What's happened to the used high end market recently?? Sales are tough....:0(

tutetibiimperes:
In regard to your 1st point - while I agree somewhat , Millennials and Boomers are my main customers and I would say the younger folks account for 2/3rd of my records sales.  Many have good jobs.
I simplified in my original post as although I have 1,200 records I also have many other items geared to Millennials and Boomers (swords, knives, certain books (Harry Potter, Marvel related, etc.), Batman, Spider-man related stuff.  I started out as an antique store with records - we've been in business for 2 years now and we have almost zero antiques - not because they sold but because you almost can't give them away. Since then we learned that Millennials will need to be our customers if we are to stay in business.   I'm getting way off post but all this to to say that Millennials do spend money. Many certainly have $400 in disposable money to so I don't think money is the problem.  As far as limited space goes, that may be true but I (and I'm sure many of us) spent 4 years in college in very small dorm rooms and finally a small apartment.  Music with good sound quality was important enough that we always had a stereo and it wasn't as good as the $400 systems in my shop.  
daveyf:
Back more on topic and I haven't read all the great posts here and it has probably been said - I think the used prices on Audiogon are generally way too high.  It seems when I look for something here the asking prices are in line with asking prices on eBay.  For example the is an amplifier I want with several listed on eBay for $2000 and one here goes on sale for $2000.  I'm unable to find one on eBay that sold because the amp is so infrequently listed in true action (eBay does not track sold items back in time nearly as long as they used to which makes it much tougher to find this information).  So finally one comes for auction and has 50 bids (probably many from people here) and sells for $1200 - that should be it's approximate value (and of course any low buy-it-now sale price is meaningless).  This is simplified of course - most of us would far prefer to buy here than from eBay and would pay more from a member here.  If asking prices (here) reflected legitimate (eBay) sale prices I think pieces would move very quickly.  

As we all recognize, cause, effect and correlation can prove elusive.

First, define high end audio. In similar conversations these topics are often left unresolved.

My personal opinion is that each variable is poorly defined. Is the economy good or bad, it depends on where you are on the sliding scale. US population has doubled over the past 60 years, the average top CEO comp over that time in todays dollars has risen from $800k to almost $16 million. Whether its cars, clothing, stereo gear.....things change, manufacturing expertise moves forward and consumer demand evolves.

at the end of the day, if you list something for sale and it doesnt sell, your price is too high. Ive listed alot of stuff over the years and rarely does it take longer than a week to get a deal done but I dont buy nor sell Onkyo so who knows. 

trelja:
I am in Mullica Hill - Canary Row is my shop

jimman2, I agree with you that pricing is always a factor. OTOH, I have been told by several a’phile friends who have posted gear for sale that the ’only’ way to sell these days, is to basically ’give away’ stuff. Not sure what they consider a ’give away’ price to be, but I do know that the overall market for used gear is definitely a lot less than even a year or so ago.
What is driving this market aspect is the basic topic of my OP.
Like you say, Millenniums are strong force in the market, the ’Boomer’s’ like myself are diminishing. Yet, looking at the new gear HEA market, pricing is steadily reaching higher and higher plateaus! IMHO, this means a much greater exposure for greater loss when one needs to liquidate this gear.
Here’s another thought....one that I don’t think has yet been expounded. In the auto business, it is known that the Bentley’s, MB’s, Rolls. and other ’luxury’ exotica are subject to the greatest devaluation once they come to the used market. Not because they are any less worthy, but simply because those that can afford them are not interested in buying used! Could this be a factor in this hobby too...at this point???

Many interesting posts

random thoughts.....

its expensive

its viewed as ‘old technology’, we grew up with it, the youngsters are not growing up with it

at some point a system finally provides what we seek, so why keep spending big dollars?

its often a solitary experience, gone are the days of cranking it up and partying hard with a crowd

you can buy pretty decent gear these days with fewer dollars 

like owning a great car, a kick ass system was often a status symbol, not so much any more

like a lot of the hobbies we grew up enjoying: skiing, hunting, fishing, SLR cameras, rebuilding cars, finding a new swimming hole, etc, it’s considered passé 

entertainment options which require little or no capital outlay abound today, in the past we had to create our own fun, Mom and Dad used to force us outside whenever we complained of boredom - ‘go use your imagination, and take the dog and your little brother with you!’  

It it takes up a lot of floor space