner, the seller got cold feet and insisted on dealing direct with the customer by shipping the rig C.O.D. Warning flags were raised and we advised the customer not to touch the deal. More than likely the gear did not live up to the seller’s claim. Buying online is a risky proposition to begin with because most of the time the buyer rarely gets accurate information about the gear’s history (number of jumps, packed indoors or outdoors, acceptable storage area, etc.). A jumper can also waste a lot of money in phone/shipping/inspection costs finding the right piece of used gear that is in good condition and fits well. We highly advise jumpers shopping for used gear to first check with local skydivers, dealers and riggers. This gear has usually been inspected and repacked by local riggers and a good history of the gear is usually known through several sources. Compare prices with online deals to help negotiate the final sales price. If you can’t find a good local deal, then use an established rigger as an escrow service to protect both the buyer and seller from a sour deal.

One of the best programs for getting students and young jumpers into reasonably priced, high quality gear is the Skydivegear.com “rental sales” program at Atlanta Skydiving Center. Of course I’m biased...I do work there...but I know the program is fair and that the customers are happy with the product as well as the “buyback option” long after the sale. Here’s how it works. In addition to the 10 Dolphins and Javelins used primarily for student training, Skydivegear.com keeps approximately 10 Mirages in stock for rental use. All of the G3 Mirages are assembled with a Cypres, Tempo reserve and a Hornet, Skymaster or Omega main. Jumpers without gear are able to rent the Mirage containers on a per jump basis to try the container out for fit and comfort, along with finding the main canopy they like the best. For these “rental” containers our mains include Hornets, Skymasters and Omegas in the 170-230 range and Tempo 170s and 210s. All of the rigs are assembled and maintained by Chuting Star Rigging Loft. Due to the comfort of the Mirage containers, the low jump numbers on the main canopies and the low price of the whole system, these rigs sell fast. Every time a rig is sold, a new system is ordered to replace it, which in turn keeps the age, wear and tear of our “rental” Mirages down. The customer gets a free reserve inspection and repack if the reserve is due within one month of the sale. On top of that, Skydivegear.com frequently buys back the containers, canopies or entire systems when the jumper wants to downsize or purchase a rig in custom colors. These rigs are then put back into the “rental” system and later sold at an even further reduced price after any required maintenance is performed on the rig. I have yet to see a rental program at a drop zone with as high a quality as the program run by Skydivegear.com at ASC.