[ShrimpBurrito]

I personally would not do it sight unseen. You might give a few hundred dollar deposit sight unseen (but still seeing lots of pictures and feeling comfortable about the seller), but not the full purchase. Regardless of how far you may have to travel, you could always take a red-eye flight Friday night to arrive Saturday morning to inspect, make the purchase, and go with the seller to deliver it to a transporter. Then fly home Sunday.

Depending on the circumstances, you might be able to do the trip for $500.

When I was looking for a TM 3 years ago, I got quotes to ship a TM cross country on a flatbed for about $1600-$2000. If you are willing to have it towed, it will be several hundred dollars less.

So you need to be sure you factor in these costs when assessing the value of a prospective unit.

You might contact the TM factory and ask who they hire for transport. I don't see anything wrong with doing it as long as the transport is recommended, it is licensed, insured, and bonded, and your TM is also insured during the ride.

Depending on the distance, you might also consider asking the seller to transport it. They may ask for a non-refundable deposit up-front as well as some form of compensation to cover their expenses, which I think is only fair, and then finish the transaction upon their arrival.

If you are serious about a particular unit, you can always ask the members here if someone living close by would be willing to swing by to take a look at it. It might not be as good as you seeing it personally, but at least you get the perspective of someone who already owns one and might be able to look for specific things as well as dismiss something you might otherwise think is unusual.

Dave