Do you buy used carts/needles? Is it risky?

I bought a used Soundsmith cart & had great luck with it.

You take a chance but can get an inexpensive rebuild.

I’ve got another used Soundsmith cart on the way that will be here in a couple days.

E, it is said that the act of measuring coil resistance in a MC cartridge can per se damage the cartridge because meters deliver a current in order to measure R. The current can burn up the delicate coil wire. I’ve gotten away with doing it very occasionally and using an expensive Fluke meter but cheap meters might be hazardous to MC.

I bought two demos and thought they sounded excellent.

@lewm 

good advice, I had read that, but like what I had for breakfast I forgot.

I only bought 1 used MC, Sumiko Talisman S with Sapphire Tube/Van Den Hul. it came with a test report seller got in order to sell it. It was the 1st used cartridge I bought, it gave me confidence to try others, all MM. .

I guess the ones that showed coil info were MM.

Good thread. It increases my confidence in purchasing used cartridges but with the usual caveat emptor and due diligence