Most of us who belong to this forum have at one time or another purchased a few used cartridges. I wanted to start this post to discuss our experiences. Would you do it again? Was it a good experience with an honest seller or was it a nightmare?
I had what you term "a good experience with an honest seller." Got a very gently used Ortofon Jubilee about 15 months ago for a great price. I've used it almost every day since and have no regrets.
I paid BIG money for a used Dynavector 20X low output mc cartridge. Turned out the suspension had collapsed and the body of the cartridge would drag on the record. Between what I paid used for the cartridge and sending it to Soundsmith for repair would have cost more than buying a brand new 20X.
Have sold quite a few of my earlier cartridges to help fund the purchase of an upgrade. They have all been in perfect working order, one or two had been re- tipped and I always made that clear. Never had a problem, one buyer even sold the cart on for more than I sold it for!
I tried buying a couple of used phono cartridges and both were defective. One had a badly worn stylus (was offered as "nearly new") and the other had a bad suspension (cantilever would drift to one side when lowered). I lost money on the first cartridge and was able to return the second cartridge.
I wouldn't buy another used cartridge unless I was VERY sure of the seller's integrity and they were selling me a cartridge that they had purchased new.
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