Why are "low hours" a consideration?

John, of course you are right, but I was assuming that the low hours was in fact, the truth, as in the amp has 1,000 hours of use or these exotic matched tubes have been used for 2 months or 500 hours and they are known to have a lifespan of 10,000 hours. Remove the truth from the equation and you've got nothing but nice photos to make your purchase from. Low hours without numbers means nothing, but as a buyer, I would want a number. If you are going to buy used, there is always a certain amount of trust and you hope that the seller has some integrity. BTW, there have been many cases of sellers claiming low mileage on cars that they have tampered with the Odometers. It comes down to the principles and the integrity of the seller. Fortunately, every seller that I have dealt with on Audiogon has been truthful!

It's simply impossible to buy a used cartridge on Audiogon without low hours.

:-)))))

I get a kick outta this one :

"These speakers only driven with the best ancillary equipment"

Like they have a damn memory for the next owner ?

Cyclonicman, you have been very fortunate. I would say most of those that I've dealt with on AudiogoN have integrity, but not all. As Bill notes following your post, everyone selling a used phono cartridge has only used it for a few LP's. ;D

I'm aware that an odometer can be tampered with, but it is an illegal offense. There's nothing illegal about mis-guessing the hours on used tubes, phono cartridges, etc.

One can only hope to deal with someone of integrity. Most have great intentions, but their actual memory may be a bit foggy. I'm not insinuating that their is actual fraud, though I have been involved in one deal where this was the case. I just think that many 'guess' at the hour rating, and do so in a way that will help their sale.

Cheers,
John

"low hours" is a little bit better than "I'm the second owner" Are you sure? Why nobody claim 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc... owner?