Experiences buying used cartridges

I've bought two used cartridges, a Linn Troika and a Linn Arkiv B. Both purchases were flawless. Both looked and worked great. I still have the Arkiv B

But I can see how buying a used cartridge can be very risky. Over the years I've bought much used gear. Only once did I get a dud, and that was a tuner (FM3). Seller refused to take it back.

Five or more years ago, I would have come down heavily against buying a used cartridge. About that time, I got interested in vintage MM and MI cartridges, thanks to "the thread". At that point, I started buying used and NOS vintage cartridges with alacrity, always after careful selection of sellers, as far as that can ever be done. I must be lucky, because I have never received a cartridge that did not "work", out of the box. One can never say that an aged NOS or used cartridge is working exactly as well as it otherwise could work, but I only have detected subpar performance with one of my oldies, and that is a Grado TLZ that in fact I bought new about 35 years ago.The caveat here is that I have not listened to all the cartridges I bought during that spree. One of those that I have yet to audition, and which is clearly not NOS, is an AKG; these are notorious for losing signal on one channel, and visual inspection of my sample reveals that the cantilever is deviated to one side and may be sagging as well. However, if I never listen to the AKG, I may be able to say my record is perfect. Nevertheless, this adventure has given me many hours of pleasure for relatively little cost, and I don't regret it for a minute. In fact, with less zeal than before, I am still looking for certain models. Anyone got an Astatic for sale?

Lew,

I've had very good luck buying used cartridges. My current primary is the Lyra Kleos, which has performed flawlessly since I bought it. I even sent it to Lyra/Japan a year or so ago for a check up and adjustment.

The obvious advantage of buying used is that one can get into a higher grade cartridge for a much more affordable price. Of course, the downside is the risk that the cartridge condition does not meet seller reps.

Obviously, I've been careful in choosing the seller from whom I bought the cartridge (member feedback is key) and have just been plain lucky.

Regards,

Bruce

I have purchased two used cartridges and both were positive experiences. I do avoid any cartridge that has been re-tipped unless the manufacturer was the one who did the work.

I purchased a used cartridge from grgaudio who often sells a ton of cartridges, all with less than 300 hours. Apparently nobody in California runs Their cartridges over 300 hours. Anyhow I bought a Benz reference one from him in the ad it said new retail price was 3K. Well I learned after the fact that retail is $1200. But I should've done my due diligence my bad. So then I install it and it's obvious the cartridge is just worn right out. So I sent him three emails telling him about it and never receive a response. Then six months later I have it looked at and yes it's worn right out. So I respond to four of his ads asking him if he's going to ignore these folks as well when they discover their cartridges are worn out. So he sends me a message asking me what's up the last he heard from me was when he sold me a cartridge. So I tell him I'm upset because it was totally misrepresented and it's worn out and I want my money back. And believe it or not he says I can't refund your money now if you had of notified me right after I would've done so. He says my policy is always your satisfaction or money back. I guess that works good if you totally ignore people's attempts to tell you they're dissatisfied. Complete crook stay away from this guy. And the worst thing is it was past the time to leave feedback so I couldn't tell others of my experience on his feedback.