I recently sold a very heavy and large pair of speakers on 'Gon. The Buyer was a local buyer ( Thank goodness!).
I left the speakers up and running and actually required an audition prior to purchase. Why, because of these reasons: I am not willing to move speakers weighing over 180 lbs each more than once, I am not giving a return policy, I want buyer to view condition of speaker and be sure that they function correctly at time of sale,I want something to listen to until they are sold( not buying next pair until same and therefore not kicking tires on my next seller); I want to encourage a local sale if at all possible.
The security issues and inconvenience are certainly valid points, however, when selling something expensive and large/heavy, sometimes a little inconvenience has to be put up with IMHO. The security issue is less of a concern for me, but this could be a more major factor for many, however, I think there are ways around this. One example, might be to insist that all auditions are done at certain times and with the man of the home present. Perhaps have a friend also present if security is still a concern. What I also insisted upon if the Buyer was intending on making me an acceptable offer was a non-refundable deposit to hold the speakers prior to full payment.
In my case, not having to ship out of area was a major benefit, so offering a local an audition for a local sale was really no inconvenience compared to having to ship over 400 lbs of speaker to a sight unseen buyer...:0)
Just IMHO.
I left the speakers up and running and actually required an audition prior to purchase. Why, because of these reasons: I am not willing to move speakers weighing over 180 lbs each more than once, I am not giving a return policy, I want buyer to view condition of speaker and be sure that they function correctly at time of sale,I want something to listen to until they are sold( not buying next pair until same and therefore not kicking tires on my next seller); I want to encourage a local sale if at all possible.
The security issues and inconvenience are certainly valid points, however, when selling something expensive and large/heavy, sometimes a little inconvenience has to be put up with IMHO. The security issue is less of a concern for me, but this could be a more major factor for many, however, I think there are ways around this. One example, might be to insist that all auditions are done at certain times and with the man of the home present. Perhaps have a friend also present if security is still a concern. What I also insisted upon if the Buyer was intending on making me an acceptable offer was a non-refundable deposit to hold the speakers prior to full payment.
In my case, not having to ship out of area was a major benefit, so offering a local an audition for a local sale was really no inconvenience compared to having to ship over 400 lbs of speaker to a sight unseen buyer...:0)
Just IMHO.