1. try to find something near enough to go, inspect, listen, which saves shipping cost and shipping risk. Patience, wait, or, rare new listing, jump on it.
2. ask questions in writing, thru the system they are listed in i.e. reverb; us audio mart; eBay .... ask for additional photos, i.e. remove dust covers, close up of driver cones, .... not only do they help you decide, the trail of answers is in writing in their system.
3. shipping, I agree, original packaging is a big plus, not only safer, tells you something about the seller that he saved the packaging.
4. PayPal: get an invoice for the specific item, i.e. buying goods or services, which are covered. Friends and family is not covered. PayPal fees can be negotiated, I offer to split or pay all the fees in writing when deciding to make an offer. IOW, seller’s reason to use F&F is to avoid the fees, but you need protection, pay for your protection.
5. insurance: you pay the cost of it, however the insurance is purchased by the seller, and any claim must be made by seller.
If a problem, ... (destroyed plinth/tonearm, dust cover): I forget all the specifics, it went something like this: You need to document the damage (take photos of box as it arrived; take photos when unpacking, .... UPS will pick it up, or I had to take the unit to UPS (location with claims capability) for them to document the damage. Next seller had to make the claim at his local UPS where he bought the insurance. His local UPS receives the package from my local UPS, they inspect, agree?
Seller get’s damaged goods back. Seller receives the money due from the claim if any. Not double boxed, improper packaging, claim denied. Seller gives you a refund, thru the system you bought it from. You wait for this whole process, then hope seller will give you a refund.
6. This is why you fund your PayPal account with your best credit card, so that their ’fraud’ protection covers you. I called my CC Co. before buying the tonearm from Russia, yes, I would be covered.
7. CC Co. holds the payment from your bill, you will not have to pay. They start a 7 day countdown, time for it to be resolved by PayPal, etc, then they make a fraud claim to PayPal, and they told me PayPal would close the seller’s account. That is what prompted the seller to send me a full refund. Whew.
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Speakers specifically: I have only bought 2 pairs of AR-2ax that I knew I would refurb myself.
8. UPS Pack and Ship. Seller said Local Pickup ONLY! You WANT it. (I used it 3 times) You get size of item(s), and weight of item(s). You call UPS, get an estimate for them to Pack and Ship (guaranteed). Give them your CC info.
UPS Pack and Ship
You find P&S location near seller. All seller has to do is drop off the item, unpackaged, in your name (local UPS expects it). UPS calls you with an exact price (my case a bit less than the estimate). Agree, they pack it knowing they are responsible for any damage. It will be double boxed.
btw: I buy used primarily. Several Teac Reel to Reel Decks; CD Player; Pre-Amp/Tuner; Integrated Amp, Luxman Integrated Amp; Yamaha Receiver; Technics TT; Sony TT; TT plinth, dust cover, TT81; 2 of my 3 tonearms; Chase RLC-1 remote line controller; Fisher 500C Receiver; 1 Sumiko Talisman S cartridge (happily turned out well). Two pairs of AR-2ax speakers, ....
