Would you pay more than 25% of MSRP for a used cartridge?

If a Cartridge rebuild service chipped in with their discoveries made on a Cartridge that an owner thought was in quite good condition, and was surprised at the assessment offered as part of the Inspection.

I am sure there will be few descriptions of a discovery made that will be hard to accept as being for real.

The 'fragility' of the Cartridge is the concern, and is possibly the main reason that requires a special attention to ensure the overall function is being considered when purchasing one either new or used.

A new cartridge can not have have come through the stages of delivery in the finest of condition. When received it could have developed a fault. A Cart' can also have slipped through a usually rigorous QA check prior to being packaged. 

Combine the above with usage to what ever degree, and the variables can increase substantially for a Cart's function not being as per the designed for operation.

There is absolutely no harm in treading carefully and finding the method that can be most satisfactory to the buyer, for proving their monies are being spent quite sensibly. 

Individuals who spend less on a used vehicle than some would spend on a used Cart' would not think it strange to consider or action the vehicle to undergo a third party vetting.     

One method to avoid upset is to arrange an agreement between Vendor, Buyer and a Third Party, who is to receive the Cartridge, the Third Party will need to be recognised for being able to assess the condition of the Cartridge and the assessment will be the agreed guidance for the establishing the condition.

If all appears to be as described in the Ad, then the Cart' can be paid for as agreed.

If the Cart' does not meet the adverts description on condition, the Cart' can be returned to the Vendor, or an alternative arrangement might be agreed on the outcome of the assessment.

This obviously incurs an extra cost, for the assessment and the extra shipping.

If I were to be keeping the Cart' as a result of the inspection/assessment, I would request a through cleaning of the assembly, and this will usually be a charge that has the inspection offset against the overall cost.   

I have done this in the past with a Cart' and the outcome was fine, this Cart' eventually become a donor for a rebuild as the Cart' was without any concerning issues when re-inspected.

On another occasion I sent many of the supplied images of the Cart' to a respected Third Party Service and was given a reassurance that their was nothing noticeably concerning from the photo evidence. I accepted the evaluation and own this Cartridge as a result.

I always do this arrangement when buying vintage valves, the Vendor agrees to my having the Valves re-tested.

This has proved to be very prudent, as a few low measurements have been discovered by the Third Party Service that I use. In this case the service is only a short drive away from my home, and is a fellow HiFi enthusiast.

Through detailed conversations within the past five years, the way I have come to understand the initial concern about the condition of the Cartridge is to investigate the Bobbin Assembly.

This is quite different to my old thoughts and methods to be only concerned about the Stylus condition, Mounting! > Wear ! 

In a Layman description, the Cantilever Anchors to the Bobbin Assembly and sets up the mechanical operation that will enable the Stylus to perform as per the designed for operation.

Any compromised materials discovered at this place in the assembly will be detrimental to the overall performance.

Hence, my skill set does not reach to this level, so I farm the inspection out to a much more reliable assessment, the bonus is the Stylus will also be evaluated along with other materials within the assembly.

When it is viewed with this in mind a Third Party Inspection starts to show its real value to the buyer.