Pictures, Pictures, Pictures...... I guess if I had asked Marco for pics of all the LP's I just purchased, I probably wouldn't own them today. Sometimes, it's just about trust. BTW, thanks for all the great tunes Marco. |
On the above posts in caps. I must agree.
For some reason I find it annoying and I don't finish reading the post. It is not that I really have something against 'shouting', but it is just that since nobody else around here does it, use of such caps become unnecessary and a distraction. |
there we go,ive toned it down a bit,as you all can see grammer & spelling was not my best subject in school.i also never buy based on looks alone but the fact that the look was stunning for me lead me to investigate further to see if the peice was worthy of replacing my mcintosh players,on the other hand i wont buy anything that is but ugly regardless of the performance. |
I was going to say the same thing to Bigjoe. " Big " letters "SHOUT" at you and hurt the eyes. |
No doubt about it Bigjoe, pictures sell products. You have a valid point. Those who don't make the effort may often have a more difficult time selling their product than those who do. There are some products that can sell themselves by reputation alone, but even then, there are those who are unfamiliar with them for whom a pic would be a good selling tool. I care more about what the gear sounds like than how it looks, but that's not to say I'd ignore the latter altogether. No, I don't think I've ever purchased an audio item on looks alone. Sometimes it does not relate at all to how that item performs. Some of the most outstanding DAC's are pretty plain. My AudioMagic Stealth PC is the kind of thing you might think was more likely produced by a toy manufacturer than for high-end audio use, yet it does the job beautifully and I don't care if it is just a lightweight plastic black box with a blue light on it. I do admire products that have it all together, beauty and brains in one package, but but I wouldn't base a decision to buy solely on one criterium or the other. There's nothing wrong with having different priorities......whatever floats your boat.
Marco
PS What's with the all-caps posts? Is your caps-lock key stuck, or are you doing your impression of Owen Meany ;-)? |
MY 2ND POST ON THIS ISSUE,HAS ANYBODY EVER BEEN DRAWN TO A PEICE OF GEAR JUST BY THE WAY IT LOOKS? THEN STARTED TO INVESTIGATE FURTHER,CASE IN POINT,I HAD A ALL MCINTOSH SYSTEM & NEVER THOUGHT OF TRYING ANOTHER CD PLAYER TILL I SAW A SHANLING THEN IT WAS OVER,I HAVE SOLD BOTH OF MY MCINTOSH PLAYERS & I WILL VERY SOON BUY THE T-100 & S-100,THE START OF THAT CHOICE STARTED WITH A PICTURE,THE PURPOSE OF PICS ISNT JUST TO KEEP THE EMAIL DOWN THE PICS HELP EDUCATE & PAY OFF FOR ALL IN THE LONG RUN. |
I agree Marco. I mentioned in my first post that pics are only useful if they are of the actual item. I stand by that and may even hedge buying from someone who uses website pics for the very reason you mention. As far as how difficult is it to provide accurate info, we all hope that honesty is the standard, but..... |
Mt10425 and Broubin - I can relate one exception where pics of cables may have made some difference, as well as an accurate desciption. I recently purchased some speaker cables that I ended up winning for a pretty good price at auction here. The seller, with much all-positive feedback had advertised them as-new having bought them only six months prior and gave them a 10/10 rating. He also used photos from the manufacturers website to advertise them. Well when they arrived they smelled of cigarettes, the terminals had been bent and rebent many times and looked like hell. The terminations used were not the same as in the photos he used, nor was the casing on one of the wires. I actually liked the way the wires sounded though and it was a good deal, but completely misrepresented. Whenever I sell wires I do a shot of the overall set, and a closeup of the terminations, or simply just describe their condition very accurately. How difficult is that?
Marco |
Mitch, I said "almost". There are exceptions. To me the bottom line is that buying used gear on Audiogon is a Crapshoot. There is no guarantee that a picture provides any assurance of of any kind of performance. I find pics to be a matter of convienence for me, not necessity. If I really need to see what an item looks like, I have other options. Buying and selling on Audiogon is about trust and I believe most members to be trustworthy (again there are exceptions). Pictures are generally useful to the curious, but to the bulk of buyers who already are familiar with most of the items, not really necessary. Agian, IMHO. |
Most of the above excuses are NOT valid. If the ad says, "E-mail for pics", then the seller has pics. Post them in the ad and you won't have to be bothered answering requests for them. IT'S FREE! |
To Mt10425, I disagree that, "pics of cables are almost completely usless," as I have recently sold 4 pair of self-made and/or self-terminated speaker cables, and wouldn't have considered asking someone to purchase them without letting the prospective buyers see pictures of the terminations and cables. I have also purchased several used Cardas cables, and realize the importance of whether they have the factory termination, and whether the lettering is visible, as it relates to the past usage of the cable and its potential value for future resale. With the ready availability of digital cameras, and the ease which Audiogon facilitates posting of photos, I would not buy anything of significant value without seeing pictures of the actual item. |
I've also seen some ads for obscure gear where I don't even know what the person is selling, except for the category it's listed under.
"Brand X, Model Z" Like new. $2500." |
All of the above info is valid. However, just a hint of the other side of the coin. I've done all of the above in my ads and still have people email with questions already answered in the ad. Also, to me, pics are only useful if it is of the actual item. And last, pics of cables are almost completely usless. Personal info about items is great but to reiterate info that is available on the product website shouldn't be necessary. This is only MHO. |
POOR CAMERA QUALITY IS A LAME REASON,IF A PERSON NEEDS BETTER PICS THEY CAN REQUEST THEM,I MYSELF WANT TO TRY SOME OTHER GEAR BESIDES MCINTOSH BUT DUE TO THE UNWILLINGNESS OF PEOPLE TO USE PICS I CANT,IM NOT GONNA SPEND SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS BEACUSE THEY SAID IT SOUNDS LIGHT & AIRY OR BEACUSE IT HAS INCREASED TIMBRE,ITS ALLMOST LIKE PEOPLE THINK ITS BENEATH THEM TO INCLUDE A PIC,I SAY GREAT,LET THEM COLLECT ALL THEIR UNUSED GEAR IN A CLOSET,I EVEN WROTE A DEALER JUST TODAY TO ASK WHY HE REFUSES TO USE PICS & HIS RESPONSE WAS THAT MOST OF HIS CUSTOMERS ARE SMARTER THAN I AM & IF I WASNT SO LAZY I WOULD FOLLOW THE INFO LINK AROUND TILL I FOUND THE ITEM,I FIND ALOT OF ARROGANCE THAT COMES ALONG WITH THIS ISSUE,1 DEALER TOLD ME THAT NOT EVERYBODY IS FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO HAVE A CAMERA IN RESPONSE TO MY MAIL ASKING ABOUT A USED GRYPHON PRODUCT,CAN YOU DIG THAT,YOU GOT A GRYPHON & WONT GET A CAMERA,IT DONT TAKE A BRAIN SWELLED UP WITH KNOWLEDGE TO SEE FOR YOUR SELF THAT PICS ARE A WORTHY TOOL. |
I am often amazed by the dismal quality of some of the ads here. How about the: "since you're looking at this ad you know how good it is." Are these people total idiots or just poor salesmen???
I have looked at some of these ads and I knew nothing about them other than the name and was hoping to learn enough to know if I should be interested further, or if it was not for me. Thanks to these dolts I know no more than I did to start, and I did not buy their product.
I think a better ad WITH PICTURES will sell an item better or faster than a lower price. I would rather buy a product from a seller who knows about his product than one who doesn't. It makes me wonder why they bought it in the first place. |
I think pictures are important in the ad presentation. Also, mejames is correct about the lesser resolution provided in an Audiogon ad because of size limitation.A good digital camera can partially correct for this by reducing before uploading pictures. Sometimes I have had a cable for sale, but have it still connected into the system, so I give the potential buyer the option if pictures are necessary to complete the sale. But I have found that most Audiogoners like to see pictures of what they are buying, especially if it's from someone with limited feedback in their profile. |
Avguygeorge,
The CAT is being sold by a dealer so they want you to call and ask about the unit instead of receiving a ton of emails. But I agree with you 100% there still could be more info posted.
Happy Listening. |
Some people know how to sell and some don't. |
I wonder about that myself. --and --the lack of information, re.stuff that a buyer needs to know. Right now there 's an add for a cat pre.-- NO mention of which version--could be a 1,2,3 ? 'cept when you read the add you see it has 'bal'--Got to be an Ultimate 1 or 2?? Of course this is better than all the lies some tell,trying to sell 'old' stuff. |
Hello on Audiogon pictures are limited in size to 400x600 pixels thus the resolution to show very fine details just isn't available whereas you can email much bigger and higher resolution pictures this way. |
