What to ask when buying used speakers?

I only buy one I can pick up these days. They need to be semi local. 

If you decide to go used, I suggest engaging in a back and forth with the seller over some related matter--or even the weather wherever the seller is. Then decode his responses in terms of what kind of personality you're dealing with. Get a savvy friend to help. You can tell a lot from a fairly ordinary conversation.

To me, buying used is much more about who you're buying from than anything else. One guy I bought from punctiliously pointed out the very minor cosmetic flaws, working hard to get them to show up in photos. Then when he discovered he'd failed to notice a couple, he knocked $200 off the sale price. Before that, we had a nice chat about what speakers he was moving to, his wife's pregnancy, etc.  That was my answer about whether I could trust him.

Of course, this only makes sense if you know what the speakers will sound like and that's exactly what you want. Other than a few semi-guaranteed to sound good brands, taking a chance--from internet research alone--that you'll like a given signature sound is risky. It's worked for me, but I'm sure others have been sorely disappointed.

3 pair of used Maggie's 1.7, 1.7i and now 3.7i no problems. Do research on seller, I wouldn't buy a pair more than 5 years old, ask condition and if there were ever any problems.

Lot’s of a "worst case scenario"-mentality abounds here, though while I generally recommend buying used equipment I have only bought used speakers from dealers and pro dealers that I know very well and trust, and I’ve never encountered any problems here - one way or the other. Speakers are mostly quite sturdy; if there are no signs of misuse, neither visibly or audibly with a thorough inspection and test run, they’ll play fine for years.

I can understand the part concerning sole-ownership joy that comes from a pair of brand new speakers (I’ve been there several times), but through the years I’ve become less obsessed about owning new stuff (because I do find it often comes down to that: a kind of gadgetry obsession) and instead taken on a more pragmatic stance of the speakers + gear as "vessels" for enjoyment and experiences, and not as much as a gear-value in itself. Once the used speakers (and other equipment) I’ve bought have passed the tests/inspections and been properly implemented, they’ve felt like mine through and through and with no less of a feeling of satisfaction for what they have provided.

To boot: you’re smiling on the way to the bank having often saved a substantial amount of money. A friend of mine (a former electrical engineer) excels in buying up used quality equipment for pennies almost, and repairs it cheaply if necessary. Years ago he bought a pair of used Acoustat ESL speakers for less than $1,000/pair (now subs augmented, and still going strong since the 80’s), and coupled to the other quality components in the chain, also bought used, he has astounded many visitors with the sound it delivers - not least when they found out it represents a monetary value way below what they expected.

You are familiar with the house sound of the speakers you want and speaker you don’t want? So, you have a short list of speakers that you know you will like if received in good working order?