Rare has it's own issues.
First off, some megabuck items were rare for a reason - they didn't perform or catch the eye of the purchasing public. The car world seems to have better records of super-flops than I've seen in audio.
Second, in autos just as in everything else, long-term legend-making is far more important than actual rarity. If I had to put X of capital up with the condition that I'd sell it on for exactly the same amount twenty years later, for the same amount of money, I'd rather have a Superfast than a GTO... but maybe that's just me... But in real life, despite the fact that Superfast is rarer, well-appointed, is probably almost as fast, is certainly more comfortable over any distance that would matter, and would be more tractable in traffic, it doesn't get the love.
Third, a no-reserve auction for a GTO held in small-town USA is different than one in Scottsdale or Monterrey, trumpeted through the press. Audiogon may not be small-town USA but it does not have the pulling power of Scottsdale.
Maybe sellers of rare items should sell only 6 times a year (one-month auctions listed on the first day of every even-numbered month). That way people would be able to see what really is rare and what a gathering of people will pay for.
to 'own' a Superfast with the caveat that I'd have to sell it for the price I I'd rather have a Ferrari Superfast
First off, some megabuck items were rare for a reason - they didn't perform or catch the eye of the purchasing public. The car world seems to have better records of super-flops than I've seen in audio.
Second, in autos just as in everything else, long-term legend-making is far more important than actual rarity. If I had to put X of capital up with the condition that I'd sell it on for exactly the same amount twenty years later, for the same amount of money, I'd rather have a Superfast than a GTO... but maybe that's just me... But in real life, despite the fact that Superfast is rarer, well-appointed, is probably almost as fast, is certainly more comfortable over any distance that would matter, and would be more tractable in traffic, it doesn't get the love.
Third, a no-reserve auction for a GTO held in small-town USA is different than one in Scottsdale or Monterrey, trumpeted through the press. Audiogon may not be small-town USA but it does not have the pulling power of Scottsdale.
Maybe sellers of rare items should sell only 6 times a year (one-month auctions listed on the first day of every even-numbered month). That way people would be able to see what really is rare and what a gathering of people will pay for.
to 'own' a Superfast with the caveat that I'd have to sell it for the price I I'd rather have a Ferrari Superfast