I've never used Gumtree, but I've seen a secondhand amp I'm interested in for £800, a fair price. Through Gumtree I've contacted the seller who says it's 4 years old, in mint condition and he's selling because he's upgrading. Because of Covid I'm not able to audition it and Gumtree suggests you use a courier rather than personal collection. Is there any protection for the purchaser if what arrives isn't what was promised (and paid for)?
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Is it safe to buy secondhand on Gumtree?
- Thread starter 6and8
- Start date
Perfectly safe and as long as the price is the going rate ie not too cheap not too expensive then normally fine
make sure you use PayPal that will give you all the protection you need in most cases, but its not eBay
its more of classified adds is gumtree. if he refuses PayPal work away simple.
if auditioning is out of the question then i dont think a video of the item working is too much to ask for. ie a cd player, eject and loading a disc and then playing, amp turning on and stabilising and so on.
jjbomber
Well-known member
Yep, WhatsApp, Skype etc would all do the job. You can see them working live then.
knaithrover
Well-known member
bigboss
Moderator
Crooks are more likely to sell their PS5s which are an "unwanted gift" at less than RRP, than an amp with limited mass appeal.
What about Facebook? Do bank transfer upon collection if you are worried about fake notes which are about.
Roog
Well-known member
I have sold lots of items (>50 No.) on Gumtree, I have only ever accepted cash on collection and always demo equipment where possible.
I am a fair individual who would prefer the new owner to be happy with their purchase. I have only ever had to take one item back and that was because it didn't quite do what they wanted, despite the fact that I said it couldn't do that in the first place!
Despite my early reservations regarding Gumtree I have to say that I have met lots of nice people via their purchases from me on Gumtree some of whom stayed for a lengthy chat about audio etc, two of whom I had good post-sale Email exchanges with over a period of time and just one who barely uttered a word, handed over the cash and took the product. I probably sold that too cheap.
I am a fair individual who would prefer the new owner to be happy with their purchase. I have only ever had to take one item back and that was because it didn't quite do what they wanted, despite the fact that I said it couldn't do that in the first place!
Despite my early reservations regarding Gumtree I have to say that I have met lots of nice people via their purchases from me on Gumtree some of whom stayed for a lengthy chat about audio etc, two of whom I had good post-sale Email exchanges with over a period of time and just one who barely uttered a word, handed over the cash and took the product. I probably sold that too cheap.
Longchops
Well-known member
Paypals not good for collections. You have to pay a fee to buy, and as a seller they can open an item not received case against you for about 6 months which of course you will lose if you have no proof of posting. I wouldn't accept it as payment myself.
Gumtree is like any free ads thing. there's some honest people selling honest products, there's also crack heads selling things they nicked from the last burglary, gangs hoping to entice someone gullible to their estate with 10 grand in cash to buy a car they don't even own, and also people that acquired expensive and niche products perfectly legitimately that know nothing about them or even what they are or how to test them and just want to get rid.
You have to just look at who you are dealing with and make a choice. I only use it if I have to tbh. Much prefer ebay, more protection as a buyer
As both the seller and I live in Tier 4 there's no chance of me auditioning the amp before I buy so I think I'll leave it for now. But thanks for all the wisdoms and helpful advice. Hope you all have a great Christmas - keep safe, keep well and keep eating the mince pies...
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