Agon is now a retail outlet.

Exec Summary of original post:

I am am tired of having to work harder to find a bargain.   

Owners of this site are not altruists.   They want to make as much as they can.  You want to save as much money as you can.    How has this dynamic changed in any way since the days of cavemen ?

Stating the obvious assumes the person you are responding to is less than intelligent. This should be a more respectful forum. I am sorry If I offended anyone, but expressing an opinion is not against the law, and I am not an argumentative individual. There are many amateurs out there who weren't there when the equipment being sold here as vintage was new,as I was. I merely mean to forewarn them that much of today's new and far less expensive equipment is better, not just in specifications but in musicality and value.

The thread started by someone stating: "I think you’re all stupid,, and I will save you" .
I on the other hand, think the overwhelming majority here are rather smart. And can figure out on their own, without assistance, how to navigate the World they live in. The fact is, there may be someone, who knows what they are doing, who will buy some overpriced device, because they CHOOSE TO. They are not being bamboozled or tricked, and in ’need’ of saving.
And for those who what the pearl in the oyster handed to them with zero effort? LOL. To find good deals you have to actually work at looking. (Realized the ’great deal’ lasts perhaps 30 minutes before it vanishes from listed components. Stuff no one what sits for 30 DAYS, maybe 60 DAYS...
So... here is one 30 minute deal...I recently bought a pair of components (Threshold FET 10 line and phono) for $900 which current listings are $1800 and $1500 for the pair. I saw and bought within ten minutes of the posting. And the seller mentioned another buyer was going to buy, and the listing vanished, because I hit ’buy’ first. If the complaint is due to being unable to watch the listings.. I can’t fix that for you, you gotta do the work and look all the time. If it is due to high prices. Folks have every right to ask anything they want. No problem by me. Just realize the ads are full of all the stuff with high prices no one will buy, and the listing sits for a month, maybe two/three months.. Where the good deal the low price and a fantastic bargain got bought within minutes of being posted for sale.The folks who pay to place ads with high priced gear are also paying your way to look at the gear, bargain or rip off. I thank them all.

I have purchased quite a few items on Agon and had trouble with 3 of the purchases. In all 3 cases the seller was at fault and did what was needed to do to make it right. I have 3000+ sales and 20 years on Ebay and Ebay has gone from a seller friendly to a buyer friendly site. I pray Agon never falls into that category. I love vintage equipment especially old jukeboxes from the 40's. Vintage equipment has its place but keep in mind the equipment is 50 years old and every capacitor should be replaced. Most of the equipment does not have paper wrap capacitors (big fire hazard) but sooner or later a capacitor is going to fail.

So many people are saying, “a fool
and his money soon part”? I would add people and audiophiles believe what they want to believe. This is a perfect place to take advantage of gullibility and susceptibility. It is not rocket science to spot the over-the-top bully sales people, scam artists and those wanting to make a fast buck at someone else’s expense. 
I have been buying at the remaining brick and mortar stores where I can see, test drive and ask questions about what I am interested in from a person. Not saying someone cannot get taken at places like that, but when you buy here, little help from Audiogon, and you don’t know the person on the other end of the transaction or the history of the equipment. I am not knocking anyone on Audiogon who sells or buys, just not my cup of tea.