My list of seller red flags

" agree, items listed as New, then the description says only used 20 hours..."

Well, think of it this way. You just bought a new car and drive over to friend's house 4 days and 80 miles later to show him. Do you say: " How do you like my new car or How do you like my used car?"

Great.  Another buyer that wants everything on a silver platter.  NIB, with receipt, 1080P or 4K quality pictures and a description that reads like an audio review.   For a price that is 50% of FMV....for a used item.   Guess what, we ALL want that, but understand that it is not realistic.  

Don't like how the ad is constructed, move on.
Don't like the quality of pictures included in the ad, move on.
Don't like the price, move on.
Don't like how the seller responds to questions, move on.

Early in the thread, someone mentioned selling a McIntosh piece without an original McIntosh box.   I do understand this concern, but it can be addressed.   I have shipped numerous McIntosh items- MR71 tuner with case, 2100 amp, c28 without case, c28 with case.....all without a MAC box.  But I carefully packed, and made sure to add extra protection for the face.   I built a shipping crate for the MR71.   My cost was about $25 in materials, and about 30min of my time.    All pieces arrived intact.

I buy and sell all the time- I like to swap equipment.   I never sell because I have to.  I set my price(s) based upon current and repeatable FMV- I seldom use the highest price in my comparisons.   

I respond to low ballers with a price that is HIGHER than my original asking price.   They get the message quickly.  Reasonable offers are politely countered.

When I submit an offer that a seller considers "low" or "low ball" I always try to have records of recent sales in front of me to prove why my offer is fair.   This strategy has worked more often than not- sellers who want to sell understand they are not selling in vacuum and if their price is too high they will be married to the item.

People try to overthink the process, and end up as bitter neurotic shut ins.   Don't like something- move on !

$1875 is still gimmicky because it has too many significant digits. Anything more than two is gimmicky. If you mean $1900, just say $1900. Low volume audio equipment with a niche market can not have such precise pricing.

If I see a seller with such "precise" pricing I think they are delusional and move on. Not someone I want to deal with.

I’ve bought and sold many things on various sites. When I started selling, I quickly learned to put "No trades, please" and "No lowball offers, please" in my listings. Of course I still heard from people offering trades & lowball offers--just fewer than if didn’t put those provisos in the listing.

Why no trades? 2 reasons:
1 - First/foremost: it greatly complicates the security issues involved in any transaction. A straight-up, Paypal-protected transaction is what I seek.
2 - Because if I really want a thing, I’ll go out and find it--hopefully multiple examples of it, so I can buy the best one at the best price.

When I’m buying, I avoid any seller having bad feedback (I’m not a masochist, so no point in going there); also any that doesn’t have original packaging. Reason for the latter is simple: if I ever wish to sell that new/used toy, I become the seller offering a thing w/no packaging. It’s just bad form, unless the item is truly old & having no box(es) is understandable.

Final point: I not only have feedback on several sites, but also something of a reputation via having posted there semi-intelligently over the years. I find that really helps me communicate with buyers & sellers because I'm not a total unknown.

Final/FINAL point: I would gladly pay to list things on Audiogon (there was an attractive discount for this recently)--but the only way to sell here is to have a business-type Paypal acct, which I don't have & don't want. 

If I’m showing it to a friend I say new car, if I’m selling it to someone I don’t know I do not say new...the Audiogon rating system states an item can only be called New if it is in a factory sealed box...I always refer to my newly purchased used audio gear to my friends as my new...