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

Have him text you a picture of his driver license, with everything marked out but his picture and home address.

Now you have his ID, home address (so you can check out his house on Zillow) and positive identification when he shows up. If he's not willing to do that, bid him adieu. Whenever I buy something and am going to someone’s house to pick it up, I always look up the house on Zillow. Lets me know what I’m driving to, plus I’m nosy. 

For me, it’s not someone robbing at time of sale. But, scoping out my residence to see what’s there and and returning when I’m away.  So, I would do it outside or somewhere else.

......some really good responses here. I sold my Esoteric Grandioso K1x to an Audiogon member who drove 6 hours to come into my home. I asked for photo's and driver's license prior to the sale. I took 50% down on Pay-Pal first ......so get a down payment and then when the buyer saw that it was as advertised and in good working condition, he sent me the other 50% through Pay-Pal while listening. I think the buyer does have a right in listening to it first, I know I would. If you are new to the area , call the local police and see if there is an off duty officer available after hours to stop by and just be there and pay them accordingly. I agree I would be really careful but the buyer does need to listen to them first. I also would ask for a deposit before you go through all that work and then have the buyer say they do not like them.......that also could happen. Good luck on your sale.   

Don't take this the wrong way but why wouldn't simply make this decision rather than posting it on a forum for strangers (53 of them) to opine on? Do what feels right, safe and smart. Good luck. 

@hotei  +1

Most of the robbers will not pick a speakers that big, or sacrifice to be identified.Talk to him about his audio experience what is favorite artist? You can tell if he is really legit. He can’t give you the right answer if he is not audiophile or he has wrong motives.To be fair since you have his address to him you can also for his driver license, if he has no bad motive he will surely give it to you. Make sure it’s daytime when you meet.

I've done probably 50 sale transactions out of my home. Never had a bad experience. Probably the worst thing that ever happened was a guy who stayed 45 minutes, talked up a storm, then told me he wasn't going to buy... he was definitely an audio person, and there was no 'ulterior motive' - just, don't waste that much of my time; you usually know within the first 5 minutes if you are going to buy or not...

And I have met close to 50 mostly very nice folks and gotten to share audio info / stories / etc. with them; a couple it ended up I bought something off of them later on because I found out they had something I wanted when they came to my place.

While I can certainly understand that WHERE you live might have some bearing on how cautious you feel you need to be... this does show that there are a lot of paranoid people out there. And (full disclosure) I say that as a 60-year old white guy, fairly clean-cut, living in UT (a gun-friendly state) and owning firearms myself. I have never felt the need to carry a firearm when selling anything out of my home. I HAVE gone to a few homes and had that done to me (homeowner answered the door packing and making it obvious) and, quite frankly, those particular folks weren't the same "very nice folks" I mentioned earlier. Instead they acted nervous, suspicious, and quite frankly if I knew what I was walking into - I would have decided against being around them, as I felt like A) they seemed to be generally 'angry' individuals that were almost looking for an excuse to use their weapon; and B) seemed like at least a few of them probably had legitimate mental issues with paranoia, etc.

But, in the end, I do agree with others who have said you should do what feels best for you and your situation. The only thing I would add is that I think it would be extremely rare that someone is pretending to want to buy audio equipment as an excuse to either rob you or 'case' your home. 

Sure good luck with that. 

Have him text you a picture of his driver license, with everything marked out but his picture and home address.

I've allowed (from A'Gon ads) a lawyer, a Junior High School teacher and a movie writer/director into our home and I'm still here to tell the stories.

The movie director should still be in the spare closet (haven't checked for over a decade now).

DeKay

"There you have it, average ordinary retirees more paranoid than a homeless tweeker at the end of a four day binge."

Yeah, what he said. -John

I had a younger person drive 5 hours up to my house from St Louis to purchase my

older B&W 801 S2's sent him pictures talked a lot on the phone got to know him.

Absolutly no problems other than getting them into his infinity SUV.

"There you have it, average ordinary retirees more paranoid than a homeless tweeker at the end of a four day binge."

Well, @devinplombier, this retiree knows the difference between a "tweaker" and a "tweeker".  In addition, this retiree had three Glocks pointed at his head by hood rats during a car-jacking armed robbery.  SOB's even refused to let me have my crutches out of the car (I was recovering from a bone fusion on my foot), asking me if the crutches "were worth dying over".  Instead of giving them the fear they wanted, I used my time memorizing every detail about them and their getaway car's tag number.  All three were caught within 24 hours after going on a 5 county crime spree including 3 stolen cars and 6 armed robberies.  They all are enjoying 15 to 20 years of being someone's girlfriend, mainly because of my detailed testimony. 

So no -- not a single person I don't know is entering my home to audition gear, which is a moot point anyway.  I don't ever sell anything.  I have every piece of gear I've purchased since 1976...even the boxes and manuals.  I hope you never have an experience like mine that changes how you view people, but if you do, maybe you'll understand why in today's world it's better to be safe than sorry.  I don't call it "paranoia", I call it "reality" and I'm fortunate to live in Southern states where we have the right to carry.

@allenf1963   +1

Have someone with you that you secretly hate.  So if things go south you have the right person to share the experience with....Cue Montgomery Burns chuckle

Better safe than sorry I guess, but the chances of problems are very remote. Keep it in the garage if you feel better, but what is to stop them from entering your house if they are armed or threaten? 

@foggyus91 ,

Sure good luck with that. 

Have him text you a picture of his driver license, with everything marked out but his picture and home address.

Thank you. And good luck to your next username aka earlflynn, aka jerryg123, aka skypunk, aka 20 others...

??? zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

I never do business at my home.  I’ll meet someone in town to pickup what I’m selling.  Some sellers have let me in their house but that’s what they’ve requested. 

Cash Payment for Sales are good if no Paper Trail is wanted, but are best avoided.

Bank Transfer is much less messy and can be checked for having cleared as fast as Counting Cash and checking for Fake Bank Notes.

Meeting a Buyer or a Seller face to face is a way to create a sale with Zero Troubles to follow, my experiences of meeting at Homes or away from the Home are with no incidents occurring that are wanted to be avoided in the future.

It is easy to lose a good customer and a bad customer by being over protective prior to a sale. The Plus Side, is that the bad customer will Toodle-Pip and probably break the communication with an unkindness sent, their type has this trait.

The good customer may continue the communication by being inquisitive about the reasoning for being protective in a way they are not familiar with.

The above are difficult to create when selling as a Vendor using a Service that has  a Buyer Protection, the Vendor has little to support them where Buyer Protection - Not Vendor Protection is the fundamental of the sale. 

There are other Options to consider, but they are not common practice as of yet but should become more frequently used for the good off all who are sellers/buyers wanting Fair-play to both parties.    

Folks - think about this.....the buyer is probably somewhat nervous (that's not the correct term, but it's early and I can't come up with the right one) about meeting a stranger in their home. Sure, there are bad people out there who are up to no good, but someone purchasing relatively expensive used audio gear is probably just not a threat, but a potential friend. My best audio buddy is someone who came to my house many years ago to buy an Onkyo AVR. Now he comes over and helps me move heavy amps and speakers from time to time. Ease back on the paranoia a little, but still be vigilant. I agree with those who said you can get a good feel for the type of person you are dealing with over the phone, assuming you're having an actual conversation and not just texting.

I agree with ghdprentice. I'll always know from the phone conversation if the guy is an audio guy or not. The only time I had a problem was a long time ago. I didn't vet the guy. He showed up with his whole family. A HUGE RED FLAG!!! His daughter asked if she could use the bathroom. I said okay. Later on my girlfriend said a ring of hers was missing. Leason learned. 

I have to correct myself! I was robbed on another occasion. I had a pair of cheaper speakers for sale. A single YOUNG guy ( I will not mention his nationality or this post will get flagged). He listened for 30 minutes and then talked for an hour or more. No Sale. I went back to work. He returned to my house and jimmied a window and took the speakers and a few other things. When I got home, it took me 30 minutes to realize that I was robbed! (too much stuff!). I managed to track him down being it was pre HIPPA days. The police got my stuff back. I had the ad in my local paper BTW  

In my first response I forgot to mention I thoroughly research people I don’t know on Google before doing business with them. You can get lots of info on a person and also call the local PD for background if you’re still worried.

Fool me once is once to many.

Garage pick up.

I've sold a lot of equipment from my home.

If it's through a local media like craigslist  it's always from the garage..

If it's from Audiogon / USAM , it's from the listening room. I always have the person give me a call to discuss before the meeting. 

For the record, this hobby seems to have a fair amount of introverts ,

I remember may years ago taking my eight year old daughter with me to buy an amplifier from a local seller, (she had been with me for a handful of transactions since her mom worked nights. weekends), as we get in the car to leave, she asked me  a simple question about the upcoming transaction "are they weird"

For anything less-expensive, like cheaper receivers, CD players, TVs, etc. I just have the unit set up in my garage and playing when they arrive so they can see it works.  People buying that level of gear aren't super picky audiophiles like many on this board.  Ex: I sold a guy a $100 Marantz surround receiver last week for a system he's putting together in his bedroom.  He asked if I had anything else for sale and I mentioned a Sonus Faber center channel speaker.  He had never even heard of Sonus Faber before.  Marantz, Polk, Sony, Pioneer, sure.  SF?  Nope.

For anything nicer, usually those people would like to discuss everything on the phone anyway, which is fine.  You should be able to qualify them pretty quickly at that point so it's no big deal.  They're usually going to ask very specific questions such as "about how many hours are on the current tubes in the amp," or "has the unit ever been serviced?"  Those are very specific questions that people in this sphere know about and would ask.  Whereas most dumbasses are going to ask stuff like "how loud does it go" or "how many watts are those speakers?"  Ugh.  Those people are probably not your buyer/ customer.

I have had people drive from adjacent states to buy gear and every transaction went very well, (after some texts and a phone call).  For that gear, those buyers would appreciate a better experience, like I would, in buying something of that caliber.  So I show the piece set up and working in my home office system.  At that point rarely does meeting result in a "no-sale."

Do some of y’all require... certain buyers to send you a copy of their major record company recording contract, or of their NBA contract before allowing them in your garage? Bet you’d want that FAXED over pronto! Also, do you give the neighbors advance notice in such cases? Just askin

@pindac - why do you think that cash sales should be avoided? Cash sales are always my first choice when selling something. 

Op give us update? No deal?

@allenf1963 

First, I am very sorry you had to suffer this encounter with random violence. Something similar happened to one of my kids recently. 

As situations go, carjacking doesn't have much in common with selling audio, other than the fact that some people will want what you have and might shoot you while taking it.

Where I grew up, a paranoid mindset could help you go through your childhood and teenage years relatively unscathed. But the circumstances warranted it, whereas defense mechanisms activated in the absence of credible threats are a hindrance and a liability.

Folks who demand copies of buyers' drivers licenses and other nonsense (assuming they're actually serious) are driving good buyers away. Unless they're selling their stuff at such a discount that it makes sense to jump through the hoops, however ridiculous those might be. 

As far as guns, even if one is carrying it doesn't make much sense to pull a piece on three armed guys unless one is a really, really, really good shooter. So there's that. 

I don't think selling audio is a particularly high-risk activity, which doesn't mean it's absolutely completely 100% risk-free. "Trust but verify" is always a pretty good attitude.

1) Ask for some bona fides (eBay, Facebook marketplace, etc....i.e. feedback).  No online presence is no invite home. If google dosen’t know you, you’re likely not real these days.

2) There’s not much difference between a garage in you house and a living room.

3) Get traceable info on him (phone, maybe even adress) before meeting

I’ve only been burned once, guy got agressive when I wouldn’t lower price, I walked him out thru the garage. Ended up calling cops when he threatened me after I discovered his girl friend was trying to buy the same turntable via texts). 

These days I meet at the town center (police/fire/library) unless I’ve done the above as well as really hit it off online/on phone.  Cuts both ways since if I’m selling something (big, old guy) to a young woman, so police department parking lot can be comforting. 

@devinplombier -- Sorry about your child.  I hope they are ok.  As for pulling in my situation, I was smart enough to know the odds, and 3 vs 1 was not in my favor -- especially with the angles I faced (back to a car and 1 on each side and tbe third in front of me).  My cooler head prevailed and ended up winning.

I referenced my encounter because that was out in the open in a parking lot.  If people trying to get into gangs will do that, pulling a piece on you inside your house or garage is a cakewalk.  Unfortunately, if criminals are not going to face the punishment they deserve or be given No Bonds after arrest, one must be very cautious when selling expensive gear out of their house.  Today’s criminals can easily determine if you are selling an amp that retailed for $20,000 or more, chances are you have other valuable items in your home.

Best wishes for your kid, and safe selling.

@larsman Between Two Friends why would one not accept cash.

Same as Friends will happily chink their glasses to the Toast Cheers to the point that the force is creating both drinks mix into each glass.

Trust is the Biggy, the individual (Buyer or Seller) when doing 'face to face' with unknown individuals,  has to shape their encounter to the point they have looked after their interest and welfare. 

If 'pindac' contacted about a sale item, there is an element of trust, simply due to the idea the name is quite familiar. If 'no forum history' or 'feedback history; contacted, the difference in trust between 'pindac' even though not known and the alternative 'no forum history' is vast and will be unsettling for quite a few individuals who have concern for their welfare.

Non Friends for the Seller - No Cash Reduces Risk - No Bogus Bills slipped into a Wad of Money!!! 

Non Friends for the Buyer - No Cash reduces Risk of Getting Robbed !!!

Non Friends for both Seller and Buyer - Bank Transfers are Instant - Monies are showing in accounts in seconds - A Transfer is as fast as counting the monies and feeling notes for texture and print fade.

Non Friends - Asks Females how Vigilant they are when in a Public Place where Drinks are part of the culture.

Individuals with an interest in self gain, have been spiking drinks with fatal potions and inebriant accelerants for Centuries.  

@allenf1963 Thank you. 

At the end of the day, I don't disagree with you. Arguably, the vast majority of the population are decent folks who don't present any risk to me, so I treat everyone accordingly, while looking for signs in the background telling me that maybe a particular person is the exception to the rule and I should be concerned.

Besides... audiophiles are routinely taken in for thousands of dollars, though not by gunmen.

The OP should clearly not be selling speakers for local pickup.  Full stop.

If I were the buyer and arrived at your home being treated like a potential criminal, I'd walk.  

The guy spoke to you on the phone and is paying cash.  And you avoid the risk of shipping the speakers.  He's doing you multiple favors.  

The comments around guns and phones on standby with the 9 and the 1 already dialed are just killing me.

There is risk in life, you can’t be afraid of everything, besides it’s probably a much bigger risk driving your automobile. 

If you can't get a friend to be there, and you can't pay an off duty cop to be there, and you're not able to get an ID, and you're not able to talk on the phone, and you don't trust yourself…

Take a 25% deposit by Zelle which links to a bank account

and they can pay the rest in cash

if you are trusting them to come in your home, they are trusting you to not steal their money 

Trust works both ways so if they don't trust you to give you a deposit then they are not trustworthy

@onhwy61 

Exactly.  I was going to say the same thing.  Treat him as you would want to be treated.  He’s coming from out of town, supposing he has to use the rest room as soon as he gets there?

I’ve been buying and selling used gear for 40 years and never had a bad experience.  I do my due diligence, if I’m selling speakers, I want to know what the prospective buyer will be using so that I know it will be a good match for him.  Through our conversation, I will either get a feeling of comfort about the buyer, or not.  
 

Having said that and reading through this thread, there’s a whole lot of paranoia, albeit, some very justified.  It actually made me think of a funny situation as a buyer several years back where I felt very uncomfortable and threatened until I got the heck outta there seconds later.  I’ll elaborate in a separate post.

Lastly, remember the good old days of Covid equipment auditions.  You rang the door bell, the door opened and the seller had the speakers playing right by the front door or outside on the porch.  
 

@dman777  - how did the transaction go?  

About 10 years ago, I was looking to buy a pair of KEF C55 bookshelf speakers from CL.  They were located an hour away, not in a particularly great neighborhood or city.  I didn’t get a great vibe from the seller but I went anyway.

Seller lived in a small twin with an enclosed front porch that was very crowded where he brought the speakers into playing through a very cheap receiver.  The front door to the home was opened and I could see about 15’ away a really nice system inside that, out of curiousity, I wanted to get a closer look at.  He told me his wife doesn’t allow anyone in the house when she’s not there, which I thought was a really weird thing to say, and in our 20 minute audition, I just got a weird vibe from the guy.  He was an engineer, not very talkative and was about 6’5 and strongly built.  I’m 6’2 myself and thought if something happened, I’d really have my work cut out for me.  At the end of listening, I felt the price was a little too high and he wasn’t willing to give me a discount, so I didn’t go through with the purchase.  
 

He brought one speaker into his home, and being the helpful person I am, l carried the other speaker into his home so I could finally get a closer look at his system.  He stood at the doorway (thank G-d he didn’t shut the door) and said to me, “I thought I told you not to come into the house!”

”Please don’t kill me!” Was my first thought.  I somehow managed to apologize while quickly sneaking by him as I exited the front door and said I was late for my next appointments as I quickly skidaddled out of the enclosed porch and down his front steps.  Boy that was scary and weird , I thought.  Imagine if he had shut the front door while I was in the house?  
 

Meanwhile, over the next couple of years, I had seen several more of his CL ads, always with a picture of his front porch and the gear was always in mint condition and competitively priced.  I went back about a year later and bought a mint pair of AudioSource speakers for like $40.  This time he had them playing outside the house, outside of his enclosed porch.  The audition lasted about 2 seconds, I handed over the money, took the speakers, and GTFOOT!

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.

A guy currently listing a pair of Thiel CS 3.7 on USAM has solved the problem. His asking is over market; he shows a dozen hi-res pics of the cardboard boxes in which the speakers sit; and then this gem:

* Speakers will not be unboxed for audition; visual inspection of sealed cartons is available by appointment after a refundable deposit.

There's no dilemma over hosting buyers when you don't have buyers. Brilliant

@devinplombier ,

Plus he has zero feedback. $6500, but you get to look at the boxes.

Actually just sent him a message to see if I summed up his ad correctly.

Plus he has zero feedback. $6500, but you get to look at the boxes.

If you pay a deposit.

The lack of feedback is probably fine. You can't cook up an ad this unattractive and not be legit.

In today's world its,hard...but you do want to show the buyer they work...

I just sold three ARC amps, local pick-up cash.  Spoke with the gentleman and he was very excited.  He and his wife drove over 2 hours from another state.  Turns out we had a nice afternoon listening to music and BS'ing about audio.  

He has texted me several times since inviting my wife and myself to his place.

We did have a lengthy conversation about the amps prior to his arrival.  Couldn't have smoother.

@dman777  So let us know the final decision.....

Regards,

barts

I did the demo in my garage. It went great. The guy did not mind. He was really nice, but it is good to be safe than sorry. It was fun meeting someone else in the same hifi hobby. Getting cash was great also, no worries about electric payments. 

Not sure why you'd entertain demoing them to anyone. In 20 years of selling tons of gear on A'gon, USAM and FB I've only ever demo'd one item - a pair of Focal Sopra 1- and even with these I required a $1000 deposit electronically first. Avoid last minute haggling, time wasters, nit pickers, "gee, I have to come back with my wife, friend etc." or a hundred other lame excuses. Even if the person is local have them complete the transaction electronically as if they were 500 miles away - like 99% of my buyers are anyway. You have everything to lose by doing a demo in your own home and little to gain imo.

Glad you're safe.  Did you scan for counterfeit bills?

@whoopycat +1.  Seriously. Maybe because like a few other people on this forum I too grew up in a pretty rough area of the country and now that I live in a pretty moderate safe place I find being paranoid is simply overkill. I've sold several pieces of equipment locally and I've bought and I think each time save for one neutral location, either listen to something in their place or they listened to it in my place. My only caveat was that they take off their shoes before they come in. I'm just not at that stage where I am going to treat everyone like a future break-in and have my gun safe open and ready to access the minute they show up in the driveway.