Anybody having trouble getting near-your-asking-price for used gear ? (Plz. no hype)


I buy and sell gear "on a whim" and have done so for 40 years. Mostly high-end tube stuff that I get an itch to move from my rig to make room for other high-end stuff that I have been dreaming of.  It's fun and gives me a fresh faces to fall in and out of love with.

Lately I am having a really hard time getting any serious offers above 1/4 to 1/3 of retail- actually zero offers over that. And winter is the time of year gear sells. Once the sun comes out things get really quiet.  Not terribly long ago I could ask 50% of retail and get serious offers pretty close to the ask.  

I am especially having trouble selling ARC gear. It's prices are steadily collapsing. On HiFi Shark that stuff sits for close to a year (or more) before it moves.  For example SP 15s are under 2K now. They were selling (not asking) at 3K a year ago. It took me almost a year to sell a new-in--box I/50 for $3000 (!)   Ref 75s are moving under $3000 and TMR will only offer 2K for one of them. The older stuff is selling in the hundreds not the thousands. Top-Of the-line stuff like Reference 10 preamps are moving under 12K (asking is around 17K) 

I recently sold a Bryston BR-20 brand new in the box and it took me 7 months to get 48% of MSRP.  This is NEW stuff- not somebody's junk. 

My guy at Magnepan told me their stuff is really moving slowly as well. He blamed it on the political environment. ARC is pretending all is well but I have a little birdie inside there that tells me their stuff is stagnant as and dealers are actually cancelling orders. 

Now, assuming you are being honest and not "fluffing the market" with bullbleep because you have something for sale and hoping for the greater fool,  are you seeing/experiencing the same thing I am experiencing? 

NO RETAILERS PLESASE- you guys tend to "exaggerate" to put it kindly- plus most of us here at AG know who you are and your 1000s of posts are a big clue. 

Signed/ Depressed about my favorite side gig. 

128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xyesiam_a_pirate

 the USSR was a great country too

sure, like a psychopath mass murderer is a hero. Don't let the facts get in the way of your fantasy

Can there be a single thread on this audio-enthusiast site that does not get systematically dragged into politics? No one gives a sh t about your opinions (or mine, but I choose to keep mine to myself)

it's funny how sensitive some of you are now, but when it was constant "cables cause a fortune due to Bidenomics" it didn't bother anyone. And to answer the question, 9 out of 10 threads here have zero politics. Done, you won't hear a word from me :)

Great topic....

Like all collectibles, prices go up and down.

I enjoy the audio hobby and am always looking for the next buy/sell.

Recent... Threshold CAS1 (75wpc) bought $950/sold $500, Threshold FET9 bought $1,200/sold $850, Totam Hawk speaks bought $900/sold $600, Manley Chinook bought $1,315, Manley Stingray bought $1,900, Klipsch Cornwall III pair bought $2,200

I'd love to sell my Stingray and get mono Snappers or older Manley gear.  I think $1,800 is a reasonable ask for my Stingray (it was sent into Manley and has new caps and new tubes) but I see other sellers asking up to $3,900. And on the other end, I would pay $2,600 for an old pair of 175's or $3,000 for Snappers, but the asking price is $6,000 to $7,500.

I think lots of sellers are trying to make money.

I, on the other hand, am looking for good deals, and am willing to give a good deal when I want a change.

 

gotta love the hunt, gotta love the listening.  

it's funny how sensitive some of you are now, but when it was constant "cables cause a fortune due to Bidenomics" it didn't bother anyone. And to answer the question, 9 out of 10 threads here have zero politics. Done, you won't hear a word from me :)

Honestly I am equally sick of right wing and left wing posts. Believe me I am not one to shy away from discussing politics, but this is not the appropriate forum

All it does is get otherwise good informative threads deleted by moderators, and honestly I can't blame them.

For what it's worth @grislybutter I always appreciate your non-political posts :)