Buying a Secondhand Trampoline on Facebook Marketplace?
Read This First!
by Rob Hawkins
Thinking of getting a cheap trampoline on Facebook Marketplace (so you can have a break from the kids and finally watch an episode of Breaking Bad, because you still don’t know how the final season ends)?
You can definitely save money buying one secondhand, but there are some things you should be aware of before parting with your cash and driving to the other side of the city to dismantle and pick it up.
As someone who has bought and sold multiple trampolines on Marketplace, and helped a bunch of clients complete their purchase and relocate the trampoline to its new home, I’m here to give you some tips that will help the process.
These tips are not too dissimilar to the rules of online dating or buying a used car, but they are very trampoline-specific, and could save you from making a heart-aching or back-breaking decision!
Make sure it EXISTS!
Surprise, surprise: scammers love using Facebook Marketplace.
Millions of Australians each year fall victim to online scammers; and with Facebook accounting for 93 percent of all reported social media buying scams, it pays to be extra careful when searching Marketplace for a bargain.
Before you are catfished into handing over any money, be extra sure that the trampoline, and the seller, are real. The best way to do this is to go and see the trampoline for yourself (or with a trusted third-party – such as yours truly) before paying anything.
Seems simple, but when confronted by a seller who wants payment first (to ‘hold’ the trampoline, for example) or wants your email so they can ‘send payment details’, it can take some extra internal fortitude to say, ‘Not on ya life, bucko.’
Regular sellers don’t pressure you into paying – even a deposit – before you’ve seen the product; nor do they need your email address, a picture of your licence, or any other personal information; so take it as a BIG red flag if they ask for any of these things.
Most sellers are more than happy for you to inspect the trampoline, and even have it taken apart, before expecting payment. If not, they’re either trying to scam you, they’re hiding something about the trampoline (more in the next tip), or they’re not someone you want to buy from anyway.
Use your intuition and some common sense to gauge if the person and the post seem legit. Some good questions to help that intuitive voice:
Do they have reviews on their Marketplace profile?
Do they have more than one picture on their profile?
Do they have multiple ads up for the same product?
Does the price seem too good to be true?
Did they join Facebook a few days ago?
Do they respond in ‘normal’ ways when you message them? Or are they extremely fast/slow with their responses, and have odd, inconsistent requests or ways of writing?
(Scammers can still find their ways around the above points, so take it in all in together and listen to your gut!)
One pic?!
If you’ve ever crossed paths with the online dating world, you’ll know that if someone has just ONE picture of themselves on their profile, they’re either: trying to hide something, ten years older than they’re claiming, a completely different person altogether (see the above tip), or they’re TRYING TO HIDE SOMETHING!
The same rule applies to trampolines on Marketplace.
If a seller has only one picture of their trampoline (and sometimes I’ve seen people just use a screenshot of the product from the Vuly website – which is often the wrong model), they’re trying to hide how rusted, torn up, weathered, or damaged their trampoline is.
In the age where everyone has a professional level camera in their pocket, there’s no excuse for limited or poor pictures of the product they’re selling. There should be at least two or three pictures, with close-ups of any flaws. Unless it’s brand new, it will have something wrong with it, whether it’s some rust on the frame, or a hole in the safety net, or just some accumulated dirt or weather stains on the safety pad.
Just like online dating, the more information the better, and then you get to make an informed decision about whether you want to move forward (rather than being tricked into something that will rear its ugly head later!).
A candid description
Also like online dating (or buying a used car), the post should have a written description that makes them sound like an actual human – one of the main reasons we use Marketplace in the first place: to bypass middlemen and salespeople, and connect with a real person to get a good deal.
Most of us are getting pretty good at discerning what sounds like ChatGPT, or the copy-and-paste of the original sales brochure, or an actual person who wants to sell a trampoline. But to help, the best, most realistic descriptions are short, to the point, aren’t filled with emojis and perfectly dot-pointed paragraphs, and cover the following:
The brand, model and size of the trampoline.
Any accessories that come with it.
The age and imperfections of the trampoline.
The reason for selling.
The first three points are important, so you can make an informed decision about exactly what you are buying (and shows the seller has put some effort into providing good information for the buyer).
The last point is less essential, because not everyone wants to publicise their reason for getting rid of it (e.g., it could be personal or distressing), but it’s a bonus to add to the legitimacy of the sale.
It may not last long
The different parts of a trampoline have different useful lifespans.
For a Vuly trampoline, the safety net and safety pads have about three to four good years before they start deteriorating; the mat and springs can start to rust or wear out after three to six years; and the frame can last anywhere from five to ten years (or more). (These numbers vary depending on the climate, how much it’s been cleaned and maintained, what sort of yard it lived in, and various other factors.)
It’s good to be aware of this, because a secondhand trampoline may already be well into those timeframes, even if it sounds ‘relatively new’. For instance, if you buy a trampoline that’s ‘only’ two years old, chances are that the safety net and pads only have a couple of years left before needing to be replaced, and not much longer for the mat, springs, and other parts.
Good sellers will mention which parts are looking rough, some will have it factored into the cost, and the really good ones will already have replacement parts if they’re damaged or worn away.
A cool tip: if the trampoline is a Vuly, and the seller is the original owner, they can get half-price parts; so that's something you can arrange between the two of you to keep prices down if anything does need to be replaced.
‘Buyer to disassemble and collect’
Many (most) ads that I’ve seen on Marketplace require the buyer to come and disassemble and collect their new trampoline.
Why is that?
Because the seller knows what was involved to put it together, and they’d rather… not… do it again! (Or they’ve attempted to take it apart and failed miserably.)
To be crystal clear, from someone who does this for a living: taking apart, transporting and reassembling secondhand trampolines is not easy!
In fact, it’s usually more challenging than putting together a brand-new trampoline. Here’s why:
Ants and spiders have made it their home. I’ve seen entire frames filled with ants and their eggs, and had to flush them out after dismantling their metal kingdom. And I’ve had to sweep countless spiderwebs and their little (sometimes big) engineers off into the nearby bushes. If you don’t enjoy bugs, this is not for you.
Joints and buttons and frames can be rusty and/or are often stuck together, even if the trampoline is only a year or two old. Due to the weathering of steel, it can be hard or nearly impossible to budge frames apart (especially on some models which are already tricky to get the frame together, such as a Vuly Ultra).
Many of the trampolines I’ve disassembled were originally put together wrong. The original assemblers put frame pieces in upside-down, didn’t connect the safety net properly to the mat, put springs on the wrong way (this one blew my mind when I saw it, because it should be impossible!), and so on. This will make an already difficult task even more difficult.
Some tips that will help:
Get a helper. Four hands are better than two, and this is doubly true for disassembling and reassembling trampolines. You also have that extra level of safety while meeting a stranger!
Get some gloves. The frame especially can be dangerous for hands and fingers, and I have various cuts and bruises and crushed fingernails to prove it. I recommend wearing them the whole time except when you need extra dexterity (like unclipping split rings).
WD-40 will be your new BFF. Spray a little onto joints and buttons a few minutes before trying to disassemble the frame and legs. It will help immensely!
A cheap rubber mallet will also help to pop frames off joiners. But use sparingly – if you bend or put any dents into the parts, they can become impossible to reassemble and you’ll have to replace them! Soft taps, evenly distributed, are the goal here.
Bring a bucket for small loose bits, such as springs, clips, nuts and bolts.
Lay a tarp down if you’re transporting the trampoline in the back of your car. You don’t need a big truck or ute to do this – something that surprises many of my clients when I rock up in my cute red SUV – but you’re going to want to protect the interior of your car from the aforementioned dirt, ants and spiders (a few will likely come for a ride!).
(One alternative to all of this is that you can just get in touch with me if you live in the Brisbane area! I relocate many trampolines that are bought on Marketplace to make it easier for both the seller and buyer. I can also inspect the trampoline before money is transferred so you know what you’re getting!)
Consider getting new!
My last tip is simply to weigh up getting a used trampoline with a new one!
Vuly – the brand I recommend the most (due to their focus on safety, quality of materials, and ease of assembly) – has many sales on during the year.
In the last couple of months, for example, they’ve had a Halloween sale, a Black Friday sale, a Christmas sale, a New Year sale, a… (you get the point). And they’re not small discounts either – usually 20 to 50% off the original price.
So, the used trampoline that you were thinking of getting off Marketplace for $500 could be available for $700 or $800 during one of these sales. There could even be one on right now!
You’ll have the peace of mind that you’re getting something at the beginning of its useful life, that everything is in good condition, and you’ll have access to both the official warranty AND the half-price replacement parts for when they begin to deteriorate (because you’re the original buyer).
Thanks for reading
My name is Rob, and I run a little trampoline assembly business called Brissie Tramps (in my hometown of Brisbane, Australia). This business evolved out of serving my community in practical ways, and I’ve started expanding this to sharing what I’ve learned nationally and worldwide.
So please let me know if you have any other questions about purchasing or selling trampolines on Marketplace, knowing which model to choose, tips for assembling the damned things, or anything else tramp-related! I specialise in Vuly trampolines – so hit me up if you’re in the market for one.
AI-FREE GUARANTEE: Apart from assembling trampolines, my biggest passion is writing. It’s something I’ve been doing since I could grip a pencil, and something I’ll continue until I’m rewriting old manuscripts on my deathbed.
That said, I proudly pronounce that AI (ChatGPT and the likes) was not used to create any part of this article.
I used my good ol’ human noggin to brainstorm article ideas and content (usually while assembling a trampoline or driving to my next job), then spent days researching, writing, rewriting, editing, rewriting again, and then perfecting what you’ve just read/skimmed.
I’m a firm believer that using AI in the place of the supercomputers on our necks steals from our ability to think critically, to have patience to come up with original ideas, and to connect with the written word – either through reading or writing. It’s simply recycling and repackaging sentences that were already written, and sticking it together in mindless, soulless ways that look like writing, and using a tonne of resources to do so.
I’ll play no part in that.
Cheers,
Rob
Psst… If you’ve decided to get a brand-new VULY trampoline instead of a used one, chuck BRISSIETRAMPS into the promo code box at checkout for an extra discount on the VULY website!
