Heavy equipment — racks, plates, spin bikes, treadmills — turns over constantly as people set up and then break down villa gyms. It is nearly always cheaper second-hand than shipped in, and nearly always harder to collect than the buyer expects. Confirm the weight and whether it dismantles before you arrange a vehicle.

Anything with bearings, cables or electronics has usually lived in an open-air room. Spin bikes seize, treadmill belts perish, and cable machines rust at the pulley. Ask to run the machine under load for a few minutes rather than accepting a spin of the flywheel.

Camping and trekking gear is the opposite problem: light, easy to collect, and easy to hide damage on. Check tent poles for corrosion at the ferrules, zips along their whole length, and any waterproof coating for the sticky, flaking failure that humidity causes.