In my recent round of upgrade fever I had what was for me a new experience: shameless Audiogon condition rating inflation. Maybe once as an Audiogon seller have I rated an item 9/10. But three pieces I purchased recently were rated 9/10. Two of the pieces were nearly ten years old. One seller told me in correspondence that "for its age it's a true 9/10!" 9/10 means (1) less than a year old, (2) very light use, and (3) physically indistinguishable from new. None of the three met these base requirements. I eventually purchased them because they were priced appropriately and through much private conversation I verified their true condition (7/10 and 8/10). I remember when it seemed that all sellers went to great pains to rate conservatively and fully describe flaws. It frustrates me to have to approach listings from a default of skepticism and become Mr. Buyer Detective. Is this new? Am I seeing phantoms? Overreacting?
What's up doc? 👨🏼⚕️ (Sorry Chuck, couldn't resist)
I think what we have here is the age of the huckster. Lying is the new norm. Facts are irrelevant as long as one thinks their opinions are just as good. Steven Colbert termed the phrase "truthiness". If it makes you feel good, go ahead and claim it. Who's to say otherwise?
How one can look at the A'gon rating guidelines and say to themselves. "screw it, this doesn't apply to me", is beyond me. They probably cut all manner of corners through life and for them, this is the new normal.
This is probably a separate topic, but with only three satisfaction choices, I hate to ding sellers for things that aren't pretty significant. I think this biases everyone's ratings upward.
The same in some discussions. If it sounds good to me or I simply want to grossly exaggerate or lie - that's what is going to be presented. On the other hand, other members maintain the integrity, this does include some dealers and manufacturers as well, so there is a hope but things are not too good right now and current tendency is downward just about everywhere I can see.
Stories of this nature do smack of 'truthiness', as the seller hopes to recoup as much of his investment in the item in question. Buying a 'pre-owned' anything of late seems to require hi-rez photos of all surfaces and details in order to not feel 'screwed' in some fashion. And even then one hopes that the pics were of the item to be received....
The stakes of the crap-shoot have seemed to have gone up....and 'buyer beware' gets more imperative...
The Vintage musical instrument business (the drum sector, at any rate) is even worse. Absolute junk and trash described as near-mint. Add poor packing and shipping cartons, and what you receive is often un-restorable. One ends up buying only from those having proven themselves trustworthy.
Buy local. I always try to sell local because I want the person to see and hear the piece before buying because I don’t want to listen to someone’s bullshit later. Even then - year ago I sold a Music Hall Maverick CD player (remember those) to some guy who auditioned it at my house. 4 months later he calls me up and tells me the player makes a noise or something. People want to save money buying used and then expect to have a lifetime warranty on the thing. But buying/sellling in person definitely cuts down on the problems. Good luck.
Question. A guy is selling a fairly expensive pair of ten year old speakers that sound and LOOK like the day he bought them new. How should he grade his speakers?
I believe age shouldnt matter. If its 20yrs old and looks perfect, it should be a 9/10. I see so many 9/10 ratings now that should be a 7/10 or less. I always ask the question does it have any scratches or nicks anywhere? And almost always they respond with a "yes very little ones that you cant see from a distance, but looks like new from listening area". I want to respond with a WTF everytime. Or bookshelf speakers listed at 9/10, and have a ton of marks on bottom from spikes. They will state in the ad, "you cant see the marks while they are on stands"....again WTF, its still there and wasnt there from the factory.
Hmmm, interesting thread, I have repeatedly questioned "new" ratings, been blocked by the seller who got mad when I asked questions. I would not buy toilet paper from anyone who gets irritated by being questioned. I can say I have had some great experiences also. All of them were happy to answer my inquiries and did so in a timely fashion. 3 month ago i made a transaction where seller said it was "Mint" condition. Unit is 14 years old. On communicating many times we came to an agreement. When I received it I have to say it was truly in "Mint" condition, not new but not a mark, scratch or other fault anywhere. Seller disclosed every little item down to the condition of the original packaging and wear on the remote. He rated it 8/10 due to age. Now that' honesty. We'e still talking to this day and will continue to do so. That is rare. My motto is Buyer beware of non communicating sellers.
I specifically searched for a thread dealing with this topic after seeing numerous ads containing what I believe to be inflated ratings. I've been a member a long time and don't recall a time when ratings were so far from conservative.
In our small community, I do believe honor matters; it doesn't take long to compromise a reputation. Speaking idealistically, I'd like to see us all strive to be honest brokers.
On a side note, I would add that in the realm of electronics, age does matter. An item may look new but components may degrade with age.
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