Yes without a shadow of areasonable doubt. The price that indivual sellers of used audio will get will decline but only after they put the stuff up for sale using the %50 scale with no takers. In addition I think the marketing end of our cottage industry are going to have take slim margins. The big companies will sell their expensive gear to a group of buyers who have plenty of money but anything that a company expects to launch that is a "never heard of that company" will have to start up with no income because the low end of high end will be very weary of spending their precious sparable income on a luxury product such as audio.
It's a buyer's market now and the ecopnomy is in the crapper already not only do I know people have lost their jobs to less expensive young kids quite personally. The prices of everything have gone way up while incomes have stayed the same, declined or disappeared due to enemployment.
It really that almost really expensive gear that will be hit hardest. I would enture to say the largest percentage of buyers of the % to 10K pieces have to stretch to get that far as it was. In an unstable financial environment I think that the stretching will be put off untill where that buyer ends up is very clear. We have drowned in debt and the usually partial funding being debt will end when paying for loaned monies become expensive and reset where a person is on the expendable income scale. I know from statistics printed in the newspaper we are more in debt than ever and the prospect of being unable to finance that debt a scary thought indeed. I know that part too.
The established bigger players will always hae a niche . If you can spend 15 grand you can spend 20 in my mind. I am not amongst those who buy expensive audio stuff relatively speaking to a normalk person $4,000 amps a TT for 2K and speakers for 7 is insane but most you know that is for new when I bougght used , Demo etc, The only area where persistently spend a lot on but have slowed down to a trickle is for older tubes.
The sad thing is that while the price of tubes has skyrocketed and seemed like the best investment I had made . I haven't done well when the rubber hits the road and I want to sell off some. I usually net very little by net I mean minimalize my losses.
I have 6SN7s that would typically sell for over $100 a pair and even some that may have or might still get $500. Today I can by them from a dealer for $400 and one friend said deal on such a pair for $350 he quickly demanded all sorts of concessions and trades which would end up with me giving him cash.
I am just so sick of hearing "you should sell all that stuff" with the idea I suppose that i don't actully need 150 tubes of a given type and piles of silly experiments with older mid fi ggear.
The thought of selling things I admire very very cheaply troubles me. the one buck no reserve auction is scary but I may try it I honestly don't know how to price the pieces in the never use overfull audio storage room I should put things up for I always seem to end up practically giving stuff away.
The only thing is that I will not give away is my tube collection period. I like it I enjoyed picking tubes to play again in the various pieces of tube gear I have and know that decent Old Stock tubes are not getting easier to find.
I hate selling because the buyer reserves the right to bitch and moan you to death, over stupid things like the 1 mm scratch on the rear or the like. The stuff that is truly not good looking -forget about it.
I am going to sell a legendary preamp one of these days but the lid has paint chipped away on it. It sounds like a modern piece, a true wire with gain, but that won't make it an easy sale plus it was modded to get it to sound like that. I have to upcharge for anything except the leeast expensie tubes...it uses 6 12AX7s. I have them sure, but replacing them is a true nightmare unless you go with current production which is dramatically improving with the New Sensor AX7s.
It is a bad time to sell but I can't stand the B.S. line not financially motivated. Then give it away guy!!! of course you want money why else would you sell it and it doesn't matter one iota to the buyer if you are financially moyivated or not if the price is too high you'll know it very quickly.
What am I going to do with my 70s vintage stuff or the 80s stuff it was a different world just a few years ago now ask a kid what a stereo is? You will be surprised that very few know.
Only a few nuts spent megabucks on their stereo ggood was good enough. What you have are piles of midfi that once cost real money not really big bucks but getting there.
In summary class prices for the mundane are falling like rocks, some equipment you can't give away.
I will sell it cheap but only kids and newbies will be interested. The kids will give you more for some portable iPod like thing than the pristine Kenwood integrated that is 30 now.
I am always amazed how long it takes thrifts to sell that stuff for almost nothing 20 bucks 30 bucks, no one wants that Sh**.I think I am the last moron alive who appreciates that stuff. I see Nakamichi Cassette Tape decks sit at 20 bucks for two weeks or more. No its usually the entry level one not the 600 or Dragon. So the answer as was said and then I James Joyced it for elaboration, it is yes, so buy it if you got money but take your time unless it is a Dragon.