Info Checks to do before buying second hand DJI Drone!

In this thread I will cover some useful information based in my opinion and experience on what check needs be doing before buying a DJI Drone second hand from online: eBay, or Facebook marketplace.

While I do recommend to buy new drone from DJI website or refurbished drone from DJI, you still can opt to buy from private owners who are selling their drones.

I would highly recommend to meet the owner in person and do the checks on the drone physically and visually. The owner can do a quick fly to ensure that the drone works as intended, the account can be detached on the spot after the deal is made.

Buying a drone in person.

Anyway, below are the check you should perform if you buying a second hand drone in person:

• Ensure the camera gimbal moves correctly, by asking the owner to tilt it up and down.
• Check visually the propellers for any damages or cracks, if these are damaged, ask if he/she can provide spare once, if no you have opportunity to negotiate the price.
• Checks the arms for any cracks or damages.
• Ask the owner to take off and move the drone in all directions, to ensure the drones fly safely.
• Check the camera on the drone, for any scratches or damages.
• Before completing the deal, make sure the owner account is detached from the drone, so you can login using yours. Otherwise, you won’t be able to do anything with the drone, if these account is someone’s else. Also this is red flag that the drone is most likely stolen.
• Check the DJI controllers to ensure the sticks are moving smoothly on all directions.
• Check the batteries for any crack or damages, as this may affect the flight time, and could be unsafe to fly the the battery cells are damaged.
• Check the cycles of the batteries, the more cycles it has, the more chances are that you will need to get brand new batteries, that aren’t cheap at all.
• If the RC controller has a built in screen, check for any damages again.
• Check the cables are working properly on the RC when connecting to your phone (Older RC-N controllers).
• Check the charging port on both drone and RC controller to see if these aren’t damaged.

These are the check that you need to do when buying a drone in person. It’s like buying a second hand car. It’s sold as it’s seen. So you need to make sure all the checks are done before completing the deal. Make sure you pay for the drone by bank transfer, just in case you forgot to check something and the drone is damaged. Ideally PayPal payment for better disputes.

Buying a drone online.

When buying a drone online, you need to be more careful as sometimes you could be dealing with scammers, or people that tries to sell stolen drones.

Below are some checks and recommendations you need to do when buying a second hand drone online.

• Check the seller profile. If it’s a new profile, most likely it’s a scammer.
• Check the drone price, if it’s too good to be true, most likely a scam. Check the market for the real price of the drone.
• Ask the seller to write on a piece of paper his name, and date and put it next to the drone and send you a picture of it.
• If the seller is too pushy, means that he has nothing to sell, and wants to scam.
• If the seller ask for money in advance, it’s just a scam. The seller is responsible for the shipping.
• If the seller ask for paying in crypto. Forget it, an other scam method.
• If the seller says that he can send someone to deliver the drone after you have paid, it’s an other scam method.
• Always pay through PayPal because your have good consumer rights and you can claim money back if the item haven’t arrived. Most scammer will avoid PayPal.
• Ask the seller to send fresh images of the drone, if he refuses, he has nothing to sell.

I believe that these check and recommendations are valid for anything you buy these days online. Obviously you need to be cautious when buy in second hand drones, because scammers knows most people wants to get into this hobby, and they can find victims very easy.

Personally I would recommend to buy second hand drone only from eBay, as the payments goes through PayPal and your money are protected, in case if the drone arrives damaged or doesn’t arrive at all.

Thanks for reading this thread, you always can write below anything I have missed or if you have been a victim of a scam.

 

[BetterBizTech`]

I only buy second hand drones where the history is in writing. (flown 3 times) Then I try to check the user history. DJI has a test that they do before allowing you to take their insurance. If you can ask for that test they can send it to you and it gives you the condition of the drone and any malfunctions. I have only bought three used drones. A Mavic 3, a phantom 4 v2 and a Mavic pro 2. The only iffy drone was the Phantom 4.

 

[Maverick]

I only buy second hand drones where the history is in writing. (flown 3 times) Then I try to check the user history. DJI has a test that they do before allowing you to take their insurance. If you can ask for that test they can send it to you and it gives you the condition of the drone and any malfunctions. I have only bought three used drones. A Mavic 3, a phantom 4 v2 and a Mavic pro 2. The only iffy drone was the Phantom 4.

Thanks for the message BetterBizTech` . I have my 3 drones, but purchased them brand new.

Actually I wasn’t aware about this information. So how you check the history in writing ?

 

[Ejs Mini down under.]

View attachment 88

In this thread I will cover some useful information based in my opinion and experience on what check needs be doing before buying a DJI Drone second hand from online: eBay, or Facebook marketplace.

While I do recommend to buy new drone from DJI website or refurbished drone from DJI, you still can opt to buy from private owners who are selling their drones.

I would highly recommend to meet the owner in person and do the checks on the drone physically and visually. The owner can do a quick fly to ensure that the drone works as intended, the account can be detached on the spot after the deal is made.

Buying a drone in person.

Anyway, below are the check you should perform if you buying a second hand drone in person:

• Ensure the camera gimbal moves correctly, by asking the owner to tilt it up and down.
• Check visually the propellers for any damages or cracks, if these are damaged, ask if he/she can provide spare once, if no you have opportunity to negotiate the price.
• Checks the arms for any cracks or damages.
• Ask the owner to take off and move the drone in all directions, to ensure the drones fly safely.
• Check the camera on the drone, for any scratches or damages.
• Before completing the deal, make sure the owner account is detached from the drone, so you can login using yours. Otherwise, you won’t be able to do anything with the drone, if these account is someone’s else. Also this is red flag that the drone is most likely stolen.
• Check the DJI controllers to ensure the sticks are moving smoothly on all directions.
• Check the batteries for any crack or damages, as this may affect the flight time, and could be unsafe to fly the the battery cells are damaged.
• Check the cycles of the batteries, the more cycles it has, the more chances are that you will need to get brand new batteries, that aren’t cheap at all.
• If the RC controller has a built in screen, check for any damages again.
• Check the cables are working properly on the RC when connecting to your phone (Older RC-N controllers).
• Check the charging port on both drone and RC controller to see if these aren’t damaged.

These are the check that you need to do when buying a drone in person. It’s like buying a second hand car. It’s sold as it’s seen. So you need to make sure all the checks are done before completing the deal. Make sure you pay for the drone by bank transfer, just in case you forgot to check something and the drone is damaged. Ideally PayPal payment for better disputes.

Buying a drone online.

When buying a drone online, you need to be more careful as sometimes you could be dealing with scammers, or people that tries to sell stolen drones.

View attachment 87

Below are some checks and recommendations you need to do when buying a second hand drone online.

• Check the seller profile. If it’s a new profile, most likely it’s a scammer.
• Check the drone price, if it’s too good to be true, most likely a scam. Check the market for the real price of the drone.
• Ask the seller to write on a piece of paper his name, and date and put it next to the drone and send you a picture of it.
• If the seller is too pushy, means that he has nothing to sell, and wants to scam.
• If the seller ask for money in advance, it’s just a scam. The seller is responsible for the shipping.
• If the seller ask for paying in crypto. Forget it, an other scam method.
• If the seller says that he can send someone to deliver the drone after you have paid, it’s an other scam method.
• Always pay through PayPal because your have good consumer rights and you can claim money back if the item haven’t arrived. Most scammer will avoid PayPal.
• Ask the seller to send fresh images of the drone, if he refuses, he has nothing to sell.

I believe that these check and recommendations are valid for anything you buy these days online. Obviously you need to be cautious when buy in second hand drones, because scammers knows most people wants to get into this hobby, and they can find victims very easy.

Personally I would recommend to buy second hand drone only from eBay, as the payments goes through PayPal and your money are protected, in case if the drone arrives damaged or doesn’t arrive at all.

Thanks for reading this thread, you always can write below anything I have missed or if you have been a victim of a scam.

thank you very much Maverick. it is very helpful.

 

[Maverick]

thank you very much Maverick. it is very helpful.

Thanks for reading it. I'm glad that you found It useful

 

[Ejs Mini down under.]

Thanks for reading it. I'm glad that you found It useful

yes, thanks maverick.