I can only speak for myself as someone who moved from a very large midwest city full of audio dealers to a very small southern with no dealers anywhere within reasonable distance. I don't know how I originally got started with Audiogon, but it was probably after reading some advertisement in Stereophile or The Absolute Sound. I found it to be a source of information on equipment and discourse on related subjects that offered me something no other media had. The one thing it did do was rekindle my interest in audiophilia. Sure it's changed over time, it would have to to be relevent. I, for one, welcome the input from dealers and independents alike because that gives you both sides of the equation. I've bought from dealers who I was exposed to here on Audiogon that I would never have had the opportunity or occasion to do business with. I've also bought quite a bit of equipment from other members who have moved on to bigger and better things. Today email and phone contact are even more powerful marketing tools when people are seeking information and don't have the time or the inclination to shop in person. Audiogon supplies a forum for anyone to use as they see fit, whether one uses it for information gathering or uses it to buy and sell equipment, either way name another site that gives you so much for so little. I promise you that if I were to try to sell my Tenors in Beaufort, SC that I would probably not get one phone call or if I did it would be from someone who would want to know how many cylinders it had!
Why was Audiogon started?
I had always thought that Audiogon was started to allow audiophiles to sell their pre-owned equipment as well as have discussions about everything audio in the discussion forums.However, over the last two years, it has appeared to me that Audiogon has become a Haven for "direct-selling" manufacturers and a refuge for high-end dealers. As an example, I recently bought a new item from a dealer and it didn't work out in my system. I tried to get a return authorization from the dealer, but because it was a special order( a lot of dealers don't stock items that they carry to keep inventory cost down)the dealer couldn't take it back, unless I upgraded to a more costly item. At this point, I was either stuck with the item or could take another option to re-sell it on Audiogon( where the dealer also advertises heavily).I put the item up for sale on Audiogon( much to the chagrine of the dealer as I advertised it for much less than I bought it from the dealer( It was now a used item)I finally sold the item after a couple of weeks and a few "price-reductions" . After marking the item as SOLD, I got a friendly e-mail from the previously mentioned dealer who asked me to kindly remove my ad now that I had "sold" the item. I e-mailed the dealer back and told him that I would remove the ad, but only after I had shipped the item and the buyer had received the item and acknowledged that all went well, hence making the sale final.I'm just concerned that the original intent of starting up Audiogon might be turning into a chaos of commercialism. Any comments in agreement or disagreement would be appreciated.