buyer beware of late

I'm with Jmslaw. I tried to start a similiar post a while back and it was blocked also. I'll usually email the seller and ask if local pick-up is available and if so, what part of town are they in. If they get back to me telling me no problem and give me an answer, I'm more apt to think it might be a real deal. Most of the scam ones will not respond. I've noticed what seems to me to be a marked increase in scam ads both here and on ebay. It pays to be super careful.

Mike.

One suggestion would be to look if the seller is an active member of Audiogon. I have not sold here yet, but plan on it in the future. My feedback for selling and buying is zero but I have been involved for a year or so with active discussions. I also would suggest calling the seller/buyer and if you can't, it does not sound reputable.

I saw the ad's and said to myself "you've got to be kidding"
COD sounds like the best way to go when in doubt.

In addition to the # feedbak, I check the "member since"... it's hard to go back 5 years to join...

Too bad people have to screw up every good thing. I've been an audiogon member for several years, but I've really only been active for the last year. I've only bought one item, and it was a great transaction. Earlier this year, I almost got scammed on e-bay after winning a bid for an amp, but figured it out before I sent the money. I politely refused to complete the transaction, and never heard back from the guy, nor did he relist the equipment. After that, I decided it's Audiogon for me. Now the scammers have invaded audiogon too.
I'm not sure COD is foolproof for the seller or the buyer. Is the Fed-ex guy going to hang around while you check out the equipment? Maybe the escrow thing is the way to go.
I've got no feedback as a seller, so what do I do? I'm going to be buying another amp (when I get my nerve back), but I won't be buying anything if I can't sell my current equipment. This, coupled with the recent thread on the shipping nightmares, makes me nervous. Ultimately, one can see a bit of an audiogon recession coming if we can't get this figured out.