Stupid Asking Prices- Why Don't Sellers Read Audiogon The Blue Book First?

Everyone nowadays jacks up the price. To fill up the fridge you now need a thousand.

Try not to worry, just leave them alone.

But some items do sell for big money because they're collectable.  eg SME 3012 arm, Audio Research SP10 and plenty of others.

@oddiofyl   I have a second system because I can't bear to sell my collectable stuff.  It runs Simon Yorke Zarathustra, Zeta arm, Anna cart, SP10, Krell KSA50, Audiostatic ES200s.  It is installed at the opposite end of my dedicated room.  My chair is in the middle and can spin around.

Around 1970 I bought an SME 3012 for £12 and put it on a turntable kit with my self built plinth.  I bought a Linn about 6 years later.  I kept the 3012 and then noticed they were selling for £60+.  I sold it.  They are now £600-800.

No one is forcing us to buy an overpriced item ! Market demand drives prices up or down ! While 1/2 the original cost is a fair asking  price for common audio equipment , some hand built  and limited edition electronics are worth more because they are rare and offer something really special .

Making reasonable offers for products listed with a reasonable explanation for the offer is always welcome by most sellers .

Some sellers are listing high prices to check the market , some are just fishing for fools .

Ultimately it is up to the buyer to do ones homework to determine what is a fair price .

This has been a fun discussion!  When money is involved some people really get into their feelings. I enjoy the reasoned responses and the nutty emotional ones as well :)

FWIW I like the $100/yr AG Blue Book subscription and the eBay completed sales feature as my guide as I'm assembling another system on a budget. "Budget" is a relative term of course- everyone's got a different one. 

Anecdotal observation: I was given a ARC VT130 that was blowing screening resistors. It was a mystery gremlin as the 6550s were red plating, the screening resistor was repeatedly blowing with no shorted tube, no shorts in the circuit and no failed transformer. I called ARC to get a quote on shipping and repairing it. I was told they had an 8 month waiting list for service!!

The fellow there told me that during COVID people were digging their old gear out of storage and reinstating it. Stored units deteriorate and electronic parts degrade, pots get corrosion, etc.  

Moral of the story: 1) buyer beware. 2) leave room in your calculations for repairs. 3) Figure out where to have the gear checked out and how long you will have to wait to have it functional. 

Thanks for all the fun input! 

Greed, plain and simple.  When morons try to overcharge someone in a community of like minded individuals it just shows the mindset of the seller.  No ethics or sense of fairness.  Greed.