Predicting the AGon economy?

I agree with Kira. I just bought a B&K Ref 20, listed at $2500 for $350. I needed a remote preamp with dacs, composite video switching, and headphone jack for my office where sound is more important than picture. I just have as old 27" Panny with one comp. input. Unless somebody wants a very specific piece, these things just aren't worth a lot. Dan

The audio market has been splitting for many years now. Rare, desirable, collectable, gear and items that are of recent manufacture and have been favorably reviewed by the hi-fi press continue to bring a larger percentage of their original selling value, in many cases, exceeding the original selling price. Common, or less desireable items have hit the skids and can't be sold at any price. There are some very good bargains in overlooked goods right now, but collectable gear is pretty highly priced. There seems to be less gear, generally, coming on to the board these days and that tends to firm up prices a bit, as well. I guess most people can't afford to upgrade and are just hanging on.

I also have been a little puzzled by the audio market lately - there are significantly fewer items being posted on this site than before, except perhaps for speakers, yet the pricing continues to rise. One would think the pricing would have to come down pretty soon if that trend continues.

I agree with the points made by Tvad and Viridian. From my point of observation pricing is all over the ballpark. It seems to me that the number of "listings" has been pretty consistent to perhaps even growing (AG should be happy), but it appears that there is an act of "closet cleaning" that is going on and the mix of "gear" offered has moved a bit away from the high end product to a closer proximity to the mid-range product.

I keep a detailed bluebook for items that interest me, so I have a very good idea of the range of sales. It seems lately that listing sellers have less of a clear picture of the used market and are often offering items at "wishful" prices.

Good comments by all. I'll add that prices for collectable and specially desirable/rare pieces tend to be driven significantly by overseas buyers. The much weaker dollar, compared to a few years ago, has therefore probably helped support prices for these pieces.

With the dollar rebounding somewhat recently, and the economic downturn seemingly spreading pretty much world-wide, I suspect that before too long we'll be seeing prices for these pieces coming down also.

Regards,
-- Al