Anyone have feedback on Audiogon's Insider membership?
I'm curious about joining but Audiogon's Insider but its information about the feature is a bit conclusory. I'm very open to paying a fee to have access to a forum of paying members (for numerous reasons). I'm wondering if the Insider has critical mass to support the forum, how folks like it, etc.
I noticed that a previous discussion thread on this topic has been removed.
The insider is where Wolf showcases his A-list material. We commoners only get the flops and bombs. 😄 That's got to be worth the price of admission alone!
I have found no special, highly valuable conversations, discounts, or any other benefits to this service other than the Blue Book. The Blue Book while interesting, does not always represent real world prices as the averages span dates farther than 10 years back. I would suggest a weighted system putting emphasis on more current pricing. The graphs show a more accurate picture. Would I pay to re enroll? Probably not at full price.
Not making any moves until I get $8.72 for that last comment. Besides, I utilize my powers in live concert mixing where I have the unknowing crowd firmly in my grasp...they overpay me, and then often compliment me on the way out...they have NO idea...
My comments are extremely valuable, and it's likely wrong that I give them out for free. Consequently I think the inverse would be appropriate where they pay ME for content.
I’ve found that the Bluebook is a good deal more informative than I was anticipating.
Based on having looked at it previously without being subscribed I was expecting that it would simply show an average of all recorded transactions for a particular model, as well as the original retail cost.
What I found, though, is that a graph is provided showing the month, year, and selling price of each recorded transaction, which especially in the case of older items provides a better indication of present value than a simple average. And in many cases it also makes it possible to gain perspective on how the value of a particular manufacturer’s products tends to hold up over time.
Also, in some cases links are provided to specific listings that occurred in recent years, which helps to correlate the selling prices with condition.
Well here is the real plan based on my speculation. The regular forum we all use is going away at some point in the future. As the forum becomes more moderated we will need to pay for the moderators. In addition, Agon now has another income source that offsets the fact that buying and selling is slowing here and in HEA in general. The only way to be part of the forums, at some point in the future, is to pay. Just my speculation.
I think a membership based site may have real advantages but if it’s not run correctly or doesn’t have critical mass it wouldn’t be helpful or attractive to me.
I guess I don’t see the point of it. We already have forums. The ads don’t bother me as they are always around the border and out of my sight as I focus on Agon listings or forums.
I was a "insider" for a short while, AG at the launch put some dealers as "insiders" however I got booted quickly :-) inquired as to why, got the answer that one must pay on top of what we as dealers already pay monthly for the "privilege" of selling here. :-)
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