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!

128x128azjake
i would also keep the forum aspect separate from the commercial aspect. as for the forum, other than getting older and more cantankerous myself, i don't see much erosion--there's always been a lot of great, interesting folks and a significant minority of wankers. as for the commercial, there likely has been  a deterioration in the "honor code in a gentleman’s club arena" (well put, akg)--the professionals and bottom feeders seem more prevalent and i personally don't find it as much fun to buy and sell here as i once did. oh well--all things pass and i have enough gear for several lives.
Syntax and LJ---Having discovered Audiogon only relatively recently, I am SO grateful the Forums are still here to be read. The depth of knowledge and expertise found in them is truly amazing. I hope the Forums are kept available long enough into the future for me to make my way through them all! 
All good Goners - A friend of mine who is a partner in a cable company near by expressed his frustration on this topic to me. He's considering exiting audio due to concerns expressed above. He is one fine human being IMHO. This makes me sad... I LOVE AUDIO! And I love the person-to-person market AudiogoN has developed. Our audio culture is WHAT WE MAKE IT. My 2bits is let's all conscientiously pick up our approach here as we can. Thanks to all the people who have added their intelligence, wisdom, and experience to this fine forum!
Interesting discussion. I’ve been buying through Audiogon for many, many years. My time with the forums has always varied regarding whether I was in upgrade mode. I could go many months without logging on. In fact, during one of my hiatuses my membership was somehow lost. I’ve never been much of a poster though, more of a reader. Always found the knowledgeable posters a little intimidating to interact with – especially recently. There are some really expert members. Also have valued the music and recordings reviews. The nasty posts I’ve always just ignored.


Audiogon has really helped me assemble systems (CJ, Vandersteen, Rega, etc.) that have let me listen to my real obsessions – Coltrane, Bill Evans, Dexter Gordon, Keith Jarrett, Jerry Garcia, Stevie Ray, Clapton, Santana, Allmans, Buddy Guy, Stones, Beatles, Zepp, Bowie, The Who, etc., etc. Thank god for the wonderful knowledge-base on this site.


Seems if anything is mark "USED", even 5 minuted old, it should, at best, garner only 50%

Umm, welcome to the rest of the world.  Why should audio equipment be much different?  Some of the prices people expect for 5-10 year old "high end" electronics can be quite ridiculous.  Don't hate me, I'm an "audiophile" too, but I'm also a realist that doesn't have a double standard for my own hobby.