What happened to the "club atmosphere" of Audiogon?

If one is offended by extremely low offers, you are probably too attached to your equipment and shouldn't be selling it (OK, only kidding! ;~)  But there are two solutions:  either ignore the offending offer (and put it out of your mind!) or don't offer to entertain offers (you'll probably get some anyway  --  and they'll be serious, not lowballs!)

While I agree the current culture seems to me somewhat less congenial than in the 'old days' I think it may be partly due to the internet culture in general, and it doesn't bother me that much.  The two main reasons I don't shop here much anymore (well three actually, but I'll get to that) are:

1.)  The overwhelming presence of commercial sellers and retailers on the present site.  Every time I do a casual tally, it comes to just about 50%.  So the likelihood that something you're looking for is for sale by a private individual is about 50/50.  Or to put it another way, half the items you searched for, and half the time you spend browsing, will be a waste of your time (unless of course you're looking to pay 'retail'.)   Although not specifically banned, commercial sellers were never encouraged to use the original site, as it was clearly meant for private classified listings.  I don't mind that the current site has both, but they should definitely be kept separate.  Especially since these commercial users enjoy privileges/features not offered to private sellers.
2.)  Due to the cost of listing and selling on Audiogon, (and on eBay too) prices run a little higher than on free sites like USAudio, AA Trader, etc.

The "third" reason (which has nothing to do with Audiogon) is that it's become unnecessary to browse individual 'audio classified' sites anymore.  I use HiFi Shark exclusively.  It's free, and it scans every audio classified site in the world (plus eBay and Yahoo) and sends me an email (with links!) the minute an item I'm looking for gets listed.  It also provides up-to-date information on all recently sold or expired listings, which is a big help if I'm planning to sell something  --  check it out
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I am so tired of reading how someone got offended by a low-ball offer. The notion of being "offended" by low-ball offers is such a crock. Why not call it what it really is? You are simply mad (like a little whining baby) that someone won't give you the amount of money you want. It has nothing to do with anyone offending anyone.(My comments are not directed at any one person in this thread as I've not read it through. Just at those who've felt "offended". Such a silly notion.)

What I really miss is how crazy people’s systems were and how active the buying/selling used to be. Prior to the economic turn down, people in this forum used to swap out gear regularly which resulted in a very active marketplace for some awesome, high end gear. To put it in perspective, I had no problem selling some pricey gear like Esoteric X-01, Esoteric P3/D5 transport and dac, B&W 805/804/802 speakers, ARC Ref preamp, MBL preamp, Ayre MX-R monoblocks, Pass Labs XA-160 monoblocks. Needless to say given our new normal in the audio world, these items would have a hard time selling now. Dont get me wrong, I fully understand and even appreciate the more "responsible" audiophile world we live in now, but I do miss when we were all spending crazy amounts of money and just pushing the envelope of our whacky hobby.

+1 tboooe, I remember those days well Tommy!

The constant rotation of gear got me dizzy sometimes. I still recall a time, probably around +/- 10 years ago, when I had (4) high end preamplifiers in my home for a shoot out. List prices ranged from around $7K to $10K each, and I had bought them all and was using my patented Audiogon "Buy N' Try" methodology. I kept one, sold the other 3 within a month. Nothing like trying gear for your own ears, in your own room.

Crazy days when I look back on it. Sometimes I do miss it, but for the most part I'm happier settling down these days. I think the higher advertising prices, as well as the economy, has slowed down the market. It was easier flipping gear around when an ad was only $2.

patented Audiogon "Buy N’ Try" methodology

HA HA HA! So I owe all of this to you! I must admit that at times back then I felt like I was single handedly supporting the audiophile industry with all my purchases.  Those were the good ol’ days for sure John! If I am honest with myself, half (if not more) the fun for me is trying out new gear. I am a total gear nerd so when my system gets a bit stable I lose interest so I am constantly trying to find ways to keep my system fresh by learning about new technologies. The phrase "just enjoy the music" does not really apply to me. LOL! Unfortunately, the scope and scale of my "upgrades" are now more in the sub $1000 range versus what it used to be where I would spend upwards to $15k without even thinking about it. This new world order for me has as much to do with my audiophile maturity as it does having growing kids and a retirement account that is nowhere near where it needs to be!

Practically speaking this method allowed me to try out lots of different gear in my home with very little downside. Many times, I was able to sell my gear for at least what I paid for it. At one point I had the MBL, ARC, and BAT preamps in my home. Whats even more nuts was that I also had the Ayre MX-R and Pass Lab XA-160 monoblocks as well. I think I had over $40K committed to gear but I was not concerned at all about being able to sell everything. I recall the person who bought my Pass XA-160 amps were actually a janitor at a local high school! No idea how he was able to afford those amps.