I'm a little perplexed/surprised by TMR and who sells to them.....


TMR has become a significant player in used high end gear. Their pitch is "we pay you top dollar hassle free for your used gear" . 

OK, what's their idea of top dollar? It's 25% to 30% of MSRP minus more $ for blemishes that lower value. I know. I called them. 

The same sellers who list their used gear for 30 or 40% under MSRP and refuse legitimate offers from qualified buyers with proven buying or selling history who offer 1/2 or so of retail are roundly ignored or even insulted. Weeks later the same item shows up at TMR at 50% of retail and you know TMR paid half of that for it. 

What makes sellers do such a crazy thing?

yesiam_a_pirate

Showing 1 response by mcondon

I have not bought from or sold to TMR, but I suspect it is growing in popularity as a buyer because of the aging demographic trend of audiophile hobbyists. When I first got involved in this hobby twenty years ago, lugging large, unwieldy boxes that often weighed more than 80 pounds to FedEx or from my building’s mailroom was easily doable. I practically thought of it as a de rigueur aspect of the hobby that was necessary to find bargains and sell them at a minimal loss if they didn’t float my boat.

Twenty years later, my ability and willingness to do what I used to do, e.g. driving to the next state to pick up a 90lb VAC Phi 200 from a seller or carrying a similarly heavy Plinius amp to FedEx a few days after buying it used, are gone. Thankfully, I’m very happy with my current setup, so I have been fairly inactive in the hobby for the last decade. But I can understand the appeal, especially among older audiophiles, of selling to TMR, which takes most of the legwork out of selling used audio equipment.