are we are own worst enemies?

Supply and demand! First, it has been my experience that many high end dealers will discount 10-15% off list on most products. Certain manufactures, even though they make great equipment, produce in large volumes, have very loose distribution, really don't care who sells their product, don't protect their dealers (allowing sales from "web stores" with no physical building). These product lines usually have much higher markups allowing dealers to get a larger return for their risks associated with this increased competion. It also means that prices can be "footballed" making the MSRP a joke! It is interesting to note the number of retailers listed in the new equipment reports in Stereophile...are there 5-15 retailers or 50-100 retailers? Some used equipment prices tend to get depressed by new technology...right now, digital products seem to be getting hammered, due to new formats, sampling rates, and upsampling. People are somewhat hesitant to buy right now. Sometimes a manufacturer will have a price DECREASE on a product...there goes the price on the used market! When a product is improved, (for example Nordost Red Dawn Rev. 2) then guess what happens to the price price of the original product on the used market? Some used equipment just doesn't seem to show up that often (Accuphase and Atma-sphere come to mind) which will firm the price (low supply). The really GOOD NEWS is people can build a much better used system then they would be able to afford if buying new!

You are right. Also, most of the potential buyers I've dealt with over time have wanted mint condition, but were unwilling to pay a premium for it. I buy most of my equipment new (yes, usually at 10% off give or take), because I don't want wear and tear, etc. My gear is usually pristine by the time I sell it, which is not long after I've purchased it (I do have my "keepers" though), because I like change. I set my prices with condition in mind. Many people do not understand that something in true mint condition is worth much more than one in good or even excellent condition.

As has been mentioned before, it's a matter of how desperate you are to sell an item balanced by how much a potential buyer wants buy what you have to sell.

You do have at least some control over how much an item will sell for. How? Well, by how well the item up for sale or auction is advertised. As an example, if you see a commercial on TV that is wanting you to buy their fast food (i.e. Mc Donald's, BK, Wendy's, Subway, etc.), usually, the commercial that does the best job advertising (i.e. packaging) their product will get the most interest, which in turn generates the most sales.

Another way to look at it would be to take two items that are exactly the same. The only difference between the two items are how they are packaged/presented. Item one is being advertised without any pictures, or maybe one poorly shot photo, not much info on it besides the model name and what it is. Item two has a well laid out page, high quality pictureS, and complete information, with condition, shipping estimates, availability, payment types accepted, etc., etc. It's virtually guaranteed that given the same place and time both ads are listed, item two will get more for their item than item one will.

From our experience, here are some ways to get more for your gear...

• Provide at least one good high quality photo
• Brand and model number
• The quantity (i.e. pair, one, etc.)
• The more info that you can include, the better
• Any accolades from private and professional sources
• Any feedback from others about you as the seller
• Condition and age of the item for sale
• Timing (in auctions) and placement of advertisement
• Comparisons to other items of the same type
• When you can ship, how fast, and with estimated prices
• Types of payments you accept
• Have patience -don't sell unless you get a fair price

• On auctions, $1 w/your reserve set @ your lowest selling price is a good way to sell, although you may have to reslist once or twice before you get a sale. | One dollar, no reserve auctions are the most popular, and you are 99.9% guaranteed to get a sale the first time. However, it is risky, so an auction of this sort should be given 1-2 weeks to run -the longer you can run this type of auction, the more you will get for it.

Bottom line, the more information and patience that you can give to your ad, the more ($) you will be rewarded for your item.

Sincerely,

W ENTERPRISES NORTHWEST -Portland, OR USA
http://www.wenterprisesnw.com | [email protected]

Assuming you get 10-20% off MSRP if you buy new from a dealer, buying used from an individual at 65-70% of MSRP could be saving you as little as 10-15%. Price has to be your overriding concern by a large margin to make this attractive - if I can buy a new piece of gear for $4000 ($5000MSRP) from a local dealer vs. paying $3500 to an individual for a used piece, it's probably worth the $500 to be sure of warranty coverage, proper operation, exact condition, possible audition opportunities, etc.

If you know exactly what you want, you can often find something as a demo or a clearance from the dealers that actively sell online for 60-80% of MSRP. Some of my best purchases were exactly that - peace of mind, confident of what I was getting, etc.

Ultimately, the individual selling a piece of gear has to inhabit the price points below that or it's not compelling, leaving the 50% of MSRP price (give or take) as the natural target. If you have something almost brand new, where the model is still hot off the press and the great reviews are just coming out, you can get above that level, but for the typical sale there's just not enough to justify going much above that pricing point. -Kirk

Most high end audio equipment has a 40% mark-up over dealer cost. Cabling is closer to 50%, some dealers offer new equipement at heavily discounted prices. I bought my Sony SCD-1 just after it was introduced two years ago for $3200 un-opened with warrenty ($5000 MSR). Today I could sell it for about the same used. If $5000 had been the price I and anyone else paid, the price used might be higher. I think it's hard to expect re-sale pricing to be higher than dealer cost on anything when some people are able to buy at the dealer cost. Cabling is the worst in my opinion. New prices are all over the board. When you go to sell your cable people want 20-30% off the 50% they see advertised. At 75-80% off retail the consumer who pays full price takes a huge hit. The best thing the industry could do is to either hold the line on retail pricing or lower the mark-up across the board so the used costs retained value. As long as people have brick and morter shops, the price must remain where it is, it then becomes the responsability of the on-line retailer to hold the retail pricing. Of course this also will not happen so the only answer I see is don't pay retail!