Also found the deal of the year forsure. I found a lady that was selling a mars 96 and 144 together for 175 bucks, still in perfect condition. Going to scoop those up Saturday morning, sooo hype.. that should be between 600-700 true watts in the closet.... I think I'll be set for now haha
Yay!!!! I toooold you there are some crazy ass deals on 'used' equipment if you are willing to stalk the shit out of the 'bay and local classifieds for a while!!!
So you got 207 watts with the 96 and 317 watts with the 144.... so that's 524 true watts for 175 bucks! Amazing... 33 cents per watt. Good on you!!! I love deals... if you couldn't tell. You even beat my Mars2 find at 36 cents per watt. I hereby bequeath the title of ultimate led deal finder to you! .
On the subject of staying safe and not getting fucked... as unfortunately there are dishonest people in the world... Not saying your seller is one... just saying not all people are guided by the same moral compass.
The reflectors are pretty distinctive in design so no having to worry about it being advertised as something it's not . It sounds like you are picking them up locally. I did the same and took a few precautions to ensure I didn't get screwed.
Although I found the item on eBay, I paid cash to get the price down lower. Everyone loves cash... but that left me outside of paypals protection... and asking someone to sign a purchase order over 175 bucks is a bit much. In my case, I just made sure to meet the guy at a location where the lamp could be plugged in and turned on and off. Just look it over briefly before handing over those bills. Ask the seller if they have any paperwork that came with the lamp before you meetup. They may not have it... but it's worth asking. My guy had the manual but no purchase paperwork. Mars specifically tells buyers to keep the packaging so that if it needs to be sent back for repairs for any reason, it is properly packed up so hopefully she has the packaging. Again, not a problem if not... just worth asking because these little things make your life easier.
Good luck and congrats on the find!!!! The other thing you can do once you get the lamps home is open them up just barely and take a look at the fans. If the lamp has been used for a while without regular maintenance, you can tell by the dust build up on the fans.
My intention here is not to worry you about second hand purchases so please don't take it that way. I am just sharing what my experience was like... and it was AWESOME. Now I have a great lamp that I otherwise could not afford on my budget ... In my opinion, used equipment is the obvious choice for an intuitive, resourceful, new grower!
XxKitty