Buying Used Equipment on the Internet

New or Used:

We hear horror stories of unresolved problems, unfortunately sometimes we have to 'blame the victim'.

1. Used:

how old? How heavily used, repair parts available, brand dealer(s), service shop near you?

2. Shipping, Insurance: (item MUST be double boxed or claim will be denied). Take photos, outside arrival, inside, layer by layer.

Seller pays for insurance you request, so any potential claim will be by seller. Documentation of Damage/Improper Packaging by Buyer. Delays, confusion, frustration.

Local Pick-Up Only: use UPS Pack and Ship (you pay, insurance is in your name), Can be costly, but if you want it:.

You give size and weight to UPS, they give you an estimate.

You have seller simply drop off the unpackaged item to nearby UPS in your name.

UPS gives you an exact price, and they are responsible for damage.

3. FUND you PayPal account with your best credit card, thus having their protection. If big purchase, call CC co. and confirm you are covered.

4. eBay and PayPal Protection

Search for 'returns accepted' pay a bit more if not too much

Ask Questions IN WRITING, via eBay, before buying, so you can document seller's answers in case of later problem

PayPal Protection (about 3% add on): Must be an 'Invoice for Goods', NOT 'Friends and Family' (could just be sending money as far as PayPal knows). You can offer to pay the 3% extra to the buyer to get them to agree.

I, my wife, my sister-in-law all have had good support for things gone wrong. Refunds, sometimes free return shipping, not always.

5. Reverb:

same thing, ask questions so you have a record of seller's answers. Reverb helped me with a problem, quickly, choice: partial refund or return. I took the refund and sold the unit to Steve at VAS.

6. US audio mart; Canuck audio mart.

Haven't had a problem, I would read their rules, write them to confirm. Ask seller questions. I have bought from both sites without problems.

Amazon: used or refurbished. (new stuff too).

Right Side of listing: Sold By? Ships From? It is nice to have Amazon in one of those answers. They have accepted many returns, most with simple drop off, unpackaged, and often free return shipping. Always ask seller for answers, their responses tell you something about them.

Pay: via PayPal funded by your best CC. I have Amazon Chase, get 5% off all Amazon purchases, other discounts here and there. No annual fee. I checked with them before buying my Tonearm from Russia. Chase has assured me they will cover a problem.

Warranties:

1. 'Open Box'. Legitimate Brand Dealer? Many times, not always, open box is the initial sales date, and you get maker's full warranty. You must get an invoice stating 'open box'. Most often all you need is a copy of the original sales receipt.

2. Transferrable? Check before you buy. Some are, some not, some easy, some complicated documentation required. My Russian Tone Arm, I called Square Trade, before I bought a warranty for electronics in the price range. Told them: 'no parts or dealer  in US'. They said they would cover  the cost of repair or replacement or full refund. Silk Insulation wore off litz wire: Had VAS re-wire the tonearm, full reimbursement.

 

 

 

 

Most of my audio equipment was purchased used via Audiogon, US Audiomart, Canuck Audiomart, and Ebay. I’ve had good experiences thus far. The best way to protect yourself is to use a service like PayPal which offers buyer protection in case the equipment you purchase is not as represented, or if you’ve been scammed.

Also avoid using PayPal Friends and Family, since it removes any buyer protections that regular PayPal offers. Check seller feedback, and get as much information from them as you can regarding the particular piece of audio gear you are interested in purchasing. This should include as many photos as possible as well as a piece of paper in each photo listing the current date so that you know that the photos are recent and not taken of someone else’s listing for the equipment (as part of a scam - this has been happening a lot more frequently over the past few years).

I do it all the time and yes, it’s can be a crap shoot. The biggest advice I can give you is look at the seller’s history, if there is none or very little forget it. Beware or listings where the gear is shown in a cellphone screen shot. Ask questions. Ask about how it’s going to be shipped, asked that it be double boxed. Be wary of sellers that are overseas or prices to go to be true. These are a few of my deal killers. With experience, it can be rewarding and you get get great deals from fellow audiophiles that are honest and truly care. Good luck. 

Do your due diligence and you will be fine. My last buyer was very reluctant to send money via friends or family or bank transfer. I spoke to him as many as 5 times before he felt comfortable sending money. My last four sale transactions were all over $10K and all of them were either using friends n family or bank transfer. Communications is the key in cash equivalent or any transactions, you can easily pick up red flags in conversing with your buyers or sellers. 

Wow. Great advice here. I've been buying and selling gear for 40 years and most of my system I bought used or on closeout. Here's a few points that I didn't see mentioned above.

1. Buying used gear and/or gear that is considerably less than full retail takes a lot of time. If you enjoy doing it it's a fun part of the hobby. If you don't enjoy it then it will be tedious and worrisome.

2. If you are looking for a particular piece of gear you can use HIfi Shark to search for everything used for sale at that time. You can also put an alert on eBay that lets you know when that particular piece of gear gets listed. Also, do a Google search for the item with the words "for sale."

3. eBay will let you search for sold items so you can see the price they actually sold for. There is also a way to do this on Audiogon but I haven't used it.

4. If you are interested in a particular piece of gear keep an eye out for the manufacturer introducing a new model. You can sometimes get new gear at a used price. I bought a PS Audio transport and DAC at a 63% discount ($4k each marked down to $1.5K each) when they introduced their new models. I also just bought a new Marantz KI Ruby SACD player for $3k (had been $4k) on closeout. This strategy goes back to late 90's when I bought my Krell KSA 300S amp for about half price (dealer demo) when Krell introduced its new FPB line (I still have this amp).

5. I estimate that I must have bought over 50 pieces of used or closeout gear over the years. Out of that total I think I've received a total of 4 or 5 pieces that were damaged or not accurately represented in the ad. All of the problems have been on eBay. I've never bought on Agon but I've never had a problem with anything I bought on US AudioMart. If it happens to you stay calm and attempt to work out an acceptable solution with the seller. This forum is a good resource for advice if you are having a problem resolving the issue.

Good luck and happy listening!