Is the main reason audio equipment depreciates so much is


1.Because technology is always changing and people always want the latest and greatest.
2.It is expensive to repair when it breaks.
3.It has always depreciated a lot since the inception and that is just the pattern it has always stayed in.
4.It is overpriced to begin with.


taters
#1 on digital and #3 on everything else. With an average of 40% profit at MSRP, and most dealers will discount 10-20% so that drives the used market down to below dealer cost at resale.  In my years here on Audiogon, it seems that 50% of MSRP seems to be the place that everyone starts and then negotiates from there. I think a dealer will usually offer 20-25% of MSRP or show more but a portion of the higher trade allowance is reduced price from MSRP.
After all he must then turn around and try to make a profit at resale.
But then in the end, our hobby is not all about investment and monetary returns. So the years of enjoyment we gain from our equipment captures that investment to enjoy music and the depreciation is merely the fee of admission.
Jea,

If you are saying the dealers are only making 10 percent after expenses that sounds about right. The manufacturers on the other hand are making a lot higher profit margins than that. 

excellent discussions guys-  I am interested in the cost of making cables/power cords (my caveat of our wonderful hobby).
Being a Transparent fan, I often wonder how this company, arrives at the OPUS level pricing? EnKlein, ElRod + MIT are others as well.

In other words, the true cost of making (1) pair of IC, (1) PC
the network box...?
can't leave out advertising costs...I'm a cable guy, but $50.000 speaker cables are beyond my understanding...