TIL the hard way not to buy aircraft parts on eBay

I snagged what looked like a deal on a magneto for $120 and after 3 hours of install it failed during engine run-up. Has anyone else lost money buying parts from shady sellers on there?

2 comments

2 Comments

fisher.diana1mo ago

The magneto thing sucks but honestly that's just part of a bigger pattern I've seen everywhere lately. People are so desperate to save a few bucks they'll buy anything online without stopping to think about what kind of risk they're taking. My buddy bought a used transmission off some random guy on Facebook Marketplace and it blew up on the highway two weeks later. It's not just aircraft parts either, I see people buying sketchy car parts, medical equipment, and even food off sketchy websites all the time. The problem is we've gotten so used to getting everything cheap and fast that we forgot some things really do need to come from a trusted source. You gambled and lost, that magneto could've killed you if it failed at the wrong time.

ninas701mo ago

And people get defensive when you warn them, like you're the one with the problem for not trusting some random website.