What would you do?

When I first started buying on Audiogon, I wanted to make all of my purchases COD. I had never had the experience of just sending a fully negotiable note to a total stranger on unsupported faith. A few sellers, who undoubtedly had experience themselves doing precisely that, reacted in a put-off way to my seemingly suspicious request, but ultimately agreed to ship COD if I paid the extra charge, despite the slight inconvenience and the longer wait for the funds. After doing a few transactions this way with no problems, and getting used to the feedback system, I became comfortable enough with the process to drop my COD demand. (It also didn't hurt that I had sold a couple of things on the 'Gon without the same demand being placed upon me.) I have since made several more purchases by just sending the money orders, with no problems. But I can't truly say that this is actually the wisest approach, rather than simply the easiest. I do utilize the feedback system, but ultimately depend mostly on my own perception of the quality of communication with a prospective seller. However, if I am honest with myself, I can't claim any special powers of divination when it comes to evaluating the honesty of an online or over-the-phone correspondent. I think part of my behavior can be explained by not wanting to spend extra, part by having been lulled by my admittedly limited experience into a quite apparently false sense of security, and part by just a simple desire to trust and be trusted. If and when I wind up paying the price for this trust, or ignorance, or arrogance - however you care to look at it - I'm sure my behavior will perform a 180-degree hairpin turn in the regressive direction. Nevertheless, I continue to remain optimistic about my chances around here given the quality of the folks on A-gon, feeling my eventual burning will, in all probability, occur in the wild, wild west that is ebay.

FYI, The UPS charge for COD is now $6.00
I don't think the seller is doing anything wrong. They are just protecting themselves from a potential deadbeat buyer.
If the auction sais buyer pays all shipping charges, then you should pay for what you request. If seller pays, you are stuck with whatever shipper he chooses.

I agree with Sugarbrie. I have seen sellers send COD and request the COD payment plus the shipping in advance. A deadbeat buyer could simply refuse the COD and the seller would be out the shipping and the COD payment. I think this seller is doing nothing wrong. There are deadbeat sellers and deadbeat buyers, but you have to at some point develop a certain amount of trust either through phone calls or emails to complete the transaction. The only other option is an escrow service and they have fees also. Paypal charges about a 3% fee to the seller. That can add up to quite a few dollars on an expensive component.

I've got a few Questions:
What was the price of the preamp?
What is the overall feedback of the ebay member?

You should examine feedback for the seller first before bidding. If you do not trust than don't bid.

Nak isn't so rare on ebay and can be available from different sellers so pick your best.

Ebay transactions are secure and I highly doubdt that seller would risk his/her ars to get kicked out for a couple hundred bucks.

If I personally buy on ebay items over $500 I make sure that they're near me for a local pick up.

And finally I completely agree with Jwrobinson stating that there is no seller that will send you the unit first unless you're agreed to use an Escrow.

EBay has a money back guarantee for fraudulent or mis-advertised products. They cover "almost" anything up to $200 but charge a $25 fee.

This might work instead of going the COD way. I doubt its easy to get your money from eBay, but it is there. Check out the eBay site under Services.