2. amps-preamps
  3. 1358096884

Reason for selling is...

I'm always amused that sellers bother to give reasons why they're selling their gear. Obviously in the vast majority of cases, they don't like it in their system. But only a very tiny minority will say that. People are (1) moving; (2) downsizing; (3) upgrading; (4) getting a divorce; (5) undergoing surgery.

Look, just assume buyers aren't stupid. We know why you're getting rid of stuff. If you haven't lied about the condition of your gear, do us the courtesy of letting us decide independently of your reasons for selling, which all seem to be designed to reassure us that your stuff isn't bad.
glaucon

Showing 2 responses by steveaudio

steveaudio
331 posts
 
*Look, just assume buyers aren't stupid* (Glaucon)

"Why are you selling" is one of the biggest (& dumbest, IMO) questions. I don't know what buyers are trying to accomplish with that: Hoping that the seller will blurt out; "It's a horrible POS", or: "the transmission in my used car is stuffed full of bananas"?

The 2nd annoying question is: a one sentence e-mail "Is it still available"? Those people are invariably tire-kickers I've found--their question is literal--they have no interest in buying it, they just want to know..... "Is it still available"?
steveaudio
331 posts
 
*The seller has a significant information advantage over the buyer; just wait until cars from NY and NJ start showing up in used car lots. That being so, it seems to add insult to ignorance to give a reason for the sale, since buyers have no independent reason to believe it, and every reason to doubt it (i.e. the seller is trying to make a sale after all)*

There's a whole lot of truth in what you're saying, & why I think it's so useless to ask "why are you selling". Buyers IMO should be asking about the condition, history, any damage, etc. But it seems a lot of buyers think the way to ascertain all that is to ask "why are you selling".

I don't think I've ever asked that as a buyer, but for sellers who've been asked "why are you selling" dozens of times, it's just way easier to address that in the listing. So I don't see sellers as being in the wrong for listing that; I just think buyers who think asking that is the most crucial thing to ask are off-base......
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