Buying used or sight unseen speakers a bad idea?

If buying "sight unseen" from anonmymous sellers was generally causing a lot of trouble this would be reflected in far more negative feedback than what is actually there(and the demise of audiogon). Typically, feedback is overwhelmingly positive, indicating problems are the rare exception and smooth transactions are the rule.

There are some very good people with little to no feedback. I know this because I'm one of them!

How are people supposed to build feedback if no one does business with people with no feedback?

I've bought 2 items here, and sold 2 here. Never bought nor sold on eBay. Just because I'm not a serial buyer/seller doesn't mean I'm a bad guy.

With that being said, I only accepted and used paypal, only used and accepted signature required delivery, and only bought and sold with plenty of pics. I offered to email additional pics to anyone interested, and was very specific about flaws in the equipment and why I graded them at what they were. I'm a bit OCD in descriptions.

With all that said, I don't have anything listed nor likely will for quite a while.

You generally start building your feedback by buying couple of things. Yes, feedback as a buyer and as a seller are not quite the same, but at least someone already did business with you. I bought and sold a lot on ebay especially records and cds but not much here, just a dozen of items.
I am a good guy too - if the the price is right.

Do your homework!! Luck is not an option. Research the speaker you are interested in. find out the repair recommendations. For example, (just an example folks). Martin Logan Speakers are excellent speakers. However, how old are the panels? Do they require replacement? Power Supply or crossove updates available from the manufacturer also? Fortunatly, Martin Logan has excellent customer service and still carries most replacement panels for their entire speaker line and really low costs. My Monolith III speakers which I purchased used are basically brand new because I replaced the panels with new ones, sent the crossovers and power supplies to Martin Logan and they repaired and updated them also. For standard speakers, what is the age? are the surrounds in decent condition? What does the manufacturer say about the age of this speaker? After you have done this type of homework, who is selling the speaker? Have you spoken with that person? Why are they selling it? What do they say about the condition? Are they close by? Can you come by to audition them? If I'm selling a piece of equipment, I have absolutely no problem letting a potential buyer come by with their music to demo the equipment first. I don't sell or buy much on line and I am not a member of the amp of the month club. However, people that have dealt with me are happy with their purchase and I never represent equipment as being something that it isn't. Condition or style or cost. Don't cross your fingers and hope for the best. Do your homework first. If the seller is stuffy or won't give you the time of day, move on. There is no such thing as a free lunch. But, there are reputable dealers out their that sell demo or used equipment that will let you take the equipment home for a week or so and let you listen in your own home. That is my number one way of purchasing. Second is Audiogon. I have purchased some equipment on Audiogon and after doing my homework, made the purchase and each piece of equipment arrived in the condition stated, on time and worked great.

Take it slow, do your homework and be careful.

enjoy

Lots of good advice here. From my experience this is what I would add.

If you request for pictures of speakers from the seller make sure they are actual pictures of the speakers being sold. I have seen sellers on other sites use pictures from Canuck Audiomart or various pictures from google and say my speakers look like these. Sometimes they would say nothing at all and say these were pics of the speakers they are selling. That is a major red flag to me if a seller is pulling these stunts.

Also be wary of extreme close-ups of speakers or just a fuzzy distance shot. I've dealt with people on local classified listing sites who posted extreme close ups of just a drivers or a speaker badge. When I went to see them the speakers had all sorts of blemishes. The same went with fuzzy distance shots. Here on A'gon you get 3 free picture posts. Use all of them and use them wisely. On another site I saw 6 pictures allowed to be uploaded.

IMO if a seller can't add pics to their listings on any site they are either lazy or have something to hide. Pretty much every phone has a camera now and sometimes nice ones at that. Digital cameras are so cheap now. Heck I've even seen people take pics with their laptop webcams. There are many ways of getting pictures.

When I had little to no feedback here I would state in my sale listings I had feedback on other sites and for the prospective buyer to review those. If I was buying I would tell them seller to check my feedback and in some cases I would try to assure them that I'm a serious buyer and will not flake out on them via e-mail. Pretty much if you have little feedback I think a little more effort should be put forth on your part. Whether it be a more detailed sale listing or reaching out to a seller.

These one line listings from a person with no feedback is one I would never buy from.