Deals Gone Bad

Interesting situation recently. Followed a listing for a tube amp I was interested in because I have the match and have been thinking about dual mono setup. No seller feedback though so I was cautious. Asked a few questions and seller responded and seemed knowledgeable. Because seller was in a city nearby and I travel there frequently I offered to come to him for a trial and told him I would purchase if satisfied. Gave him my name and location so he could google me. Never heard back and item was still listed several weeks later. Maybe demo process is not in vogue but I’ve done it for 25 years. Otherwise, I wouldn’t purchase without multiple seller feedback.

I'm in Australia and have bought and sold to and from the USA, UK and even Latvia without any major problem. The only minor issue was with Fedex who delayed giving me Australian Customs clearance information for 3 weeks and were uncontactable during that period. All was well in the end and no issue with the US seller who was extra helpful.

Ebay has always been shaky.  Audiogon and US Audiomart has never failed me.  

I’ve only been caught in a scam through HiFi Shark. Lost $2kUSD. Lesson learned. I’ve bought and sold here and on eBay before it became too expensive. Past reviews are an important guide, and separating fictional from real reviews is important. It’s a Wild West. Yet I’ve bought safely from Europe, (UK, Estonia), USA, Japan, among others and shipped to/from the Middle East. FedEx is a scam. Offer insurance. Refuse claims immediately.

I've been fortunate.  Haven't had any audio purchases go bad.  

I bought a used conrad-johnson Premier 17LS2 on ebay.  It developed an issue in one channel. I worked with the seller trying different tubes etc and it didn't go away. They let me return it after having it several weeks.  

I've bought Mullard tubes from the UK.  Got a few noisy tubes and the seller refunded my money.