Should listings include the age of the item?

Condition of the unit and use may be much more telling than the age. Buyer should always ask as many questions that may be of concern. Seller should always be ready to answer any and all questions or clarify particulars of a item up for sale.

Pricing should be determined by market value at time of sale. As seller may or may not gotten a "good deal when they made the purchase. How be it rare, some products go up in value. Listing the original MSRP if known at least provides some base value. I often assume original sale was 10 to 20 off list price. That is the best deal most are likely to have gotten. Spending a few dollars to obtain blue book value or other research keeps one from paying too much.

What if the age of the item is unknown? Granted, many model numbers change every 2-3 years so you can somewhat figure it out, but many do not. I have bought used gear where the seller did not know how old it was, how am I to know how old it is then when I sell it?

As for your #2 concern, when posting an ad, the Audiogon system ask that you post a MSRP price (if you know it). They do not ask that you post the price that you actually paid for the item. It is up to the buyer to understand the market.

Member "Buconero117" responded to a Blue Book question (Newbie question - Equipment with good resale value) as follows with emphasis added that he felt the Blue Book values are overstated:

"For the major brands the general rule on fair used value, assuming a fully functioning unit that is less then ten years old, is 80% of the original MSRP (sales tax excluded) less 40%. This translates to $480 on a MSRP of $1,000. Once the unit is over ten years old, every year older would add an additional 5% discount, per year."

The above mentioned "80%" goes along with what member "Glenhifi" says about "off list price", and a strick reading would suggest the MSRP at the time of purchase should be used to calculation the value.

Elizabeth, just to be clear, you think the only people here are original owners or flippers? I'd have to disagree.

The amp I currently own is 19 years old, I bought it used, not from the original owner. My preamp is around 7 years old, I bought it used, not from it's original owner. The same can also be said for my speakers and turntable. I am not a flipper, I have owned this gear for over a year. I am not the original owner, nor did I buy used from the original owner. I hardly believe that I am in the minority here on Audiogon.

I can try my best to approximate the age of gear I posess, some I can ID by the serial number. Sometimes however, one just does not know how old a piece of gear is. If I do not know the age of an item, does that mean that I can not sell it? I think not, that's just illogical.

I do agree that there are much fewer pure hobbyists here today than there were years ago, but economic turmoils have been reflected in all facets of our society, not simply on Audiogon. Buyer Beware is more imporatant now than ever before, but I suspect it will only get worse until the bottom finally falls out.