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Previous Ownership...does it matter to you?

I'm curious as to how others feel about knowing the previous ownership history when purchasing used audio equipment. Not necessarily who specifically owned as that's usually not possible but how many owners.

It might give you a glimpse into whether the item has been shipped back and forth from coast to coast in the US, Canada, or another country and if there's something not as advertised with the item since it continues to change hands too frequently.

I recently exchanged messages with a seller of a previous set of very nice speakers I previously owned. I knew the complete history, the buyer listed himself as the third owner when in fact he was the fifth owner. When I shared the details, his response was "could care less about ownership and how many times it's changed hands....".

I was surprised by the response. The obvious reason to understand ownership it's one of the listing rules from both Audiogon and US Audiomart in regards to the rating scale. Both Audiogon and US Audiomart are specific that anything a 9 or above must be single owner. In the case I reference above, the seller lists as a 9 even knowing he's the fifth owner. 

What is your approach to knowing ownership history? Does it matter or not to you?

128x128jcoehler
akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
2,293 posts
 

@knotscott  , @coralkong

 

Absolutely , without quarrel, sir.

but rhetorically, how much trust are you going to develop on its condition and functionality on a potential blind purchase now saddled by a purposeful (emphasis added) provenance/ history omission that was called out to be a lie ( and not an error) and casually shrugged off now as “who cares”.?. For me that is an insulting arrogance on a fatal event that terminates the discussion .

for me : nada, zippo, zilch, NFW.

the only thing we have to rely on the unit reported condition properly and rely on the credibility of Seller is his prior feedback, AND current conduct

jcoehler's avatar
jcoehler OP
232 posts
 

What is your criteria for getting to the condition 'quickly' for an online sale of a used item?

Photos, description, feedback? Any of these can be gamed/faked/lied about as I have referenced in the original post.

You can usually tell if it has been taken care of or beaten on pretty quickly...

ebm
9,311 posts
 

Depend on the component.

ghdprentice
7,179 posts
 

I always buy components from a dealer, not an individual. I want to know someone will stand behind my purchase regardless of the history. That said… they are usually demonstration units. 

mesch
3,522 posts
 

Given it is a piece I am interested in I consider:

        Age, current condition, past ownership, if original box is avail,  item to be double boxed, feedback for seller. All are good to know.

 

 

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