Vandersteen 2W sub- sounded great. Seller rated it 7; it was more like a 3. Water stains on cloth (which was an undisclosed replacement), Veener mostly gone, mdf corners totally ragged, top repainted w flat black w wax stains. Luckily, as a sub I could hide it and placed a marble slab on top to look like an end table. Seller gave me a partial refund; no way was I gonna pay to ship it back.
Woo Audio headphone amp- not really a purchase; more like a failed transaction. I was high bidder on a no reserve auction (around $400, IIRC, not chump change). Seller emailed me saying I was nuts if I thought he was going to sell it that cheap, that he had gotten a higher offer elsewheres and I could pound sand. To their credit, A'gon booted him for violating site rules. Then he emailed me several times w obscenity-laced tirades! I wrote a really snarky response, my wife convinced me not to send it. It was REALLY nasty. I never sent it but I felt better.
And as far as failed transactions go, I "sold" a SOTA Nova TT; packed it up in their bullet proof packing, bolted to their wooden "pallet" inside a double box and sent it via BAX, known (before they sold to foreign owner) for quality handling. Unfortunately for me, I shipped it post-sale. They jobbed it out to a nameless sub who delivered it 3 days late and totally trashed. I refunded the buyer and BAX never made good on the claim. They dragged it out and eventually said that they were not notified in a timely manner, even though I had called and emailed, they had "no record" of my claim w/in the time frame. After 19 months of getting nowhere, I decided my mental health was more impt than the $1400 I was out, and just wrote it off to experience. Lesson learned- unless you can totally disassemble a TT into unbreakable parts, NO NOT SHIP unless buyer is willing to take complete responsibility.
Almost all transactions have been more than fine. I guess I've been lucky. Don't get me started about flea-bay!
