Selling McCormack Upgraded Gear

Me either

I'm not really sure WHY the lack of return on the amount invested in mods. Maybe it has to do with some "untrust" in that the mods were ALL done by a reputable "modder" (like Steve McCormack) or an uncertainty that other things might have also been tried by the owner themselves. Maybe people feel that labor depreciates at a higher rate than the sometimes les significant cost of the parts used, I don't know.

My opinion is that one shouldn't go into a decision to mod with the specific idea of reselling but, rather, the idea of making the piece sound its best for their own pleasure. Otherwise, if your main concern is protecting some investment, maybe it is better to keep searching and replacing unmodded pieces until you find the one with which you’re happy - which, of course, could cost one even more in the long run.

With respect to my modded DNA-225, I went into it with the hope that it would sound SO good that I'd be keeping it for the VERY, VERY long-haul, but knowing that if it fell short, I'd not get back what I paid. Fortunately, but not surprisingly, I'll not be worrying about recouping my investment while I enjoy this very fine piece! :-)

Jmc, I fully understood that the poster was not talking about the quality of the Mc upgrades, though even while Aggie has Mc products, one might get the impression that the quality was in some question given the title of this thread. Or, at least Aggie perceives that others may have questions based on his/her perceived difficulty in selling the upgraded pieces. I was merely citing the quality of mine as an example of why I don't care if I'd get my money back for them, or not, as I have no desire to do so, and is what I think should be the situation you seek when upgrading anyway. If not, of course you won't get your dough back. If you go out and buy an amp new (even below retail), you won't get your money back if you don't like it, either. With an upgrade some will never ttrust that an "altered" piece will be trustworthy, regarldess of who does the mods - whether hat notion is toally off-base, or not.

You have, perhaps unintentionally, hit one yet another strong reason why upgrades may not realize a good return, though...

I still buy items that were upgraded, I just don't take the original hit.

It's the same with MANY folks who buy only used gear, used cars, used whatever - let the other guy take the depreciation. Of course, if EVERYONE were that way, there'd BE no used gear. Ha!

Very profound indeed, and in my opinion, right on the mark in a growing majority of instances, Neal.