Has used prices of gear droppd, due to economy

your way too smart for me, yes this has been going on for years but not because many have entire retirement portfolio's whiped out, house values have crashed, unemployment is gaining in numbers daily, and many other factors you probably are not capable of understanding. Celebrate your potential audio purchase all you want but understanding these times are a bit different than others shouldnt be so hard to do, many who enjoy this are not rich, nor should you have to be to enjoy art that brings you happiness.
You can rub one out watching "Wall Street" all you want while folks are suffering far beyond selling Stereo gear which was the larger point I was trying to make, but that is yet another topic you cant seem to grasp, I never had high hopes of conversation from a guy named Iplaynaked but I really over-estimated you never thinking it could be so pointless. Seeing how you are so smart I wont waste anymore of my or your time on big picture discourse.
What you need to focus on is your next score and between that aswell as educating yourself on finance watching Suze Orman or Jim Cramer you must be tired. How could you not be a financial expert watching a frugal lesbian and some guy who screams and plays with sound effects machines while taking calls from the likes of you, and oh yeah.... movies........brilliant!

I just hate it when someone who's wealthier than me has to sell the gear they love so much, and I get a good deal! I just HATE IT! Makes me all upset just thinking about it, really...

I'm going to "re-structure" here, so as to not offend any...

My fellow Audiogon "bargain shoppers",

In light of the current and especially coming (likely) economic climate, there are and will surely be some great deals out there for the prudent and patient. It has both been my experience and is my opinion that, with due diligence, if you peak around now and then, you will indeed most assuredly find some better than average (and possibly in the near future, even better than average) deals on the used market, yes - imho.
Now to be sure, some of the deals you might be fortunate enough to come across, might come at the expense of those selling these deals in the form of them having to take a loss on the products they're offering. Do not be alarmed at such a postion, nor ashamed to take full advantage - regardless of what financial position the selling party might be in (that's their business, really) at the time of the sale.
As a "bargain shopper" myself, over the last 15 or so years trading audio/video gear, I have found these trends, from time to time, to be even more favorable than at others - and even more so in trying times such as these. (Home Depot used to have several hundred dollar items on their shelves that were clearanced down to one penny!!! ...of which I bought plenty,...cause I re-sold em,.. and thusly made lots more pennies - I have receipts)
While some may, unfortunately, end up needing to make shifts in their assets, in an attempt to stay a bit more liquid than hoped, It is nonetheless an inevitable ebb-and- flow cycle, due to economic forces that are invariably beyond most of our control. Hence, better than average deals often come upon us in a given possibly declining economic climate, depending. Again, this is normal.
Again, my forecast for now is that the deals are out there, yes. Also, I personally am forecasting even better deals to come likely, based on common sense and past experience with in similar economic situations.
That all said, happy hunting to all you bargain shoppers!
(P.S., oh, and it's OK to take advantage of otherwise financially less fortunate (I'm pretty sure they're going Bank-o) and heavily asset leveraged companies such as Circuit City , on Black Friday, also. Just so you know. Also, large chains such as Home Depot and Lowes are dropping a few stores due to a down-turn in the economy, and slowing(ed) overall sales - and they'll be offering some deals too, whilest they're hurting.
But please don't feel bad shopping at these multi- million/Billion dollar retailers, just try to enjoy yourself while shopping in these stores, and feel free to take full advantage of the savings they are offering, if you can,...cause they ARE offering.

Getting finacial advice from people who spend >$100 for a pair of RCA cables is not the smartest thing.

IMO, buy what you want when you can afford it. If you can't afford it, your credit card company will soon let you know anyway.

Chicken Little in the house......