Most of us who belong to this forum have at one time or another purchased a few used cartridges. I wanted to start this post to discuss our experiences. Would you do it again? Was it a good experience with an honest seller or was it a nightmare?
Have sold quite a few of my earlier cartridges to help fund the purchase of an upgrade. They have all been in perfect working order, one or two had been re- tipped and I always made that clear. Never had a problem, one buyer even sold the cart on for more than I sold it for!
I tried buying a couple of used phono cartridges and both were defective. One had a badly worn stylus (was offered as "nearly new") and the other had a bad suspension (cantilever would drift to one side when lowered). I lost money on the first cartridge and was able to return the second cartridge.
I wouldn't buy another used cartridge unless I was VERY sure of the seller's integrity and they were selling me a cartridge that they had purchased new.
I've bought over 40 used or NOS cartridges and styli with only a handful of disappointments. Of course some of those cartridges did not impress or appeal to me and I on-sold them at virtually no loss. I find that many classic MMs of the '70s and 80s sound more cohesive and emotional than modern designs and even some noted LOMCs of the same era can compete with their current brethren. I've had many more disappointments with 'new'' cartridges and it would take some serious word-of-mouth for me to outlay again for a 'new' current model. And then there's the cost differential 👅
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