My list of seller red flags

As usual,  I thank uber for introducing a note of reality into a thread.
Some of the complaints here are valid, others are petty.  The one that got me was the poster who complains if they don’t get an immediate response to a phone call or email.  Do you think it is possible that the seller might have a day job unrelated to audio and not be able to drop everything to answer your questions?  I’m a Physician and I am not going to take of my PPE to answer your question that minute.  If I ask a question I expect 48 hours to be a reasonable window. After all, these a a fair amount of dollars being thrown around and are typically not impulse 
purchases

I am in sales and I constantly marvel over how people treat me sometimes. I sell industrial products so not everyday items that we would think of. People think they can treat me like crap. Well, guess what, those who do that do not get the best price and if they want to buy somewhere else, that's fine. For those that appreciate the effort I put into researching, designing and sourcing what they need I give them favorable pricing because those are the folks I want to work with over and over.


As a buyer here, I always assume that the initial price listed is based on an amount that allows for negotiation. I will not make an offer on an item unless I am willing to pay the price asked. I simply will make a lower bid because one never knows what the particular situation is. If the bid is rejected I will come back to near the original price. Likewise, when I sell I expect the same. So if someone makes a low priced offer I will kindly reject it and tell them what I am willing to accept. In other words, the first price discussed in a negotiation is just a way to get a feel for the lay of the land. I have actually had people accept my first offer. We both walked away happy.

One pet peeve of mine is speakers. I have found speakers many times that I would be willing to purchase but the person claims, "local pick-up only because I do not have the original boxes". And of course they live thousands of miles from me. So please people.....keep the original shipping cartons! I know it's difficult to find storage space. I keep all mine under the stairs in the basement. When you don't have the original cartons it requires the buyer to have someone create shipping cartons which can be quite expensive on top of the shipping costs.........and that leads to a lower priced offer.

@jollygreenaudiophile2 
"But I will say this anyway. I have sold probably as much used gear as anyone in say the top .005% tier as far as numbers. "     

You have two transactions here. What gives with that?

I want to re-iterate the golden rule that is treat others like you wish to be treated that goes A long way in life and makes for happiness on both sides of the fence