Used die sets

T

talkglock

New member
Any thing wrong with purchasing used die sets? I'm toying with the idea of getting in to reloading pistol rounds.

I don't plan on any precision shooting, simple range ammo in 9, 45 and later maybe 40 and 380.

Any reason not to get sets off ebay or some of the other online sites?

What should I look for when buying used dies should I decide to go that route?
Do dies wear out?

Thank you for your thoughts

Mark
 
"Any thing wrong with purchasing used die sets... Any reason not to get sets off ebay or some of the other online sites?"

I've look for reloading equipment on ebay many time...

Almost everything was far too expensive by the time you added in the shipping...

If fact, most of the items I was looking cost more used than new once S&H was added!


"What should I look for when buying used dies should I decide to go that route?"

The main thing I look for is corrosion. Very light surface rust might be ok but any on internal surfaces is not good.


"Do dies wear out?"

After several lifetimes of hard use!

T.
 
I have had good luck buying and selling used reloading equipment on eBay. Be aware of older incompatible die sets, but generally all have been fine.
 
used reloading dies

If the sizer isn't scratched,decamping pins and shafts are straight,no rust, they should be fine.1/2 price of new should be fair. hdbiker
 
Just how would you be able to examine used dies on fleebay? You CAN'T

I bought a used 450 Lyman lead bullet sizer from ebay. Advertised as ready to go right out of the box. Yeah sure it was! Full of some sort of black wax, the piston seals were non-functional, and the pressure screw was stripped. I paid good money for it IF it were actually ready to roll. I had to spend another 30 bucks for parts to get it useable. End game was it now works great, and I paid all told 20% less than a new one.

People lie! Almost everybody gives glowing reports of condition when selling where the buyer cannot examine in person. I will never buy dies or other reloading things from ebay again.
 
Lee makes good dies that will work great and they don’t cost much. Why bother with used when they might be damaged in some way. A scratched sizer die is useless, why risk it?
 
In the past I bought quite a few used dies off E-bay never got burnt.Seldom buy anything there now prices are nuts starting bid more than new costs.Not just dies everything on E-bay.Some bargains but nothing like it used to be.
 
Lately I've been been buying used RCBS dies off ebay to supplement or replace the LEE dies that I bought new. When you can buy almost new RCBS dies for the same price as LEE i would go that route every time.

All the dies I've bought have worked fine. I go after items that look like they only have light use.
 
My experience is that for pistols, Lee dies are plenty good enough.
For most use there's really no reason to spend more.
I have others but there doesn't seem to be any measurable difference for most pistol use between Lee and the others.
For precision shooting, maybe, but otherwise not.
 
lee makes great pistol die sets for around 30$. if iwas going for presicion rifle ammo i would consider a better name, but all my pistol dies and rifle dies are Lee and i am totally satisfied. i couldn't imagine that another brand would make me a better 9mm bulet, maybe a better .223
 
I used to buy used dies, some from ebay. The last two sets, RCBS pistol dies, I bought from ebay were ruined by a ham fisted gorilla. :mad: The lock rings were tightened down so tight on the press that the die body threads were distorted and the lock ring would not freely screw the length of the die. I had to use a thread file because a thread chaser wouldn't run/clean up the threads. On one set the lock nut corners were rounded off by pliers or vice-grips. All the set screws were tightened too tight, some with the hex socket rounded off and a couple crushed the die body threads underneath so much the lock ring had to be turned with a wrench. I ran a tap through all set screw threads and tossed all the set screws. (I shoulda sent them back, but being a life long machinist/mechanic, I had to fix 'em.) There are way too many fellers out there that don't know how to use hand tools or understand how a lock ring or set screw works to buy a die set sight unseen.

I have purchased used dies, but I held them in my hand first and made sure the previous owner wasn't a "Primitive Pete", that ruined every nut he turned...:eek:

For a new to me caliber that I wanna get to reloading in a hurry, I'll just buy a Lee die set...
 
I needed a 222 Rem seater die. Got one brand new from Flea Bay for 10 bucks. It was a life saver since my die set was incomplete without it.

BUT, the other posters are correct in that you can get screwed if not careful. Research the seller to insure they are credible before you buy.

The guy I bought from was a gun shop owner and selling from his shop.
 
Dies don't wear out (brass is softer than steel) but they can be damaged or ruined by neglect or abuse.

Buying anything used, sight unseen is ALWAYS a risk.

Dies in the most common calibers are also the most common ones to be screwed up. Ham fisted idiots who damage dies are more likely to be users of the more common calibers. In the less common calibers, and things on the custom die list, its much more likely the previous owner was someone who cared for his equipment properly.

Buying used 9mm dies sight unseen, that wind up costing about the same as new when shipping is figured in, is a waste of your money, due to the potential risk. Spend a few bucks more, get new.

That way, if there is anything wrong, there is no question of warranty support.

Now, if you have a real oddball, one that was on the custom die list 30 years ago, and they stopped making custom dies 10 years ago, and the only "new" ones are those still left on the shelf from those days, and they want $200+ for the sizer die ALONE, used, E-bay/Gunbroker, what have you is the only way to go.

(yes, I have something like that, and did eventually get a full die set off the internet, and despite the auction bidding forcing me to pay more than twice the starting bid, the couple hundred dollars I did spend was a bargain)
 
I agree with all your posts so far.

I've had good luck with Ebay in the past, but wanted to check with folks on dies since it's a subject I know basically nothing about.

I agree prices are usually close to new items on a lot of sites that sell things and you really have to do your homework before jumping onto something.

I"ll probably just go with new, unless something good comes along, I have a PM to another member here on TFL in response to something he sent me. Will have to see what happens with that.

Thank you again for all thoughts and suggestions.

Mark
 
The reason not to get sets off E-Bay is the money they give to the people who want to take your firearms away from you. Buying or selling there funds the likes of the Brady Bunch.
If you buy used kit, nothing wrong with it, takes a lot of abuse to damage it, buy RCBS. Their warrantee covers the kit, forever, regardless of who bought it new.
 
I bought new sets on Amazon. If you watch sometimes you can get free shipping. I recently ordered a set and some lube, both shipped free. Hard to beat that with used on the net if you eat the shipping.
 
i don't know if your looking to buy a specific brand of dies. but for lee i usually use this website to get a baseline price
https://fsreloading.com/lee-precision-carbide-3-die-set-9mm-luger-90509.html

but it's the shipping costs that bug me, so i'll usually shop around for awhile til i find what works out best, some times amazon beats out any online retailer, sometimes it doesn't. if you buy lee, decide if you want a 3-die or a 4-die set, i go for 3-die unless loading for 357/38 or other straight revolver cartridges that are sensitive to case lengths. 9mm/40/45 i don't feel the 4th die is very helpful, but others may, especially if using a prgressive press
 
snuffy said:
Just how would you be able to examine used dies on fleebay? You CAN'T

I bought a used 450 Lyman lead bullet sizer from ebay. Advertised as ready to go right out of the box. Yeah sure it was! Full of some sort of black wax, the piston seals were non-functional, and the pressure screw was stripped. I paid good money for it IF it were actually ready to roll. I had to spend another 30 bucks for parts to get it useable. End game was it now works great, and I paid all told 20% less than a new one.

People lie! Almost everybody gives glowing reports of condition when selling where the buyer cannot examine in person. I will never buy dies or other reloading things from ebay again.
Click to expand...

You do know eBay has what most sellers would term extreme buyer protection right? eBay will get you your money back...well, unless you just don't want your money back. I would say that the days of half price dies are gone though.

I generally expect to pay 80%.

Facebook groups have better deals now.
 
If you are looking for dies without paying shipping, you have at least 2 good options. First is Amazon where shipping is free with Prime membership. We use Prime a lot, so it is worth it for our family.

If you don't have Amazon Prime, you can get free shipping on RCBS stuff at Walmart.com when you have it shipped to the store for pickup. Prices there seem pretty decent too. I was surprised when I found out how much reloading stuff they carry.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top