Buying Used Equipment on the Internet

Speak to a Vendor about an ESCROW Payment.

It might take time to find a Vendor willing to accept.

The Terms of the sale gives the Buyer the option to assess the goods are as per advertised for 30 Days following receipt.

A Buyer can agree to confirm they will have the monies released to the Vendor, within a shorter period that 30 Days, i.e, 3-7 Days following receipt.

When purchasing through Ebay or Paypal, your purchases are protected if the goods are not as per the advertised condition.

Vendor's are much more careful around Payment Services via PP and Ebay, as their are a selection of Buyers who are very content with abusing their privilege offered from using these services, and every so often a unwanted sale experience is to be endured.

It is a Gamble, be gathered in a investigation, do not get too eager to own the item of interest.

Sticking close to the term 'Caveat Emptor' is always ones friend.  

For a seller using Ebay or Paypal.

Always !!! make sure any goods posted, are sent to the address registered as the delivery address with the above accounts.

A Sale has no protection if the correct address is not used.

If a request is made from a Vendor, what ever the BS passed on, as to why a different address is important to be used. Ask for a Bank Transfer Payment if the change of address  request is made.

The genuine Buyer may consider this as a option, if they can see the concern they are raising. A non-genuine Buyer will quickly vanish in search of their next victim to rob, or at best only achieve stressing them out.

I sell very little HiFi equipment, but do have a collectors head (my term for being a little obsessional with hoarding 🤣)

Some of my buying methods are only completed if my requests are agreed to be honoured. Others, especially Import Purchases from Japan are Punts, and the chosen buying price is really the only means to protect ones interests. 

Through my HiFi Club and my other enthusiasm being Photography.

I have learned of experiences encountered by others selling Audio Devices and Camera Equipment.

I used all the info given to me, as a preparation to create a platform for my selling on redundant items from my Camera Equipment recently.

I had to wait a little longer than typical in relation to finding a buyer, as my asking prices have been very competitive.

Due to my Payment Request, I had to endure a few who claimed to really know their stuff, (sending extracts to show contravention) and were quite sure they could 'bully' the sale into their favour. I looked on these types as very organised scammers.

I sold my equipment as a Bank Transfer Payment Method, with the option to Pick Up directly from myself. I have not had any difficulties with any Vendor who could see the value in the quality of the item and its well documented usage history, a few items were paid for in advance and then passed on to the Buyer at an agreed place, to fit in with my weekly movements required by my work.

The above Posts in this thread as well as my own, is only a snap shot of experiences being had by Vendors/Buyers using the Web to access Sellers/Buyers.

There are numerous stories where loss is the result, I know of a few encountered by friends and family. Keep this in the foresight when in any communication.

Note: Once one unwanted outcome to a sale is known, a Google Search will soon show up a quantity of reports where similarities are to be seen.

With Ebay the 30 Day Protection is more than enough to receive goods and use them for something one would not want to use their own equipment for, or would not want to purchase the needed item, which is only intended for a temporary usage. Ebay successfully supplies goods for Holiday Periods, to be returned once having been left on a Beach for ?? Days throughout a Holiday period. 

Once the item has served its purpose as a free hire period back it comes to the Vendor with a BS description as to why it don't work or match a sales description.

Even worse, when 30 Days is plenty time for an Item to be cannibalised for its working parts, with these being exchanged for parts in a model which is with fault. The arrangement for a professional service to carry out the work (not knowing they are complicit in supporting a scam) is even possible in this time scale. The sent Item with Serial Number recorded is returned as a partially functioning or non-working item, with a not as advertised buyers complaint. 

None of these abuses being described are fantastical, they are all strongly suspected to have been realised and the suspicions raised by the Vendor of how they have been scammed are most likely very accurate.

It is also a strong suspicion buyers under one Moniker are quite possibly Sellers under another Moniker, where the item acquired is only intended as temporary,  with the ulterior motive to create goods that are saleable using components from temporary owned purchases. 

Bank Drafts and Cash on Collection or a ESCROW with a pre agreed 24 Hour Payment Release are certainly a friend of the Vendor.

A Buyer has the opportunity to work out the condition of their purchase within 24 hours, visual inspection is minutes, a working demo' can be numerous hours within this time frame.

The reduction in time to dispute a sale, should be a negotiable agreement that can be selected as a option for all sales payment platforms. It will certainly sift out the individuals who are dedicated to the sale, without a hidden agenda, needing the additional time to fulfil their deceitful intentions.