Is it too much to ask....

while I understand the perspective Viridian (ie hobbyist), but I tend to include basic info and sometimes paste in complete spec's to help my odds of selling.

What drives me nuts is guys who paste in complete mfg spec's and features lists, but say absolutely nothing about the condition of the item.

Wow! ditto, Mitch4t, amazing. No, it's not too much to ask Rlwainwright. Listing the power rating should be no big deal. (not the big deal that some of the posters are making) Sure the buyer needs to do their due diligence and learn what they don't know about the product through research. Once again you have forum members here that exhibit audiophile "off-putting" attitudes. It's like a seller saying "you don't know the product, so I'm not going to help you learn anything, and your money is no good here." Ludicrous....

For me having specs in the ad is not important as I tend to know what I’m looking for and have done my homework in advance….but I am an audio hobbyist, therefore, I have a broader knowledge then a casual A’gon passerby.

I’m more interested in what cannot be found on manufactures websites, like the condition of the amplifier, any modifications/repair history, does the owner have original packing for safe shipping, is the warrantee transferable, does the owner have experience in shipping large heavy items, etc. Does he provide high resolution pictures? For me, these are important facts.

I understand Viridian's point about the type of buyer he prefers to deal with and that's his right as a seller. However, sellers should know that perceptions cut both ways. When I see an ad without much of a description, it smacks of deception or laziness (true or not I'm entitled to my opinion). If a person is lazy when posting an ad for something they want (a sale), how lazy were they when maintaining the equipment? I agree with Donjr about the dust and have recently commented on it in another thread (more laziness - see above).

If I'm in the market for something, yes I have done the research and know what I'm buying. But when I see something like "if you're looking at this ad ..." without anything else listed, it tells ME something about the seller. I refuse to do business with this type of seller and that is my right. I also won't buy from someone who doesn't post pictures or only stock pictures and if the item is more than ~ $100 I will need to talk with you first. Like Jedinite, I don't want to see the whole marketing brochure in the ad but a cut and paste of the spec section from the manufacturer's web site really doesn't take that much effort.

Too many buyers expect to be spoon fed audio knowledge and a minimalist ad can screen out those not willing to do a little research on power, distortion, matching, etc. Remember there are three kinds of lies. Lies, damn lies, and specifications. Watts per channel info. is for the most part useless information. You need to know how the amp behaves at 8-4-2 Ohms if a SS amp and a difficult load, and how much power is available at 20 hz up to 20khz. I have seen some 125 wpc tube amps only eek out 25 wpc into a 50hz load, and this was rolling severely at both ends. But at the benign 1 khz they can make rated power. Put a little stress in the mix and the amp nearly went belly up. When you see the amp for sale it will list 120wpc which is accurate as long as your music doesnt deviate far from 1khz. In my book, bass counts and if it can't make rated power into the frequency extremes it is unusable power. If those specs matter the decision is yours. Jallen