1) Audio salesmen disguised as end users on audio forums who are in fact only there to make a buck. We should start a list.......
2) Folks who don't know the difference between their opinion and fact (my opinion!). :-)
3) Shoddily made, yet well regarded, products. We could start a list.......
4) Dishonest sellers who sell on AGon and Ebay stuff that is giving off indications of impending failure as low use/like new when in fact it's neither.
Tons of them...here is one: people who constantly switch components and then post on forums (like they know something)...I mean, I'm not about to take advice from someone who has owned, amp after amp....more money than brains IMO.
Here's another: Anyone that posts a question like..."What is the best", what ever component?...and then some dummy gives an answer? (like he knows).
Another...anyone giving advice that does not have their system listed (pictures are even better), I hate back tracking through all their past threads just to get a handle on what they own....lazy me I guess.
2. Someone posts an average piece of equipment, say, a $900 solid state preamp, RAVING about it, (when you've owned one and know that's a gross overstatement)states the list price was $1,200 (when you bought yours you KNOW it retailed for $900) etc..etc..
3. 10 trillion choices for cables made by everyone and their brother for $1000 or more for 1m IC.
4. Tweeks that are advertised as "Huge improvements in this that and the other" and when you buy them and use them you hear absolutely nothing different.
1) REALLY expensive CD players that come with a cheap plastic remote. Also, remotes should have buttons that are easy to find and use in the dark.
2) HDTV remotes that require a computer programmer to operate! Most people will never understand or use 75% of the available functions. I don't want to go through three menus to adjust the color.
1.The obssesive preoccupation with looking for miniscule blemishes or other very small cosmetic issues which don't have any impact on the sound. I thought we cared about music and sound. 2.Why can't we just let it go, when your systems sound good to us. The addiction to the hunt. 3.Stupidly high prices asecond on that one. 4.Packing and shipping with the original boxes. 5.the lack of being able to list more than one item except rare exceptions in an ad. 6. Why the rest of the population doesn't hear well.
1.The obssesive preoccupation with looking for miniscule blemishes or other very small cosmetic issues which don't have any impact on the sound. I thought we cared about music and sound. 2.Why can't we just let it go, when our systems sound good to us,after trial error and refinement. The addiction to the hunt. 3.Stupidly high prices, a big second on that one. 4.Packing and shipping without the original boxes. 5.The lack of being able to list more than one item in a single ad.(With rare exceptions) 6. Why the rest of the population either can't hear well or simply doesn't understand that music must be played out loud in the first event. Then only listen through inferior in the ear devices, which actually destroy soundstage to a mono center head sound, to formats which have half the data the musicians intended it to have.
Anyone who says "If you are looking at this ad then you already know"....know what?.....that your an Ahole? Many...MANY Audiophiles, what a scary bunch we can be!, its like a nerd and a school bully morfed into one huge idiot. Insane prices Tweaks like pet rocks, phone calls, and clocks. Taking time to ask or answer a serious post about something you need to learn or feel you have to offer others and it doesnt post, for no reason and no explanation.
1. nuff said 2. what is your lowest price 3. 10 ratings on used items
btw. I like Bill. I've bought from him and will buy from him again. He is refreshingly honest and calls out bs when he sees it. I also find him rude but he's from New York. It's like complaining of a croaking frog and most of the time people deserve his rhetoric.
Clarence Center, New York is about 8 hours from NYC and a little town of 1700 people convering 2 square miles...Western New Yorker's are friendly and always like to answer audio questions.
My biggest peeve is when someone asks if they will "loose" anything if they buy this component vs. a other instead of saying "lose" and the delay between the submit button and when it actually appears on the site. This makes the threads strange sometimes when the linear stucture of post order is lost and makes me yearn for the days when this board was just as much a place to learn as it was a place to buy or sell.
1) sellers who will not answer an inquiry with a precise, explicit response - especially when it has to do with item condition (eg Q: Can you describe the cosmetic condition, especially any blemishes? A: It's good.).
2) Poor packing - not wrapping an item in clean poly, using peanuts, mis-using bubble wrap . . .
3) agree with many above - remotes, stiff cords, if you're reading this . . .
4) personal attacks in forums. Especially those that incite a food fight taking the discussion off topic.
Agree with Lokie 100% with 1-3. Also, Bill has always been very nice to me and has gone out of this way to answer questions sent off board. I think Bill just doesn't "suffer fools" all that well.
From Hifimaniac: Rude, obnoxious dealers like Bill Feil! He should be banned from audiogon and from the business. Why would anyone ever deal with such a an ego!
Cowards who hide behind the anonymity of the internet to take cheap shots at others.
bill would be insulted to be considered 'just a peeve'. audiofeil knows alot about popular music, and can separate the real from the unreal in this hobby. i always look forward to his thrashing someone, even if its me.
Deadbeats who say they're going to buy something, then don't.
Or, in the case of one recent lowlife from A'Gon, say they'll sell something to you at an agreed-upon price, then renege and try to squeeze you for a higher price. (This particular jerk also happens to be a high-end cable manufacturer, go figure.)
Uneven carpet thickness when I am trying to level my speakers.
Finding good speaker designs is unnecessarily challenging, I think. Not many electrostatic options or viable horn options and very few dynamic speakers that are sealed or have active crossovers.
I am frustrated by Bose's marketing acting as a blanket of fog between non-audiophiles and hifi. And every time I have some audio conversation with a non-audiophile, Bose usually gets thrown in and I am compelled to tactfully express my dislike for the company and its products.
I really dislike audiophiles and dealers and audiophiles who dealers/manufacturers on the side, etc., etc. who have a sense of nobility as if audio takes a special aptitude or skill. The 'philes who think their character is above those who are not audiophiles are additionally comically baffling, and very common.
What I do like right now is discovering esoteric products from small companies and my new enterprise in to headphones.
Cdc there are some good reasons not to list the original price. If the item was bought several years ago, then the original price may be artificially low [inflation]. Or if an EU product was bought even 2-3 years ago in the US, than the list price is too low, as the US dollar has fallen into the crapper of late!
This strikes a nerve.Dictating how I will conduct my self when trying to purchase an item from them . Do not tell me how to conduct myself when I am trying to spend my HARD EARNED CASH. I will ask questions in anyway I see fit or my business isn't coming your way.
There was a earlier discussion about if certain questions are not asked ,prior to buying, then don't come back @ the seller if something was not included..don't assume anything...ask questions...
PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE AD BEFORE PURCHASING!!! If an accessory is not listed then the item DOES NOT come with it. Manuals may not be factory. They are whatever came with the unit when we recieved it. Power chords are not factory power chords. They come out of our stock. We are not responsible for your incorrect expectations if you do not read the entire ad.
Serious inquiries only, please! One-liner emails like "Is this still available?", "What is your rock bottom price?" or "will you take $xxx?" etc. will not get an answer. We prefer emails in a format similar to this: "I have a few questions about item abc. If you answer these questions to my satisfaction, I am ready to purchase item abc, and I would like to pay with (see payment methods below) and my shipping address and telephone number are as follow:". If this policy offends anyone, please understand that we have the best pre-owned highend inventory in the world, and as such we are the top choice for thousands of shoppers internationally, thus the need to filter out the tire-kickers. If you're a serious buyer and we somehow ignored your email, don't sweat it just pick up the phone and call!
If I am vaguely interested then DON'T EVEN EMAIL only if I am a serious buyer ..what ever the heck that means. Maybe just hold my wallet open take what you want and then show me the door like attitude..
1 - Emails that ask anything that could have been answered by even a cursory reading my ad. Not to mention the ubiquitous it is still available? email.
2 - People who think that just because I placed an ad on A'gon they should be treated as they were in a hi-end salon. I am not in the biz; I am just a guy selling some stuff I don't want anymore over the internet. I am not a "marketer", I am not a "salesman", if you want my stuff then buy it, if you don't want my stuff please don't send me annoying emails. Most importantly, if you want "service with a smile" go to a brick and mortar. Your money is just as green as the next guys, I have never placed an ad that did not eventually sell...my life will not be any better if I trade your $$$ for my stuff over anyone elses $$ for my stuff.
3 - People who hijack threads with personal attacks, especially when those attacks are over grammar or spelling (I do not always have time to proof)
Jezz .as I read this, I really sound grumpy I am not .really, I am not.
No response at all for e-mails sent about an item for sale. Whether it's an offer or a question, a simple reply of "sorry, item is sold" would suffice. Is that so terribly difficult? I respond to all requests and expect the same.
Fatparrot, so because the new price is higher the seller wants wants to mark his up accordingly? Like I said, laziness aside, many times the seller is hiding something when he won't list the new price. I've seen shady deals like this before like asking more than the NEW price for the unit when he bought it. Not printing the price because it would call attention to what the seller is up to.
"Gears" instead of "Gear" "Equipments" instead of "equipment" Non-audio related: "Carmel" instead of "Caramel" Kid's and adult's that speak as though every word has a question mark...IRRATING! People that use the word "To" before "Not" or the phrase "Do you not hear me?" Ebonics(I'm black so it's okay for me to say that...I think).
Anything 'waste of time' thread not related to hi-fi on here on Audiogon, and there have been plenty.Too name a few, What watch do you wear? (who cares?) 'What car do you drive'?(again, who cares?) 'Best single malt scotch'? (ditto above) 'Best bike to ride before a good session' (oo-er missus) 'Your three top comedians', (what ever next, your three favorite presidents??)................ The best one Is 'what music do you sing whilst taking a dump'?( just kidding with that one). This Is a site for hi-fi chat for goodness sake.
This Is NOT a personal dig at the authors of the said threads but Is my opinion only (as I am still sweating from a bike ride, just looked at my watch and I am late, must check to see if the car Is locked, no comedy on the box tonight, except for Mr Dubya, gosh I think I need a drink). I maybe In a class of one.
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