Stupid Asking Prices- Why Don't Sellers Read Audiogon The Blue Book First?

No one is forcing us to buy an overpriced item ! Market demand drives prices up or down ! While 1/2 the original cost is a fair asking  price for common audio equipment , some hand built  and limited edition electronics are worth more because they are rare and offer something really special .

Making reasonable offers for products listed with a reasonable explanation for the offer is always welcome by most sellers .

Some sellers are listing high prices to check the market , some are just fishing for fools .

Ultimately it is up to the buyer to do ones homework to determine what is a fair price .

This has been a fun discussion!  When money is involved some people really get into their feelings. I enjoy the reasoned responses and the nutty emotional ones as well :)

FWIW I like the $100/yr AG Blue Book subscription and the eBay completed sales feature as my guide as I'm assembling another system on a budget. "Budget" is a relative term of course- everyone's got a different one. 

Anecdotal observation: I was given a ARC VT130 that was blowing screening resistors. It was a mystery gremlin as the 6550s were red plating, the screening resistor was repeatedly blowing with no shorted tube, no shorts in the circuit and no failed transformer. I called ARC to get a quote on shipping and repairing it. I was told they had an 8 month waiting list for service!!

The fellow there told me that during COVID people were digging their old gear out of storage and reinstating it. Stored units deteriorate and electronic parts degrade, pots get corrosion, etc.  

Moral of the story: 1) buyer beware. 2) leave room in your calculations for repairs. 3) Figure out where to have the gear checked out and how long you will have to wait to have it functional. 

Thanks for all the fun input! 

Greed, plain and simple.  When morons try to overcharge someone in a community of like minded individuals it just shows the mindset of the seller.  No ethics or sense of fairness.  Greed.

Don't say sellers are stupid.  Look up the price over Audiogon Bluebook yourself.  The pricing information is hardly available even for popular models.

Let's turn this question around and ask why buyers of used equipment think they should be able to pay less than 50 cents on the dollar because it's "used".  Like this is some magic word that suddenly makes everything worth pennies?  If I paid $15,000 for a pair of speakers that will last for 30 years, and they are flawless after 2 years, they are suddenly only worth $7000 because they are "used"?  Yes lots of sellers are asking too much, but no more than lots of buyers who are offering insultingly low values.  IMHO  The correct selling price is what you are able to get for something. I always wait until someone sees the same value I do.