Fraud and scam, how many of you are victims?

On which site?

There gone....shutdown. This was probably 3-4 years ago.

It was Soundstage Direct. Sold a lot of gear,carts, and great promotions on vinyl. They were great for a long time. At one time they were one of the biggest Audio/vinyl retailers online. They took orders for months and kept telling customers everything was backordered and production was slow. People believed them because of their outstanding track record. 
I'll never forget the day I realized I got ripped off. I was starting to get a little nervous....it had been a couple months since I ordered a VPI Prime/Ortofon Cadenza Bronze. One day I was reading a thread on here when someone mentioned their store was empty/they had moved out. It then quickly unraveled. A lot of us on Audiogon got fleeced. The owner to my knowledge never stood accountable. 

Paypal, and vet your seller... otherwise, buy from known sources.

What’s the safest way to sell a piece of equipment without getting caught up in any scams like described above?

I’ve a Marantz SA8005 CD/SACD player I need to move on and have never sold a piece of audio equipment. I live out in the country where there is unlikely to be a local market. I’m not looking to get rich from selling it, but it’s a little too valuable to simply give away like I did with all my old vintage stereo equipment, after purchasing a new system a couple years ago.

I don’t want to get caught up in any nonsense when trying to sell it, so I’ve avoided doing so. So it’s sits on a shelf in a store room unused, when someone could enjoy using it. What would your advice be to avoid fraud and scam from the seller's side of the equation?

Mike

Here is what I do: 1. I never sell on eBay. No seller protection. I don’t care what they say. They don’t protect sellers. 2. I only buy low dollar items on eBay. 3. Major used purchases go to Agon and us audio mart. 4.  In EVERY purchase I use PayPal. Mostly so the seller doesn’t get my credit card number. I know they offer some buyer protection. That is nice. But I don’t rely on them for that. Though I would call that marker in if I had to. 5. Where the real protection is, is that I, without exception, buy with a credit card with excellent charge dispute customer service. For lower perceived risk situations I use my bank’s credit card. For situations where I feel I need maximum protection I use American Express. In my experience, their charge dispute customer service is second to none. The best. Even if you were to somehow agree to use PayPal f/f it is worth it to either volunteer the 3% PayPal fee to use your credit card OR pay with PayPal f/f and use your credit card and incur the PayPal fees on your end. Very small money for lots of protection of your money, your time (which is money) and hassle. Never waiver from these recommendations above and always check feedback.