Buying Used Audio Gear | Let's Talk Ep. 11.

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MY GEAR

[lumntoob]

When a seller on eBay says no returns or as is this is only there policy eBay will still force them to return or refund you if the item is not how it was described and pictured, ALL items sold on eBay have this gaurantee. I've had sellers pull this before, "I said no returns", but since the item was not as described you just have to give eBay a few days to let the seller resolve and then they will step in. This has only happened to me a handful of times over years of buying on eBay and I have always ended up getting the return or refund. This is rare though most people are just on there to sell the stuff they aren't using anymore.

[FabioRigokimbaorso]

85% of my gear comes from Ebay.. so I a fan of second hand material...

[stanisawszczypua]

Hi, for over 3 years now I'm buying headphones mostly on eBay and selling them when I get bored whit them.
I have strict rules on how to put headphones for sell on eBay.
1) I put headphones on a stand and make photos (in a good light)form every side
2) If there is something wrong like a crack I take extra picture of that place
3) I write technical specification and as much info as I could find about that model (I buy and sell mostly vintage headphones) as well as brief description of my impression on how those headphones sound like and how much amplification they need.
4) I describe modifications(if any)that I have done to them
I have 68 comment from over 3 years and all of them are positive. I wish other people would put that little extra work because here in Germany most eBay offers are:
1)expensive made by shops/regular traders with very brief description like acceptable condition, used, pads missing, cable is broken or so on. Often ending in "you buy item in a condition like on photo, no returns, if you don't like my rules don't make an offer"
2)private offers with 1-4 photos (that are mostly the same - like 3 photos of the same side lol) and description consisting from one sentence like "old used headphone from AKG private sell"
For example this was entire description of Beyerdynamic DT550 I had bought last Friday:
"Hallo,
ich biete hier von meine Kopfhörer Sammlung eine gebrauchten Beyerdynamic DT 550.
voll funktionsfähig mit einem super Klang und befin´det sich in einem guten Zustand."
Hello,
I offer here a used headphones from my collection Beyerdynamic DT 550.
fully functional with a great sound and in good condition.
Fortunately A)they were cheap 39 Euro and B) he actually gave photos from every side. From what I saw on the photos "good condition" mean that I need to change pads, put in foam disk (between drivers and pads) and clean them. For fuck sake why people can't clean headphones body before they put them on sell? Thats beyond me. Once I bought Beyerdynamic DT96 very rare model from somewhere between 68-72'. They seriously looked like crap, I paid 5 euro. After cleaning, and soldering new 6, 3mm plug they were fully functional and found new home in hands of a collector from US.

[Nick_i]

Your point about being patient is absolutely true. By waiting for a while, I've been able to get great deals like and LCD2 for $400 or a a2000x for $200.

It takes a while to find the right deal from the right seller but it is absolutely worth it IMO.

[PerfmonX]

When buying on eBay, I always check feedback amount and score of that seller. In addition, I also read some of the feedback and check what types of items the seller frequently buys or sells. I buy a lot of my gear either used, refurbished, or open box. This can save a lot of money. For instance, earlier today I bought a set of open box M1060's on Monoprice for $180. It is yet to be seen if they are the rev 1 or 2, but there is a 30 return policy if I am unsatisfied.

[joej]

Bought a bunch of stuff off head-fi classifieds, never had any problem. I've also purchased some headphones on ebay, one had a channel imbalance, the rest were fine. Returning it wasn't an issue. Most of the time I did have to replace pads, but I usually get Dekoni pads for my stuff so I don't really consider it too big of a deal. I also bought some Elears new off amazon, and my first pair had a nick on the metal and a channel imbalance so I returned that as well. Sometimes retailers will sell returned stuff as new, so really I don't think buying used is a big deal, just buy from someone you trust, or get purchase protection through paypal or amazon.

[justplainrye]

Bought my m1060s open box on Monoprice website for $200 USD (2.5 mm connectors). They have only a slight discoloration in the wood and they're my first audiophile cans. Recommended

[imzunv]

So,
I don’t have any tips, but I can tell you about a recent experience.
I was looking to save a little money and purchase a pair of HiFiMAN Edition X V2’s, I found a pair that was listed on Ebay as New from a seller that had a 99.8% rating.
The headphones were selling for $799 so I thought this was a really good deal.
When I received the headphones, the first thing I noticed is that the product was not new but very carefully re-sealed, when I opened the packaging there was a small tear in the presentation box from opening it and then on top of it all, the Right side driver was not functioning at all, I was gutted.
The great thing is that they didn’t give me any problems returning it and I received a full refund very quickly.

So, in the end, I ended up buying a brand new pair of HiFiMAN Ananda’s and will never purchase used headphones ever, unless as you stated I can actually try before buying.

[thdrizzl]

and dont get sucked into paying via family and friends on paypal unless u know or trust the person. u will eventually get taken

[sidvicious]

Your advise is excellent. I usually like to buy from local audiophile stores and build relationships with them and I can get great deals when they turn over products due to new models coming out I will buy their Demos and save huge amounts of money. I also shop at regular stores-Best Buy for Open Box-(Magnolia). I also buy from Ebay due to the protections in place and most people don't want negative feedback and I would trust Amazon due to their policies. I also buy from Audiogon as it is one of the largest Places on the planet to buy from outside of Ebay and the sellers are also Audiophiles and Audiogon is strict at what you can rate your product at.

The most important part if in doubt ask questions and like you said if they don't want to answer your questions, your spider sense should be tingling and you shouldn't buy and never be afraid to negotiate a lower price, even at a Best Buy, you never know until you ask and you might be surprised. Also never second guess yourself if your first mind tells you to walk away, just walk away. At my local camera shop I always tend to negotiate, especially on used gear and I have been extremely successful in getting things at the former sales price, even after the sale was over.

The products from Audiogon that I have bought have always been in the exact condition stated and work as advertised. I have only bought twice through Craigslist and that is because they had plenty of pictures as you stated and they belonged to a forum that I belonged to and that person could verify my status and I could verify and talk to them. I don't generally buy from Craigslist due to the person wanting to sell quickly and you get no information from that person and have no recourse unless that person allows you to come to their home to pick up the product, which can be a creepy situation or result in a Robbery.

[Enigmaad]

Joshua looks like another YouTuber I've seen before. I just can't seem to remember which one...lol

[swarner]

Ive always had hand me downs or second hand stuff so I'm not opposed or feel in 'stepping' down for buying used stuff off eBay. I bought a rare 40gb iPod 3rd gen Classic for 11$ (it needs a new battery, and it can with this thick tape/ glue all over it but that's all) and THAT was a steal. But the buyer DID take the needed pictures and promptly answered my questions. Perhaps in the future ill put in an SSD but I still can't get over that price!

On a worst note I bought a superlux hd681 Evo off ebay some time ago. It arrived with NO cable, and this was not stated by the seller. So I went to school for WEEKS looking like an idiot with my iPod dangling on my shoulder! They sounded great though, and I have entirely remade the housing, only keeping the original drivers of course. So that was a bad situation gone good to me.

Tips: So yeah, not opposed. But there are sketchy people out there, and you need to be careful especially when spending a lot of money. READ everything in the description, scan through pictures, and ask 100 questions if you have to. It shows the seller you're serious.

[craigdavidson]

Nice AMP for home audio is Pioneer A400 (circa 1992/3)

[isaaczulu]

Great video I have bought used studio gear they all work fine only the midi keyboard

[billyc]

Have you ever auditioned the AKG K812? If so, what's your thoughts on it?

[Bluebair]

Really great advice here, I look out for similar things. I have bought things when I wasnt completely sure as long as there was a full refund return policy just as a saftey net.

[loose_tooth]

I think that Ebay is great for some secondhand, notably vintage gear. With buying secondhand modern gear I do not bother... because you are paying around 65-90% for an audio product with no warranty... and that is a risk. I look for items that goes for 50% RRP else what is the point? Computer and audio gear is to go for the warranty protected gear if you can, because if something does go wrong, you have essentially flushed your money. The first time that that happens to you, it really polarises your opinions as the value of secondhand gear.

[zhemin]

gaming Mic usually taken really good care of xD

[danielgindlesperger]

For head-Fi I look at how many post they have and it they have reviews of previous transactions. You cant go wrong normally working with a reviewer as their stuff tends to be used for a very short time.

[WillTheSage]

Thanks for the tips, looking to offload an iPhone and DAC X6 so I'll use the knowledge you dropped :)