Baffled by Pricing Strategy


Over the course of the last two years, I’ve been on here and AudioMart roughly daily.  Like most of us, I always have some items on my Watchlist but I’m especially active looking at the gear in my price point right now.  One oddity that I can’t wrap my head around: Person posts their used gear, it doesn’t sell for months even after lowering the price, and their strategy is to raise the price?!?? People certainly have the right to ask for whatever they want but each time I see this I think to myself “yup, that’ll get it sold…”. From what i can tell, it’s not been in response to manufacturer’s price changes, product scarcity etc…. and it’s not like the community hasn’t seen the previous, lower price.  What’s the logic here?

128x128brewerslaw

@brewerslaw

I’ve been baffled by audio gear pricing for years, so you are not alone. I have no doubt that some (or many) listings are because a spouse has demanded to "get rid of all your extra junk not being used". Sellers post an item at a ridiculous price, knowing it won’t sell at that price and not even entertaining fair offers, just so they can say, "I tried selling it, Honey!".

 

I posed a question in a post a while back regarding a turntable that must have been listed 4 or 5 times over a year. The price never changed and I asked at least 6 questions that went unanswered. Same with a Sota table I’ve seen listed for what seems like a year -- without a change in the $1,500 asking price. Tell me you don’t want to sell something without telling me you don’t want to sell something. LOL!

 

Also, you’ll find Audiophiles have a "overly optimistic" opinion of what used 5 to 10 year gear is worth. While post-pandemic isn’t the best example to use, but in "normal years", buy a new automobile at the dealer, drive it off the lot, and bring it back 6 months later to resale. You think you’re going to get 80% or more of the original purchase price back? Again, discount the current bizarre 2 year period we’ve seen -- car inventory will bounce back to normal levels within the next 2 years.

 

Good luck on the purchase attempts.  I hope you have better luck than I've had.  My best purchases this year have been through building Social Media relationships.  I've purchased a pristine Audio Research SP17 with phono stage for $1,200; a McIntosh MC-225 built in 1963 that is nearly flawless with original McIntosh branded tubes-- just a little lettering on the "Spec Edge" is rubbed off -- for $2,500; and a mint condition Dennis Had Inspire 45 Fire Bottle amp and LP3.1 preamp with new Emission Labs tubes for $2,200.

 

 

Maybe they really don’t care if it sells or not. And if they can get the higher price they will sell it. 

Unfortunately, buyers are constantly low balling sellers, therefore, in some instance, a seller will inflate their price to help offset the low ball offer. It’s just a stupid game.  

Depends. 2 years ago I almost doubled the price of my used cars and boat (compared to what the used prices should have been before 2020) and people paid the new increase in price. Have you seen the price of new boats since 2020? I got more for my cars after 1 year of use than I paid for them new. Same for the boat. 

It could be a silly convoluted version of the oldest sales trick in the books . The price is X but today, before a substantial price increase coming, you can have it for .7 X for someone who may be a new potential buyer & just started looking..