What happened to the "club atmosphere" of Audiogon?

Interesting discussion. I’ve been buying through Audiogon for many, many years. My time with the forums has always varied regarding whether I was in upgrade mode. I could go many months without logging on. In fact, during one of my hiatuses my membership was somehow lost. I’ve never been much of a poster though, more of a reader. Always found the knowledgeable posters a little intimidating to interact with – especially recently. There are some really expert members. Also have valued the music and recordings reviews. The nasty posts I’ve always just ignored.

Audiogon has really helped me assemble systems (CJ, Vandersteen, Rega, etc.) that have let me listen to my real obsessions – Coltrane, Bill Evans, Dexter Gordon, Keith Jarrett, Jerry Garcia, Stevie Ray, Clapton, Santana, Allmans, Buddy Guy, Stones, Beatles, Zepp, Bowie, The Who, etc., etc. Thank god for the wonderful knowledge-base on this site.

Seems if anything is mark "USED", even 5 minuted old, it should, at best, garner only 50%

Umm, welcome to the rest of the world.  Why should audio equipment be much different?  Some of the prices people expect for 5-10 year old "high end" electronics can be quite ridiculous.  Don't hate me, I'm an "audiophile" too, but I'm also a realist that doesn't have a double standard for my own hobby.

A few years ago, the "financial partners" in this site decided the site should be making more money.   Nothing wrong with that, as a goal;  the times were changing.  The simplest way to achieve that end would have been to raise prices, right?  Increase the price of the ads;  maybe put them on a sliding scale tied to the advertised price of the item.  And perhaps add a small annual membership charge.  Unless the increases were outrageously high, no one would have objected.  And no one would have left the site in disgust.   But that's not what happened.

The partners didn't understand the "club" culture of the site, nor had any of them interacted with the members before then.  They imagined they could be the "eBay of Audio".  And it never occurred to them that Audiogon was, in fact, a club  (or that eBay was not a club!)  So they decided to follow the eBay model:  specifically, they would make money by adding a fee to every transaction, and (in the beginning) never considered raising the ad prices or charging a membership fee.

As a result, it became necessary for the owners to micromanage the members' interactions;  to make sure they didn't communicate privately or make deals without telling Audiogon;  just like eBay does.  When the fellow who originally conceived Audiogon balked at that approach, they forced him out (like when Steve Jobs, the 'soul' of Apple, was forced out) and that was the end of the "friendly" Audiogon.

So there's no point in talking about the "different kinds of members", and how they behave.   People are people;  but the Audiogon culture is no longer genuinely warm and welcoming.  And many of the oldest members  --  those with the most knowledge, and the patience to provide the best answers over and over again  --  many of them no longer feel inclined to freely contribute their time and knowledge to what has become a purely commercial enterprise.  It's a shame, because it didn't have to go this way . . . . . .  
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When a site grows it "normalizes", whether that's for the good or bad.

I'm new to posting here myself, and only doing so because of the recaps Audiogon sends to my email, but I have bought a few things here. I probably won't be a regular contributor, not because I sense any attitude, but because it seems to be a site enamored of subjective views. And I'm not. But other than that it seems pretty normal in tone.

As for low-balling, I'm not sure why people get upset over this. I have no problem with people trying to save money and test my price. All I have to do is say no and counter. It's not personal. It's not an insult. It's just money. Recently, I made a bid (about -25%) where the seller never responded. He probably lost a sale because I was willing to come within 7% of his asking price, but just wanted to see how much I could save. The item still sits there today and I moved on and bought it elsewhere. Asking for 50% off is silly, but not trying to get the best deal you can is pretty silly too.

I think nsgarch and smittyjs pretty much nailed it.  You have to separate the forum/social side from the sales side.  Business is business, if you don't like an offer, either counter or say no.  Don't get insulted.  When someone asks you what your best price is, either say what it is and stick with it, or (as I chose to) say make an offer if you're interested, but I'm not going to negotiate against myself.  On the forum side, there has been quite a bit of "turnover" but there's still lots of good info out there.