Buying Used Equipment on the Internet

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!

I've bought a lot of used equipment on ebay and only one bad experience. The seller just put the amp in a box without padding.... you know what happened. When you buy used equipment make sure you have a good tech near you because they will go bad much quicker than new. There was good advice from some above about checking the seller's rating and don't buy from someone who has their first posting (although I've done it and it worked out well). Now my best advice..... buy new!