Why EBAY is the best place to buy kites

[toyletbowl]

Is your launch area too crowded?

Are you sick and tired of kites zooming past you every second on the water.

Buy your next kite on EBAY.

It will help with overcrowdedness.

So here's our story for today.

We had a fantastic day of riding lit on 9m's and 7m's all day long in 20-30 mph winds with higher gusts. It was sweet. We were juiced to say the least in the larger gusts.

On my 5th session I notice an inflatable kite going straight up from the ground...ON LAND...just beyond the shoreline trees in a not so good area to fly a kite.

WTF...I'm thinking. What the hell is someone flying an LE kite on land there for?

I was somewhat blocked to see it all, but could tell the rider was lofted and went downwind quite far.

Turns out the rider...i use the term rider loosely...ended up with his kite in a tree and him over 20 feet up. I guess he let go and fell from that height. Ambulance came and he was in bad shape. He must have hot launched the kite from what I could see and how he got lafted so fast.

I hope he's OK, but the smart ass in me will finish the story.

Where did he get the kite? EBAY.

You'll never ever ever believe the size.

21 fricking meter kite.

21m...unreal. C-kite. Think it was a Windwing, not that the brand matters.

He and his friend had no experience with kites...go figure.

Several of them were watching us part of the day and asked no questions.

We tried to tell them that they were actually quite lucky. It could have been so much worse if the tree wasn't there. A road isn't too far past the trees and B-ball courts.

One of the guys seemed defensive in our trying to lay down the truth in their actions and what consequesnces those actions could cause.

Quote...but we didn't know what we were doing and bought it cheap on EBAY.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...really????????????

To anyone selling a 21m...is $75 in your pocket that important? Man...I sell kites and would never ever sell a 21m kite...C-Kite no doubt...to a newbie let alone most good riders.

I have their names and will follow up.

Please respond with any and all thoughts as I'll have them read this post so they can see the errors in their ways.

Let's hope this lesson helps others from becoming a statistic and we keep our riders safe and launches free to use. I do hope the rider is OK.



Bob
http://www.kiteridersllc.com

edited for spelling

[CharlestonKiter]

I really dont understand whats so hard about asking other kiters on the beach for help. I welcomed it when I was starting out, assumed it might actualy get me out there having fun quicker if I some imput durrrrr

[Nico]

I do not believe that the guys who sold the kite are to blame.
They bought their kite and are allowed to sell it too.
A word of warning/advice to the buyer would have been in order, but not more.
I think a little skull and bones logo of the kite near the inflation point could go a long way in sorting out this kind of mishap, or something like on the cigarette boxes for exemple.
The problem is the part that is on the receiving end of the lines, the ignorant/unaware human.
Nico

[Tom183]

He and his friend had no experience with kites...go figure.

They do now.


As a side note: don't wait for them to come to you with questions - if you see someone new, step in IMMEDIATELY and find out what their deal is. You may not be able to stop them, but they can't play dumb if you tell them the score, and they will know that they're not welcome if they want to be jackasses. And if they get hurt after that, make sure the authorities know it was a couple of idiots who were warned beforehand, and not any typical riders.

[liv2surf]

I think the title of the thread should be "where to SELL your kites .... e-bay" (not where to buy them). I have a garage full of older kites (of limited value to anyone who knows better) and my launch is crowded. hmmm ??? what to do with these kites ??? let me see.

All joking aside. I don't want to see anyone get hurt and I ATTEMPT to intervene when I see someone trying to do something stupid. I will however not tackle someone if they insist in spite of my recommendations.

Hope the parties involved did not suffer serious injury.

[jakemoore]

Why not list them on http://www.ebay.fr ?

Seriously though what do you expect us to do with our old kites? We don't get them at a discount and cash counts for some of us. Where do you think people get the money to buy new kites from you? Maybe the shops or manufacturers would be willing to buy them back? Fat chance.

Jake

[MrBonk]

I do worry about this sort of thing. Not so much about the dumbass that might turn up and kill himself, but about the kiting ban that may result from it.

I've helped a number of noobs now, who were in the process of setting up but had no real idea of what they were doing. Almost all welcomed the help, but some just couldn't be told. Not much you can do about it really.....either they'll accept your help or they won't. At least you can say you tried though.

[Toby]

I hope the guys is ok too.

But here we go again with the question how to stop dangerous people.

I'm still for a license to go kitesurfing. That would limit accidents like this.
I'm sure in the future a license is a must in more crowded places, to keep access.

But we all have to take responsibility, if we see someone launching a too big kite. Talk to the person, find out his level. If you are sure that he has no clue, stop him from launching the kite. If they don't listen, get the other riders to help you. Want to keep access? That is a minimum to do.
If you are some more guys, people will listen. If still not, call the police and explain them that this person is likely to hurt someone else.

[Wibbler]

Add a caveat:

' If you are new to kitesurfing, please don't bid: get some lessons first ! '

[BigR]

toby wrote

call the police and explain them that this person is likely to hurt someone else.

not possible, you can't call the cops/ambulance B 4 the crime/accident is committed. There is also jurisprudence over where it may or may not occur