No.

An inspection and equipment condition report is an objective assessment containing factual information about the condition of a piece of equipment. Whilst I understand that receiving bad news may be disappointing, I must report what I find, truthfully, as anyone viewing such reports rightly expects.

Customers engage Liquid Audio to write reports before or after an equipment purchase, for insurance purposes, when equipment is perhaps not as described or damaged, or when preparing equipment for sale. Often, I have good news, but occasionally I find things that are not so good. Very occasionally, I’m asked to scrub potentially value-reducing observations about condition or faults, thereby creating a misleading report.

Altering a report to hide the condition of a piece of equipment I’ve inspected is not an option. It doesn’t stop people from asking, though. In one case, a customer complained that my report would make it harder to sell his turntable. He felt he’d been duped by the previous seller and expected me to help him dupe somebody else. I did not:

Our equipment condition reports are trusted, and I have a reputation and a duty to the hi-fi community to uphold. There are enough dishonest sellers and burned buyers out there already. Let’s not add to the list.