Why is used audio equipment so undesirable?

I used a pair of Heresy for four plus years, they had such good trade in value due to a recent price increase...    it cost $300 to use brand new speakers for four years and I traded them toward my Forte which I couldn't have done outright.   Someone got a good deal on my Heresy too.

I buy used 90% of the time. Rarely have I had an issue. I can sell sometimes even for a profit and keep trying new stuff basically for free or just the initial used investment. Let someone else take the hit. 
 

When I do buy new I’m shooting for 20% off list. If you look around that’s usually doable. One of my systems has a list of about 12k. I have 2.4K into it and sounds crazy good. 

I’ve always made money or broke even on anything McIntosh

It’s really fine, with some education and adjustment of your expected resale values. If you buy something at full retail, you’re gonna take a bath on its resale, even if it’s the very next day. Some brands hold up in value better than others (yes, McIntosh being one of the gold standards there). New hot items can command a premium, but that rarely lasts. When you look at sold used items over time, most are going below 50% MSRP. After the initial big hit though, depreciation tends to level off. So you’d either better get a hell of a discount when buying new, or buy used to start with.

If you get a used item that sounds notably worse than a new one, 9 times out of 10 that says some very BAD things about the manufacturer (inconsistency, bad reliability), rather than the fact that it’s used. Audible problems tend to be very obvious, and sellers with good feedback are not trying to pawn off broken gear.

@emergingsoul

“ ,,,,there is limited interest and not much to be gained by getting rid of unused equipment. My dealer doesn’t want it. And it’s all fairly new stuff within a few years. It’s easier just to box it and store it away and give it to someone if a situation ever arises. Selling it is ridiculous as I’m lucky to get 30 or 40%…”

hmmmm … not exactly IMO sir! Not all preowned gear grouped en masse. Quality build high end that does not suffer from unbridled Seller hubris as to selling price is doing fine .

ALL pre-owned equipment has a comparatively large depreciation factor from new, just like cars. And some if it has a very VERY high rate of depreciation.

You haven’t specified what pieces are affected so I will offer some selective observations.

HOME THEATRE AVRs and RELATED EQPT

regardless of its age, this stuff slides on a scale like a bobsled to hell. The vast majority is grossly overpriced from new already with a general very dodgy build quality from China. Most have a very brief warranty period limited to only one year before they become boat anchors that are impossible to fix.
(A);The OEM manufacturers abandon providing replace parts supply shorty after the warranty period, as new models replace them.

(B) Professional techs refuse to service them now because of (A) in the first part, and more so, (B) the cost to repair exceeds the FMV of a serviced unit .

HENCE, Dealers don’t want any part of it.

CHEAP AMPS, SOURCES, SPEAKERS

Age has nothing to do with the marketplace shunning of most low-level strata gear. Even recent year issue models suffer from a tsunami of cheap option choices that render investing time and money into pre-owned units that are expensive to store and hard to sell. Ergo, Dealers don’t want them either. And that’s before they elect to carve out the segment for the expanding cohort of buyers, as dealer time wasters, who toss around nickels like they are manhole covers in the words of a local dealer.

QUALITY BUILD AND WELL -CARED FOR HIGH-END GEAR

Assuming it is properly priced, it sells on AGON , CAM and USAM in good form.AND quickly. Quality matters …big time. Dealers seek these out as viable budget fits for many consumers. 

COVID AND THE PENDING RECESSION

This is the 800-lb gorilla in the room. ‘Nuff said.