would you do it

I have been looking for a BAT VK-5i. I found a person that owns one on the other side of the country. It is not listed on Ebay or audiogon, just found it through a google search. I called the guy and spoke with him several times. We came to an agreement on the price, fair for preamp, not any "too good to be true" type of thing. The guy is seems really nice, sold off most of his setup a year ago has been holding on to this trying to decide if he wanted to sell it.

Here is the issue, he doesnt do paypal, wants me to send a check and he will ship the preamp when it clears. Fair enough but I am worried about sending a check, being out the money and never seeing the amp or hearing from him again. After speaking to him many times it seems very unlikely that those are at all his intentions, but you never know. Any ideas?

aerius007 said:

Here is the issue, he doesnt do paypal, wants me to send a check and he will ship the preamp when it clears. Fair enough but I am worried about sending a check, being out the money and never seeing the amp or hearing from him again. After speaking to him many times it seems very unlikely that those are at all his intentions, but you never know. Any ideas?

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How easy is it to set up some sort of Escrow deal for this? I have never done that before and I think it happens in the Ebay world, but not sure if you can do it outside of ebay? That would be protection for both of you.

If he sounds legit, AND happens to be active in some other audio forums, with a good reputation (do a google search on his user name and/or address), I would go for it. That's how I ended up buying my Summits, and the seller turned out to be an honest guy who bent over backwards to accommodate me.

aerius007 said:

Here is the issue, he doesnt do paypal,

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Does he do ebay? That makes a difference, even if the transaction is outside of the ebay system it gives you some idea how he has done in the past with other similar sales...YMMV!

I would be a little leery. Anybody can sound legit on the phone. I would ask myself: "If he really wanted to sell this thing for a reasonable price, why didn't he just place it on ebay or audiogon?" The guy may be perfectly legit, but if he is not, you will have virtually no way to recoup your money. If it is not that great of a deal, is it really worth the risk. What about a money order? Is there any more protection offered by going that route? Caveat Emptor.

I dont think he does ebay or anything like it. He really does seem legit though. I spoke to his wife, hear kids in the background, talked to him about other stuff besides audio, and he wasnt willing to take some of my lower offers. If he would have taken my first offer it would have seemed like he was a little to eager to get a check. I am 99.99% sure this is the real deal but that .01% could cost alot of money. Maybe I should start a poll, just for kicks and giggles.

What is the total amount of the transaction, if I might ask ? I tend to be with Rich on this one, but trying hard to escape that distortion field. I'm not aware of the legal value of such an act in the US, but I would suggest him to fill up a declaration like this, and fax/mail it to you:

"I declare herewith that upon receiveing the amount of $ xxx from Mr. aaa bbb, located at lllllll, ohio I oblige myself to conclude the sale of a BAT model mmmm, with serial number ghdlfhd as per attached picture, within 7 days from payment receival" or something like that.

Why is it that you want to get this VK5 from this guy and not wait on the 'gon or for ebay to pop up? Is the price he's giving you far better than anything you can get on the gon or ebay?

I can imagine you must be excited about upgrading your equipment, but the used audio marketplace is tough territory these days. Since the item you are looking for is sure to come around again, I would wait for a sale with better circumstances.
When I read your first post, a little voice in my head said "No...No...No....".

T-

I've done overseas buisness a lot. If you think the product is worth it this is my recommendation. Call him ask for his bank contact info and wire details. You can then wire th e bank the money and tell them what you are doing. If he is not legite he probably will not give you his bank info. I found one thief that way, after he tried giving me a fake bank name.

Where is he located?

What part of the country is he in? Maybe someone on the forum, who you know at least a little bit, if they lived close enough, could help by checking it out for you. At least that way you can know for sure that the guy has the gear in good condition. If that's the case then 1.you know enough about him that he'd be less likely to cheat you, cause you could trace it back to him more easily 2.noone is going to actually buy the gear to cover a front for a scam. If he has the gear, he's likely legit. If it's in charlotte, I can do that for you

Just ask him if it's ok if a friend comes by and checks on the reported condition. For that kind of gear, I wouldn't think he'd expect any less.

I buy and sell on Audiogon quite frequently and occasionally on Ebay. This practice of the buyer taking the risk is a standard and accepted practice. I don't like it as a buyer but in 4 years and many transactions I haven't been burned yet (knock on MDF). In fact, I'm currently waiting delivery on an item that I already paid for.

So to answer your question...yes...I've been doing it for 4 years now. I'd like to add that I also support my local hi-end store. Sometimes, I don't want to take the risk and willing to pay more for a little insurance along with all the other benefits of buying from a brick and motor store. I used to sell some of my gear at a local store until thier consignment fee went up so high it drove me back to Audiogon and Ebay.

It's much safer to be in the seller's shoes since the standard practice is to make sure you get paid before you ship. This is no different than buying something from an established business online or over the phone. Again, as a buyer you're taking a risk but your judgement of the person by communicating with them on the phone or email can give you an better idea or feeling of thier trustworthiness but there are no guarantees. In the end as a buyer you have to decide if the risk is worth it to you.

aerius 007

I've got NY, NJ, CT, PA eastern, CA (San Fran), and many other states covered with people that I know very well. let me know if you need anything.

I would be careful man. my friend bought a car (off ebay too) and got RIPPED off bigtime. ANYtime you are buying things site unseen be careful, but without paypal or anything and he isnt a store i would maybe just hold out and find the same amp on audiogon later...

He is located in San Diego Cali. The price is $1800 with shipping included which is about $65 so I am paying $1735 for the preamp($4800 new). It is completely original, stock tubes, double box, remote. Claimed to be in mint condition. He also has wire for sale but I am not interested. I like the fact that this is all stock. The tubes have never been changed and it has never been opened up. I will get new stock tubes to put in when I get it and probably upgrade once I get to know it the way it came from the factory.

His reason for selling off his system is that one of his kids knocked over a B&W 805 and broke off the tweeter. He sold everything a few years ago with the exception of this preamp and a pair of Matrix 802's.

I wonder if those checks the credit card companies are always sending offer anymore protection vs. a personal check. I just got some yesterday and thought about paying that way.

These hardly ever pop up on ebay (right now there is more bat stuff on ebay than I have ever seen) and the ones that show up on the gon are sold within a couple of days and are never stock.

half now, half later ? - i guess if you really want it

TheBobGoat said:

half now, half later ? - i guess if you really want it

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You could do that....

But remember A007, once you get burned, you'll wish you bought brand new. Sorry man, gotta play devils advocate.

There used to be a newsgroup (does it still exist?) that dealt with sales of used high-end equipment. I used this for several cash transactions (buy and sell) without the use of paypal and was never cheated. (I sold my ARC Classic 60 this way.) I admit this might have been kind of risky, but I never had any problems.

I can get new from a friend that works for a BAT dealer, but for the money I think the vk-5i would sound better. That is a good point and one I will have to seriously consider.

If you're patient you can find BAT VK-5i's on Audiogon. In fact there was one for sale here in Tampa, Fl but it looks like it just sold.

http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/srch_fs.pl

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?preatube&1174161095