How many people here generally buy used?

I spent many years buying and selling used gear, figuring out my sonic preferences while living within my means. More recently moved to working directly with small boutique manufacturers to obtain new gear that gets me really close to what sounds best to my ears. At this point only my Ayre power conditioner is used, the rest was purchased new directly from the manufacturer (which, without markup, provides the price-performance ratio of used WITH warranty and post sale support) or from excellent dealers who will work with me on price.

I’ll buy both new and used. I try to always to find used first. Amp used only 6 months old when I purchased it. Speakers were open box. Turntable was a demo but I also got a great trade in for an integrated amp. Essentially resulted in a new, free phono cartridge. Phono preamp new on sale.  DAC new. CD player new but on sale. Preamp new but I got a good trade in for my old preamp. I have not yet been able to find the preamp I purchased on the used market and it’s been about a year.

My current system is a mix of new and used. My newest piece is a dac, bought 3 months ago. My oldest piece is a 25 year old tube preamp, bought used several years ago. Couldn't have afforded it if new. Bought amp, sub, and turntable used, speakers and CD transport new. My only Chinese built component is the dac.It is excellent,however it will  be my last new made in China component for obvious reasons(regime, not the people).The rest is mainly U.S. and U.K. 
    No hard fast rules on new or used., just what is best at time of purchase.
     
    
    

I have bought and sold quite a bit of used gear over the years. It has allowed me to put together what I think, is one hell of a high end system that if I were to walk in to a store I probably wouldn’t be able to afford new. It also allows you to try and rotate gear that you might not have considered and enjoy for a while. Like others, I don’t buy or sell anything beat up.

Just like buying a car, always buy used and let someone else deal with the depreciation off the lot. Finding an amazing deal is a big part of the shopping experience for me and part of the reason I enjoy this hobby so much. As someone who also likes to swap gear around (hold for a few components) every 6-10 months, not taking that huge hit of lost value makes it much more bearable.
I’ve built a BMW M3 cost system on a Toyota Yaris budget, talk about bang for your buck!