Avoiding Scammers - Both As Buyer & Seller

@oldhvymec Now you know WHY it was a penal colony. Still is as far as I’m concerned!

I just stumbled over a pic of the amp guts made by a dude near Perth, Western Australia. There are only a few people who build valve (toobe) amps in Australia, and only one I know of in Western Australia. Apologies for the delay in responding.

Being otherwise very well regarded (even on this forum - they do sound good, and there is plenty of evidence that is high priority), I won’t dare name names but I copy this from another forum by a highly experienced tech bloke commenting on the terrible lack of skills by the manufacturer -

ANY tech or engineer that sees heavy components (plastic film caps, high power resistors, et al), floating, unsecured in a chassis will recoil in horror. Worse, in one of the ones I worked on, were the results of unsecured, hot running, 10 Watt resistors, that had caused severe damage to one of the plastic capacitors. The filament supply regulator heat sinks are fully enclosed and run very hot. None of this is acceptable.

It’s not "unorthodox". It reeks of a builder who has never learned or understood proper construction methods.

I’m not sure if I can show the image, I’ll try. Nup. Can’t be done, sux. There seem to be no Audiogon guidelines on how to.

Just look at a plate of spaghetti and that would be much neater. Its a shocker, even to my layman eyes.

{and upon further reading of that forum discussion, that bit I quoted by the tech guy was just him getting warned up, so go figure}

That is why checking their feedback is so important. And don't just look at the number - actually READ the feedback and the date it was given. Also, if the item is "expensive" to you then get their telephone number and give them a call. You can learn a lot in a 5 minute phone call about someone. Treat it as any business transaction. 

@sbayne  if the item is "expensive" to you then get their telephone number and give them a call. You can learn a lot in a 5 minute phone call about someone. Treat it as any business transaction. 

Yes indeed!!  I provide my personal details to anyone to have a chat about the expensive product to be traded. 

I once had cause to pull the plug on a vintage $3K amp (I had already paid in good faith but no action was yet taken) because I asked questions that the seller was not expecting (eg, serial #) and he got "sprung".  Hmm, awkward.  But phew!!

I've gone to tamper resistant seals and state this in the description. No returns or warranty on any item that has had the seals tampered with. If the buyer doesn't like the seals, don't buy it. Take many photos, before seals, after, during the packing and again before item is shipped. Don't sell on Ebay for sure.

I do like the phone call idea if potential buyer does not want seals, thank you.