What is going on? No-one buys good stuff priced right.

I've been using Agon for 15 years now (holy crap) and have gone thru so much equipment it makes me wonder. After retiring a few months ago, the time of needing newer, better, or just more equipment is over for me. It's been a nice ride though, and I have not just heard, but owned some extremely nice gear.

For some reason the thrill of owning and listening to the really nice stuff always seems to fade for me. I start thinking, "I paid $5k for this amp and is it making my listening any more satisfying?" My answer has always been "no, not really." The expensive stuff get's sold, and lately not through Audiogon.

What has been satisfying is finding pieces which offer equal (to my ear) sonic pleasure at a fraction of the price. Building Bottlehead kits comes immediately to mind. Or my latest project, finding a non-working Hafler amp and bringing new life to it with modifications. 

As I said, my stuff doesn't get sold through Agon anymore; they lost me during the big shake up a few years ago. Seemed like every time I went to list an item here the fee structure was different and there were other alternatives which worked just as well for me. When I joined this site, placing ads cost $2 it might've been $1 but my memory is fuzzy. It was a wonderful site for hobbyists. As with everything in life though, it changed. 

2channel8 has it right on the money, pun intended. I have slowed my buying to a crawl because the price of used gear is absurd. The prices reflect a depreciation that is just not realistic. I recently looked into a pair of speakers that were 16 years old and the owner was asking 70% of original price. I walked away.

I've noticed that the audio market has slowed down where Im at as well.  I've been trying to sell a pair of speakers for 8 months.  I've only received 1 lowball offer.  The speakers are priced well.  2 years old, light use at moderate levels, perfect condition, boxes etc.  Msrp was $1800.  I was asking $625.  Got an offer at $550.  Raised the price to $725 :)

Theres a company local to me that has started buying up the gear on craigslist in order to resell it at a higher price on their website.  I've seen gear sitting there for awhile as well (serves them right!).

I usually shift my focus to cars, motorcycles, and road trips in the summer.  As soon as snow starts blowing, I buy stereo gear again!

I have a pile of stuff to sell when the season changes. I can't wait.