Used HiFi items

[man00]

Was/is a site that sold used equipment, seem like it was a person name for the site. I thought I had it bookmark but did not. The site sold speakers, receivers...and other items. Kinda off the beat place..
Forget it...found it in bookmarks

 

[bkatbamna]

Well what is it? I'd like to know.

 

[BamaBilly]

Steve Hoffman? Nothing offbeat about that one though

 

[man00]

https://edsgoodstuff.com

 

[the skipper]

No location and no phone #? not much info on them.

 

[E-Stat]

No location and no phone #? not much info on them.

Actually, their "About Us" link does answer the first question: Trenton NJ.

"Cash only for local pickup in the 08610 zip code - that's in central New Jersey, USA. Located about 60 minutes from New York City and around 45 minutes from Philly."

 

[swechsler]

Yeah, seems a bit sketchy. No PayPal or credit cards either; only checks, cash or money orders (although he supposedly does allow in-person pickups, but then why not publish his address?).

He's got a Twitter feed and Facebook page. Scamadvisor is inconclusive since they say that he offers secured payment methods such as credit cards and PayPal, but that's not the case per his website.


ETA: my guess is he's running it out of his house, and doesn't want town officials to know so they don't get him for zoning violations or sales tax or whatever.

 

[man00]

I never bought anything from there so not gonna say one way or the other. I tried once but it was already sold

 

[nj pheonix]

I live not so far from there.
If anyone is really interested in something in particular, reach out to me and I'll take a look.

 

[roger2]

On the few items I looked at (amps and speakers) there was good info and pics, and asking prices seemed reasonable. The website is intuitive and easy to navigate. I don't know how easy it is to get hooked up to receive online payment via credit cards or PayPal. IMO lack of those payment methods is worth noting but not necessarily a red flag.

It was an interesting browse, I don't know anything about this site other than first impressions, and am not affiliated.

 

[swechsler]

I don't know how easy it is to get hooked up to receive online payment via credit cards or PayPal. IMO lack of those payment methods is worth noting but not necessarily a red flag.

PayPal setup is trivial. I can think of three reasons for not accepting it:

1. Fees. A low volume seller pays 3.25% of the sale total for the privilege of accepting it. Higher volume sellers get a lower rate, but I'm not sure how much in sales you need to get to that rate. You can always offer a cash discount to get around this problem, but I suspect most people would pay the upcharge for the convenience and:
2. Accountability. If an item is not as described, PayPal will normally force you to take the item back and will issue a refund once tracking shows it has been delivered (unlike eBay, however, the buyer pays return shipping)
3. Taxes. If you make $20,000, or 200 sales per year, PayPal will report your income to the IRS and issue you a 1099

 

[roger2]

Yeah, seems a bit sketchy. No PayPal or credit cards either; only checks, cash or money orders (although he supposedly does allow in-person pickups, but then why not publish his address?).

......

Perhaps the guy doesn't want anyone with internet access showing up unannounced, and they certainly would. Could be a one man operation and he can't be there continuously during business hours. Could be he has no retail, brick 'n' mortar established location. Those things would not imply anything negative. Clearly, if he is willing to accept local pick-up, he is willing to meet face-to-face and will give his address to any customer who prefers that option.

And I doubt that getting set-up with PayPal is as trivial as you would make it seem. Hypothetically, what if the guy had a bankruptcy 6 years ago? That would not be a crime. And I wouldn't hold it against a person. But financial institutions of all kinds certainly would.

There is more than enough negativity, suspicion, bashing of others for no reason, etc in the world right now. IMHO it is time to get back to giving benefit of the doubt until/unless there is a real reason to do otherwise.

 

[swechsler]

And I doubt that getting set-up with PayPal is as trivial as you would make it seem. Hypothetically, what if the guy had a bankruptcy 6 years ago? That would not be a crime. And I wouldn't hold it against a person. But financial institutions of all kinds certainly would.

OK, admittedly I've been set up to receive money via PayPal for a very long time, so I don't know if they've changed their procedure. But AFAIK you still only need a bank account and an SSN. A credit card is optional.

 

[Bone Yard]

http://www.oaktreevintage.com/

 

[the skipper]

http://www.saturdayaudio.com/