Local pickup for speakers - should I let the buyer in the house or use the the garage?

@devinplombier + 1 

@devinplombier +1

My brother once sold a IPad inside a bank. Gave him comfort. I thought that was a overkill. 

Once I went to look at HT speakers from craigslist. The seller lived in a forlorn subdivision that even google maps was confused about, but eventually I got there, rang the doorbell, the guy swung the entry door open, and lo and behold the speakers were set up right there behind the door, and behind them a table barring entrance to the home.

On that table sat one of those dinky Dayton tube amps with bluetooth. Soon the guy started blasting horrid Spotify pop crap right out of his phone while I stood there bemused on the concrete walkway two feet out of the threshold.

When I don’t feel I’m being treated reasonably, my reaction is to offer 50% of the asking price. That goes for meeting in supermarket parking lots and such. But that day, I just turned around and walked away.

Have him text you a picture of his driver license, with everything marked out but his picture and home address.

Now you have his ID, home address (so you can check out his house on Zillow) and positive identification when he shows up. If he's not willing to do that, bid him adieu. Whenever I buy something and am going to someone’s house to pick it up, I always look up the house on Zillow. Lets me know what I’m driving to, plus I’m nosy.