Saturday, November 22, 2008

Used market - bargains, lies and BS

Been looking at A'gon for a good deal recently....it's interesting to watch what sells and what doesn't. There seems to be a natural leveling of prices when several sellers have the same goods, as you would expect in any market, but there are exceptions, including one dealer who seems to increase his items when he relists them after they don't sell in the first 30 days (check the BAT 600SE listings!). Further, some people make purchasing easier than others. I was tempted by a pair of BAT VK60 monos but the seller was adamant that he would not ship, I'd have to get to NJ to buy them. A 'mint' PASS amp caught my eye but the seller's idea of mint included the fact that he was the second owner and the amp only had a couple of nicks! Wow, 'mint' now means third hand and scratched! Then there's the folks who won't take anything but a money order, sent in advance before they ship the items. Reputation is everything in this game, but it is not hard to find 'dealers' such as they guy selling Revel out of an address that belongs to a car dealership and who only answers questions on the phone, or a mystery company that specializes in selling 'new' Eggleston Andra II's or even old but brand "new" original Andras at half price, for people who prefer that model. Interestingly both have high positive scores from 'customers' on A'gon. Am sure there are genuine bargains to be had but as always, caveat emptor.

2 comments:

Mark Wieman said...

I'm also a frequenter of Audiogon, but I've been keeping an eye on a few alternative sites. The classifieds section on Audio Asylum has been getting a lot more listings now that Audiogon has effectively increased their rates for sellers. It's currently quite primitive, but I understand they are working to improve it. Others worth a look are AudioXsell, HiFiClassifieds, and HiFi Hock. Looks like there are a lot of bargains right now. Too bad I'm broke!

Mark Wieman
Daily Audiophile
www.dailyaudiophile.com

PatrickD said...

Thanks Mark -- I note these new selling spots are popping up as the pricing structure at A'gon seems to have upset a few people. I'll take a closer look

btw - love the Daily Audiophile.....great work.