For anything less-expensive, like cheaper receivers, CD players, TVs, etc. I just have the unit set up in my garage and playing when they arrive so they can see it works. People buying that level of gear aren't super picky audiophiles like many on this board. Ex: I sold a guy a $100 Marantz surround receiver last week for a system he's putting together in his bedroom. He asked if I had anything else for sale and I mentioned a Sonus Faber center channel speaker. He had never even heard of Sonus Faber before. Marantz, Polk, Sony, Pioneer, sure. SF? Nope.
For anything nicer, usually those people would like to discuss everything on the phone anyway, which is fine. You should be able to qualify them pretty quickly at that point so it's no big deal. They're usually going to ask very specific questions such as "about how many hours are on the current tubes in the amp," or "has the unit ever been serviced?" Those are very specific questions that people in this sphere know about and would ask. Whereas most dumbasses are going to ask stuff like "how loud does it go" or "how many watts are those speakers?" Ugh. Those people are probably not your buyer/ customer.
I have had people drive from adjacent states to buy gear and every transaction went very well, (after some texts and a phone call). For that gear, those buyers would appreciate a better experience, like I would, in buying something of that caliber. So I show the piece set up and working in my home office system. At that point rarely does meeting result in a "no-sale."
