I found Audiogon somewhere around 7 years ago while doing a search for used audio gear. From what i can remember, it had just gone on-line at that point in time. That is, in the current format that most people recognize Agon in today. I did not become a member of Agon for quite a long period of time after that for some reason. I don't know why, but i did buy quite a bit of gear from listings posted prior to becoming a member.
Way back when, AudioReview was the biggest in terms of available gear / listings / traffic. I also frequented ( and still do ) Audioshopper and to a lesser extent Audioweb. Including Agon, these were considered the "Big 4" when it came to used gear on the web. As i have stated here many times, Agon has always provided me with the best means to buy or sell gear on a far more consistent basis out of all of those mentioned though. I have also come to appreciate the forums quite a bit, as it has a lot more of a "family" ( albeit sometimes disfunctional ) feeling than most of the others. AA is also a great source of info, but it is so big and has so many participants, it is sometimes hard to keep up / sort the wheat from the chaff.
Prior to having a computer, i used to subscribe to Audiomart, which was kind of a like a printed "flyer" version of Agon in terms of used gear for sale. There was another "flyer" that i used to subscribe to, but i can't remember the name i.e. it has "audio" in the name also. The bad thing about both of these sales flyers was that, depending on if you had good or bad mail service in your area, you would either see the listings right away and could therefore snag the good deals or end up calling the seller a week after it already sold if the mail was late. Quite honestly, i think that places like Agon and the others put Audiomart out of business, etc... In a similar sense, that is probably why dealers feel that Agon is also a "threat".
As others have mentioned in various threads, it's a changing world in terms of how business transactions are conducted. When it comes to price and availability of audio gear and discussing related subjects, Agon is a force to be reckoned with. That is probably another reason why dealers feel it to be a threat. Most dealers are still entrenched in their "old school" thought pattern in terms of being able to hold local customers "hostage" / over a barrel since they didn't have a lot of options as to other nearby places to go. The internet has changed all of that and audiophiles can now communicate / conduct business transactions on an international basis at the drop of a hat. As far as i'm concerned, it is sites like Agon and AA that are the prime reasons for this. As such, we should all be thankful for having dedicated folks like Arnie and Rod within our community. If it wasn't for them, the face of audiophilia might have a very different look at this point in time.
As far as naming this place, the audio gear listings could be called "Garbage & Gems" and the forums could be called "Listener's Talk" : ) Sean
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Way back when, AudioReview was the biggest in terms of available gear / listings / traffic. I also frequented ( and still do ) Audioshopper and to a lesser extent Audioweb. Including Agon, these were considered the "Big 4" when it came to used gear on the web. As i have stated here many times, Agon has always provided me with the best means to buy or sell gear on a far more consistent basis out of all of those mentioned though. I have also come to appreciate the forums quite a bit, as it has a lot more of a "family" ( albeit sometimes disfunctional ) feeling than most of the others. AA is also a great source of info, but it is so big and has so many participants, it is sometimes hard to keep up / sort the wheat from the chaff.
Prior to having a computer, i used to subscribe to Audiomart, which was kind of a like a printed "flyer" version of Agon in terms of used gear for sale. There was another "flyer" that i used to subscribe to, but i can't remember the name i.e. it has "audio" in the name also. The bad thing about both of these sales flyers was that, depending on if you had good or bad mail service in your area, you would either see the listings right away and could therefore snag the good deals or end up calling the seller a week after it already sold if the mail was late. Quite honestly, i think that places like Agon and the others put Audiomart out of business, etc... In a similar sense, that is probably why dealers feel that Agon is also a "threat".
As others have mentioned in various threads, it's a changing world in terms of how business transactions are conducted. When it comes to price and availability of audio gear and discussing related subjects, Agon is a force to be reckoned with. That is probably another reason why dealers feel it to be a threat. Most dealers are still entrenched in their "old school" thought pattern in terms of being able to hold local customers "hostage" / over a barrel since they didn't have a lot of options as to other nearby places to go. The internet has changed all of that and audiophiles can now communicate / conduct business transactions on an international basis at the drop of a hat. As far as i'm concerned, it is sites like Agon and AA that are the prime reasons for this. As such, we should all be thankful for having dedicated folks like Arnie and Rod within our community. If it wasn't for them, the face of audiophilia might have a very different look at this point in time.
As far as naming this place, the audio gear listings could be called "Garbage & Gems" and the forums could be called "Listener's Talk" : ) Sean
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