Buying used or sight unseen speakers a bad idea?

Lots of good advice here. From my experience this is what I would add.

If you request for pictures of speakers from the seller make sure they are actual pictures of the speakers being sold. I have seen sellers on other sites use pictures from Canuck Audiomart or various pictures from google and say my speakers look like these. Sometimes they would say nothing at all and say these were pics of the speakers they are selling. That is a major red flag to me if a seller is pulling these stunts.

Also be wary of extreme close-ups of speakers or just a fuzzy distance shot. I've dealt with people on local classified listing sites who posted extreme close ups of just a drivers or a speaker badge. When I went to see them the speakers had all sorts of blemishes. The same went with fuzzy distance shots. Here on A'gon you get 3 free picture posts. Use all of them and use them wisely. On another site I saw 6 pictures allowed to be uploaded.

IMO if a seller can't add pics to their listings on any site they are either lazy or have something to hide. Pretty much every phone has a camera now and sometimes nice ones at that. Digital cameras are so cheap now. Heck I've even seen people take pics with their laptop webcams. There are many ways of getting pictures.

When I had little to no feedback here I would state in my sale listings I had feedback on other sites and for the prospective buyer to review those. If I was buying I would tell them seller to check my feedback and in some cases I would try to assure them that I'm a serious buyer and will not flake out on them via e-mail. Pretty much if you have little feedback I think a little more effort should be put forth on your part. Whether it be a more detailed sale listing or reaching out to a seller.

These one line listings from a person with no feedback is one I would never buy from.

@ Bifwynne, you sound just like a dealer. Just because I don't buy that particular set of speakers I'm auditioning, doesn't mean I won't come back at a later date and buy something else. I've spent thousands of dollars at ListenUp, and I did not buy every single thing I listened to. I also did not buy something every single time I walked in the door; in fact several times I enter dealerships without the intent of buying anything. Its called browsing.
I've spent hundreds of dollars at Gold Sound, and I didn't buy everything I listened to. I go into these dealerships a lot to listen to new gear and check things out. I don't make a purchase every time, sometimes I buy new, sometimes I buy old. Whether or not I am going to make a purchase should not affect how I'm treated in the store.

I agree with Jallen. I have an employee who purchased a new M5. Don't ask me how, because I can't afford one...

She was driving the car with less than 30k miles, when suddenly the transmission slammed into reverse. The indicator lights lit up like a Christmas tree, and BMW keeps giving the run around on an issue that seems to be rather common according to forums.

Sometimes you just get a lemon. It's always a risk. At least Audiogon gives you a chance to get to know the reputations of sellers. It is a smaller community than eBay or Craigslist, etc.

You run less risk, but there is never a guarantee in life.

Ask me how I feel about buying speakers sight unseen in a few weeks. I just mailed my cashier's check today...

LOL

Realremo, as I said above, that's just me. Also, I find it difficult to meaningfully audition speakers in brick and mortar shops because dealers can only sell what they have. So, if I wanted to compare some Vandys to a Wilson, I have to hope the shop carries the brands I'm interested in.

I am not critical of those who take a different view. It's just that I generally do not buy new equipment, so I feel uncomfortable taking up a salesperson's time if I likely will not but something new at some time in the present or future.

OTOH, your post says that you do buy gear from various shops. I think puts a different spin on the situation.

Why would a woman need M5? Either M3 or Porsche.
Anyway, modern cars are computers on wheels and computers sometimes have minds of their own. Good for us that speakers are much simpler so far and it is unlikely that they could go into reverse.