Why isn't better quality used gear being made available?

I don't know be where you're looking or what you're looking for but there is usually plenty of quality equipment and cable available here and usaudiomart..

You have to keep at it.

The good stuff is gone in days if not hours.

I'm not really wanting and I still check the classifieds daily/hourly.

Super vintage deals dont appear magically as we wish it ...

First we must read and learn what to buy ... It takes me almost a year...

Second we must wait for the chosen item to appear at a good price ... It takes me months  for my 2 vintage Sansui amplifiers...

And a month for my headphone ...

Another day another absurd thread by the Op that is nothing but a whine

Try using a "Wanted" ad. Might inspire a possessor to let unused equipment go.

There is a food chain when buying audio gear.

I have purchased high quality amplifiers and preamps on here but I had to wait years for the model I wanted. I have dealt with wealthy individuals. I do not believe they put expensive gear on a shelf and do not sell. They put their orders in for something even more expensive and sell the older expensive gear when they no longer use it.

I got my speakers from a guy who was turning his large garage into a listening room. He needed much bigger speakers. Since I live in modestly sized spaces, I was happy to take them off of his hands.

Be aware that any high quality amp or preamp is going to have been manufactured in limited quantities. Buying this kind of audio gear is not like buying iPhones.

I would think the limited availability is because when buying high end gear there are a lot of possible issues. If you can afford this stuff, you are not going to be selling it yourself. I trade in gear when I buy new, I’m not going to be fiddling around. advertising, maybe having people I don’t know come over, worry about shipping and insuring.

Places like Echo and many dealers sell used stuff. They verify it is operating correctly and deal with logistics. No way I am going to buy a $50K original cost piece of audio equipment from I private person I don’t know.

Congrats @emergingsoul ! Another nutty thread that has no basis in reality. I want to be kind, but it's so hard when you make such a ridiculous statement.

A month ago there was PS Audio BHK 300 amps on every site.  And today there are none that I can find.  I’m not sure what you are looking for, but you have to just keep looking.

All the best.

Strike a deal as soon as it pops up and be prepared to drive a few hours if need be! 

There are plenty of high quality products for sale in the used market. It takes a bit of looking and waiting, but lots of good audio gear ends up on the second-hand market. Because there are no high-end equipment owners who last forever, among other reasons. But if you are in a hurry, and understanding that your time is worth money, why not pay market prices for new equipment? Why expect to have bargain prices for top-shelf gear in a hurry? ECON 101! Best of luck in your search.

Interesting comments.  I guess if you're spending 30 or 40,000 on an amplifier they're probably aren't too many of them and when they do happen to appear in an ad they are discounted nicely sometimes. Instant gratification to buy something like this is not really possible. I've been lucky with my dealer he manages to get new things very quickly for me.
 

I’m beginning to think a lot of stuff being sold on the higher end is sold off as part of estate sales. Along with all the antiques and furniture other stuff to empty the house of things nobody in the family wants I guess. Maybe the estate Area is the place to find choice items.

@roxy54

You funny man.

There is a ton of used quality equipment available. Where it becomes difficult is when the shopper is unwilling to be flexible and only wants a very specific make and model. Things get worse if they limit their interest to a specific version or, for example, color or veneer type, etc. 

But, I also agree with the other post that @emergingsoul's posts are unique. My guess is that he gets his jollies from being a pot-stirrer.

shopgoodwill.com

there is a chain of actors when high quality used stuff becomes available. If they are all oblivious to the value of said gear, it will reach the auction site. Then you are going bid against 100s of people who either want to resell or want it for themselves. 4 out of 5 times, you can win it for a bid 30% of what it would sell on audiomart 

@mlsstl 

Yes, he stirs the pot by pretending to be clueless or naive about his chosen subject. That's his method.

Do you use eBay?

If so, it's easy to save a search for an item or a brand name and eBay will notify you whenever such an item gets posted.

Obviously not the place to expect a deal on a 40,000 dollar component... but a great way to automate fishing for nice used gear.

TMR

It all comes down to how badly you want something specific, and what sort of energy you're willing to expend.

Some years ago, I wanted to buy a particular used Norwegian machine
It took just over a year with 3 search bots combing the net to find one, fortunately in great shape at a reasonable price at a Boston Habitat.

I consider myself lucky; it was nearly pristine for something 2+ decades old, due to apparent unuse. 🤷‍♂️

'Specific audio' may require the same sort of search, and the wherewithal to recognize and respond quickly...;)

OP…. especially relative to transparent you missed a great tip from @ghdprentice seek out Echo Audio in Portland and in particular tell them what you seek….

As Tom Petty once said “ The waiting is the hardest part “. 

I check a site or 2 on a daily basis and on one of them the interconnects and speaker cables and power cables often sell pretty quickly after being listed. Seems like a lot of people erroneously believe that electrons can tell what kind of wiring they're traveling along. 

@tattooedtrackman ....*L* The wait simply requires patience, virtuous or not.
The part that gets to you is seeing an auction that I missed out on, held a month prior to beginning my search....  There were 3 of them; 2 complete, one missing some parts.  Never found out who/where/how much on any...😖

Given the time from that to when I saw and bought, I may have one of them by  no default of my own....but I kept seeing the same auction post throughout my search.

...and That, my friend, is annoying.  Couldn't tell the bots to ignore certain things, they'd just dutifully report them....over 'n over 'n over 'n....*sheesh*L*

Audio-wise...or perhaps not...
If I was in the state of 'upgrade fever' (and the means to Go There...) (No...), I'd likely Go Here....

....a MRA 16.75+ would be interesting to play about with....

....but would likely trigger a 'cascade event' in expanding the means to 'feed it', since I'm at 12 channels already....and already 'living in The Matrix.....*LOL*

I have bought expensive components from private individuals on Audiogon. I have had zero trouble with those transactions and have met some wonderful people who I am still in touch with. 

There are dealers on here that will deal with the Asian market. They're reputable and will come through for you. 

I don't find that interconnects and power cords move the needle that much in terms of sound quality so I certainly don't wait years for those, but, speakers, amplifiers, and preamplifiers I will, and have, waited years to purchase. 

With such expensive pieces of gear, buying them used is the only way I can justify their purchase. 

Don’t be cheap and you won’t get punished anymore if you buy new! Cables are all custom made people don’t flip them as much since they don’t go “bad.”

High end estate sale things often end up at auctions. Check Sotheby's and Christie's if you are shopping that end. Ebay, Craigslist, HiFi Shark, AudiogoN and local hi-fi shops that take trade-in gear are the usual places. It is a small hobby in the larger scheme, and having a sound system isn't the aspirational purchase it once was.

@OP - A vast amount of high end gear gets traded in to dealers who frequently have a long term relationship with their high end customers. That may or may not end up on generalised sale sites like Audiogon or Hi Fi Shark. A lot of it gets trickled down to other customers within the dealers value chain.

i dont see how, emergingsoul. i see what you describe and exactly what you name all the time. if ur looking to spend money theres no shortage of dealers lookin to help, many specializing in the audio you describe. some of em, the rare times they carry less expensive stuf, overprice it according so it wont feel out of place! haha. skyfi audio keeps comin to mind. 

aside from dealers, the usual places continue to provide what you ask. 

"I have never been able to find used cables that are what I’m looking for from transparent, cardas, ect, or other.."

that makes no sense at all. i see that stuff all the time. i dont know what tiers it occupies, but here are the brands u ask for

transparent audio
https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=transparent+audio+interconnects

theras a LOT of cardas for sale righit now

@roxy54 big +1.  

Second stupidest post in 2023 

First is still (Inna) post  Anyone has a reference system where amplification is SS ?

😂😂😂

Is it OK to eat eggs on Meatless Monday and what about JUMBO eggs?

What about them?

DeKay

@roxy54 + 1

Looking for hi end amps?  From Sound & Vision, July 2006:  “In my years of reviewing, Theta's Citadels are the best amps I've heard, period”.  Two pairs currently listed for under $7,000 - just check hifishark.com. Don’t like those, you can also find pairs of Ayre MX-R Twenty without much trouble.  Your welcome. 

what do you call good gear, im about to put my mccormack dna 500, up for sale soon as i get it back from cj. playing my mf2500a they did recently and i think i just like the cj house sound better....and its to heavy.

Maybe it's a good thing that all this quality gear I'm looking for doesn't want to be sold .

Asked and answered, your honor.

I took a trip to Colorado and Utah August/September this year. I need to hear gear before I purchase.

One place I stopped by, TMRaudio.com in Eric, Colorado, they sell new and used gear. TMR also has an excellent return policy. They do an awesome job of testing and validating used gear before it is listed.

Many of the stores I visited on that trip, list used gear (like demos with warranties). This is how I find stuff. They also list trade-ins and gear on consignment. You can contact dealers that sell gear you like and let me know what you are looking for.

Just like buying vinyl, you have get down and dirty in the bins to find the hidden gems. I have been looking for the Treo CTs for many years.

I was looking at The Music Room email for some of the gear I heard on my trip. They listed a used Simaudio Moon 700i (SS, 1/3 price) and a used Vandersteen Treo CT (1/2 price). They were listed a week or two apart. Each was purchased the day I saw them, neither goes on sale very often. Simaudio Moon has new gear coming out, someone upgraded, so I was lucky. The Treo CTs are very seldom available used. Both pieces are at my house now.

Thank you TMRaudio.com! (I do not have any relationship with TMR, other than a happy customer.)

@x5owner1 

Thank you for your comment but just because someone says it sounds good somehow that's supposed to influence me to buy it. that's the oldest marketing trick in the world

I'm not sure how you can choose new speakers unless you can hear them or you trust a dealer because maybe his opinion matters.  It's very very very very difficult to buy speakers. I used to spend  more money get better speakers but that's not true.  

Your original question was about not being able to find quality used amps and preamps. My answer was an attempt to say that simply isn’t the case. I don’t understand your reference to speakers in your response. Theta and Ayre make amps and preamps (among other things) but neither makes speakers.  

@emergingsoul

"I used to spend more money get better speakers but that’s not true."

What does that sentence mean?

The question is based on a false premise.

When it comes to buying speakers I think people tend to feel comfort about what they're buying when it cost more. If I put a $7000 speaker in front of you and a $20,000 speaker in front of you you'll probably say the $20,000 speaker sounds better even if you haven't heard it.

Speaker manufacturers have product lines and in their descriptions it makes it sound like there might be something more to a more expensive speaker but they never really explained why it cost more money. More expensive drivers a more expensive cabinet more expensive crossovers… OK this is nice but it's not really that much more since materials cost are such a small portion of the overall price. It's simply that people feel more comfortable spending more money.

It's a marketing strategy that's all. Are you secure enough to purchase what may be a better speaker for substantially less? Same thing applies to amplifiers and pre-amplifiers. Hopefully the more money you spend the better the product is but is this really the case and if it is why don't they tell you why it's more expensive? They show a $200,000 speaker at a show which very very few people were buy obviously and somehow this makes it easier and more justifiable for you spend $50,000 on a speaker from their product line. It's a marketing strategy that's all and I'm not sure how good it's working.

@emergingsoul -- so, what does the above response have to do with your original question regarding the availability of used equipment and the responses to that question from others?  You make it difficult to take your posts seriously.

It's very very very very difficult to buy speakers.

It's not difficult, never mind 4 X very difficult. I just bought used Harbeth 40.3 XDs, private sale. Drove an hour. To be fair though, I have a truck, otherwise it would have been inconvenient to rent one, but hardly difficult.

I used to spend  more money get better speakers but that's not true. 

Huh?

To clarify, it's very very very difficult to decide which speakers to buy and then to decide which speaker within a manufacturers product line to buy.

As far as spending more money, you don't need to spend a lot of money to get great sound from a speaker. There are plenty of speakers in the $10,000 range that are just as good as a $35,000 speaker. That's one of the challenges that makes buying speakers so difficult.  There are so so many overpriced speakers and trying to avoid them is very very very difficult.

I hope that clarifies things

@emergingsoul 

in general, I disagree strongly. There aren't plenty of 10K speakers as good as 35K speakers. 35K speakers will be priced at 35K for good reasons. 

There may be exceptions, but in today's global economy, manufacturing costs are very similar/comparable. A speaker of the same size as a cheaper model that cost more will have better materials, more R&D to pay for, higher quality assembly and finish, etc. In short, there are no miracles, miracle finds. 

OK maybe you’re right, I’ll change my answer to $25,000.

And then it follows that there are so many $25,000 speakers that easily match a $50,000 speaker, which are mostly overpriced because they have a huge margin and are being bought by people who really don’t care about how much money they’re spending on a speaker.

But  clearly it's very challenging to avoid over paying when you're willing to pay more for more expensive speakers

This is devolving from the silly to the absurd.  Anyone surprised given the source?