Is Agon becoming the eBay of audio?

So far I’ve only had good experiences on Audiogon (and on Canuck Audio Mart). With the exception of one foreign seller who turned out to be shady and thankfully I didn’t bite.

I endeavor to be as honest and descriptive as possible when I sell, and I have a decent nose for what to buy.

One thing that drives me nuts is the amount of crappy  pictures in adds. I’m amazed when someone actually wants to sell something, especially a really expensive piece of gear, and takes a picture that makes it look like it’s under water in a pond. And...only one photo at that.

I often buy speakers and the aesthetics are very important to me. I want to see if it’s in excellent condition and I want a good representation of the finish, wood veneer or whatever. But many people’s photos make this almost impossible because they’ve taken it in such poor light a speaker finish could be red...or orange...or brown...you don’t even know.

When I sell my speakers I shoot them in the most accurate, natural light possible, and I compare the photos on my computer screen to the real thing until I see a very accurate representation. That’s when they go on for sale.

BTW, I notice on Ebay today someone selling MBL 121 monitors - which are the small stand mounted MBL speakers. But he has instead pictures of the big full-range MBL 101Es!

Oh..it’s ok...pictures of the 121s are coming...

That’s a good way to send of "trusty vibes" to potential buyers.

I don’t think I’ve seen anything quite that bad on Audiogon.

One of the things that eBay doesn’t offer is being able to research equipment’s pricing history - if there is a track record - as A’gon does.  I use it for everything I buy. 

In doing so I’ve avoided purchases with sellers who are either asking well above the averaged, or offer no reason why that’s so, i.e., replacing/upgrading parts, etc. I’ve avoided making offers because what I would be willing to tender would strike the seller as “low-balling”, even though it would be based upon the research here.  

Case in point - there are two ARC tube preamps being offered now, two different models, and both are asking at least $500 above the average price obtained via the A’gon history.  Hmmm.  Both are from reputable sellers with A’gon history, but neither piece possesses any additional attribute that would have me pay more than what my research revealed.  

I have traded in equipment with bricks and mortar retailers toward the purchase of something else, and those of us who have done so know very well how fast our stuff has depreciated.  I have no issues with paying a fair price for anything, but I find such bloated prices questionable.  

Equally annoying is having a customer pay the additional % for using PayPal here.  If I walked into a store and at checkout was told I was going to pay an additional fee for using PayPal or a credit card. I’d walk out. Period. I’ve sold a fair amount of stuff here without ever asking a buyer to cover my PayPal fee. 

All in all, eBay is a poor place to buy and sell the sort of gear commonly found here. By and large buyers and sellers here have a vested interest in the “hobby” to start with. One of my methods to determine whether an eBay seller is a fellow hobbiest is to look at the other items they may be offering. If it’s shoes. ceramics, or what have you, I run!

I'm new to the Audiogon forums and I've been looking for a subforum for trade/sale as I want to sell 4 NOS (real NOS) RCA 5751 tubes from 1962 (still black/dark chromed plates) but I don't find where can I advertise these to sell them.
Any help please?

@kiko1974    If you contact support@audiogon.com, Attn: Tammy,
I can help you sell these items. 

Thank you, I'm contacting her/him right now.
Best regards.