Is it safe to buy products from audiogon sellers ( person or shop)? I don't want to receive goods contrary to the description on the audiogon web. Unlike eBay, there seems no guarantee over here? Am I right? Those who have plenty of buy & sell experience here, pls. kindly give me your advice, My location is fin Far East which is far from U.S.A. Tks.
My suggestion is to read the sellers feedback very carefully. I've read threads here on Audiogon discussing problems with private sales as well as from retail stores.
There are lots of things that can go wrong selling used gear here same as anywhere. You have to be very careful. Especially with the big ticket or "pricier in general than the rest" items more common here than elsewhere. There are various reputable dealers here that have extensive very good track records though.
There is always some risk buying from a stranger. Examining feedback scores can cut down the risk, as can buying from those with extensive feedback or buying from a dealer with a long-established business. I always use PayPal or pay with a credit card (either directly or through PayPal), which in the US at least, gives some kind of buying assurance. In the end, all one can do is reduce risk, not eliminate it entirely.
If I were in the far east I would only buy from a dealer or online store that knew how to get the product to you.
For example, it can be a PITA to buy and sell even between Canada and the USA (I have done it many times). I can only imagine the surprises in store for a private seller selling to a country that one is not familiar with. I would think a store based outside the USA with an A'gon presence would know the ropes of selling to other countries.
@faust168,The first thing you need to do is check the seller's feedback. If the person has 90% or more feedback, you can (kind of) assume it as safe. The last equipment I sold was to a guy in Hong Kong. When he initially wanted to buy, I refused to sell out of the country. So that would be your first hurdle. The guy then asked his friend to purchase the equipment on his behalf. I sent the item (within US) only after the payment was cleared. Eventually that guy contacted me a month and half later (to acknowledge) when his friend sent him the equipment from the US.But you are taking a risk buying anywhere. At least you have feedback on Audiogon that will provide you pointers whether to purchase or not. Good luck.
A crap shoot...Early last year I purchased a Rega Mira 3 on Gon and what a shock when I received it. It came up to Seattle from Long Beach and the seller took a carton flat and slid the Rega into one end then duct taped the ends. Nothing else. Just a flat piece of cardboard. I also ordered from TMR/The Music Room a Sony SACD player and when received...Wow! The best packaging I have ever experienced in 20 years. The player did not have the original carton and the TMR carton was very thick and they wrapped the unit in a plastic sealed surround and injected liquid foam completely around the unit like a well sealed coffin. Thats as good as it gets.
First, I would say that your number one protection from being ripped off is being smart for yourself. Yes eBay has certain protections. But they are not always reasonable and your aren’t always “protected”. Here or on eBay or other major audiophile platforms it is best to keep all the communication on the platform. Also always use PayPal for some credit card info protection and what ever protection PayPal provides. Then I recommend using an American Express card and have a frequent and good relationship with Amex. As opposed to other cards, when you dispute a charge they credit back your purchase price to your account until the matter is finalized. But yes, pay attention to feedback and the communication between yourself and the other party. Look at pictures and ask questions. If things don’t seem right then walk away. As the saying goes “It is better to want what you don’t have, then to have what you don’t want.”
I've bought and sold on Audiogon, but not ebay or elsewhere. I've offered fair prices when selling and received good quality gear at fair prices when buying. I bought from dealer/resellers twice, and I was treated fairly once. I like Audiogon, and I don't expect good used gear to be cheap.
I recently purchased a rather expensive pair of speakers out of Europe (5 figures expensive). The seller was a business, has been selling on Audiogon since 2014, and had over 800 positive reviews, with zero neutral and zero negative. I paid with a credit card. The tracking has them in Memphis, Customs cleared, heading to me via freight carrier, with delivery date pending. The only thing left to chance at this point is they are as advertised, NIB. I guess I’ll find out soon enough... 🤷♂️
I'm one for one buying here, positive.As noted already, buy smart, check feedback, have a little correspondence first, and if seems way to good to be true look elsewhere.
Thank you very much for your kind reply. Your generous sharing has helped me to understand so much about cross border buy & sell Hi-Fi Gears. Your knowledge will be treasured highly one day when I take action to buy from the States.
Always pay with creditcard. Not with PayPal. In Belgium i’ts not allowed to do it,because there were a lot of problems with it. ( People payed , and never saw there product(s) ).Make good agreements . Normally there are no problems with Audiogon. Except that the asking prices are very high in relation to the real value of the device at that time. If it’s more than 1 year old: half of the “new”-price, 5 years old and more 1/3th. In the Netherlands, some people make a mess of it , by only making profits and this has nothing to do with “love” for music.
I've bought over 350 items from ebay and a few from Audiogon. The ONLY thing I would add is from personal experience. Of all those items purchased, the only two that stick in my mind were ordered from overseas. One from England. The other from Poland. The one from England never arrived. It was nearly impossible to determine where it got lost in shipping. That was 17 years ago. The one from Poland was very recent. Last year. It did have a tracking number. It DID arrive in customs in New York. It never left customs. It has NEVER been found. I contacted them and they opened a case file. They finally replied that it was never found and they gave no explanation as to what happened to it. Bottom line. I am very hesitant to order from overseas. I do not trust our customs either. I strongly suspect someone in customs made a nice little score with my item, which ended up becoming a hassle to get PayPal or the seller to refund my money. I got lucky and the seller did credit my PayPal.
Hi i too have been on Agon for many years and bought/ sold a lot. only nice expirience so far. when i put items up for sale, i only put up a few pictures. If potential buers ask for more pictures which i ofcourse is ok, ii demand a valid phonenumber to avoid my things are being used for fraud on other sites. A chat on the phone easily tells me If it is an true audiophile i am dealing with. Same when i want to buy something. Aditionel i also sometimes askes for a Skype mening as well ofring the same when selling expensive stuff, seeing the equipment and sometimes the complete system also makes you comftebel and often gives very good vibes as well, you get closer and have a even better expirience.
I have also contacted other members who left feedback on a seller to hear about their expirience.
PayPal is very difficult for the seller and extremely expensive with expensive stuff. Even more If you live outside US as you then also get a very bad curency Exchange from PayPal. Sending 1 dollar via PayPal lets you know the persons verified id for sure. over the years i earned a High feedback score and got many audio netfriends. This has worked well for me. Happy lisining. Thastum
bought only a few items .all arrived on time and preformed great so i'm happy here so far. ebay is not that bad either if you are careful enough. it's all people in the end if somebody really wants to be a crook he can do it here or on ebay but i trust reverb and audiogon more than ebay .
I've sold and purchased for many years on audiogon and for the most part it has been a total success. Out of all them fun and interesting transactions there were a few that did not go very well and those few involved an item that needed repair but were advertised as in good working condition. In retrospect those few negative transactions involved a seller with little or no feedback at all. Also the other two big deals are, misrepresenting the condition of the item and not packing the item properly for transport.
I got bad experience, every item I bought needed to be repaired. Not enough one seller gave me negative feedback didn’t even want to resolve issue, he just attacked me I assume , because he knew what he had sold. Or many sellers they do not inspect carefully items . Even recently I got bad dishonest strange issue . With TMR who I is big store with great feedback. I wanted buy item and we got agreed the price, and just in case I called the Nick with questions about the item because from pictures it seems to me it looked that it is greater model that I was looking for, Nick quickly realized that too after he invested problem he canceled the deal . And they adjusted the price and the item description. He kept me on hold lying that they have missing parts and they don’t want to sell it to me that way . So I understand my mistake, I should pay, without stupid questions, if big business doesn’t know what is selling and I help them sell items for money so that’s why I loose they win. My point is that is not safe here
I’m from Singapore (part of Asia) and have bought 2 items here. So far so good compared to some other sites where the seller is overly enthusiastic in selling me one. Telling me he is a Christian and would never do harm to others and showing me his passport to prove a point. I’d stay clear from these as well.
its always a risk when buying stuffs over the net. Check the feedbacks looking for “patterns” as well. I notice patterns like it’s usually the same old people who are giving the feedbacks and he has like 20 feedbacks in a single day and none for a week and then another 15 feedbacks in a single day. Kudos to him for building this over a period of 8 months.
And be wary of sellers from China although I’m Asian. Too many knockoffs. Singapore sellers are safe :)
Thank you all for you kind and detail response. I think I might buy something which need not repair such as cables. The only thing I need to concern is the fake items. I will follow the above advice to be careful for the response or the record from the seller.
Never a problem purchased multiple speakers amp, pre, phono pre, CD player, turntable, cartridges lps all with great results. I do lots of research first will Google seller to make certain they live where they say, study feedback and pick up goods whenever possible. I've also sold without any problems
I've bought probably a dozen items from Audigon over the past 6 - 8 years and I've never had a bad experience. Some of these were cables and some were expensive components.
Having said that, I check the feedback for sellers carefully and I also correspond a bit with them before I buy. And I use PayPal and a credit card with that as well.
My general rule is that if someone has 0 or little feedback, more than a few % points of (or any) negative feedback, or is out of the country, I don't engage.
My apologies in advance to new sellers...I'll get a bit of a taste of my own approach as I start selling some surplus equipment myself.
Dont assume these audio salons are going to have your back..they make their reputation and feedback off of the good will of most their clients...You see many of audiogons members change equiptment as quick as they buy it and dont even fill out a warranty card on a new item...Big bucks spent here ...Anything glaring that comes up ..they are more inclined to let it go....and some of these pro sellers will give great feedback to a buyer right away to basically buy off any issues...The buyers are more inclined not to pursue a bad review....thats how many sellers on here and ebay get stellar feedback...NOT by any great customer service! A private seller ive found has more integrity and the ones who dont you know it right away ....and just pass the ad
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