Low Hours Phono Cartridges?

I bought a Koetsu Rosewood Signature several years ago from a very helpful Swiss lawyer living in the US. He said 30 hours and I believed him. Have anyone been to Switzerland, even the bus's run exactly to timetable, to the minute. Seriously, it was a great purchase, I used for 3 years and sold at about the same price, with an honest report of useage. Buying used cartridges is a lottery, that is why they are so cheap. If you feel lucky, you can make a great saving.

Buying anything used is a crapshoot, especially on the Internet where you can't examine the piece before buying. I think there is an art to buying off Ebay and Agon. Agon is safer, IMO. Bottom line is that it is a matter of doing your homework. Call the seller. Ask questions. Look at feedback.

I've also found that most sellers are honest. I've bought a few "low hours" cartridges from respected A'goners and have been very satisfied. I also bought a few "high hours" cartridges just so I could try them out at a very low price.

As for the "low hours" claim, many people try different cartridges before settling down. I've done it myself, selling carts with only 50 or 100 hours on them because they simply didn't appeal to me.

My criteria for trusting a seller is (a) positive feedback, (b) length of time on A'gon and (c) their experience with analog. If A, B and C are all met, chances are very good that the cartridge really does have low hours as claimed and the seller just got a case of upgrade-itis.

My guess is that many people selling carts advertised as "low hours" have listened to the cartridge and then decided it's not a good match in their system, so they're sellng it to fund the next purchase.