Reason for selling is...

With the recent FLOOd of zero feedback sellers on here seems like A-gon is becoming swindle cwntral.

*Look, just assume buyers aren't stupid* (Glaucon)

"Why are you selling" is one of the biggest (& dumbest, IMO) questions. I don't know what buyers are trying to accomplish with that: Hoping that the seller will blurt out; "It's a horrible POS", or: "the transmission in my used car is stuffed full of bananas"?

The 2nd annoying question is: a one sentence e-mail "Is it still available"? Those people are invariably tire-kickers I've found--their question is literal--they have no interest in buying it, they just want to know..... "Is it still available"?

I don't mind if someone wants to know why I am selling. Many times, I list the reason in my add. Historically, I have been pretty careful about what I buy, so I usually hold on to stuff for 2-4 years before reselling. I don't think it is an unreasonable question for someone to ask me. I will provide an answer, and it won't be a lie. Other people are pretty much constantly rotating new stuff into their systems. If a guy has 300 transactions over the last 5 years, asking him is pointless. Clearly, he rotates a lot of stuff in and out.

I do want to know why the seller is selling the equipment. If they lie, then that is on them later. But, if the equipment is faulty or damaged, then I would want to know that before purchasing. Don't you ask the same question to people selling used cars? Sometimes the answers actually do give you an idea of how the seller has taken care of (or not) the equipment. The more questions you ask, the more information you gain. It is inherently stupid to purchase anything (especially expensive equipment or cars) and not ask as many questions as you can up-front). It really doesn't hurt to ask and people that don't give straight forward answers are the ones that I avoid right away. I want to know why you are selling it. Did you fry the amp and the heat sinks are now orange from heat? Most people are honest and will say they are having financial issues, divorce or the equipment has been sitting for some time and they simply want to clear it out. Others will say they are are up grading. Remember, there is always something out there that is better than what you have, so naturally, people upgrade. But, the more questions asked up-front the better and asking why the seller is selling is not a bad question.

enjoy

The problem I find I have buying expensive high end audio products used is not knowing for certain that a product is truly performing up to specifications as it should. That is what you are paying for, however good sounding gear might not perform as designed yet still sound OK. How to verify validate something sounds as it should, short of hearing some kind of obvious noise or distortion?

The most expensive used piece I ever bought on Audiogon sounded fine for over a year when I got it, then one day it developed a clear audible problem. The vendor determined there was a circuit board inside that had its foil largely separated. Luckily it was replaced promptly for very reasonable cost. Was there a prblem when I bought it that took a year to fully develop? Dunno. But I learned from that experience to not be afraid of asking questions up front when many dollars are involved. If a seller does not understand and cooperate, I will find another seller.