I wouldn't be so upset over the current nature of buying and selling. This is indicative of what is going on all over the place. people have this sense that there is such a thing as free lunch. In the buyer/seller market, you are now seeing on TV/cable a whole series of flippers. They try hard to rip off sellers by pretending to be nice and complaining about their costs, etc. So, they try to buy as low as they can, not tying to be fair (why should they?)
same is true here. If you bought items with the thought that you will recover your costs later, that is a fallacy.
Enjoy your equipment and sound. Don't be in a hurry or desperate when selling and be patient. Ignore low ballers and just wait. There will be someone out there looking for that particular piece.
I have bought many items on Audiogon and I have never asked for a reduction in the asking price. If I think the asking price is too high, I move on.
I have sold many items here also. I typically price items below the market price. I price to sell. However, I never sell to low ballers. That is just insulting to me. They, like me, know what the average blue book price of the item is. A person wanting the item for their system to listen to music will meet a fair asking price. A person that is a flipper wants the lowest price they can get, and they lowball.
Kindly ignore them.
enjoy