How an old Gearpimp buys gear.

The inspiration for this is the Paul vs Tim Campbell thread, I’m not going to touch pricing this is about what I do to protect myself as a buyer. Most of what I buy is used but 90% applies to new as well.
The first thing is ask questions, while any new gear pricing enquiry starts with a phone call I will always ask for an email stating price and shipping, this is where a new email folder begins. All communication will be documented and saved so there is no he said / she said arguments it’s all on paper and I have it organized. If there is a question about the legitimacy one trick is to ask a leading question where I am acting like I’m giving the seller the answer I want, example let’s say I’m looking at a 1272 clone, “ is this one with the rare transformerless output stage, I’m really not that interested if it has transformers.” A scammer is going to start drooling over this.
I always want a good discription and to know any issues ahead of time, I also will ask for additional pictures and while I will never ask for a picture of a serial number directly I’ll do my damnedest to get a picture that includes the serial number.
The purchase, always PayPal if I can, the buyer protection is worth the expenses, funded via Amex, never buy gear over $100 bucks without it. Amex is far more buyer friendly than the other credit cards, or your bank.
Track it, track it track it, now here is an important thing that is often not understood, if there are any shipping issues unless as a buyer I have used my own account with the shipper, I really don’t have any standing with the shipper. The seller is the one who contracted the shipper and in most cases needs to be the one who contracts the shipper, damage claims can be filed but the buyer but if the shipper starts the process it is usually much easier.
When it arrives, have your phone camera out. If the box shows any possible signs of damage get a picture if you can before you move it, pictures and or video while unpacking starting before you break any seals are your friend at worst you can trash them in a week. With the demise of the packing peanut packing has deteriorated, I love it when I get something double or triple boxed where there isn’t anything keeping the box from moving inside the box, this is a sign I’m taking a bunch of photos. The other big danger sign packing with flat sheets of paper, sure the item may not move but unless it’s balled up it isn’t providing any coushion.
Inspection and testing, visual inspection is important, I ll even open up most items to both confirm any options and any obvious defects, again take pictures. If there are any issues during testing take a video!!!

Any issues at all immediately contact the seller, don’t be confrontational, most are going to blame issues on the shipper, I don’t care how sure you are it wasn’t the shipper, let the “ professionals “ make that determination. If it was purchased through a third party service (eBay, Reverb) I don’t care how much the seller says to not contact them before you try to resolve the issue, contact them immediately. You may lose some buyer protections if you don’t and if the seller accuses you of damaging an item a claim filed within 48 hours of delivery is going to lean more towards the buyer.
If you don’t get communication from anyone involved contact your card Company! Yeah it will probably take 30 days, but if you have all the above documentation there is a 99.9% chance Amex is going to credit you.