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Some thoughts on selling audio equipment....

76.25.11.220
Posted on May 24, 2017 at 17:28:46
slapshot
Audiophile

Posts: 2248
Joined: January 9, 2006
 Recently, as part of my downsizing of the system, I have sold several items. Thought I'd share my experience for those who are interested in such things.

I advertised all of the items here on the Asylum and on USAudiomart. One more expensive item received little attention, so I listed it on ebay as well.

Most of the items have now sold, but none of them through the Asylum, which I find unfortunate as the Asylum would always be my first choice. USAudiomart was by far the best when it came to selling. The more expensive item, which I had underpriced considerably because I really wanted to sell it, garnered a lot of attention through ebay. However, most ebay buyers significantly undercut the already very reasonable price. I was willing to bargain, but not when the low ball offer was 50% of the asking price. In the end, the item was sold through USAudiomart.

So, on the whole, I found USAudiomart to be the best option. I have also found that the market for used interconnects is not very good.

Did not list anything on Audiogon because I didn't want to pay their fee.

In terms of shipping, I found Fed Ex to be cheaper than UPS, and will use Fed Ex from now on.

 

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RE: Some thoughts on selling audio equipment...., posted on May 24, 2017 at 22:58:54
Frihed89
Audiophile

Posts: 15703
Location: Copenhagen
Joined: March 21, 2005
 Still, some equipment from a few mfrs does hold its value remarkably well (in nominal terms), but buyers are primarily in Asia, Russia and the Balkans. I am thinking about Audio Note (UK) in particular. For the US, equipment made by Don Garber, Fi Audio, also holds its value. I am sure there are others.

And their is also the vintage market to think about.

 

Thanks!, posted on May 25, 2017 at 00:05:52
JoshT
Audiophile

Posts: 6622
Location: Eastern Massachusetts
Joined: July 4, 2000
 I did buy a turntable from a fellow inmate through the Asylum Trader. It's a shame people don't use it more often. In my case, although I've still yet to meet the seller in person, we've been virtual friends on AA for years and he's a frequent contributor. He even let me pay by personal check because he trusted me too and I don't have a PayPal account. Sale went really well, with the bonus of some after sale support and advice and pleasant general emailing.
___
"If you are the owner of a new stereophonic system, this record will play with even more brilliant true-to-life fidelity. In short, you can purchase this record with no fear of its becoming obsolete in the future."

 

RE: Some thoughts on selling audio equipment...., posted on May 25, 2017 at 03:36:35
BCR
Audiophile

Posts: 2444
Location: connecticut
Joined: April 7, 2009
 The basic listing on Audiogon is $4.00 for a 30 day listing and final sale is 2%. Ebay charges 10%
of final sale, yet you list on Ebay. Any item I have listed on Audiogon sells within two weeks at the most. I don't understand your problem with listing on Audiogon!

 

RE: Some thoughts on selling audio equipment...., posted on May 25, 2017 at 04:42:32
denden11
Audiophile

Posts: 360
Joined: March 4, 2001
Contributor
  Since: December 12, 2007
 I have had a 100% success rate on Audio Asylum. A good write up and pictures are keys to success.

 

RE: Some thoughts on selling audio equipment...., posted on May 25, 2017 at 05:29:27
slapshot
Audiophile

Posts: 2248
Joined: January 9, 2006
 Probably just a personal bias on my part regarding Audiogon. I had a special promotion this time on Ebay so that there was no charge for me listing there.

 

RE: Some thoughts on selling audio equipment...., posted on May 25, 2017 at 05:30:49
slapshot
Audiophile

Posts: 2248
Joined: January 9, 2006
 Had both a good write up and good pictures, I believe. I guess YMMV, and may depend on the items being sold at the time. If I sell anything in the future, then the Asylum is still my first choice.

 

RE: Some thoughts on selling audio equipment...., posted on May 25, 2017 at 06:16:14
BCR
Audiophile

Posts: 2444
Location: connecticut
Joined: April 7, 2009
 But there sure is that 10% fee when you sell it!

 

RE: Some thoughts on selling audio equipment...., posted on May 25, 2017 at 07:22:42
kentaja
Manufacturer

Posts: 4614
Joined: March 26, 2001
 As another poster mentioned even if the listing is free on eBay you will still pay the 10% fee including 10% of shipping costs. eBay gets their grimy fingers into everything.

This subject comes up quite often. Audiogon is still the best option for selling high-end audio. Rarely does an item that I sell last for more than a day. Many times they are gone with in a hour or so of listing.

Personally I cannot stand eBay but personal bias is a bad way to conduct business when dealing with on-line sales. Results are what count. And if one wants results Audiogon is still the best option it gets the most eyeballs and that is what counts with on-line selling.

Having something worth selling, a good listing, good pics and of course the correct price is what counts with any sight.

eBay will generally result in the lowest sale price IME. Too many clowns and low lifes on eBay that no matter how reasonable the price will still only want to pay 50% of the asking price. Double your reasonable sale price for eBay and then offer the 50% discount. I never have this problem with Audiogon. The items always sells for my asking price.

 

RE: Some thoughts on selling audio equipment...., posted on May 25, 2017 at 07:42:15
slapshot
Audiophile

Posts: 2248
Joined: January 9, 2006
 I agree. In hindsight, I probably should have listed my more expensive item on Audiogon as well instead of ebay.

 

My experiences are similar to yours., posted on May 25, 2017 at 09:27:22
Justlisten2
Audiophile

Posts: 1266
Location: SE PA
Joined: March 8, 2001
 I agree that it is a shame that AA Trader does not have more volume.
I sell most of my stuff on US Audiomart.
If I get more desperate, I'll break down and list it on Audiogon.

Normally I don't have to. I probably sell 75% of my gear through US Audiomart, 5% through AA Trader, and 20% through Audiogon.
I don't do Ebay at all.

I ship FedEx for domestic, and USPS for International.

 

I have to admit..., posted on May 25, 2017 at 10:20:58
axolotl
Audiophile

Posts: 3955
Location: So. California
Joined: September 10, 2002
 ...slapshot, that i saw some of your ICs, but did not commit, as I acquired and fell in love with the new IC that you have within your system.

I'll let it go at that. The less said, the better... at least, here.


axolotl

 

RE: I have to admit..., posted on May 25, 2017 at 10:55:45
slapshot
Audiophile

Posts: 2248
Joined: January 9, 2006
 Yes, the new IC is a definite improvement. I think the (used) cable market is different, somehow, from the (used) component market--not sure exactly how, but that is my impression.

 

RE: Some thoughts on selling audio equipment...., posted on May 25, 2017 at 11:08:18
AudioSoul
Audiophile

Posts: 4594
Location: north central AZ
Joined: July 9, 2005

I have found that selling in the fall and winter are the best times to sell audio equipment. Things seem to sell faster and for more money. During spring and summer everyone's attention is towards vacations and out door equipment and toys....

 

Very few eyeballs here, posted on May 25, 2017 at 11:46:07
J.Mac
Audiophile

Posts: 3553
Location: Colorado
Joined: November 6, 2002
 Just a fact of life. This isn't a very well-traveled forum. And those who are still here are getting up in years and probably not buying a lot of gear these days.

 

Plenty of eyeballs..., posted on May 25, 2017 at 18:12:45
Ivan303
Audiophile

Posts: 48887
Location: Cadiere d'azur FRANCE - Santa Fe, NM
Joined: February 26, 2001
 I think Rod's numbers would astound.

That said, these forums have been so well policed for anything even hinting at 'commercial' posts for so long most who visit here never think to look at the 'Asylum Trader' pages.

Not that they are at all that impressive as to layout and presentation compared to others that focus on presenting product for sale.

I've both bought and sold here but once only either way.

That said, I limited both my selling and purchasing to and from inmates with a LONG and FREQUENT posting history and everything went supper smoothly both ways.


First they came for the dumb-asses
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a dumb-ass

 

Doubtful, posted on May 25, 2017 at 23:57:57
J.Mac
Audiophile

Posts: 3553
Location: Colorado
Joined: November 6, 2002
 > I think Rod's numbers would astound.

I doubt very much that it would. Unless there's a highly unusual number of lurkers who just browse the forums reading every word.

It's easy enough to see how many new posts are being made, and it's not many. Look at the General forum. I see one new thread started in the last two days. One new thread in Speakers in three days. It's not dead, but it sure smells funny.

 

RE: Some thoughts on selling audio equipment...., posted on May 26, 2017 at 03:41:30
mitch2
Audiophile

Posts: 1521
Location: Great Lakes
Joined: August 28, 2001
 I have found your fall/winter observation to be mostly true also. Even after tax refund time I do not see as easy of sales as fall to early winter. However, maybe my buyers pay their tax in April instead of receiving a refund.

I also continue to find Audiogon the gold standard with respect to moving mid to high-end audio gear. US Audio Mart is my second listing choice. I have listed stuff here at Audio Asylum but have not sold much through here. To me, the Audiogon fee is a small price to be able to move stuff more quickly.

 

"I think the (used) cable market is different, somehow...", posted on May 26, 2017 at 05:30:06
1973shovel
Audiophile

Posts: 10117
Location: Greenville SC
Joined: February 25, 2007
 You're right, it is.

Lets say I see a pair of Kimber speaker cables for sale on the Asylum Trader (or elsewhere). My first concern, and apparently that of many others, based on a discussion in the Cable Asylum, is whether or not these are genuine Kimber, or Chinese knock-offs.

I'd suggest saving receipts, and posting them (with private information blocked out, if necessary) in ads.

For example, I've got a few NOS Black Gate capacitors which I purchased new from PartsConnexion some years ago, but were physically too large for the project. I'm considering selling them, but I'm looking for the invoice prior to listing them. Simply because I think they'll be worth more (or sell faster) if buyers feel comfortable knowing they're the real deal, given that there's counterfeit ones out there now.


 

Lurkers, posted on May 26, 2017 at 06:07:03
AbeCollins
Audiophile

Posts: 46280
Location: USA
Joined: June 22, 2001
Contributor
  Since: February 2, 2002
 I think we have a large number of lurkers including many manufacturers.

If you're logged into your account and look at a post, you can see how many times it has been viewed. Of course not all are unique views by different individuals but I would think that most are.

The numbers can be pretty high depending on the subject matter. The number of views is often orders of magnitude higher than the number of people actively participating in the thread.

But I'm not sure how AA stacks up in terms of actual participation per each registered member compared to other audio related sites.

And of course some sections of the Asylum are more active than others so if you view every section, there appears to be a lot of participation in aggregate.



 

RE: Some thoughts on selling audio equipment...., posted on May 26, 2017 at 06:15:02
AbeCollins
Audiophile

Posts: 46280
Location: USA
Joined: June 22, 2001
Contributor
  Since: February 2, 2002
 I've sold a couple items here on the Asylum including some that I didn't even need to advertise! Sold my Oppo HA-1 DAC/Headphone amp a while back, and most recently this April 2017 a low-mileage Dynavector 17D3 cartridge:

The Goods


 

Most sites the lurkers are 20 to each poster. So PLENTY of lurkers.., posted on May 26, 2017 at 08:34:05
3+4=5
 Then the bots. The little Google sort of searchers.It is pretty easy to pull up some A.A. links while searching in Google for nearly any audiophile stuff.

 

Agree with..., posted on May 26, 2017 at 08:48:15
AbeCollins
Audiophile

Posts: 46280
Location: USA
Joined: June 22, 2001
Contributor
  Since: February 2, 2002
"It is pretty easy to pull up some A.A. links while searching in Google for nearly any audiophile stuff."

In addition to AA's own search fields, I will sometimes Google search to find old AA posts as well as photos posted to AA. Works great for researching the AA archives.



 

yup +1 nt, posted on May 26, 2017 at 12:31:42
3+4=5
 .

 

RE: Some thoughts on selling audio equipment...., posted on May 27, 2017 at 11:24:35
gordguide
Audiophile

Posts: 302
Joined: January 20, 2002
 I stopped even looking at ads here on Audio Asylum, as well as AudioCircle, because most sellers indicate they only sell to Continental US buyers only. Browsing turned out to be a waste of time ... I would see something I wanted to buy, money in hand and perfectly willing to follow through, and there it would be. Not for sale to me. So I gave up.

CanukAudioMart (the original site, USAudioMart is a child site) is by far the best market for buying and selling for me. eBay was once good, but those days are gone. Audiogon is the same; they killed their credibility and have in my opinion an unsustainable business model.

Ironically I bought my Mac tuner on eBay and my Anthem tube amp on Audiogon, but both transactions were many years ago.

 

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