Annoyed at sellers on Audiogon

Face

I've had two poor experiences there in the last few weeks.

First someone ships me a TT with the counterweight and platter inside the the dustcover. Needless to say, everything came loose inside the cover and probably smacked into the cartridge, etc.. I emailed him explaining what I found, he apologized. He also offered to take it back the unit or drop ship something if needed. Since it was a good deal on the TT I asked if he would drop ship a new cartridge. Day and a half goes by, no response. If he wasn't happy with my request, he could have asked if we could split the cost, etc.. I'll give him another day to respond, if not he's probably getting a negative feedback.

The second experience is with a pair of speakers. I've been looking for this specific pair of speakers for a while and they finally popped up yesterday at noon. The seller is in CA and in the description he mentions he'd prefer local pick up. Last night I emailed him asking him a question. Then late this afternoon I emailed him again telling him I wanted them. No response to either email. Nada. You'd think since they were just put on yesterday at noon he'd check his messages, or at least have the decency to respond.

I've had better experiences with Ebay. :mad:

heiney9

Yep, I hear ya. Inquired twice about an amp, no response. Farily rare piece that still isn't marked sold. If you can't answer a few simple questions then I have no faith in sending my $1200 to you and actually getting the item :mad:

danger boy

i've never purchased or sold anything on Audiogon. so I don't have any room to talk. but I can say. no matter where in the internet you buy items.. there is always the chance you'll eventually find a seller that is less than stellar. meaning there are bad apples everywhere on line these days.

F1nut

Bingo!

Gaara

What I find strange is that many times these sellers have 100+ good feedback ratings.

I have three times tried to buy a pair of Omega Grande 8s from 3 separate sellers to no avail. All 3 occasions my email was short and sweet "I will take them, what is your paypal address", and all three I never heard responses back.

VR3

I refuse to buy anything on Audiogon ---

Everytime I inquire about something its sold - lol

Ricardo

My experience has been totally different; have made great transactions and met very nice local (somewhat) sellers/buyers. As Danger Boy said, there are bad apples everywhere.

heiney9

Despite my recent frustrations I also have had great deals on Audiogon. I figure many times if you don't get a response back, especially on an awesome deal or a popular or rare item, it's because it's sold. Common courtesy should be to atleast answer your e-mail, but that's not always the case.

Overall I think Audiogon is a good place to do business, but my past 3-5 e-bay experiences have been top notch too. Both from a sellers and buyers stand point. It can be frustrating when you find what you want and then get no response.

H9

AndyGwis

Audiogon can be frustrating in some regards, as can CL. On both, items are often sold but never updated. Also, you're at the sellers discretion to respond quickly to emails, etc.

I've had good luck with all three markets. For the most part, Agon sellers are experienced buying / selling audio gear to at least package it well. That's my biggest gripe with ebay so far. . . and getting stuff that's been drowned in cigarette smoke for years but not listed as such.

Oh, and on Agon, you get a lot of "is this still available" and then never hear anything back. Lot of fishing.

shack

In situation #1...yes the seller did a poor job of packaging. And yes, he needs to make it right.

However in both situations you are upset that you have not been responded to as fast as you would like. These are individuals who are selling stuff and you need to have some patience. This isn't amazon.com where there are employees manning the phones and email 24/7. People have jobs, family, etc. to attend to that take priority over an internet sale. It could be they are not in a position to check as often as a buyer would like, could be an emergency could be lots of stuff. Maybe they could be better at communication...but hey...it is the nature of the beast. Even internet based e-tailers will jerk you around a bit. You are probably trying to get a good deal and it just doesn't always go smoothly or work like retail where you walk in with $ and walk out with what you want.

Have a little patience and hopefully it will all work out.

cfrizz

My transaction for my Sunfire Prepro went off without a hitch! Excellent communication from the seller throughout the entire deal!

cfrizz

Well said & excellent point Shack.

Face

Shack, you're right about needing more patience with the TT seller. I'll give him a few more days to respond.

About the person selling the speakers. You don't just throw $1,000+ speakers up for sale then not check your email for a few days. I know I wouldn't. If I had something up for sale, especially something of that value, I would be sure to be able to access my computer at least once a day.

To be honestly, he's probably blowing me off since I'm not local to him.

billbillw

Face, Did you send the seller photos of the damage done by to the turntable from the platter/counterweight? Was there actual damage? Did the stylus break? Dustcover? Usually a free platter will destroy the dustcover and often damage the plinth, tonearm, spindle, bearing, etc.

Face

Bill, PM sent.

BaggedLancer

I find with craigslist it's best to send the seller an email saying "I'm interested in your item, I'd like to come by asap, CASH IN HAND"

Always works for me.

Texas42

I've sold (and continue to sell) audio equipment on CL, ebay, and A'Gon as each caters to a different market and has its own niche. In fact in a few days I'll probably list my carver gear on ebay; my adcom and b&k gear on A'Gon, and my large Klipsch LaScalas on CL (too big to ship and needs local pickup). I prefer CL as you find local buyers and don't have to mess with shipping but it is really hit and miss on there as most are looking to get a pair of Krell Mono Blocks for $25.00 it seems. At least on A'Gon if you have good feedback you can get a fair price for your gear.

shadowofnight

BaggedLancer wrote: »

I find with craigslist it's best to send the seller an email saying "I'm interested in your item, I'd like to come by asap, CASH IN HAND"

Always works for me.

Cash in hand local or semi-local craigslist works for me too...many times...many awesome deals...only one semi-negative was my SRT trip to sparks nev , even that was really fine because I left zero money there.
Only had one deal on Audiogon....a sub enclosure ( http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?homesubw&1195715280 ...came damaged by UPS...Walter sent out another ( They were new unassembled enclosures ) and it came perfect.

hearingimpared

I've bought and sold on Audiogon. I've had no problems with sellers or buyers. When I sold an item that let's say 10 potential buyers expressed interest, I email each one back letting them know the unit was sold. . . I think common curtesy has taken a back seat to "show me da money."

madmax

Audiogon has been an extremely pleasant experience for me.
madmax

Face

Still no response from either party.

Even if the seller of the speaker contacts me now, it's too late. Guess I'll have to wait for another set to come up.

ABX

I like to buy local, if posible.

ABX

BaggedLancer wrote: »

I find with craigslist it's best to send the seller an email saying "I'm interested in your item, I'd like to come by asap, CASH IN HAND"

Always works for me.

Might be good way to get robbed

ABX

danger boy wrote: »

i've never purchased or sold anything on Audiogon. so I don't have any room to talk. but I can say. no matter where in the internet you buy items.. there is always the chance you'll eventually find a seller that is less than stellar. meaning there are bad apples everywhere on line these days.

Yes, there sure are

ABX

heiney9 wrote: »

Despite my recent frustrations I also have had great deals on Audiogon. I figure many times if you don't get a response back, especially on an awesome deal or a popular or rare item, it's because it's sold. Common courtesy should be to atleast answer your e-mail, but that's not always the case.

Overall I think Audiogon is a good place to do business, but my past 3-5 e-bay experiences have been top notch too. Both from a sellers and buyers stand point. It can be frustrating when you find what you want and then get no response.

H9

scared to buy used from cross country