Why was Audiogon started?

Seems to me the intent of the original post had to do with a dealer emailing Sherod & asking him to remove his ad. Even though the dealer had previously sold the item, he had already completed the transaction, so no longer has any control over it nor any say about the ad.

As to the other points raised, A-gon is known for buying/selling audio & the commercial aspect is part of what goes on here. Another activity that goes on here are knee-jerk responses to posts that are presented in a less than helpful manner. I see jes45's post as a denigration of sorts that has added nothing to the original intent of the thread. Same goes for the Khaki8 post. Seems like the preferred mode here is ganging up on somebody to tell them what a dumba$$ they are for trying different gear. That's part of what A-gon is all about-letting those involved with this hobby have a place to buy/sell/talk about audio gear.

I first came to A-gon to buy gear & have found a great place to fine tune my system through a series of purchasing & selling equipment. That there are dealers here only adds to the choices & although I have a local dealer I support, if I was searching for an item he didn't carry I would probably look to A-gon for a recommended dealer.

I don't mind commercial participation on audiogon, though perhaps it ought to be identified in a manner so that I can look at private ads, as opposed to dealers or manufacturers, separately.
I do mind the arrogance of some dealers that Sherod speaks about. I bid in an auction on one dealer's item and lost. After the auction closed, I began receiving solicitations by e-mail for other items the dealer was selling. When I complained to him that I should not have to expect junk e-mail merely because I bid on one of his items, he sent me a nasty e-mail, including profane name-calling, and insisted he had every right to use the bidder's list as an e-mailing list. I complained to audiogon, but I never got a response and that dealer is still active on audiogon. I'm sure he is the exception, but something should have been done about it.
No, I don't mind the dealers, with certain exceptions. I only hope it doesn't become like audioweb.com, which I rarely look at anymore because it is so clogged with dealer ads.

My take is a bit different - I have recieved very valuable information and opinions from the folks in the audiogon forums. Even if one were to simply 'lurk' and read, as I do - you can't help but get a feel for the type of equipment to purchase/preview in your system and budget. I recently purchased a Joldia JD-100 from a dealer here at Audiogon, simply because of the feedback that other 'goners had posted about this business. I feel the level of service I recieved, along with the price and add-on goodies was great. The thing is, I didn't respond to an ad, simply others experience with him in the forums when researching my next CDP purchase. As it turned out, I got a hell of a deal also on an IC that he sells along with the CDP. Yes the dealer ads do sometimes get annoying - but at least there are no popups!

Keep up the great work - I read audiogon just about everyday.

I love this site. Although, I participate more in the winter months. IMO, Connecticut sucks in the winter. I feel like a caged animal. Consequently, I listen to my music more and participate in the forums more often during the winter months. Soon, this will no longer be an issue, as in July I will be relocating to So. Cal. My family has lived out there for over 20 years.

It's funny. I find that many people tend to only look at small bits and pieces of the forum and tend not to look at the whole forum "picture". A forum is an open exchange of ideas. You must be willing to accept other persons opinions. If you can't, stay out of the forums. I have never asked anyone to agree with my opinions, but I do ask that they at least respect my opinions.

From the perspective of private/dealers sales, I have found AudioGon to be a tremendous source for used/new equipment. I have bought/sold many items and have always been very pleased with the people I have done business with, and the manner in which everone has conducted themselves.

I would not want to be a retail dealer in today's marketplace. While attending college, I worked in a small chain of mid/uppermid stereo stores here in Connecticut. Back then? There was no internet. There was no AudioGon. Not only did we have to represent our equipment, but we also needed to represent ourselves. It was personal integrity and commitment to our customers that made us successful.

That does not seem to be requirement today. Many people are driven by price point. Which is fine. Although, a very close friend of mine who is also an Audiogon member had proposed a concept to me that I still value very much to this day. It goes like this:

There are three primary things a consumer wants today.
1):Price, 2):Quality, and, 3):Service.

Well, pick two, because you can't have all three. If you really sit and think about it, it makes sense.

If you enjoy the ability of buying stereo gear at discounted pricing, it's very hard to expect a retailer to provide you with top notch service also. You must be willing to give up something. Unfortunately, many retailers (because of the internet) have to make the one time "kill". I would never expect a retailer to sell me a new $5000.00 item for $3500.00 and then have to service the shit out of me also. That is what I would consider, unfair from my behalf.

That retailer is compromising by giving up margin, I think the buyer needs to compromise also.

Nuff said.

I can only speak for myself as someone who moved from a very large midwest city full of audio dealers to a very small southern with no dealers anywhere within reasonable distance. I don't know how I originally got started with Audiogon, but it was probably after reading some advertisement in Stereophile or The Absolute Sound. I found it to be a source of information on equipment and discourse on related subjects that offered me something no other media had. The one thing it did do was rekindle my interest in audiophilia. Sure it's changed over time, it would have to to be relevent. I, for one, welcome the input from dealers and independents alike because that gives you both sides of the equation. I've bought from dealers who I was exposed to here on Audiogon that I would never have had the opportunity or occasion to do business with. I've also bought quite a bit of equipment from other members who have moved on to bigger and better things. Today email and phone contact are even more powerful marketing tools when people are seeking information and don't have the time or the inclination to shop in person. Audiogon supplies a forum for anyone to use as they see fit, whether one uses it for information gathering or uses it to buy and sell equipment, either way name another site that gives you so much for so little. I promise you that if I were to try to sell my Tenors in Beaufort, SC that I would probably not get one phone call or if I did it would be from someone who would want to know how many cylinders it had!