some advice from experienced traders please?

[D-train-13k]

i plan on trading an amp for an amp from a guy on facebook audio classifieds

he lives in richmond va and i live in charleston sc

so im asking is there any real safe way you guys have used in the past to avoid the possibility of getting scammed?

open to any and all suggestions.

Im willing to meet halfway but i would rather not drive

ive mentioned same day shipping and exchanging tracking numbers along with calling the desk clerk to verify there is infact something there for me. with relative size and weight.

so what do you guys suggest?

[bighossf150]

I only trade if I trust the other person 100%

[D-train-13k]

ill try to get a vid of it working with the guys name on a paper or something to verify that the amp is operable.

seeing as how i dont know too many people around here who are in the soundsystem game ive got to work with what ive got.

[n8ball2013]

How much money are we tslking here in amps? I would never desl with.someone on Facebook sorry. They coukdnt care less if someone gets scammed

[Keith77]

What N8 said... There is no way you can protect yourself on FB.

Someone from here just got scammed on the FB classifieds the other day. Ill see if I can track down the story

EDIT: The story

"I need to at least vent, and possibly get some advice because I cannot think clearly right now...

There was a seller on a classifieds page on here, C**** *******. He was selling a used NS-1. I had offered him my close to mint BC5500 plus an agreed amount of $300.00 cash. He described the NS-1 as having a scuff on the front, other than that it was fine.

I received the amplifier, there are scuffs all over the front of it. The phillips head screw terminals are all VERY stripped out. Also, 6 of the 10 screws holding the bottom of the amplifier onto the case were missing... State finals here are in a week for MECA and I needed to g...et everything together so I decided to just look past that.

Now, I have spent the last three nights piecing my car back together and was excited all day today that I finally got to set my gains and do a little testing. We have a Velleman Oscilloscope here at the shop. As I was adjusting the gain, I noticed quite a lack of voltage output all of the way up to half (which is entirely too high regardless) and then the amplifier would protect. No speakers connected, just the oscilloscope. So I proceeded to shut my car down, let it sit, then powered it back up. On the fifth attempt to form a wave on the screen of my oscilloscope the amplifier made almost a squeaking noise, then sparked behind the gain adjustment, and a small cloud of smoke came out of the case. The amplifier is now dead. He deliberately told me that the amplifier was never repaired, never worked on, and worked fine...

I literally have 10 days until state finals for MECA. I need to take first at states to have JUST ENOUGH points for an invite to World Finals, and I was burping over a decibel louder than any other posted MECA trunk vehicle score in the country with my Crescendo BC5500. I've put so much work into my car and this is happening....

What would I be able to do? I did not send payment as a gift in case something stupid happened. I clearly noted in the PayPal payment that it was part of a partial trade and what items were involved.

I don't know what I really can do until he replies to my message... Am I just completely fucked???"

[SojiaRaggs9000]

@ D-train-13k

If you trade the guy on facebook atleast get all his info. Cell number, address ect... Take a video of it working and of you packaging it into the box. Take pictures of the everything. Pictures of it packed in the box with the tracking number with insurance, the physical serial numbers off the amp... ect. Not only is it good for proof you sent something but it provides you with good info if an insurance claim should arise.

Although even if you do all this it doesn't mean the guy on the other end won't rip you off. TBH i don't see the difference from trading on SMD vs FB.. if someone is shady and wants to rip you off they will. But its your job to determin if they're shady.

Edit: I've traded a few people here on SMD and I've also traded a few on FB. As well as other sites that I belong to. I've yet to ever have an issue. There is a feedback section on SMD and on FB Just be smart and you'll be fine.

@ Keith77

Dang bro that sucks. If the guy doesn't get back to you.. Your best bet is to try and to a claim via the shipping company. They'll more than likely want a quote on how much it will cost to repair it. Just be warned they will only give you what that quote is for, whatever you paid for it or..... was insured for.

Example: If you paid $300 for the amp and insured it for $600 they'll only pay $300. Same thing for the quote.. If it cost $200 to fix thats what they'll give you.

Also on a side note most the time they will require you to give them the damaged property. Last time I did a damage claim it took about 4 months for a check to come in.

[D-train-13k]

How much money are we tslking here in amps? I would never desl with.someone on Facebook sorry. They coukdnt care less if someone gets scammed

im trading my blown team cactus 7kw for a working saz 3500

and i also asked for a vid of it working with a date in it. as well as talked to ups about having their clerks verify the item is in fact what they say it is.

and where would i find the serial number ? and believe me i have taken too many pictures. i planned on taking more as it was packaged.