Would you pay more than 25% of MSRP for a used cartridge?

Here’s where everyone trots out his or her individual experiences buying used cartridges. As to the issue of cost, I forgot to point out that many cartridges that are out of production are now valued much higher than their original MSRP. For those cartridges, there is virtually no relationship between the used value and the MSRP. In my opinion, it’s foolish to make a hard rule about what the valuation of a used cartridge should be in relation to its MSRP. Each case is unique.

12inch, you have no idea what you’re missing if you completely rule out “old things”.

Agree with most that used cartridges are too risky to buy. Many dealers will give you 20% discount so just buy new.

Agree with most that used cartridges are too risky to buy. Many dealers will give you 20% discount so just buy new.

Sure, but when I was younger 20 - 25% off a Koetsu still didn’t make it affordable to me. I bought my first Koetsu used, and it gave me a big taste of the high end, which I continue to enjoy today. Bought my next Koetsu used too, and also loved it. At some times the used price of a high end cartridge with "~ 300 hours" has been low enough that even when adding the cost of a factory rebuild, it still comes out to a new cartridge at ~ 20% off list. And the used Koetsu I bought from here definitely didn’t need to be rebuilt for a while. I’ve since bought new ones & had factory rebuilds - the used ones definitely sounded like they should.

As others have stated, it’s fine that so many in this market are reticent to buy a used cartridge - it makes better deals for the rest of us. On the other hand, it sucks when selling, but I don’t do that much 😅

noted.

@mulveling Thing is nobody pays MSRP. More like 80% MSRP is common. So your used cartridge with rebuild that came out to 80% of MSRP is the same as just buying new but without any warranty and a lot of risk and hassle.