What's going on with the audio market?

Got the paddles out for this thread. I was going to chime in on the tariff thread, but it got a bit heated and was shut down.

I’ve been buying and selling gear for nearly 30 years—more than most, but probably modest compared to some here. Early on, I was on the merry-go-round like many: maybe 12 speakers, 15 amps, a few DACs, tons of cables. Sometimes I’d just eat the shipping cost, other times I made a decent flip—once even $5k on a speaker pair. Nearly pulled the trigger yesterday on a favorite I could’ve made $1k on, but… trading speakers, ugh.

Looking at the used market now, it feels a bit stale. Tons of listings—2,000+ speakers, 600+ integrateds—some of it exciting. Back during COVID, I remember only about 100 integrateds for sale.

Is the market oversaturated? Are sellers asking too much? Or is there a broader economic anxiety driving it? I’ve traded far less in the past 5 years, partly because of life (kid in college), but also because I’ve hit a kind of audio nirvana. Still riding that wave—for now—until I get bit.

This thread epitomizes the expression, "the more things change the more they stay the same."

Old thread but always a relevant topic.

Times of increased costs (inflation plus now massive taxes/tariffs) like year 2025 impact mainly the lower classes.  Wealthy people have the money to pay and are less affected.  Fewer items get sold and more go to wealthy people able to pay the premium cost being charged.

Tack on less fortunate people receiving low pay and fewer benefits and you get the "squeeze" that is basically driving everything in this country at present,  Luxury items like high end hifi gear are merely part of the overall situation.

My mind set these days is I would feel sinful complaining in any way about getting squeezed on luxury items like expensive hifi gear.  I am among the small fortunate % who can weather the storm pretty well.  Most people are not and the forces at play currently are only making it tougher for most.