Is Agon becoming the eBay of audio?


I realize that this has been dissed before.
FWIW I'm a regular window shopper on Agon and have noticed a trend by sellers to misrepresent their wares and disregarding Agons condition rating guidelines in higher frequencies.  More listins stating item as"new" when item is obviously not and asking for top dollar. As of late for example an ad was placed for an item as "new" when owner admits that it is 1.5 years old and has at minimum 200+ hours of use. This in itself would be rated a 9/10 at best by the Agon rating system. Sellers are more defining and rating their product based on cosmetics than on functionality. For those buying it is increasingly important to do some deep research and close inspection of represenation pictures by enlarging available pictures to avoid disappointment. 
It is my opinion that buyers should not let emotions or immediate wants sway their common sense. At first sign of questionability be prepared to walk away.
Let the buyer beware

128x128gillatgh
I will say one thing I've noticed is a lot of ads marked new where it's patently obvious the seller wasn't trying to represent the item as new. I've seen enough instances of this that I'm starting to wonder if its some glitch in posting ads. I've seen ads with tons of pics where the seller goes into great detail about the age and condition of the gear. I've seen ads marked new where the seller references the grading scale in his comments. I mean statements like "I rated item Z  8/10 on the Agon grading scale because..." on an ad that states the item is new. Clearly that was not the sellers intention, so I think it is a mix of ad posting errors and of course some bad apples.
It's new when it's sealed in the box, period. If the box is opened, then it's virtually new, opened only to take pictures. If you bought it, used it a week, it's not new, period and it's 9/10. I've taken pains to represent everything I've sold accurately. Better to under promise and over deliver if you want a stellar rating. End of rant.
If everyone adhered to values such as integrity and honesty then we wouldn't be having this conversation would we? Values seem to be something that is devoid lately.......hmmmm!
I've been doing it for ~20yrs on Fleabay, and off-&-on  Audiogon for almost as long. About all we can do is stick to the guidelines & be as honest as you would want the other party to be. Communication is, of course, very important. Most on Audiogon seem truly interested in the hobby. Fleabay, not so much...