I don’t think uncertainty is as big of a factor as some suggest. The audiophile population is aging and passing on. Part of aging is losing the desire to regularly buy and sell heavy and expensive gear. I am now 63 and am not as interested in going through all of the hassle associated with buying, trying and selling. Demand is down because the marketplace, which has always been rather small, is opting out of the constant buying and selling routine because of burn out and age. I rank this as the #1 reason for lower demand. Some opt out due to uncertainty while an equal number of others sense things are positive. I see an equal split on this factor.
Anybody having trouble getting near-your-asking-price for used gear ? (Plz. no hype)
I buy and sell gear "on a whim" and have done so for 40 years. Mostly high-end tube stuff that I get an itch to move from my rig to make room for other high-end stuff that I have been dreaming of. It's fun and gives me a fresh faces to fall in and out of love with.
Lately I am having a really hard time getting any serious offers above 1/4 to 1/3 of retail- actually zero offers over that. And winter is the time of year gear sells. Once the sun comes out things get really quiet. Not terribly long ago I could ask 50% of retail and get serious offers pretty close to the ask.
I am especially having trouble selling ARC gear. It's prices are steadily collapsing. On HiFi Shark that stuff sits for close to a year (or more) before it moves. For example SP 15s are under 2K now. They were selling (not asking) at 3K a year ago. It took me almost a year to sell a new-in--box I/50 for $3000 (!) Ref 75s are moving under $3000 and TMR will only offer 2K for one of them. The older stuff is selling in the hundreds not the thousands. Top-Of the-line stuff like Reference 10 preamps are moving under 12K (asking is around 17K)
I recently sold a Bryston BR-20 brand new in the box and it took me 7 months to get 48% of MSRP. This is NEW stuff- not somebody's junk.
My guy at Magnepan told me their stuff is really moving slowly as well. He blamed it on the political environment. ARC is pretending all is well but I have a little birdie inside there that tells me their stuff is stagnant as and dealers are actually cancelling orders.
Now, assuming you are being honest and not "fluffing the market" with bullbleep because you have something for sale and hoping for the greater fool, are you seeing/experiencing the same thing I am experiencing?
NO RETAILERS PLESASE- you guys tend to "exaggerate" to put it kindly- plus most of us here at AG know who you are and your 1000s of posts are a big clue.
Signed/ Depressed about my favorite side gig.
Showing 5 responses by grannyring
Ha! Well I still buy and sell and others will. Just doing it far less. It is a matter of degree. We all agree the number of Aphiles is small. If we are buying 50% less often, then….. We older folks still need to unload extra gear while we slow down and simplify. Your point is still valid in that I see the market for new and used gear continuing to slow over the short and long run. We are witnessing, in real time, this truth. |
@grislybutter Sort out the tariff and trade issues mentioned here. Feel all will be good in the not too distant future. Time will tell, but this not a permanent situation and only part of ongoing negotiations. I hope you can make your amp purchase soon. |