What's happened to the used high end market recently?? Sales are tough....:0(
The heading says it all!! What do you guys think is the reason that the sales in the used high end market have gone soft?? Prices too high? Economy too slow?? Stock market too volatile?? Something else??
@daveyf I agree my previous 2 post didn't directly address your OP and instead responded to something else on the thread. Sorry about that. Please accept my apology. I think that there is an existing age, aging and income gap that is softening the used HEA market. I agree with points 1-4 above of @tutetibiimperes post. They seem spot on and are making the used market softer than what may have previously seemed normal. In order to have a robust used market you first need demand in the new market. The generation behind me isn't that interested in either new or used HEA equipment. Unless it is new headphones. The generation ahead of me is getting older (I'm 54yo), downsizing, and not buying as much new equipment it seems. The new market drives the used market. If we're not buying new stuff, then we're holding on to the old stuff and not replacing it with other used stuff either. This is the new normal. I will also point out that newer technology will continue to gut used prices, especially in the DAC category. The folks who paid for ultra-high end DACs appear to be struggling to get 50 cents on the dollar because those DACs SQ is being challenged at a much lower price points in the new DAC market.
tutetibiimperes: In regard to your 1st point - while I agree somewhat , Millennials and Boomers are my main customers and I would say the younger folks account for 2/3rd of my records sales. Many have good jobs. I simplified in my original post as although I have 1,200 records I also have many other items geared to Millennials and Boomers (swords, knives, certain books (Harry Potter, Marvel related, etc.), Batman, Spider-man related stuff. I started out as an antique store with records - we've been in business for 2 years now and we have almost zero antiques - not because they sold but because you almost can't give them away. Since then we learned that Millennials will need to be our customers if we are to stay in business. I'm getting way off post but all this to to say that Millennials do spend money. Many certainly have $400 in disposable money to so I don't think money is the problem. As far as limited space goes, that may be true but I (and I'm sure many of us) spent 4 years in college in very small dorm rooms and finally a small apartment. Music with good sound quality was important enough that we always had a stereo and it wasn't as good as the $400 systems in my shop.
daveyf: Back more on topic and I haven't read all the great posts here and it has probably been said - I think the used prices on Audiogon are generally way too high. It seems when I look for something here the asking prices are in line with asking prices on eBay. For example the is an amplifier I want with several listed on eBay for $2000 and one here goes on sale for $2000. I'm unable to find one on eBay that sold because the amp is so infrequently listed in true action (eBay does not track sold items back in time nearly as long as they used to which makes it much tougher to find this information). So finally one comes for auction and has 50 bids (probably many from people here) and sells for $1200 - that should be it's approximate value (and of course any low buy-it-now sale price is meaningless). This is simplified of course - most of us would far prefer to buy here than from eBay and would pay more from a member here. If asking prices (here) reflected legitimate (eBay) sale prices I think pieces would move very quickly.
As we all recognize, cause, effect and correlation can prove elusive.
First, define high end audio. In similar conversations these topics are often left unresolved.
My personal opinion is that each variable is poorly defined. Is the economy good or bad, it depends on where you are on the sliding scale. US population has doubled over the past 60 years, the average top CEO comp over that time in todays dollars has risen from $800k to almost $16 million. Whether its cars, clothing, stereo gear.....things change, manufacturing expertise moves forward and consumer demand evolves.
at the end of the day, if you list something for sale and it doesnt sell, your price is too high. Ive listed alot of stuff over the years and rarely does it take longer than a week to get a deal done but I dont buy nor sell Onkyo so who knows.
jimman2, I agree with you that pricing is always a factor. OTOH, I have been told by several a’phile friends who have posted gear for sale that the ’only’ way to sell these days, is to basically ’give away’ stuff. Not sure what they consider a ’give away’ price to be, but I do know that the overall market for used gear is definitely a lot less than even a year or so ago. What is driving this market aspect is the basic topic of my OP. Like you say, Millenniums are strong force in the market, the ’Boomer’s’ like myself are diminishing. Yet, looking at the new gear HEA market, pricing is steadily reaching higher and higher plateaus! IMHO, this means a much greater exposure for greater loss when one needs to liquidate this gear. Here’s another thought....one that I don’t think has yet been expounded. In the auto business, it is known that the Bentley’s, MB’s, Rolls. and other ’luxury’ exotica are subject to the greatest devaluation once they come to the used market. Not because they are any less worthy, but simply because those that can afford them are not interested in buying used! Could this be a factor in this hobby too...at this point???
its viewed as ‘old technology’, we grew up with it, the youngsters are not growing up with it
at some point a system finally provides what we seek, so why keep spending big dollars?
its often a solitary experience, gone are the days of cranking it up and partying hard with a crowd
you can buy pretty decent gear these days with fewer dollars
like owning a great car, a kick ass system was often a status symbol, not so much any more
like a lot of the hobbies we grew up enjoying: skiing, hunting, fishing, SLR cameras, rebuilding cars, finding a new swimming hole, etc, it’s considered passé
entertainment options which require little or no capital outlay abound today, in the past we had to create our own fun, Mom and Dad used to force us outside whenever we complained of boredom - ‘go use your imagination, and take the dog and your little brother with you!’
Well part of this is the fact that great sound can be had with products costing far less such as Tekton speakers, Class D amps, digital powered DACs and making your own audio cables. DIY is on the increase for sure. Many of us have just said enough with these crazy inflated prices and doing something about it. I know lots of Aphiles rolling their own cables and upgrading their own gear to achieve what they want.
Part of the massive depreciation of luxury vehicles is the 'image' issue, driving the latest and greatest is a status symbol, and part of it that many of those brands lean heavily towards leases vs purchases (not sure about Bentley or Rolls, but it's very true for MB, BMW, Jaguar, etc).
Plus, there's additional downward pressure on used vehicle sales because once they start leaving the warranty maintenance costs are dramatically higher than they are for more mainstream vehicles. Buying that $100,000 Mercedes for $30,000 a few years old can be seen as a bargain, but the maintenance costs are still in line with a $100,000 Mercedes and not a $30,000 Toyota.
@tutetibiimperes. That’s all good and correct, question is whether this also applies to HEA? Since a lot of the new gear is edging towards pricing that makes most of these new luxury cars pale in comparison!
daveyf: In my guestimation when you buy a piece of high end equipment (and see what I say later about what is high end to me) it immediately depreciates by about 33%. After used it a year or 2 maybe then by 50% and at 5 years 75%. When I sell that is usually what go by and my stuff generally sells quickly - but not immediately and usually after some negotiation. That makes me think the above numbers are somewhat true. This data is also generally supported by I've seen for equipment that has actually sold on eBay (we unfortunately cannot track sold prices here). There are a few factors here - most equipment after 2-5 years may not be quite obsolete but has been replaced with equipment as good that is now sold new at lower prices. I am speaking about the equipment in the $1K to $6K range as I unfortunately have absolutely no experience in the 5 and 6 figure stuff (I briefly owned a pair of Pioneer S1EX speakers purchased at 50% off but had to sell because they were physically too large for my listening room (long story), so I was close). I bought an Aurelic Vega DAC new 6 months ago that I think I'll be lucky to get half of it's price - DACs keep getting better and less expensive in short amounts of time. I would hope things like amps, preamps and turntables would hold their value better than that. Now if we all followed the same thinking we would sell better and then buy more and therefore keep evolving our systems to be 'better'. And I agree that the people that can afford to spend on the five and six figure $ equipment have no need to buy used and they aren't really the focus of this discussion (sorry to you really really rich people - BTW I'm envious as I would really like to have some six figure speakers - lol). In joking I realize that a six figure speaker would have to depreciate by 90+% for me to afford)
Other than the pricing of some of the gear I don't see a lot of parallels between HEA and luxury vehicles.
Many people buy expensive vehicles to present a certain level of success to the world, to outdo their neighbors or coworkers, etc. That dynamic isn't really in play with audio systems as far fewer people are going to see your audio system than your car, and even those people you invite inside likely aren't going to know Bose from Magico.
Also the maintenance issue doesn't really apply to HEA. Outside of tubes in tube amps and styluses in cartridges there's not a lot of routine maintenance needed in audio systems. Amps and speakers can go decades without having to have caps replaced, and even if they do need it the parts themselves are generally inexpensive.
So why the prices for vintage equipment like: McIntosh, Marantz, Garrard, EMT, WE, Klangfilm... is not getting cheaper? The reason the most of Hi-End equipment is hugely overpraised.
Well I’ve spent a substantial,amount in the hobby. I’m done though. 30k in this rig and it sounds spectacular but I have been blessed to be around folks who put a lot more in and allowed me to try a lot of things. It’s tough out here to get the sound you want sometimes if you don’t know how to match equipment and you don’t have the money to make mistakes. Then the other side of it is that there is a lot of high priced gear that just doesn’t get it done. That why HEA Is struggling.
@jimman2 Mullica Hill is a nice town. Not sure if you know Big Daddy Graham, but back a decade or more when I used to listen, he often talked about vinyl. Might be a customer of yours.
I sometimes pass through on the way to the shore. Though I’m now in Vancouver, if I get back this summer, don’t be surprised to see me
Someone mentioned Magico's goal of selling 1000 pairs of A3. Their goal for the entire first year was 100 pairs. They have already sold 800 in the first month. Just FYI.
That's good to hear ClarinetMonster. A big Revel/JBL Synthesis dealer over on AVS Forums mentioned that Revel has already sold through the entirety of the first production run of the new Performa Be speakers.
The $10,000/pair price point seems to be very hot right now.
I suppose that depends on the unit. I'll agree that the used market is probably more price driven than the new market, a good value is a good value. I wouldn't consider a pair of speakers that retail for $12,000 to be a good value at $10,000 used, but a pair of speakers that retail for $20,000 for $10,000 used could be (if the age and condition are appropriate).
I'd wager that at minimum any used item should have at least a 25% discount from new retail price, and that's if it's in perfect condition with all original accessories such a buyer's remorse trade-in or dealer demo. Make it a few years old and it shouldn't be any more than 50% of new retail. Go to ten years old and it should drop even more.
Of course, really hard to find specialty products could buck that, and while I window-shop in the for sale section here, the asking price is higher than I think is fair for a lot of it. That's fine, people can ask whatever they want for something, and I'm not going to insult anyone with a lowball offer, I'll just keep my eyes open until the right deal surfaces for something that I want at a price I think is fair.
There's a pair of Revel Salon2s on sale here for $8,000, which is an amazing price, but the ad is rife with misspellings and typos, the photos aren't as illustrative as they could be, and there's something off about the tweeters - they're at minimum missing the twin wire guards they should have, not sure if they're even the original OEM tweeters because of that. If I lived in the area where I could go see them in person I'd certainly go do that, but that's too much risk for that much money for me from a distance.
As usual I have a different take on things.When I was a teenager back in the 1970's,there was this speaker they took ads out for in the Stereo magazines.It was a tall tower speaker, unusually tall, even.Instead of one midrange and tweeter, it had a whole vertical row of midrange and tweeters.I forget how many.It was a little unusual in price too.It was a little more than $2,000 a pair which back then was a little pushing it, but that made it special a bit. Me and my friends would pick up the magazine and gawk at the full page ad depicting it,over and over.Remember how as a child you would look through toy catalogs over and over again.It was the same stuff pictured but each time you looked through it was a new experience.It was great fun.We would read the ad type over and over too.It recommended some LP's that would be good to hear on this speaker.It was well beyond the finances that your average teenager had at his disposal, but like the toy section of the Sears catalog it was fun to dream; and perhaps most importantly, it was not totally out of reach.High School would be over in less than a year.Factories would be hiring.If your parents would put up with your living at home a few extra years; it wouldn't' be that hard to save some money,who knows.You might just be able to swing it.
None of us ever did get to buy that speaker.Some of us could've at some point, but it would have cramped our style to spend all that money in one shot. It felt good to have some dough put away, but every now and then we let our mind wander and sort of flirt with the idea.We could, but at that point we probably knew that we shouldn't'.But it was fun to dream and flirt with the idea of it.
Fast forward to now.A young person picks up an audio magazine and looks at the ads and reads the reviews.The dream stuff isn't really just outside your reach anymore.It would take five years to save that kind of money.Once it was saved, looking back on all the self sacrifices you had to make over such a long time as 5 years, you wouldn't' feel like spending it.Back in the 1970's It might have taken you a year of sacrifice at an age you really don't feel like compromising anything, but it was at least a possibility.But saving for 5 years to buy a speaker that costs $10 grand.It's just too far outside the reach.The thought in most cases just isn't taken seriously; its dismissed.There are plenty of other things to spend money on instead.
If manufacturers want to get young people interested; they simply have to give them something to really dream about at an early age.Something that's just out of reach,but not out of reach too far or they will just go to something else to spend money on.They say our teenage years are our formative years.We develop personalities, values and start trying on for size what we really like in life.They say our basic personalities formed then,for the most part stay with us throughout life; and so do our basic desires, likes and dislikes.Give young people something to dream about,to go for, that's not too far out of reach.There is an occasional person who is impressed by a big price tag, but most squawk at it; wondering if its not a ripoff,but for the masses some dreams not too far out of reach will do.Once an audiophile, an audiophile for life; often anyway.Isn't that enough incentive?
@supertweak. Yours is the best post on this thread (and there are some great posts on this thread) that I have read and in my opinion, by a country mile!
To say that I couldn’t agree with you more would be an understatement!
I think you just summed up the whole problem with the HEA hobby and the main reason why most youngsters are not buying into it...well done!!
Doesn’t explain the recent lowering of activity on the used market, ( at least I suspect not),but it sure explains the overall lack of interest in the younger gen. +1000 on your post.
no offense intended but the contention from some that the high end is suffering because there isn’t much for sale on audiogon or better still, because they cant sell their technics or onkyo amp at 75% of retail is not convincing. If you observe economic theory properly, the absence of salable inventory on the used market indicates a robust environment. In the old days of audiogon, the sold items would stay posted for a while which gave everyone an idea of what was happening. Now, unless you are watching closely, an item can be listed and sold and then disappear in 10 minutes.
Not sure where you are looking, but if it is on this site, there appears to be plenty of selection and 'inventory' available. While I totally agree with you that pricing is the number 1 determinant of how quickly something is going to sell, I also know that several of my fiends who have tried to sell their gear recently on this site and the few others that are utilized for used sales, have experienced a long drawn out process with little success. OTOH, was their price too high...probably. One guy did give his speaker cables away ( his comment, not mine) for 10% of the retail price that he paid less than a year before! ( Perhaps he paid way too much to begin with....that would be my thought; although he adamantly disputes that).
Again, to beat the dead horse a little more, I have successfully bought and sold several items this year. Both types of transactions were pretty quick, less than 1 week typically soup to nuts. I've sold some NOS tubes that went quickly for my asking price, several cables, accessories, etc all went for what I considered good prices to fellow Audiogoners both young and old. I sold some speakers that listed new for just north of $20,000 for just north of $10k. They were 3 years old and in excellent condition. I've purchased some gear both here (gently preowned) and from dealers new/demo.
Respectfully, your friend selling cables for 10% of list indicates they are not very well thought of by the audio community at large...new or used. I have a pair of Transparent Gen 5 Reference speaker cables at home and Auditorium 23 speaker cables in my office and the latest Transparent cables would probably sell for 50-60% of list fairly easily and the A23's probably 80% of list. So, if something sold for 10% of list.....they were probably not that good were they? In other words, scarcity and perceived quality drive any commodity's demand and value. You must use a better example than "your nameless friend sold some unnamed cables for 10% of list so therefore the hobby is going to shyte". That is an uncorrelated data point and unfair to the community. The sky isn't falling.
Last time I looked, this is a public forum. How smart would it really be to name names? To say that the cables that my a’phile friend sold for a fraction of the list price weren’t very well thought of may be true...or may not be. Question is whether your “expected “ returns on your used cables could really be realized. Like others have pointed out on this thread, there are many sellers who are deluding themselves with their asking prices. Are you one of those or not...the market that we all find ourselves in at this point will dictate that, not your hyperthetical musings. Sounds like a very good thing that you are happy with your gear, for the moment.
Few have purchased and sold as much as me on this site since it started many years ago. Stuff is just not moving in general and prices are at all time lows. It is a clear reflection of our changing hobby. High End Audio as we have known it is indeed dying. Is it going to be gone for good? No. It is and will continue to change. Most of us are just fed up with the over inflated prices and have either opted out, gone DIY, or found gear as good for 1/10 the price of typical high end stuff. The discounts my audio friends are getting their gear for is amazing. 25% of list price on top notch gear is not uncommon today. This is not a good time to sell gear. Always exceptions for many good reasons, but the general trend is down and down sharply.
Well said grannyring, It’s a buyers market deluxe for sure,I haven’t seen such low prices ever on all kinds of top notch gear in my 40 yrs in this hobby.
Even some of the rare vintage stuff,before 1980,isn’t selling that good even to Asia.
Guys, I promise I’m not trying to start a debate or an argument, that isn’t me. I merely try to observe measurables. I’m a hobbyist like most here and I’ve done about 20 buy/sell transactions on here this year. All were concluded with fair prices and with a fine velocity.
High end isn’t dying like everyone is saying, its just changing. Audiogon 20 years ago was THE place but today transactions are happening on numerous websites, dealers today have their own websites. Brick and martar stores have had to change to remain relevant (or they close) because so many manufacturers have come on the scene and sell direct to the consumer. Never in the history of the high end has there been more fine gear choices to so many than today. The market is extremely fragmented though.
I see posts on this forum discussing how the high end is dead because a mom and pop store in Fort Wayne has closed. I see posts contemplating the meaning of a pair of $100,000 speakers being introduced as further evidence that the industry is dead. Old stores that are unable or refuse to change will inevitably close. Another distribution channel will emerge and life moves ahead. People consume music differently with each generation but they do still consume. More humans are listening to music today than at any time in human history. Just because they dont listen to an esoteric vinyl pressing in a dedicated music room with 8 foot tall speakers doesn’t mean the high end is dead. Its verifiable that there are more manufacturers of 2 channel tube amps today than in 1950 and thats just 1 example. Choices abound. There are so many exceptional speakers being made today by so many diffrent manufacturers from 1 person companies all the way up in scale. Magico introduces a new $10,000 speaker last month and they are already on backorder. There are more great dacs sold today than 10 years ago....the evidence is out there.
Pricing and availability of used gear is a slippery slope. Personally, data like this must be carefully examined. Just because something is selling at a percentage you find too low doesnt mean an industry is dead, it means the free market is working. Besides, the percentages being tossed around here are relevant if all the data were available. The 10% speaker cable example we would need to know the original list, the actual price your friend paid and the brand and type of cable to truly determine what happened. I know of nothing good that drops 90% in 1 year. The other example of 25% off new gear through a dealer on a piece of gear once would have been viewed by many on this site as excellent news. Maybe it would have been digested by hobbyists as “its about time”. What we know about bricks and mortar shops is that distribution channel typically marked up their products by almost double. When the manufacturer direct sales model emerged that carried with it the potential for the producer to offer something new for almost half price compared to a brick and martar product. Again, that would have been hailed as a triumph for the consumer.
When a new manufacturer comes on the scene with a new product and he/she sells it direct, I don’t see posts like “another nail in the coffin of high end”. Just because the old business model hobbyist or manufacturer doesn’t like the way the new business model hobbyists or manufacturers are doing business doesn’t make the high end market dead, it just makes it different. EVERY industry is in a constant state of change. I will say though that if your audio world was centered around that shop in Fort Wayne, then your perspective is accurate....your high end world is dying. But also at least concede that from your couch in Fort Wayne, you can assemble a complete world class system that will be shipped to your door in a few days with just a few clicks on your computer. That’s actually terrific news for the consumption of music....its accessable to virtually anyone at every price point, new or used.
Everything you said in your above post makes some sense. However, I personally have NEVER stated that HEA is dead. The industry is certainly changing and is certainly contracting, at least in comparison to what it was in its hey day. ( Probably in the late 80's or early 90's) The fact is that there are certainly some VERY overpriced pieces for sale on all of these web sites...and in the B&M outlets. OTOH, I also notice that if something is considered well priced, its marketing time is usually fairly short. The lower priced items definitely have a larger market demographic than the higher priced items ( generally regardless of the discount from new pricing). My OP was asking what happened to the USED high end market and ....recently.
Agreed John. This is not a matter of argument and just a statement of the facts as they are. High end is changing and for the good in my estimation. Now is paying $10,000 for $40,000 speakers that reviewed very highly is a fair market price? Those that say so are just saying the fair market price is now in the tank. We agree on that. Perhaps we are all saying the same thing.
I would concede your points that some dealers use Audiogon today as a fully inflated classifieds listing rather than the clearinghouse for gear we all once experienced here. Much like the starting price in an auto negotiation rather than a congenial swap meet style pricing seen at audio clubs back in the day.
Sometimes I wish I wasn't so analytical. I deal with data. My entire career has been trying to separate real facts from human perceptions in order to accurately predict consumer behavior. When I hear a group of 60 year olds discussing the gradual demise of Howard Johnsons, Steak & Ale and today the decline of Applebees or TGI Fridays I just chuckle. I close my eyes and think of an industry that once sold convenience and time rather than food and nourishment like the consumer base believed at the time. Home meal replacement was a long trend that has reversed radically in that space. The same goes for the IT industry. Anyone remember Compaq, Sperry, DEC? Every kid in a Starbucks carries more computing power in their smartphone than utilized to put a man on the moon. In electronics...the list goes forever, Fisher, Marantz, Bozak, McIntosh, Klipsch and GE all were dominant players is audio making well though of products.....only McIntosh and Klipsch have remained relevant and they have done so quite differently.
So, please forgive me when I hear that an industry is dying or suffering that I immediately go into analysis mode. Is the industry dying, changing or being displaced. The answer is absolutely, all three apply and apply every day to every industry. The energy business isn't dying because out of work coal miners say it is, manufacturing isn't dying because someone in one part of the world can manufacture steel more efficiently. Commerce always dictates change, it always has and always will. Technological change has been happening since the the beginning of time, its happening right now.
Does music exist to serve audio equipment or is audio equipment there to serve the music?
I’m not high end audio type, but I do enjoy the two channel experience, spin vinyl and fuss over my old equipment. So what I find here at Audiogon is thoughtful conversation about options and a better quality marketplace than eBay. It’s a crapshoot on eBay but the quality control in this community helps a buyer know the product is going to perform once purchased. This site has a great seller review system and that means a lot when moving away from bricks and mortar sellers.
That said, I am sitting on several old components and not getting them sold—so my interest in this thread. A Belles amp used to be worth something and now it seems the buyer interest is low.
Thanks to trickle-down economics, combined with the idea that corporations are in business purely to make as much money as possible, we now have a highly stratified society with wealth extremely concentrated at the top. A million dollar system is not a problem for some people, while a thousand dollars is impossible for virtually everyone else. Manufacturers are only going to be able to survive either by appealing to one or the other - there is no middle left to speak of. And that million dollar system is really only there as a big middle finger to impress the less wealthy. There must be virtually zero correlation between wealth and audiophilia! No wonder the snake oil contingent seem to be doing so well.
Part of the problem is that today "if it doesn't travel, I ain't interested".
I also have found it interesting that so many trends have been "re-discovered". Vinyl, integrated amps, magnetic tape; what's old is new again. This will no doubt happen with CD's also. Buy 'em while they're cheap!
I have mid-range stuff- QED, Revolver, Time Frames and Nakamichi, late 80s mid- 90s or earlier. and would have loved a Bryston and a couple of the better Elipsons (money issues) People have snapped up these old units (try to find a Dragon killer). Most important is component complementarity, speaker placement and the room itself. Best rooms are high-ceilinged rooms with real plaster. European equipment was made to sound good in the kind of rooms they had. N.Am. dealt with gyprock I have a friend who went through several cycles of expensive equipment because the units did not work well together, but has finally got some reasonable sound in spite of the poor room, in part by strategically placing bookcases and sound absorbers etc. to create a symmetrical room, as well as changing some components.
Money, money, money; only the rich have it. and as someone said above we grew up to expect the kind of stereo sound in theatre halls or chamber music venues, like chapels, and early systems tended towards that. Since MP3, a serious dumbing down, although true full digital lossless recordings are very good.
Records also sound different when you change a piece of equipment and you can "rediscover" all your records; also, old farts like myself like the stage of instrument placement as well as good colour, presence and ambience. My QED provides "civilised" sound that I can listen to for hours. The Nakamichi is too boomy; you can contact me if interested in this type of equipment.
All in all, whereas I used to see stuff I could afford and even bought some speakers here, prices are in another galaxy on most of the stuff. I wouldn't even know where to start.
When the time approaches, I will not "go gentle into that good night". I will enjoy my over-engineered, tube-burning two-channel system with unrestrained satisfaction. I will avail myself of excellent, used gear whenever the desire take me, and I will do so without distraction of current "trends". "Rage, rage against the dying of the light" and drive those deeply discounted vintage mono-blocks into the good night.
While all of the responses have a real foundation, I believe a key reality is missing from them. Just as the used car market and dollar store sales/stock goes up in tough times/recession, with a corresponding drop in New car sales and designer store sales, such as bed bath and beyond....the same is true across markets. We are in relatively good times compared to the recession. During the recession, used products took on greater value as people held onto whatever money they had, avoiding new hi cost purchases. Now that times are better in comparison, used sales are less robust, as people are more inclined to buy what they want new, with a strong dab of price shopping and caution. Ofcourse, the caveat here, is that audio is not a necessity, especially where family concerns come into play. The best time to sell your older gear and buy new replacement, may well be on the cusp of, or tail end of recession, for these reasons.
I am a person who has loved music for many years. My present system gives me great listening pleasure. I own a BAT-VK500,Krell CDplayer, KEF speakers,Basis Ovation turntable,McIntosh tuner,Nightigale cartridge,DaCapo cartridge, Cardas cable,DCCA cable,Purist Audio cable,HiFi tuning fuses , and a Krell KRC-HR preamp, a very huge CD and vinyl collection. At this stage of my life,I have every intention to enjoy, what I have,and not look to change,just because something is new. In the higher end systems,the bang for the buck is very small.
Reality sucks. Like when you don’t get what you think is a fair price. Here or on eBay. Then the question turns to sell it or keep it for a second system? Of course it depends.
How can we determine a fair price? Is the auction method a better way?
I blame Apple. It's Gresham's Law in action: bad currency will drive out the good. Apple made the fateful decision not to make full-resolution files available from the iTunes store. This decision, as with most corporate decisions, was driven by greed--you can pack far more downloads (at $.99 each!) of crappy-sounding down-rezzed files into the available bandwidth. In my day, all "software" (LP's and tapes) was inherently full-resolution. Reproduction quality was limited only by your equipment. Now over a generation has grown up with no idea of what hi-fil sound is like. So why would they lust for it as I did when a teen in the '60's?
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