Am I going crazy or?

I have noticed that too. But then again, there are all types of people out there.

Arthur

Some people are always in la-la dream-land, be they buying or selling!

Ya just gotta remember, There are THREE basic types of people in the world:
1. Those that can count.
2. Those that can't count.

:-)

You've answered your question in the second sentence. What it all boils down to in a free market is: What do you want more, the merchandise or the cash? That goes for both buyer and seller. The grocer wants the dollar in your pocket more than the quart of milk on his shelf; if you want the milk more than the dollar in your pocket, sale.

Those who under price obviously want the cash more than the merchandise, regardless of its worth. On the other hand, those who overprice want the merchandise more than the cash. There are intangibles involved, the biggest probably being a sentimental attachment or, maybe, a bit of arrogance. If I make an offer and I get a sneer in return, I just move on. A lecture or an argument over his steadfastness is pointless and says more about you than him. The deal of a lifetime comes along every couple of weeks.

Yep. A whole lot of folks are asking too much for some very ordinary stuff. But, if you are tying to sell a high quality, expense, product admired by many but affordable to few you can't expect to sell if at a fair price in a short period of time. You might have to list it several times until a willing buyer appears. When the sellers patience expires he'll lower his price.

If I wanted such a piece of stuff I would E-mail the seller and explain to him that while I considered his asking price too high that I wanted to buy the item and if he ever revalued it to let me know.

You never know, nothing ventured nothing gained.

Thats a good idea Newbie.Turning negatives into positives has always been the providence of the perceptive few....

If I could get "X" dollars for my whatever I'd sell. Otherwise it's not worth giving up my whatever for cash that may be used to purchase "Y" component. There may be someone out there willing to pay "X" and, if so, great. If not, that's OK too since I'm really only willing to sell my whatever if I can get "X" dollars.

Makes sense to me.

yes, you are going crazy. You're an audiophool.

The other parameter you people are forgetting is supply/demand. If you've been waiting for a year (or more!) for a used/discontinued item to appear, you're not going to quibble over a higher price than you were hoping/expecting to pay. In fact, if you don't email the seller and agree to buy it 'right now' someone else will likely beat you to it, and you'll be waiting another year while the item (probably) appreciates in price ;--)

So a motivated buyer is IMO the flipside of a lowballer. To a MB, just finding the desired item and, or, finding one in good condition, are much more important than the absolute price +/_. To a lowballer, the item has value inversely to the price paid ;-)

Nsgarch, I agree 100%, the item dosen't sit there because the price is too high, it sits there because someone who really wants it hasn't seen it yet.

Patience pays off many times, as a buyer or a seller. If you buy or sell in a hurry, chances are you didn't get the best deal. Sometimes it's just a matter of being patient for the right buyer or seller to come along.
Sometimes the seller is not really sure that he even wants to sell. He may place an ad as a 'feeler'. If he gets very close to his asking price, he may sell and move on. If he does not, he waits and listens to what he has. I've placed ads before just testing the market for a certain item. It may seem overpriced to you, but I only need one buyer.
All buyers would love to find desperate sellers, a patient buyer/seller can reap the benefits. This holds for any market, audio, homes, autos, etc.

John

I was looking for a Rogue Zeus for a while,probably a year and then one day,what do I see .One Zeus for sale about 45 minutes drive from my place,Wow I rubbed my eyes and looked again .I offered the seller the asking price minus 5% but I was prepared to pay the asking price PLUS 10%.LOL
Anyway he agreed and I went and paid and picked it up 3 days later.That was 2 years ago.If I want something bad I am prepared to pay the asking price so long that it is within reason.But I've overpaid enough times.
Regards
George

There is a bit of psychology in this too, for the seller. I discussed a Burmester CD player with its proud owner recently. He plainly loved it and felt it was worth more than the market would pay, so be it. He did'nt sell perhaps he won't.
In that case, it was a 3 year old player, on CD units you have to factor in Laser and transport players that maybe are'nt available anymore. The great thing for a buyer is not to be in a rush. I have a 4 year old Shanling player that still works, so I can weight. If it fails you are under a bit more time pressure.

I guess what makes me crazy are the guy selling the usual stuff that I see here all the time. Except he wants 15% less than new, when everyone else is selling for 50% off. I remember seeing a common power cord listed one time for 5% off of a new cord with no warranty. Now it doesn't take a genius to figure out that I should go by the new cord. Heck even if the guy is taking 10% off and it is a cord under $300 I might as well go buy a new cord. And then there are those that sell something that is over 10 years old and are plentiful on agon and want gold for it. And they are offended if you try to talk them down. I suppose some want to keep it rather than sell it. But to those I would say " why bother to list it then " And there are those that say " if no one will pay my price I will throw it in the closet! " Great now you have a piece of gear taking up space and your not getting any use from it or money for. And who will get it when you die? So might as well sell it.

Kt_88, I really cannot understand how you can say 'makes me crazy'. Why do you take these ads so seriously? When I see ads like you have mentioned, I don't give them a second thought or consideration. I focus on the ads that interest me, not the ads that do not. Why be concerned if a seller isn't highly motivated? When I'm selling I also do not much worry about unmotivated buyers. It takes all kinds of folks to make the world go 'round, that's what makes life so interesting.

John

This is pretty simple; it’s the seller’s choice to ask for whatever he sees’s fit, if you think the price is to high then move on doesn’t get any simpler than that!
Allot of buyers think if you don’t give 50% then your asking to much, NOT ALL but there are some.
There are allot of different reason why a seller might have a higher price, condition, how old it is maybe extras that go with it or so on.
I think allot of times a buyer is expecting the seller to give it away, I wont.
Kt_88 says “And there are those that say “if no one will pay my price I will throw it in the closet!”
I won’t go that far but if I don’t get a reasonable offer I will put it away, I am not going to give it away just so I can sell it.
I will repost at a later date.
So my thought is if you think an item is too much$, make a RESONABLE offer if the buyer say’s no then move on it wasn’t for you.

This has been discussed to death.

There are real buyers and real sellers: those are the ones who actually set the price.

The others are not ready to act.

Some of the stuff I read in this thread is pure nonsense.

Pbb
You could easily replace "Some of the stuff I read in this thread is pure nonsense" with

Most of the stuff I read on this entire website is pure nonsense
-YMMV

-YMMV

" Most of the stuff I read on this entire website is pure nonsense "

ditto! but then really what are people doing here anyway? Some have legitment questions aobut gear they want to buy, others are just passing time. The sad part is that most people that are the " sell it for gold " people don't bother reading the posts.

another thought- most of the stuff i hear people say in general is pur nonsense.

Pbb,

If you don't like the nonsense, you don't have to read.

This is an interesting thread. It appears to be a buyers market but regardless what some sellers may think their item is worth they will refuse to sell for less than what they paid for it used and will sit on it. Another thing to consider is that some sellers recognize that there will be lowballers and deliberately inflate the price so when offers come in they end up getting the price they wanted and both parties are happy. Finally relisting an item for sale works because once you get past the first page you are getting less coverage as most potential buyers are carefully scrutinizing the first page for newly listed items.

Anyway it is obvious that sales have slowed down considerbly, maybe money is getting tighter and one only needs to look at the cost of living. Heck, I just pulled out of winter with utility bills costing me no less than $600.00 a month. With the current gas prices it is costing considerably more to fill up my tank. Take a look at food costs they are up as well because the price of fuel that truckers pay to ship in goods is more expensive. Sorry to carry on but many audiophiles are feeling the crunch, I know because I have received email from buyers complaining they are out of audio money but wish to buy if they could. On occasions I have held over an item listed for a buyers payday. If you can find something for sale your really interested in & the seller is motivated you can strike up a good deal.

Anybody else have additional thoughts to share on this subject?

What drives me crazy are these manufacturers that post the same exact ad every 7 days. Just check some of the accessories ads, it's work just sifting through them...

do you feel better, buying selling, or talking about buying and/or selling ??

if too much analysis, then paralysis.

by the way, why are so many people concerned with what other people do ? sounds like a lot of audio yentas, to me.

Mrtennis, I'm starting to feel better. Yes I care what other audiophiles think & do even if it doesn't always make sense which would include your thoughts as well. Cmon now, don't you feel better posting here?

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm,

Now I know I am going crazy! I just had a thought- If perhaps someone thinks this thread is nonsense. Then if they post in this thread, are they participating in the nonsense? Well, just a thought.

Anyway I made my point. Some folks sell to high, some to low. Some I don't think bother ro see what things are selling for before listing. But I sure whish they would read this thread. Yeah some dealers drive me crazy with their adds every week as well!

Oh and I have found if a thread gets to serious agon shuts it down. I once started a thread called " Is high end audio dying? " It got quite serious and was gaining ground on the ever popular thread " preamp deal of the century " In fact it would have passed that thread. But things got to hot and agon made the thread mysteriously dissappear. BTW, many high end audio dealers have gone out of business since that thread in 2003. So my hunch was write.

So now I write these silly little threads so I can stay under the agon radar.

Bottom line is that people who try to sell pieces for ridiculously high prices still own the equipment. Its their own business if they don't want to lower their price. If you want the piece bad enough do what Newbee suggests and send the seller an email... Otherwise this is still free enterprise and people are free to set their own price. Sometimes there are buyers who want something badly enough that they will pay regardless of the price... Actually KT-88 this is a good thread but, just don't take the high priced sellers too personal...

Eagleman

what difference does it make what sellers charge or buyers pay ? if it is not your business why make it your business ?

Mr T,

If we don't know the selling price of our stuff how can we figure out the value of our assets, our net worth? Where else can we get (more) accurate appraisals. Of course its our business! Or perhaps just a curious distraction..........

Ever wonder what the value of the properties in your neighborhood might be? Even if you don't plan to sell soon, or at all? :-)

hi newbee:

if i am in a selling or buying mode, i will seek information in order to facilitate a transaction which is beneficial to me.

if another person requests my input, either as buyer or seller, i will try to be helpful.

if i am not selling my home i generally am not concerned about the selling price of other homes in my area.

if i am seeking legal assistance to contest my property taxes i will let a lawyer determine the appropriate information so he can best represent my interests.

the issue being discussed here is of no concern to me .
i don't understand why there is such an interest in the affairs of others when such matters are usually not relevant to one's own activities. another way of approaching the subject is to consider the adage "i will cross a bridge when i get to it". since i am not buying or selling on audiogon, i have not yet reached the situation where my concern is necessary.

Mrtennis,

If this issue is of " no concern to you " then why do you keep posting in the thread? not that I mind if you post or not of course.

i do have an intrest at what people are selling at becuase i may be interested in buying the piece. people that want to sell on agon should educate them self on at least bluebook before selling. and they can also see what a piece like theirs is sellling for on agon.

how outrageous can it be? i was once selling some tubes at market price. another guy was selling the same tubes at 3 times the market price. he sent me an e-nail and asked me to remove my ad becuase people wanted him to lower his price becuase mine were cheaper. now that is just plain greed!

bluebook or not..very rare items ..audio/coins/baseball cards,that are in mint/nr.mint condition always command prices that are 3to 4x the going bluebook quote.couple this fact that many people live many miles away from high end stores and access to the computer is there only chance to buy quality items.

Route9,

Actually the tubes were Telefunken 6922 at the time the market price was between $125-$150. He wanted $429 for his. Even now the average is $250. So your baseball card theory doesn't apply here.

Nice try though.....