I am saying gear is not selling (or very slowly) even at record low pricing and losses. I know as look at my feedback and experience on this site. You have to all but give it away losing thousands on bigger dollar items. Most tire of that now and have opted out of the buy/sell cycle. Yes I sold and marketed products professionally for 35 years and sold and purchased more here on the Gon than I care to remember. Yes the market of folks willing to go through the hassle and financial loss associated with today’s HEA used market is shrinking. Simple and easily understood if you were to visit with the long time and most active users of this site. The hassle factor and other changes here have brought this about.
- the costs here to list have skyrocket over the last 20 years making the financial losses realized even greater
- the experience level and professionalism of the “average” member has shifted downward increasing the hassle factor of selling substantially
- rising shipping expenses and hassle have also increased the financial loss and risk level
- aging Aphiles are indeed shrinking an already small market as we find ourselves on fixed incomes and weary of the hassle and outcomes of buying and selling HEA gear
- Aphiles are indeed worn out of the constant buying and selling and have learned over the decades that it does not bring audio nirvana, rather it swells audio nervosa
The group of folks referred to above were supporting this site through a steady stream of purchases and sales that seemed endless. It ended.
No, all of this truth is not to say that used HEA is not selling at all. Of course it is. Some of it will sell for a low price, some of the lower dollar items will sell pretty handily and some may even find they made money on a sale. However, the general and underlying trend outlined above is at play now.
As we keep what we have more I do find Aphiles are buying more tweaks. Tweaks, DIY interest and activity, and interest around vintage gear are doing just fine.
