Tips for payment types when selling high-end equipment

[atlvalet]

Hi there,

So, my father is one of those audiophiles who has decided to sell his system. He has tasked me with helping him out.

Now, I have plenty of experience selling things on USAudiomart (my own stuff), but he has a few big-ticket items which dwarf the $1,000 to $3,000 I'm used to spending.

One is a nice Basis turntable. Another is a set of near mint REF 600 monoblocks.

Normally I use paypal, but I don't have experience selling things that are north of ten grand where the risk is a lot higher if you somehow get scammed.

What do the members here prefer payment-wise when getting into the $10,000+ price points?

Thanks in advance.

 

[tima]

Wire transfer in advance.
Not paypal.

 

[atlvalet]

Thanks.

Yeah, definitley not PayPal. Wire transfer in advance is a good idea and saves time/hassle vs cashier's check.

 

[J007B]

Another vote for wire transfer in advance.

 

[audioblazer]

If you know & trust the seller, try Wise . Low-cost transfer unlike PayPal but without protection which PayPal offers

 

[Another Johnson]

Hi there,

So, my father is one of those audiophiles who has decided to sell his system. He has tasked me with helping him out.

Now, I have plenty of experience selling things on USAudiomart (my own stuff), but he has a few big-ticket items which dwarf the $1,000 to $3,000 I'm used to spending.

One is a nice Basis turntable. Another is a set of near mint REF 600 monoblocks.

Normally I use paypal, but I don't have experience selling things that are north of ten grand where the risk is a lot higher if you somehow get scammed.

What do the members here prefer payment-wise when getting into the $10,000+ price points?

Thanks in advance.

I think you will have a hard time selling five figure items as a private seller. You might want to consider consigning them to a professional reseller. Two that I have had good experiences with are Paragon Sight and Sound in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and The Music Room in Erie, Colorado. Buyers are more comfortable in five figure purchases when the seller is a business with a longstanding history.

 

[Kingrex]

I think you will have a hard time selling five figure items as a private seller. You might want to consider consigning them to a professional reseller. Two that I have had good experiences with are Paragon Sight and Sound in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and The Music Room in Erie, Colorado. Buyers are more comfortable in five figure purchases when the seller is a business with a longstanding history.

Baaaa. I wouldn't. I have friends being screwed by dealers. Dealers mostly say they will sell it and you can then get a discount on something you want from them. Or they take 30% to 40%. Try first. Wired money or cash is best. If Paypal, you need really good photo documentation of packing and shipping for a fraud buyer that says younsent something broken or a bag of rocks.

 

[Another Johnson]

Baaaa. I wouldn't. I have friends being screwed by dealers. Dealers mostly say they will sell it and you can then get a discount on something you want from them. Or they take 30% to 40%. Try first. Wired money or cash is best. If Paypal, you need really good photo documentation of packing and shipping for a fraud buyer that says younsent something broken or a bag of rocks.

You apparently have been working with the wrong dealers, or perhaps you present yourself in a way that isn’t amenable to the best relationship. Paragon takes 25% as their fee. They sell high end stuff nationally on their own website, but also advertise on Audiogon. Call and ask for Richard. TMR can be highly variable, depending on who you get.

 

[Kingrex]

As you get into high $$ transactions, I suggest getting or making a pallet and shipping freight. I like Old Dominion. You may have to call a logistics company for a quote. Pallet means forklift and liftgate. No human dropping, kicking, throwing your valuable equipment around.

 

[atlvalet]

Do you have enough feedback over there for people to trust you with wire transfers? Paypal has its faults (including fees) but buyers get protection and will likely require less accrued feedback from you. Paypal friends and family (no fee) with no buyer protection is quicker than wire transfer with no downsides that I can tell from my extensive use of that method there. BTW, I have >80 positive feedback on USAudiomart and have never been screwed by a buyer or seller with decent feedback.

On USAM, I have 18 sales/perfect seller feedback and something like 80 "perfect" sales on Ebay, so hopefully that's enough. Granted, the monoblocks and the turntable are much higher pricepoints than what I have done personally.

As you get into high $$ transactions, I suggest getting or making a pallet and shipping freight. I like Old Dominion. You may have to call a logistics company for a quote. Pallet means forklift and liftgate. No human dropping, kicking, throwing your valuable equipment around.

Yeah, the turntable and monoblocks will 100% have to be crated. Thanks for the reference.

 

[atlvalet]

I think you will have a hard time selling five figure items as a private seller. You might want to consider consigning them to a professional reseller. Two that I have had good experiences with are Paragon Sight and Sound in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and The Music Room in Erie, Colorado. Buyers are more comfortable in five figure purchases when the seller is a business with a longstanding history.

At this point, I am not interested in handing 25%+ over to a reseller when I think I'll be able to sell the equipment on my own.

 

[Kingrex]

Yeah, the turntable and monoblocks will 100% have to be crated. Thanks for the reference.

You can build a pallet to size. It does not have to be a full sized pallet. I think I shipped my Dartzeel on a 24 x 24 pallet. Smaller is less $.

 

[Another Johnson]

At this point, I am not interested in handing 25%+ over to a reseller when I think I'll be able to sell the equipment on my own.

You might get lucky.

While a dealer charges a fee, my experience is that a good dealer will get more for the gear than a private seller. So the 25% fee is actually less than a 25% hit against what you can get.

I didn’t say you should consign. I just suggested that you could consign.

Consigning takes the aggravation of personally dealing with flakey buyers out of the equation. But if you have that much experience, then you probably know about them.

I would not do a wire transfer or PayPal F&F on a five figure item unless the seller had a bricks and mortar presence. But I have done five figure wire transfers, even to Europe, with dealers who have a reputation and business to protect.

In the old days I would do a face to face high dollar cash purchase with a private seller after an audition. But nowadays I’m unwilling to take a large sum of cash on a trip. Times have changed.

Good luck with the sale. I hope you get top dollar.

 

[atlvalet]

You might get lucky.

While a dealer charges a fee, my experience is that a good dealer will get more for the gear than a private seller. So the 25% fee is actually less than a 25% hit against what you can get.

I didn’t say you should consign. I just suggested that you could consign.

Consigning takes the aggravation of personally dealing with flakey buyers out of the equation. But if you have that much experience, then you probably know about them.

I would not do a wire transfer or PayPal F&F on a five figure item unless the seller had a bricks and mortar presence. But I have done five figure wire transfers, even to Europe, with dealers who have a reputation and business to protect.

In the old days I would do a face to face high dollar cash purchase with a private seller after an audition. But nowadays I’m unwilling to take a large sum of cash on a trip. Times have changed.

Good luck with the sale. I hope you get top dollar.

Thanks.

Appreciate the information/feedback.