What I really miss is how crazy people’s systems were and how active the buying/selling used to be. Prior to the economic turn down, people in this forum used to swap out gear regularly which resulted in a very active marketplace for some awesome, high end gear. To put it in perspective, I had no problem selling some pricey gear like Esoteric X-01, Esoteric P3/D5 transport and dac, B&W 805/804/802 speakers, ARC Ref preamp, MBL preamp, Ayre MX-R monoblocks, Pass Labs XA-160 monoblocks. Needless to say given our new normal in the audio world, these items would have a hard time selling now. Dont get me wrong, I fully understand and even appreciate the more "responsible" audiophile world we live in now, but I do miss when we were all spending crazy amounts of money and just pushing the envelope of our whacky hobby.
What happened to the "club atmosphere" of Audiogon?
Hi Goners!
After 12 years as a member hear i have developed some questions based on my observations of Audiogon in the last four to five years...
When i joined it was a fledgling group of "music lovers" who now brand themselves, quite often it seems, as "audiophiles"! [ whatever that REALLY is...:-)
The boards were helpful, very helpful and almost never negative but like a brother [be it older or younger] discussing the finer points of a product,company, design etc...
It was known that you could score wonderful, WELL MAINTAINED audio and video products sold at a fair price and with confidence that the person who sold you that item would stand behind it!!
It was the CULTURE of Audiogon that made it so very special to me, in fact it has been on my radar every day since i joined!
I have been a seller, buyer, trader, cartridge seller and have noticed disturbing trends:
Seems if anything is mark "USED", even 5 minuted old, it should, at best, garner only 50%
Lowball offering has become rampant here,trying to then add insult to injury by asking the seller to pay shipping!
Nasty,curt e-mails without any simple courtesy and professionalism...Now i am painting with a broad brush BUT all of these negatives , and more i will not go into from this vein, have reduced this site to a "virtual close out Wharehouse" of close out merchandise or find your ads not even getting a question about your ad!!
I for one enjoy the banter with long time posters, some of who have earned my respect with they're
witty yet insightful comments...
Has anyone else felt Audiogon's best days have come and gone if we follow the present template?
Thanks and keep the responses civil and helpful please!
After 12 years as a member hear i have developed some questions based on my observations of Audiogon in the last four to five years...
When i joined it was a fledgling group of "music lovers" who now brand themselves, quite often it seems, as "audiophiles"! [ whatever that REALLY is...:-)
The boards were helpful, very helpful and almost never negative but like a brother [be it older or younger] discussing the finer points of a product,company, design etc...
It was known that you could score wonderful, WELL MAINTAINED audio and video products sold at a fair price and with confidence that the person who sold you that item would stand behind it!!
It was the CULTURE of Audiogon that made it so very special to me, in fact it has been on my radar every day since i joined!
I have been a seller, buyer, trader, cartridge seller and have noticed disturbing trends:
Seems if anything is mark "USED", even 5 minuted old, it should, at best, garner only 50%
Lowball offering has become rampant here,trying to then add insult to injury by asking the seller to pay shipping!
Nasty,curt e-mails without any simple courtesy and professionalism...Now i am painting with a broad brush BUT all of these negatives , and more i will not go into from this vein, have reduced this site to a "virtual close out Wharehouse" of close out merchandise or find your ads not even getting a question about your ad!!
I for one enjoy the banter with long time posters, some of who have earned my respect with they're
witty yet insightful comments...
Has anyone else felt Audiogon's best days have come and gone if we follow the present template?
Thanks and keep the responses civil and helpful please!