EBay ™ offers an amazing purchasing platform for hunters everywhere. The deals on new and used hunting gear, shooting supplies, and hunting trips just can’t be beat. I’d like to focus on the hunting trips and leases that are typically listed on EBay ™ and offer some advice on these trips and how to choose the best one.
If you have any experience with paid hunting trips and leases, then you know they can make for an excellent hunt. In some cases, they can end up being the hunting opportunity of a lifetime. If you have that experience or have price shopped most any paid or guided hunting trip, then you also know that they can be pricey. Add in travel expenses and any licensing requirements, and they can get really expensive. As an avid hunter on a budget, I can tell you that the leases and guided hunts area on EBay ™ can offer some amazing hunting at very reasonable. I’ve utilized EBay ™ to locate and book my last two hunts and both were outstanding experiences. Having spent some time reviewing and talking to some of the outfitters listing hunts on EBay ™, I’d like to offer some general tips based on my experiences.
For starters, get familiar with these listings on EBay ™ and learn to read each one carefully. Some listings will specifically provide details about travel and accommodations, while others will be a little vague. Some will address licensing issues, while others won’t. Some will include travel (especially international hunts), while many will not. Although these may seen like small details, they can become major issues if not fully addressed in the beginning. There’s nothing worse than traveling to a location to hunt with great expectations and then learning that you have to ante up more money for some special license or you don’t have a place to stay, or the accommodations are less than what you expected. I know these are somewhat general tips, but the idea here is to read everything in the auction listing. If you have questions or don’t understand something, ask questions and get clarification before you bid.
Realize that some of these hunts are guided by professional guides, while others are amateur guides, while others may be a self hunt. Not that any one is better than the other, just be aware of what you are dealing with. Most professional outfitters will have details about a base camp or lodge, a separate website, pictures of past successful hunts, testimonials from past hunters, etc. A number of the listings on EBay ™ are amateur guides who are just getting into the business and have most likely leased some land or an area reserved for their clients. While some of the listings may be landowners who will simply let you hunt their land for a fee. Typically the professionally guided hunts are the most expensive followed by the amateur guides, and the landowners. In my personal opinion, the amateur guided hunts seem to offer the best bang for your buck. I’ve used amateur guides on my last two hunts and been extremely pleased so don’t rule out a listed hunt if the guide is an amateur. My father and I did a really nice plantation style quail hunt in SC at a great price and then I did a nice goose in NC with a few of my friends. I haven’t booked a large game hunt yet off EBay ™, but I’m planning on doing it in the near future.
I would recommend that you review seller’s feedback on EBay ™, and ask for references. Feedback is somewhat self explanatory, and you can read more about on EBay ™. Most any respectable guide or landowner is going to be able to provide at least one hunting reference. Try to find more than one, if you can. One trick I’ve used in the past with just one reference is to ask the reference if he or she is aware of anyone else who hunted with that particular guide. People like to hunt in groups or pairs so generally the one reference can point you to another friend who he or she hunted with on that trip. Realize that the reference that you were provided is most likely a set-up reference that the guide continually uses as a reference so take that into account.
Consider a group hunt with some friends to help offset expenses. Not only will this get you a better price in many cases, it will also lower the out of pocket expenses for room and board, travel, and food. From the amateur guide’s point of view, each person that comes on this hunt with you is a new customer that may become a repeat customer. Also no form of advertising beats a word of mouth referral. Every hunt I’ve take so far off EBay ™ has involved a group or pair and I’ve always gotten better rates on the hunt.
These are just a few suggestions that may help a little bit when you thinking about bidding on a hunt listed on EBay ™. Shop around as you can come across some really great hunting opportunities.
