Protocol for selling and buying used empegs

This was inspired by a seller's post in another thread.

I would like to codify a set of standard practices for selling/buying used empegs. I'm starting this thread to take suggestions and commentary. When it's all worked out, we'll make a fresh stickypost at the top of this forum, and echo it in the empeg FAQ.

My immediate suggestions are:

- Digital photos of the empeg and its accessories are a must. Buyers will want to assess the condition of the merchandise. Please note that file attachments on this BBS are limited to 200,000 bytes, so pictures need to be sized and saved with the appropriate settings. <instructions for attaching multiple images to a thread and how to inline images will be given.>

- Digital photo of the player's screen, with the "About" box up, showing the player's serial number, is a must.

- Clear statement of the player's origin.

- If the player is missing any of the original accessories, an reason for that must be given.

- If additional accessories are offered (tuner, bag, etc.), say so and provide photos.

- Seller should state clearly if any of the components may be sold separately, or if it must be as a complete set.

- If the player has any known hardware problems, or if any repair attempts have been made, those must be disclosed.

- Seller must realize that a few people have been scammed, and should not be offended if they are treated with initial suspicion.

- Seller should disclose if the player is headed for ebay, or should link directly to the ebay auction if it's already there.


Anything else?

Couple ideas...

-State where you’re located

-Must ship within three business days of receiving payment.

-Provide the buyer with an address, phone numbers and email.

-References would be nice. Maybe eBay name so feedback can be checked

-Preferred payment method

-Is shipping included in price?

A couple of other things come to mind...

Some sellers don't describe exactly what model they have (Mk2, Mk2a, Rio Car, etc.). That seems to be a question that pops up a lot...

How about including an overall description of the condition, maybe from a list of standardized or pre-defined phrases like "Mint - Never installed" all the way down...

I definitely like the 3 day shipping rule as one of my Empegs took over a month to hit my door after PayPal payment was made (bought from the For Sale board last summer)...

Thanks, Randy

Lots of good suggestions so far.

What about suggestions for buyers, too?

Preferred method of contact (email, PMs, post in thread, etc).

Quote:
- Seller must realize that a few people have been scammed, and should not be offended if they are treated with initial suspicion.

How about:
Empeg community members should not immediately burn-at-the-stake sellers who fail to comply with these standards, instead encouraging them once or twice to post the standard information.

I've thrown my share of stones at suspicious sellers and I think it's a helpful practice (protected me from a scam seller once). But I'm hoping to diminish the witch hunt a little. Nope, not trying to hijack Tony's thread into a big debate; just trying to show the less-informed legitimate seller's point of view.