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General audio topics that don't fit into specific categories.

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Unfortunately, any purchase other than face to face presents a risk.

Posted by M3 lover on February 15, 2007 at 09:45:10:
Even then, there are no guarantees. Several months ago I found an item on eBay I wanted. Fortunately, I already had travel plans to a nearby city so arranged to bring cash and see the item in person before completing the transaction. The item appeared to be in very good condition for its age and the seller assured me it had been checked out and found to be in perfect working order.
So I bought it without being able to listen (it was a turntable, no arm included) and brought it home with me as checked luggage on my flight (once home I discovered my careful packing was completely undone by the Homeland Security folks who must have suspected it to be some sort of bomb!). After a temporary set up to listen, a flutter problem was uncovered that I could not correct. This required two trips to a vintage repair specialist before it was fixed. After several discussions with the seller, he did the honorable thing and agreed to reimburse me for half my repair costs which I felt was satisfactory.
To paraphrase Woody Hayes, when buying used audio gear, only three things can happen and two of them aren't good. (Component can be good, component can have a defect the seller is not aware of, and component has a defect that the seller does know about.) Years ago I was very active in buying and selling used audio gear (remember Audiomart?) and problems were very rare. Now I again have a surplus of components so will soon be selling off several items. With all the problems posted about eBay, Audiogon, etc., this will be done with a great deal of caution.