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HAVE ALL SALES STOPPED ON AUDIOGON ???

I haven't sold hardly anything in a month, is anyone else having that problem,or is it me........autospec
autospec
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Actually I am really not that surprised that a lot of sales have stopped on Agon tbh.

Past few days I have found a number of sellers who have same item on here and ebay ( as do I) BUT.....

They are all asking MORE for the item here than on ebay which is plain STUPID! Some in the order of 300 to 500!  Ebay fees are considerably higher than here especially for higher priced goods as they are 10% right up to a max of $750.
So let us say you are selling an item at $3000, on ebay you will pay $300 fees, here you prepay and it is $50, where is the problem in doing the math that selling here will save you $250 in fees alone.

So WTF are they doing asking for MORE on here?
Greedy?
Hoping as it is more a niche website, members will stupidly pay more than on ebay?

You got me!

My last 3 items I sold on ebay at no reserve auctions and best offer and every item ended up selling for MORE than I had them on here for, not the other way round! Yes I still lost more in fees and I would have preferred them to have sold here but if its a dead market here what can you do?
jbrrp1
423 posts
 
Could be that they are positioning their goods in anticipation of offers and a compromise that gets them to the same end game?
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
I seriously doubt it tbh as same items are open to offers on ebay too.

Just one example, there are a pair of speakers for sale by same seller here and on ebay. ebay price 2500, audiogon price 3000.

Now a 500 difference likely means in todays climate that potential buyers are going to skip right past his 3k add and go for the one on ebay at 2500 anyway.
But let us say he made the sale on ebay.

That is going to cost them 250 in ebay fees, so net 2250 ( lets ignore paypal fees for now!)

Sold here at 2500 would cost them 50 in fees, net 2450.

Makes ZERO sense to list with such huge disparate prices or if you are going to I would expect exactly the reverse so more on ebay to help pay for the much higher fees.

And as a 20 year plus ebay seller I do know a small thing or two about the art of selling...lol.
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Its not just higher priced items, the bottom has definitely fell out of the Agon market.
Another example.
I have some modestly priced cables for sale here and on eBay both same description and price.
Here a lot of views but not one question or offer.
EBay, 4 questions and 7 offers, none of which were seriously out of order or offensive although I chose to hold out for a little closer to my asking price.

Perspective.
michaelgreenaudio's avatar
michaelgreenaudio
1,019 posts
 

The market evolves as does the hobby. I keep my eye on a few things concerning the HEA market.

One is, are more HEA stores opening or folding? Many of the stores after the Mom & Pop exodus still had relatively young owners that hung in there. These guys are at retirement ages now, or beyond.

Two, I'm keeping my eye on show attendance. Again that could very well be the same age issue. Most of this generation have made their end game trophy purchases.

Three, gaming! I don't see the next generation moving away from gaming and going HEA.

Four, the price tag. HEA shot itself in the foot big time! Maybe there are a few on forums like this hanging onto "price is sound" religiosity, but that's fading faster then the debate over it. Every year I have a couple of companies asking me if I'm interested in distributing their products to the US market. There's one I have fallen in love with, one. The rest of them I tell them they're going to have to drop their pricing dramatically. IMO, there are simply way too many great budget products out there for the expensive guys to fight off.

For now, some here are still able to put up a defense for the expensive stuff, but watch how fast that fades as soon as the first couple lower priced super stars knock them off their mountain.

Five, the spec-tech is history. Radio Shack engineers are no longer the majority. People are now buying stereos because of the sound and convenience not how they measure with some amateur test bench junkie. Ever notice how loud amateur experts get lol? It seems the older they get the less they know how to do. I don't see the next generation giving a rats hind end for home brew experts in audio. This loudness wars thing for example, what a joke. If that's all the higher the IQ is, don't expect "all the young dudes" to be around to listen.

And "6" time. One thing I noticed on the TAS forum (now gone) and the Stereophile forum (all but gone) and here is how time is king. Every year that goes by technology grows, and old folks get grumpier when not satisfied and or relevant. This my friends is a fact, if your someone who comes up here braggadocios, augmentative or full of suspicion, you are officially an audio zero. And if you have friends here the same way, congratulations your ready for the home. Music and audio is a blast and brings happiness like no other hobby. Someone walking around grumpy or always trying to make discord are not true audiophiles, they're internet trolls. Nothing more than unhappy people trying to make others unhappy.

We live in an age where most young folks have headsets on, smile that's a good thing. We have got more opportunity to enjoy the hobby we have then ever before. We can buy new products and old, and every price range and quality of sound. The only way you can be unhappy is if you haven't yet found your sound. Bottom line life is good and if you are spreading bad still, after all these years, well there's really not much anyone can do for you.

If HEA creeps to a craw, let it. That's called moving forward.

MG

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