Versa-Pod play... eBay ripoff?

[cidirkona]

I bought a Versapod off of ebay in "NEW" condition, but it does not quite seem to be as such.

The ball joint that the legs swing forward on and can swivel on (to aim left or right) has about 1mm of freeplay between the two sides of the upper portion's socket. Is this normal? should the socket (kind-of U shaped) be bent back toward each other to make a more snug joint?

There is a bolt that goes through the socket and ball horizontally, and the sides of the socket do not seem to be perfectly flush with the nut or or the end of the bolt.

Could/should I just grease it up and go about my day?

Should the guy get negative feedback for the item being in this condition? It was described in the auction "New and never used Versa pod and mount. As stated it is new without any box. Buyer to pay actual shipping cost. Payment by money order or a good check."

Thanks!!
-Colin

PS - link to versapod model....

 

[IV Troop]

I too bought one new in the store and it was sloppy as hell. I tried it on one of my precision rifles and was thoroughly disgusted with it. I went back the the Harris tilt models and have never looked back. Basically I thought the versapod was a big POS.

 

[cidirkona]

The mount where it bolts to the rifle is soooo much more comfy than that of the harris models though... so I guess this is a standard 'feature' ?

I'm going to try to squeeze the socket of this ball joint together a little bit and see if that helps anything...

-Colin