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thought on eBay?

I've bought and sold things on eBay, but never $$$ audio equipment. I have had good experiences with Audiogon and AudioMart but I'm cautious about eBay, if only because many sellers often have little history with audio gear. I'm looking at an item that will likely end up in the $4k range from a seller who doesn't accept returns and has almost no record of selling audio equipment but does have an extensive and excellent record of buying and selling other things. 

1) In general, would you guys spend many thousands of dollars on eBay if there are no red flags--or do you say "never eBay" for big purchases?

2) Can anyone explain the reality of eBay's policies? I can see the "money back guarantee" if the item arrives "broken, damaged, or faulty." But I've also heard plenty of horror stories out here about companies that offer similar guarantees in theory but are awful to deal with in reality. I'll add that sometimes "faulty" for stereo gear can be a vast grey area.

So, bottom line: would you make a big audio purchase through eBay, especially from a seller with little visible audio experience?
northman
northman OP
251 posts
 
Okay! Thanks everyone. I genuinely appreciate the reassurance. I do find it strange to see a seller who has sold hundreds of vintage car decals or commemorative plates from Luray Caverns and then out of the blue puts Ypsilon monoblocks up for sale. (That's not literally the case here but it's the same idea.) 

Thanks!
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oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
I’ve had a lot of buying transactions on EBay. I’ve never sold a thing on it.

Out of 50 plus and 300.00 dollar or more audio transactions, I got stung once by a guy in Perth (remember that town) and once in the states.

State side it was a MC240 that just looked like crap and the guy said it worked as it should.. It looked worse than CRAP holes in the chassis and it couldn’t have worked no mater what, PARTS were missing and had been for a long time..

That was the first time I had a problem and fumbled the ball with the 10 day grievance procedure.. I would have won that one.. I learned better pictures from the seller and pictures on arrival on anything over 300.00 for sure..

It amazes me what people say about how equipment looks though. They will say it looks great and selling for parts. Its actually a rust bucket with a Mac or Marantz logo.. That IT...

I usually sell to people I know. Now that I’m thinning the herd a bit. I’ll see.

Listing and relisting fees, ain’t gonna cut it for me..

Fees, PP, shipping and Taxes.. LOL 20-30% if your not careful.. Better off selling closer to home and loosing 5-10% at the most..

Police station deals.. I love it when they come out and we’re loading 300 pound speakers in the parking lot... Beer bottles rolling out of the other guys PU. That was fun to explain.

Regards
yogiboy's avatar
yogiboy
5,665 posts
 
I stopped buying big ticket items on Ebay since they started charging sales tax. I also stopped selling on Ebay because they get over a 12%  selling fee. Audiogon works out great for me!
ebm
9,311 posts
 
Never get audio on eBay.Thats me however.
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