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[N8FVJ]

I sold a full output Amp Supply LK-500 amp to what seemed to be a seasoned ham. He brings the amp back stating it only makes 200 watts. I gave him his money back. Upon inspection the grid was melted out of one 3-500Z. The ham did not know how to tune an amp and ruined the tube. A new tube cost $250. My advice is ask if the ham has ever used a tube amp. If not, I would not sell the amp to that ham. You could lose a lot of money due to their ignorance.

[W9FIB]

If I made the sale, I would add a clause that states a refund can only be given after an inspection to determine the cause of the deficiency stated by the buyer. And included in the clause would be statement that says NO REFUNDS if opened, modified, parts replaced, misuse, damage caused by operator error, or damage caused by operator use in bands or frequencies not covered in the original design.

And I would put a sticker somewhere that would need to break if the case is opened. And plenty of pics with proof positive of the date the pics were taken to show it working properly, and a pic of the sticker in tact.

And put that all in a sale contract with the pictures and make the buyer sign the contract as part of the sale agreement.

[WW5F]

This is one of the reasons I just scrap my radios when I'm done with them.

[K3XR]

It's no guarantee but it might be wise to spend a few minutes with the buyer going over the tune up procedure before making the sale.  Of course, this would apply to in-person sales.

[N1IG]

It's no guarantee but it might be wise to spend a few minutes with the buyer going over the tune up procedure before making the sale.  Of course, this would apply to in-person sales.

well, you could always do a Skype, FaceTime, or Zoom call to go over the procedure in real time before shipping the unit.  or you could even post a short video to YouTube and provide the buyer with the url. 

[K7JQ]

Before I sold my last two tube amps (Acoms 1000 and 1500), I qualified that the buyers (over the landline and emails) were familiar with the tune-up procedure, despite the fact that Acom amps use an easy "TRI" tuning system. I made sure they understood that I wasn't responsible for their possible misuse, and the sales were final. In fact, one potential buyer (a newbie) admitted this was his first amp and kept asking me questions to the point that I respectfully told him that the amp wasn't for him, and refused to sell it to him.

You should also be careful who you sell a solid-state amp to. They're even more sensitive to failure if not used under the right circumstances. Prolonged use under high SWR, overdrive, and high temperatures, despite protection circuits, can immediately blow the PA device(s). Qualifying the buyer can avoid future aggravation.

Bob K7JQ

[K0UA]

I cannot remember the callsign of the guy I sold my tube amp to.  But we drove toward each other about an hour, got on 146.52 and talked briefly and met in a Wal-Mart parking lot. I considered when he lifted it out of my minivan and placed it in his SUV, it was his from then on. I hope he is doing well with it. He had payed earlier in the day with Pay Pal.

[W0CKI]

That also applies to the older hybrid radios. Todays new hams just want to turn on the rig and do FT8,not ham radio IMHO, or call CQ. Tubes, a mystery to most newbies, soo, I would emphasize that tube amps, hybrids are not for the new ham.
Gary W0CKI

[K1KIM]

I have 3 complete hybrid stations ( 2x 520s' and 1x 820) for sale that I will not sell to anyone other than local pickup.

eBay is almost always on the buyers side when it comes to refunds and the last thing I want to do is spend $50 (or more) shipping each way only to get back a damaged radio and have to refund the buyer the purchase price. And then there is always the proverbial "parts swappers" that take you good tubes.

I can't imagine what someone could do to an amp if they can't tune a radio!