Do you remember when Audiogon was just a bulletin board classified ad site?


I wonder if anyone else remembers Audiogon from 15+ years ago. I remember visiting the site daily scrolling through all the listings. Back then posting was free and you had an endless number of ads.  It had as many used audio listings as Ebay. I can remember buying a Paradigm CC-200 and also a pair of Paradigm ADP-150's  back around 1999. Those were my first two purchases. How about you?
japosey
Yes Brad, I also subscribed to Audio Mart and remembering waiting for that beautiful 3pt font pub to hit my mailbox. Back then it was the insiders access to all the gear traded in to most of the top dealers in the country at great prices.
I guess advertisers get more exposure on the 'gon nowadays, but I find the tirekickers, rude lowballers, non-response sellers, and buyers who commit on LPs then don't pay after clicking "buy" all make transactions more aggravating then ever lately. 
Back when 'gon was a smaller community it seems that everyone appreciated as much and valued their reputations more than now. 
We've all gotta have thick skin I guess...Cheers,
Spencer
Been on this site since April, 15. Made some good purchases too. It is definitely a worthwhile resource. 

Yes, used to love that old site.  I left for a while, then came back in 2002 under a new username.  Loved rec.audio.marketplace, too.  I hang around Audio Asylum, too.
Loved the Audiomart! It was great to actually TALK with the buyer/seller--imagine that....
I was also a subscriber to Walt Bender’s AudioMart for a number of years, circa early 1990’s, and I made a number of purchases and sales that worked out very nicely. But while most of the membership was very nice to deal with, there were at least a few pretty rough characters as well. At least among those chasing rare and desirable collectibles such as early Marantz tube products, a few of which I sold there.

Also, I can recall an occasion when I received a less than pleasant letter from Walt admonishing me for pricing one such piece about 25% higher than what he thought it was worth. In my response I noted that it sold the first day, at my asking price.

And, some time before that, in my ignorance I had underpriced another such piece by about 25%, but of course I received no communication from him about that. Among the many callers I spoke to in response to that offering, at least one was particularly nasty and even threatening when I advised him that I would not renege on the deal I had made at my asking price with the person who called first, even when offered significantly more money.

Times and technologies change, but dealing with strangers is always a mixed bag regardless of the format.

Regards,
-- Al