so many Ions

[craltal]

I've noticed a lot of people selling their Ion's and was wondering if anyone has any useful thoughts why.

[JoshK]

Why would anyone sell any marker? There are numerous reasons...

-Money?
-Want a different gun?
-They just don't want it?

Just use you imagination why someone would sell a Tippy or an Angel.

[Blennidae]

My guess would be the "gun whore" type picked one up to see what it was all about, then got bored. Todays hot item is tomorrows killer deal... :D

[mobsterboy]

or theres always the
"Its broken, i don't want to fix it, and i'm going to sell it as working because otherwise I wont get the money i want out of it...etc"

Basically, when it first came out, everyone was like, "I love IONS!!!!" Then it went to,"Man, everyone loves IONS!!!" and finally the panic stage of,"Oh man, ION prices are dropping faster than a really really fat guy jumping out of a jetplane with a HUGE sign that says "resale prices suck!!!"

[diaper eater]

for me it was because at the time i wanted an electro, but didnt have the funding, its still that way, however i want to trade it and my phantom for the finale in my quest for guns, a shocker. i actually planned on keeping it for as long as i play pball, because i didnt want to spend all my money on a setup and never play, but right now the opportunity has risen where i can get a shocker at low to no cost

[Aslan]

or theres always the
"Its broken, i don't want to fix it, and i'm going to sell it as working because otherwise I wont get the money i want out of it...etc"

Wow! Story of my life! I've probably bought about 15 guns on Ebay...maybe 5 have been working/good condition. The usual line is, "I'm selling this for a friend, so I don't know much about it." OR "I just found this in my garage/basement, it looks okay but I haven't actually fired it so I'm selling it as is". :rolleyes: :rolleyes:


Basically, when it first came out, everyone was like, "I love IONS!!!!" Then it went to,"Man, everyone loves IONS!!!" and finally the panic stage of,"Oh man, ION prices are dropping faster than a really really fat guy jumping out of a jetplane with a HUGE sign that says "resale prices suck!!!"

Resale prices are HORRIBLE on paintball guns. I can't put my finger on exactly why...new guns aren't cheap...which is the usual reason for poor resale prices. If I had to offer a theory, it's that there are so many rec players getting out of the sport...selling off markers viewed as "obselete"...meanwhile younger players are entering the market looking for flashy new stuff...not an old fixer-upper. I have a Raptor Silver Eagle that I never use anymore...it's all fixed up great...new parts, new expansion chamber, valves replaced, custom paint job...easily $150 into the gun. I tried selling it last month for $100 with other accessories and I might as well have tried to sell a lizard a pop tart...not even a sniff. :sleeping:

[dann]

I just think that people finally started to realize that plastic, Chinese-made markers are lame as Hell. :eek:

[Paintchucker]

I just think that people finally started to realize that plastic, Chinese-made markers are lame as Hell. :eek:


Truly spoken by someone without experience... sad...


Percentage wise, the increase in sales is probably not that high...

Keep in mind, (and feel free to correct my numbers!) that SP was selling about 7-10k of the either the shockers or the impulses... 20,000+ IONs have hit the street since Febuary... That is not 6 months sales yet... That is like 3 years worth of shockers...

I picked one up on curiousity... Sure most people don't drop $300 on that, but I am very curious... LOL... I paid more for my first hyperframe...


There are so many IONs for sale because there are so many IONs...

[Skoad]

i've seen a few at the field. Most of the people i have seen using them were pretty big, older guys that didn't move much - of course on ramping. The only time I actually saw someone younger and more agile using one the feedneck broke clear off the top. He just did some slight knee slide to a bunker and his on/off went into the dirt...guess the jolt was too much for the wimpy ion and it just stripped the feedneck threading and pop went the halo+neck

[WARPED1]

My guess would be the "gun whore" type picked one up to see what it was all about, then got bored. Todays hot item is tomorrows killer deal... :D
Exactly, except for me. I'm keeping my Ion and buying a store instead. :D

[Rick-USA]

The ION feedneck isn't any more likely to "pop" off than any other feedneck of that type. The problem isn't with the ION it's with the feedneck and marker body. There are simply not enough threads there to actually hold it in place if too much torque is applied. I've seen this same thing happen to Impulses and Shockers when somebody bangs them into a bunker on a slide.

I agree with the part about why you see so many is because there are so many. From the rumours I've heard SP hasn't sold 20K of these since introduction. They were actually about 20K behind in ordered vs produced in early May. I have no idea how many they have actually sold.

I've seen every type player with these things. From the young, agile speed demon to the older more round person who can't move that fast anymore. As far as price vs performance I've been pleased with what I got.

[JimmyBeam]

well if you look at it, there are no more Ions being sold than Protos right now. new guns come in, evryone buys one, then its off to the next great thing

[WARPED1]

Well, the reality is the SP haters here on AO can't handle the fact that SP builds good guns and made a winner with the $300 Ion.* It's not plastic(has a plastic sleeve and trigger is all), it's not made in china either.





*Disclaimer: not a flame or slam at all! Merely my opinion.

[CoolHand]

i've seen a few at the field. Most of the people i have seen using them were pretty big, older guys that didn't move much - of course on ramping. The only time I actually saw someone younger and more agile using one the feedneck broke clear off the top. He just did some slight knee slide to a bunker and his on/off went into the dirt...guess the jolt was too much for the wimpy ion and it just stripped the feedneck threading and pop went the halo+neck

I was there that day, and that is not exactly how it went down.

The dude tried to do a knee slide, but got snagged up half way there, and ended up doing a low altitude superman dive into the snake. The whole marker bounced off the ground, just like he did. The HALO and neck came off. He was a trooper though, picked it up and held it over the hole in the body and kept right on playing. :headbang:

I took a look at it so see if I could fix it for him, and it turns out that the had once accidentally loosened the neck by twisting to the left when trying to jam his HALO in (when he first got it), it then came out (because it was loose) and tore some of the thread OD off the feedneck. That was some time before that day at Gateway.

Now, from then on that neck was junk, but he didn't replace it, so every time it gets a little jostle, its going to pop off.

User Error != Poor Quality

We've got a guy on our team that shoots an Ion, and he digs it. It isn't real fast, but it does what it is supposed to. That's about all you can ask out of a marker in that price range IMO.

[JimmyBeam]

We've got a guy on our team that shoots an Ion, and he digs it. It isn't real fast, but it does what it is supposed to. That's about all you can ask out of a marker in that price range IMO.

are you one of those guys who cant play unless hes shooting 20+ bps? 17 is plenty fast, heck 15 works just fine. and when you say "that price range", well thats a perfect price for a bare stock marker. its all about customization and upgrading. you mag owners should appreciate that. and i just ordered one of Colin's Foehn bodies. that puts me up to ~600 bucks into it. new oarnge bolt in 3 weeks, another 70 bucks. so i guess i may now have a marker that gets some respect now, since it costs so much :rollseyes:


its coming up on 5 months since its been released. its proven itself so far to be a reliable marker. i cant tell you guys enough. its reminds me so much of my mag, with the very little maintenace along with the lightweight and small profile. please use one for a day before you bash on it, you'll see.

[atm743]

well i own an ion and i must say is that they need alot of maintenance. i have lube mine alot more then my mag.

i have to say that lots of kids that start out with this gun dont know how to maintaine it and they are preaty hard to if you are jest starting off in paintball.

thats why i think lots are selling.

an other reason is i seen lots of pbnation that are all up (no stock parts) and people are asking like 450 500 for them and thats jest to much for an ion really. and they are tring to sell and add $$ to get a high ends gun like angles and timmys.

really there are soooo many out there im amazed that they are holding their value.

i like mine. its not the best thing i ever had. they are ok guns with the fast shooting ( i never use ramping) and how cheap they are.

but the problem with ions is that they are a pain to keep up. i jest got mine a month ago and i allready have a loose o-ring that needs to be replaced. pluse i stripped one of the drop screw holes.

the metal on the gun is cheap. it is soo easy to strip it. like it flakes off.

im tring to sell my e-mag to get a viking and if i do sell my e-mag im selling my ion to make a warp mag.

i rather have a viking and a mag then a viking and a ion.

[Lohman446]

I had an Ion - I would estimate that I put 20 to 30 cases through it with very few problems. It had its normal SP quality control issues suck (broken banjo bolt in the body for instance) but other than that seemed to be a pretty decent marker, especially for $300. I abuse my equipment, there is no other way to describe it, and the Ion did not fail me at all. It failed me less time on field than my Proto which I have had for less time (rolled an o-ring from overpressure).

I did put a roller trigger on it because I wanted to see what one was like, and I did replace the feedneck for my cut Halo with a CCM no-pro. I had no problems taking it out and competing on the competition level I am at - maybe it might have made a difference there, but 99% of us have things besides the marker in hand to worry about to influence our game.

[JimmyBeam]

well my Ion is on its way to being a non-SP Ion. the only thing that will be Smart Parts when Im finished is the innertube. I got one of Colin's Foehn bodies coming, and Element *90 frame, new oarnge bolt. so once i get a new board with new guts.....well no more SP Ion. I guess it would be a JimmyBeam PL Ion

[Archangel Zer0]

I was lucky and sold my Ion for what I paid for it. Cheap piece of crap had some random chunk of aluminum stuck in the solenoid. Of course this happens when I bring it to a big game, spent too much time troubleshooting it and then ended up using a freakin' rental piranha because I didn't bring any of my other guns with to save space. Was on eBay and sold within a week. So to answer the original poster, the reason I sold my Ion was that it was a cheap pos that had aluminum falling off of it randomly.

[CoolHand]

I was lucky and sold my Ion for what I paid for it. Cheap piece of crap had some random chunk of aluminum stuck in the solenoid. Of course this happens when I bring it to a big game, spent too much time troubleshooting it and then ended up using a freakin' rental piranha because I didn't bring any of my other guns with to save space. Was on eBay and sold within a week. So to answer the original poster, the reason I sold my Ion was that it was a cheap pos that had aluminum falling off of it randomly.

I would bet money that the chip didn't just "fall off", it was likely just lodged someplace in a passage from when the parts were machined, and worked its way out as the passage was used.

That's not uncommon, in any marker, it will be all the more common on one made in the quatities and for the money that the Ion is.

However, that is a problem easily fixed, and one which will not reoccur randomly (IE once the passages are clean, they stay clean).

You didn't need to sell your marker because of that . . . . . . . .

[WARPED1]

Now, this is not a slam or flame of anyone. I find it funny that nearly the only problems with the Ion are experienced by AO users :rolleyes: .............
I've sold hundreds of Ions, only 1 came back to the shop for repairs. Guess what was wrong? It needed a new battery.

[peewee]

:D I havent had any issues with mine. Playing with it I hope tomorrow. ( along with my new to me classic & the phantom.)

[WARPED1]

I do love how if a mag has a problem(a rare occasion), it is easy to diagnos and fix usually.

[CoolHand]

The fellow on my team that shoots one had never had a lick of trouble with his . . . . . . . until it came time to chorno in for the first game of the last tourney we were at. :mad:

Turns it on, pulls the trigger. . . . . . .and gets nothing. It trys to cycle but won't. So, he ran back the staging area, threw his bottle and bottom line on my Alias, and used it for the rest of the day.

Never heard what was wrong with it, it just sorta refused to shoot. You could hear the 'noid cycle, but nothing was happening. It very well may have had a chip in it too. I'll have to ask him the next time we play.

Like I said before, they are great for what they are great for: low cost entry level paint chucker

I would never own one as my primary marker though (the guy on the team has a shocker too, but I sort of have it in pieces right now for ano :D ).

[Lohman446]

The fellow on my team that shoots one had never had a lick of trouble with his . . . . . . . until it came time to chorno in for the first game of the last tourney we were at. :mad:

Turns it on, pulls the trigger. . . . . . .and gets nothing. It trys to cycle but won't. So, he ran back the staging area, threw his bottle and bottom line on my Alias, and used it for the rest of the day.

Never heard what was wrong with it, it just sorta refused to shoot. You could hear the 'noid cycle, but nothing was happening. It very well may have had a chip in it too. I'll have to ask him the next time we play.

Like I said before, they are great for what they are great for: low cost entry level paint chucker

I would never own one as my primary marker though (the guy on the team has a shocker too, but I sort of have it in pieces right now for ano :D ).

Sounds like a low battery - why my team, regardless of marker has a "new battery every tournament" policy.

And this piece of metal is not random people. Take off the reg and look - on many of them where the air passage goes in there is a small piece of aluminum loose there. Part of life.

[CoolHand]

Sounds like a low battery - why my team, regardless of marker has a "new battery every tournament" policy.

And this piece of metal is not random people. Take off the reg and look - on many of them where the air passage goes in there is a small piece of aluminum loose there. Part of life.

Very well could have been. I never heard what it ended up being.

I always change batteries before any day of play, and I urge all the other guys to as well, but you never know.

I actually used up a brand new 9v in my Viking during that tourney.

Now that is a lot of paint shot . . . . . . . .

[The_Unknown_Paintballer]

Im gonna have to disagree. I think the Ion rocks though I dont have one. I know someone who does and I have used it. When I shot it :shooting: I thought it rocked. :wow:

[Sparta]

I shoot both an Angel LCD and an Ion. Since the Ion has eyes, I shoot it over the Angel. When I got it, I didn't expect much. But when I used it for the first time on the field, I was REALLY surprised at how well it worked. I've put 15+ cases through it, and I've never had a problem. Some people run into problems (99% of the time it's newbs) when they don't take care of their gun. They play 10 times with it, and never clean it, lube it, etc.

It's quick, but it needs a new feedneck (it was my first mod). For 18 bucks, you can add a QEV and set your dwell to 12 with no drop-off, and you get REALLY good efficiency.

The stock barrel looks like crap, but since it's a .689 bore, it handles most paint pretty well.

The ONLY thing on the Ion that is plastic is the shell. The body itself is metal. The plastic shell actually save a littl weight, which is nice.

People think that High-end guns make you a better player, well, thats BS. It's your SKILL, NOT the gun that makes you a good player. I was almost going to get a G7 or an Ego, but I got an Ion instead. And with all the money I saved, I've played every Saturday and Sunday for the past 2 1/2 months.

[magman007]

apparently ao sucks at owning markers. The ion is a spool valve, not hard to take care of people!

ATM get over it, so you have to lube it, hell i broke down my valve every day of play when i had my mags, complete marker dissassemble and re assemble, with re lube, every day of play. take care of your guns, treat em like everything else in life, with utter care. Big deal, lubing the bolt?. its like, 4 orings.

[Fatjon]

i run a shop, and have probably sold close to 30 of them. The only problems i am having are the hoses leaking all the time.

[WARPED1]

i run a shop, and have probably sold close to 30 of them. The only problems i am having are the hoses leaking all the time.
That's user error, ham fisted goons tightening the banjo or QEV so tight it splits hoses! :rolleyes:

[yakitori]

well i own an ion and i must say is that they need alot of maintenance. i have lube mine alot more then my mag.

i have to say that lots of kids that start out with this gun dont know how to maintaine it and they are preaty hard to if you are jest starting off in paintball.

thats why i think lots are selling.

an other reason is i seen lots of pbnation that are all up (no stock parts) and people are asking like 450 500 for them and thats jest to much for an ion really. and they are tring to sell and add $$ to get a high ends gun like angles and timmys.

really there are soooo many out there im amazed that they are holding their value.

i like mine. its not the best thing i ever had. they are ok guns with the fast shooting ( i never use ramping) and how cheap they are.

but the problem with ions is that they are a pain to keep up. i jest got mine a month ago and i allready have a loose o-ring that needs to be replaced. pluse i stripped one of the drop screw holes.

the metal on the gun is cheap. it is soo easy to strip it. like it flakes off.

im tring to sell my e-mag to get a viking and if i do sell my e-mag im selling my ion to make a warp mag.

i rather have a viking and a mag then a viking and a ion.

Thats kinda funny how alike you and I are. Except I would rather have an Ion than a mag. :P. Ive had my share of mags and if I ever go back to playing rec, I may pick one up again when Im old and gray. :D. J/k.

Mags are fine. And I think blennidae hit the nail on the head. Its the gun whore type, and they want something else. But if you think about it, you can buy an Ion for a little more than you can for an x valve alone these days. Pretty sad when you think of it performance wise.

Hope the viking thing works out for you. At a practice scrimmage today, my angry halo decided it needed more juice. It didnt take long either from the time the LED went red until it didnt work. Right before the game started a nice guy at the field handed me his empire timmy and I used it for a game. I have to say that I liked my viking better. Maybe its just me, but of all the timmys Ive shot, the viking feels better. I did however really like the DM4 I show today. It was very smooth. Almost too smooth and felt like you werent even shooting the gun. I still like the viking though.

[WARPED1]

I may pick one up again when Im old and gray. :D. J/k.

Mags are old and gray:p.......................

[sleepingbeauty]

I don't like that they have a composite or "plastic" barb coming off the board to the qev. you think they could have at least spent the extra 2 dollars to put a stainless barb on there.

thanks-
Pat

[JimmyBeam]

SP did everyone in the paintball industry a favor with this gun. with a 284 base price, it allowed almost everyone to get one. and have money left over to upgrade. CP, NDZ, CCM, Hybrid, Kila etc. etc. are probly making a killing off all the upgrades. hell there are 30k Ions out htere, and it hasnt even been 6 months yet.