Local pickup for speakers - should I let the buyer in the house or use the the garage?


I got someone coming from out of town to buy some Focal tower speakers I have for sale. They are going to pay cash. I had the ad on usaudiomart (the buyer is a guest so no ratings). The guy sounds like a good guy (spoke to him on the phone). But I am new to this... should I demo the speakers (just to show they work) in my garage or is it safe to demo them in the house? Wasn’t sure the best practice for this. 

What do most do when having local pickup?

dman777

Showing 1 response by jji666

Some people are just weird, so you do have to allow for that random factor.  

But:

(1) Don't judge a book by its cover.  I never dress "up" for an in-person used audio purchase.  I think it helps if I need to negotiate the price down.  Plus I drive my pickup as some things are hard to haul. 

(2) I'm sure it's not a bulletproof method, but I have found it is very easy to tell the con-people from the actual audio lovers with just a little bit of conversation. You have to go beyond "non-smoker first owner" and just ask what kind of amp are they using with those speakers...that type of thing.  I've met some extremely nice people.  One time in buying a McIntosh piece I met the guy who ended up custom-wiring a lake house I was building. 

Caution and awareness are very recommended.  Paranoia and rudeness may rob you of a good potential experience, however.