I'm a little perplexed/surprised by TMR and who sells to them.....

To avoid the hassle of actually selling something which has become much more a PITA than it once was.

TMR offers an easy and painfree transaction with no risk, not top dollar.  

No reason to be perplexed/surprised.  It is their business model and they have been quite successful at it.  I have been treated respectfully every time I have bought/sold from them.  Each of my transactions have been seamless.

You already have a couple of posts explaining why people sell to them.  People buy from them to get the stuff they want with exceptional terms of service that include a return policy you wouldn't find from any other seller of used gear.  

"Every pre-owned product we offer carries a 30-day, satisfaction-guaranteed return policy unless stated otherwise in the product description.** Additionally, every pre-owned product purchased directly at www.tmraudio.com carries a 90-day warranty. During the 30-day return period, a return or exchange can be requested for any reason." 

Agreed. many of their products also have a make an offer option. And they will entertain offers and bargain with you. And, as @mapman pointed out, it’s a guaranteed and risk free transaction. 

@simao is correct, I made an offer on a piece of audio equipment they had for sale, and they excepted my offer. They don't always get full asking price.

insulation…. 

What about avoiding the 1099 that now is issued by Paypal for every item you sell where payment was handled by them from the buyer? Do you still see a 1099?  It's not fun when you are selling gear via Paypal that you paid for in the first place but for which you have no proof of purchase price.

Profit?

My father once said to me that a business which never makes a profit soon ceases to be a business.

I've had excellent experience selling to TMR.

TMR is excellent and no-hassle; just within the past few weeks, I bought and amp, lived with it for a few weeks, decided it wasn't for me, and sent it back for a refund (minus 5% restocking fee). I also sold an item to them that I'm shipping out today; sure I could have sold it on the used marketplace (if it had sold), but this way they arrange for the pickup and pre-pay the shipping for it.

The people there are great to work with, too, and really do try their best for you to be satisfied with whatever transaction you're doing. 

Recently sold car, choice of selling via consignment, sell to dealer or private sale. I chose private sale, got $4300 more than dealer/Carvana  offered. One has to measure hassle of private sale vs ease going with dealer/buying service, in my case $4300 worth it. With audio equipment, a smaller price differential may favor sale to dealer. I've only had good experiences with TMR.

What about avoiding the 1099 that now is issued by Paypal for every item you sell where payment was handled by them from the buyer? Do you still see a 1099?  It's not fun when you are selling gear via Paypal that you paid for in the first place but for which you have no proof of purchase price.

You just need to know your basis cost (including transaction costs) and approximate purchase date. I don't know how others do this hobby, but I'm in the red for every component I turnover so it's simple matter of recording the lines for your "loss, no net profit" on your taxes. Had to finally deal with a PayPal 1099K from last year, and will again this year. A little hassle, but not too hard, and impacted my return 0 dollars. What was hard was deadling with crypto trades for 3 or 4 tax years. Even just a few trades can generate a LOT of transactions at slightly different basis costs. Then you have to do the accounting consistently from year to year (FIFO, LIFO etc). Short term versus long-term cap gains. Ugh, never again. Some people also got into very ugly scenarios specifically on coin trades - liable to a huge tax bill that you never harvested the paper gains for, then the market crashes and you're screwed. Anyways, the Paypal 1099 is easy. I kind of wince when a seller says "no PayaPal G&S because of taxes". I don't do that. 

OK, what's their idea of top dollar? It's 25% to 30% of MSRP minus more $ for blemishes that lower value. I know. I called them. 

Depending on item, that's not toooo far off market prices sometimes. Sometimes it's really hard to sell an item for more than that - especially once it's 10 - 15+ years old and superseded by newer versions. The "at least 50% MSRP on anything used" days are long gone, if they ever existed. For a new "hot" item, yes 25-30% is an awful lowball (very low). And sure, TMR does turn around and charge on the very top end of market, and then some. I was wondering if you might get a better "deal" on trades, but never tried. 

Ummm... So, Mulveling, you have a CPA who accepts your word for the fact that you lost money on a sale the proceeds from which were reported as a 1099K via Paypal? Yes, that is the case for me too, that I sell for less than I paid, but unless I can prove it with receipts my accountant won't report it that way.

Can someone divulge the translation of the acronym, TMR?  Or is that Too Much Response? I never heard of that business, whatever it is.

TMR

The Music Room

@lewm - The Music Room 

I was the first H&R Block client who claimed eBay income (1997 or 1998) per H&R Block.

They made numerous calls while I was there checking out the specifics of my spread sheets showing costs of goods, S/H and selling prices (I did not charge sales tax for in-state sales as that was not a requirement @ the time). 

I pointed out to them that I had not taken out a DBA, which I assumed  was required to itemize profit/loss, but they said that it was not needed (it was, IMO but as they were willing to sign off on it I went forward with them).

This is the only time I have ever fudged anything in my life and it still haunts me.

DeKay

Relax, IRS is being fudged to death by a certain high government official.

lewm,

13,771 posts, and you don’t understand the acronym TMR? Probably one of the top sellers on this site!

@mulveling 

You just need to know your basis cost (including transaction costs) and approximate purchase date. I don't know how others do this hobby, but I'm in the red for every component I turnover so it's simple matter of recording the lines for your "loss, no net profit" on your taxes. Had to finally deal with a PayPal 1099K from last year, and will again this year. A little hassle, but not too hard, and impacted my return 0 dollars.

My situation exactly.  I basically pulled all my purchases for items that I sold (where the buyer paid using PayPal) by taking screen shots from USAM, some going back several years.  Lost money on pretty much every transaction, with an overall net loss.  My tax preparer had no issues with it.

I would encourage any of you who have not discovered TMR to check out their site. It is the most amazing collection of esoteric quality gear in one place. There is nothing sold that isn't audiophile quality. As a buyer everything sold is bench tested and warrantied with a 30 day return. As a seller, you are off the hook for shipping, payment collection and dealing with trying to sell expensive gear. I recently downsized and explored options for selling several pieces of Mac gear. The consignment percent I received was higher than any local shops offered and was well worth it. Keep in mind when you look at the site, unlike any of the auction sites, every piece of equipment is in a box on their shelf. They listed a pair of Focal Grande Utopia speakers this weekend, go to the site to see what a pair of $550,000 MSRP speakers look like! (I did a search, the currently have 420 speakers listed above $1,000). 

I ended up trying to downsize by getting rid of my Mac separates so I tried several Iterations of Musical Fidelity integrated. After suffering tired ears, I ended up going back to Mac with a MAC 7200. I did all this with the Music room using their 30 day return policy. It helps that I am a couple of hours away so I was able to avoid shipping.

As an add to the above post, TMR assumes ownership of the equipment and they pay all taxes, there is no 1099 issued. That is part of the consignment agreement.

Did you ever try to drag an ungainly, back-breaking boxed piece of kit or speaker down to UPS or FedEx?  TMR sends you a label and arranges pick-up from your front door. I did not need the highest price, as long as it was almost reasonable and simple. I would use TMR again.

When TMR made a mistake on my pmt ck, I got 3 apology emails and they rapidly straightened it out. No aggravation. No chasing them down. We all make mistakes; TMR checked, owned, and fixed theirs quickly. I would use TMR again. 

TMR does a nice job and I've had fine experiences with them but they aren't the only game in town. If you live on the East Coast there are other options. Holt Hill Audio just North of Boston is a super reputable business and their shop (old mill) is like non-other. I go between both HH and TMR and I decide based on whoever offers me a better deal on any particular day. Nice to have choices and these two businesses are top shelf in my book. Just my opinion.

I've had only positive experience with TMR as buyer and seller...while some items I could maybe get more selling myself, other items they are much better at selling as some prefer to buy used from a store...and not only is the shipping label great,  no issues with shipping costs, also no issues with the occasional difficult buyer...definitely all well worth it to me...just make a single phone call and all is  done...

Are we really taking a magnifying glass to some marketing slogan, in this case TMR?  There seems to be no bait and switch, or deception.  

I have conducted several transactions with TMR this year and have had a great experience. While I understand I may not get the price for my item I would if I made a private, direct sale to a buyer, I avoided most of the hassles of those types of sales. It was worth it to me and I would trust TMR if I buy gear from them which I intend to do from time to time after having been so impressed by selling to them. 

And no reply from the OP as yet? My international experience with TMR has always been very professional great communication and have bought and sold through them with out issue. 

TMR seem to offer the seller a fraction of what in many cases the seller could get with some judicious marketing. Sometimes the piece up for sale is not going to be that easy to sell, but not always. I would think that a little market research on the typical price garnered and the time it took to sell would benefit anyone before committing to TMR. The ease of sale via TMR is a factor for many, but at what cost?? 

TMR makes the whole process very simple. They pay the shipping on what they take in trade. They have the 30 day return policy on most used items. Satisfaction guaranteed. Pretty hard to beat if you  ask me. Sure, it would be nice to get higher trade in prices but how often does that happen with any trade in of anything? I would absolutely use them again. 

I traded in a Krell 300i to TMR for a open boxed Krell 300xd with full warrenty as the person who tried it out decedied he didn't like it and sent it back.

I received a nice credit on my credit card after they received my Krell Intergrated

close to what i could have sold it for used without the hassle, or headaches

Foe me TMR was the way to go...

I used them recently as well---easy going and good communication. The entire process was very easy. I would use them again.

My big take away from all the enthusiastic TMR fans is this:

Your used gear is worth 30% of retail.  

Extremely rare or iconic gear may hold some value but the lion's share is ten cents on the dollar when you sell. TMR is interesting. I may drive up there some day. Their inventory is an education. 

I recently sold some nice bookshelf speakers to them. Their purchase price was negotiable and fair in the end. Sure, I took a bath vs MSRP, but I knew that'd be the case and they made some quick profit selling my speakers in their online store. Maybe I could've done better selling directly on this site, but I have no regrets. Capitalism FTW!

My average money received over past few years, on more desirable items has ranged from 45%-50% of retail. Less on hard to sell items but more than I could have sold them for. Though all I had bought used, so typically received 75%-80% of what I paid

Your used gear is worth 30% of retail.
 

and your point is?

I’ve bought from TMR and traded 2 amps I was having a hard time selling for my current amp that was on my shortlist of 3 end game integrated’s.

Both transactions were perfect. 

TMR makes it easy. Some of us are willing to pay more for easy. And quick. And anonymous. And no strings attached. Never got top dollar, but never had it easier. Same as in real estate or any other market. 

@macg19 + 1

I buy and sell on my own and and from TMR, just depends.  TMR has to make money to hold these items they bought and paid waiting to sell, check them out get ready to sell, then post in several places. Plus they give a 90 warranty and return policy.

Something I was trying to sell recently lingered on for 2 weeks, with about a dozen people asking questions, and never heard back from any of them. So I had already had a deal set with TMR, when it did not sell after a few weeks, I fell back on TMR. They pay the shipping there. I lost a few hundred bucks, but got it out of here, and awaiting a deposit.

If you have an item that is not generating the level of buyer interest you had hoped for, trading it in on something you want from TMR can help you off-load the gear you are having trouble selling while maybe getting a bit of a price break on whatever it is you are interested in buying from TMR.  I have done this before. 

This has turned into great advertising for TMR...which certainly doesn't seem to have been the intent of the OP

@OP - It's pretty simple. Some people have inflated ideas of what their used gear is worth. So they hold out for the price they think they should get and when they fail, they give up and sell to an online used goods retail business.

It's the fairytale of the Princess and the Pauper applied to Hi Fi.

As for TMR, they are effectively buying your gear at trade price so that they can apply a margin to it. They wouldn't have a business otherwise.

I’ve made several transactions with TMR and all were simple and pleasurable experiences. That is worth a lot to me compared to the hassle of selling equipment yourself.  TMR is a great place to buy high end equipment at great prices.  I purchased a two-year old amp that retailed for $20,000 for only $8000. It arrived in perfect condition and looked new out of the box.  Highly recommend TMR. 

@troutstreamnm 

Yes, that's good indeed for you as a buyer. Imagine what the schmuck that sold the 20K amp to TMR got for it. I'm guessing 4-5K.

My purchases from TMR in the past several years have crossed the six figure line. Most purchases were outright, and a few included trade fodder. In the trades, I understood that I could have gone on my own to sell that gear. But, this is a hobby for me, not a business and the ease of moving on from that gear by using TMR outweighed my perceived pickup from going it alone. In each case, TMR paid the freight, and took responsibility should damage have occurred during transit to them. Trades gain rewards points as do purchases, and I have been able to use many thousands of points towards subsequent purchases. I like there service and I am able to negotiate with my contacts thee to my satisfaction. In the end, I like their business model.

Yes, that’s good indeed for you as a buyer. Imagine what the schmuck that sold the 20K amp to TMR got for it. I’m guessing 4-5K.

The real point is, TMR sold the amp for $8K, and TMR commands a premium over individual sellers, so if TMR got $8K for it then the schmuck, as you kindly put it, might have gotten $6K or $7K selling it on his own. 

Therefore the "schmuck" was schmucked not by TMR but by his paying $20K for an amp no one wants.

Had he spent the same $20K on a McIntosh, the numbers would look very different.

Jeez, WGAF?   For those for whom TMR is convenient and fair, awesome.    For those who prefer to try to maximize their return despite the hassle, awesome.   YMMV.    No big mystery here….

Well being on the selling end with TMR is not as advantageous as you do have to pay their fee but it’s how they do business and the selling price is negotiated and based on their market analysis. The convenience is worth it to a lot of people, including me!

devinplombier:  I hardly think a Simaudio Moon 860A v2 power amp hardly qualifies as an amp nobody wants!  TMR sold the three available at the time I bought mine within a few days. For reference I didn’t even consider McIntosh…not a fan.