Do you buy gear new, used, both?

I only buy NEW. There may be some situation in the future I would buy used but nothing so far!

@fthompson251 Used Cables are the one item I am the most nervous to buy used because there are so many counterfeits on the market. I don't think I would have a problem buying them from a company though such as TMR or The Cable Company. Some of those clones look exactly the same to me and I would be afraid to buy them from an unknown individual unless I knew them.

I buy new gear. I keep it for a long time say 7 to 12 years on average. I do in depth research. Depending when in my life... early including travel to listen, audition. Now, after fifty years, in general, I can read reviews and know exactly what it is going to sound like. I have now often enough heard about a combination of components, thought through what they should sound like, and then listened to them and found them to sound exactly like I imagined to trust my experience. 

So, new from a dealer. When I am purchasing something that can cost as much as a car... I don’t want any unsettling doubt involved in the process. When I was young, I remember the joy of purchasing something at half price, angst of wondering if it was going to be functional and what I expected and then the horror of realizing it had some flaw. 

I used to scour the thrift stores for stuff when I was younger. (back when I was the worlds poorest audiophile,probably still am🤑) Now that I have somewhat of an understanding of system building. I find that it is much easier to build if you stick with buying new. Trying to search for a specific product in a jumble of shelves at goodwill is not my thing. 

Only new. I dabbled with used and found I could not handle the unknowns of used. I was obsessive about it to the point it was all consuming.

I did an AI search on the condition and it is real. It was an eye opener for me.

I will do used if family or trusted friends. Conversely, my wife kids me that I am the guy you want to buy used stuff from because it is pristine.