are we are own worst enemies?

jazz_nut: a couple of points. first, you've got a greedy dealer if you get a discount of only 10%. you should expect 20-25%; if you don't get it, shop elsewhere. second, in reply to other posts, the typical highend dealer price is 60 points, meaning a $10,000 MSRP product costs the dealer $6,000 + shipping. as already correctly noted, wire is sold at 40-50 points to the dealer. so, if you trade with a decent dealer and pay $7,500 for a $10,000 product, do you REALLY think it's worth $6,000-6,500 used? i don't, especially if its outmoded by a newer model. -kelly

Cornfedboy, where do you get 25% off? I will soon be in the market for an audio reseasrch vt200mk2 and a reference 2mk2. Can you get me 25 or 30% off retail?

Thank-you Cornfed for stating my responce in the right way. The numbers I was trying to state are the same as Kelly's, I think my lingo is wrong. I agree with the statement that if you can't get 20-25% off than look elsewhere, once you learn to buy at an acceptable price the used prices will make sense too.

If you are buying audio gear to resell in a few months or so, then buy well-known, well-reviewed gear (i.e. Krell, Mark Levinson, Wilson Audio, etc.) -or a hot ticket or hard to get items (i.e. latest technology, raved by reviewers, etc.). In this case, it doesn't have to sound the best, it just has to be in demand.

On the other hand, if you are buying audio gear to put together a system that you plan to keep for a number of years, then you will get your money's worth out of it from extensive use, and you will wait (and perhaps even turn down a few reasonable offers) until someone wants to buy it from you for a price that you are willing to sell it for -because you had just as soon keep your system because it gives you a satisfying musical experience. In this case it doesn't have to be the most popular (due to minimal advertising campaigns), it just sounds good to you.

What some of you are missing is the fact that without the internet, most used, high end gear could only be moved by trade-in, unless you live in a major metro area. And you know what dlears give you for a trade!!! The fact that you can expect to get 50%, on average, for good high end gear is only a result of the worldwide market that the internet allows. And don't forget that if you sell at 50%, that means you can buy at 50% also. However, really mint, current or classic analog gear can probably bring a somewhat higher price if you are willing to wait for the right buyer (and to determine that it really is mint, they probably need to do a physical inspection, which means that worldwide market is not available; this translates to less demand=lower selling price).

Also, unless you as good a customer (in terms of longevity as well as volume) as Cornfed is, don't be misled by his ability to buy at such a large discount. And you don't get to be that good a customer by buying large amounts of gear over the net. So we accept the advantages and the drawbacks of the net.