Do you keep or resell gear? Does resale value influence your purchase decision?

[Mort]

I really enjoy trying new audio gear and my budget goes a lot further if I buy used (when possible) and sell off gear I don't use.

It does make me less inclined to buy off brands or unusual stuff. Genelec, for instance, retains it's value but it's also hard to find at great used prices.

Do you keep old gear you aren't using or sell it? Do you purchase with an eye to resell it later?

 

[Multicore]

I really enjoy trying new audio gear and my budget goes a lot further if I buy used (when possible) and sell off gear I don't use.

I don't. I try to buy stuff that I will keep. I find the fuss of choosing and the uncertainties rather undesirable.

Do you keep old gear you aren't using or sell it?

Unfortunately I tend to keep it because I do not enjoy the selling process. I really ought to get rid of this stuff.

Do you purchase with an eye to resell it later?

No.

 

[Joe Smith]

Mostly keep things, buy in a very considered way. Last decade, I did over-buy a lot of vintage components, which I am now pruning a bit. Mostly getting back what I paid by selling locally. I like having speakers to rotate, but I have too many amplifiers and receivers.

 

[Dogen]

I usually buy for the long term, but if something needs to go I will usually give it away to friends and family.

 

[Mikig]

My wife says I'm a hoarder.

I generally buy more than I sell. The last devices I sold were practically new and modern. I like my small collection, and I would like to slowly grow it but my collection is mainly based on objects from the 90s and early 2000s.
Fortunately these days, apart from some speculation of some brands that suffer for a while from the fashion effect, most of the devices and speakers that interest me are generally quite affordable.

 

[Chr1]

Two snaps of my living room...

Self professed audio hoarder here. (Loud and proud.)
Generally buy more than I sell... but see what I buy as an investment, as I tend to buy cheap.

My other hobby is motorcycles and similarly "hoardy" there too unfortunately. Get attached to the stuff I like.
A good way to check out lots of gear tho.

All part of the fun of being a nerd for bikes and audio, I say.

 

[MaxwellsEq]

I'm not rich. I buy very infrequently (usually when something of mine is genuinely end of life). I don't sell, because by the time I retire kit, it's probably decades old. I definitely don't buy with an eye to selling on. I'm not really into the hobby for continuous kit swapping, more into listening to music.

 

[BeeKay]

Just reduced my amp count to two. Did even get a fair price. However, my beloved but also not used class AB integrated I own for more than twenty years will remain here. Listed it once but cancelled this shortly after.

Edit: Does resale value influence my purchases? Not as much as it probably should.

 

[SSS]

Don't buy often new equipment for audio listening. Some years ago I switched to PC based music box and there I needed a DAC which I then purchased. In genereal I buy used gear because of price. I do not buy according a possible price for selling my gear. Most of the amps and turntables I keep forever. And I buy too many measuring devices for the audio electronic workbench. It is hard to let a unit go for sale. And there is no evidence that in a lab are too many instruments.

 

[DWPress]

After 40 years I've gone through quite a bit of gear. Some has been sold off but mostly I just give it away to people who need genuinely need it, not sure how many of my amps are in other peoples living rooms at this point. There's still a closet full of stuff I'm gradually parting out. I've never purchased any gear with the thought of it's resale value.

 

[napfkuchen]

I'm not really into the hobby for continuous kit swapping, more into listening to music.

In my opinion, the idea of constant kit swapping actually contradicts ASR. The reviews here regularly show that in many device categories, you can get "good enough" for very reasonable money. I'm glad I've left behind the hype for new products and the mantra "more expensive = better" constantly spread by hi-fi/online magazines and other forums.

Instead of looking for the next improvement, just enjoy the status quo once you've reached a (personally) acceptable level. Of course, there's nothing wrong with treating yourself to new equipment...

 

[Talisman]

I have a love for buying and trying out small, inexpensive hi-fi gear, and I don't think I'm the only one. I've lost count of the number of small class D amplifiers I've owned, dacs, bookshelf speakers, I try them, play with them a bit, then maybe sell them.
I love listening to music more than anyone but this is also part of my passion and I enjoy it, generally they are cheap products so I often keep them (and accumulate) other times I sell them or give them away.
It's innocent fun and not very expensive in the end
(I tend to buy high-end products only once and keep them)

 

[Sokel]

If selling means swapping with my dealer for my next pair of speakers, then yes, I do sell but very rarely, usually when a new room dictates new gear.
Amps and other gear, extremely rarely also usually they end their miserable lives out of old age or give them away to younger (extended) family members.

Needless to say about the diy stuff, these can never be sold but they can very well transform.

 

[MattHooper]

In my opinion, the idea of constant kit swapping actually contradicts ASR. The reviews here regularly show that in many device categories, you can get "good enough" for very reasonable money. I'm glad I've left behind the hype for new products and the mantra "more expensive = better" constantly spread by hi-fi/online magazines and other forums.

Instead of looking for the next improvement, just enjoy the status quo once you've reached a (personally) acceptable level. Of course, there's nothing wrong with treating yourself to new equipment...

I think you need to take into account that many audiophiles really enjoy playing with different gear. Nothing wrong with that.

Not everybody is looking for a single “ one and done” system. For many gear is something of a hobby. Just like people into watches could buy just a single watch that tells them the time, but they often have a number of different watches…. Because they like watches.

 

[MattHooper]

I have gone through periods where I have accumulated quite a lot of different gear.
That’s especially true with loudspeakers.
At some point, I had something like seven different pairs of loudspeakers.

However, I don’t keep gear that I’m not using.
For quite a while, all of those loudspeakers were getting some play in my system.

But when I decided I had more than I needed, and that I was going to prune my collection, selling a bunch of them to get a pair of speakers I wanted, it was easy to do.

Since I have long bought on the used market to try things out, I’ve always made sure that anything I buy has excellent resale value so I can get rid of it quick if I want to. I’ve never lost money that way. (or it was negligible.)

I admit, I love the idea of a truly bespoke system, something custom-made, especially the loudspeakers. But I think that would be something I would try as an “ endgame” approach. Otherwise the hit on resale value would make me disinclined.

 

[Salt]

The last 2 years I renovated almost everything (after more than 20 years), and now wanted to give some 'old friends' to someone new ... but nope, it all collects in the room of my youngest ... seems I have to realize he is old fashioned (and chasing Altecs)

 

[Deleted member 43957]

Always take the resale-ability into every purchase consideration and never keep components not currently in use to depreciate.

 

[mikewxyz]

I don't turn over gear too much. I sell or give away any excess hardware. My wife reminds me that we don't have much storage space in the house ;-)

 

[DSJR]

I have good friends who buy and sell and buy and sell (often the same things again, later on) and I personally just can't get it. I'm terrified of selling stuff but fortunately tend to and now financially have to, keep my gear a while with very few exceptions.

 

[DMill]

I’ve been fortunate to not need the money but I’m by no means able to go out and spend $10k on a whim. I’ve tended to hand things down to my daughter or sell them at a ridiculously low price just to clear the clutter. That said, I have a real decent Denon CD player (2910) , a Rotel 5 disc CD player, and 3 BMW C4s in really awful condition in my basement. I think a couple of cheaper DACs also. Probably many hundreds of dollars (MSRP) of Audioquest cables. A bunch of tubes that likely test fine. Selling used sucks. It’s a pain in the ass and you’re always at the whim of somebody who thinks the thing should be perfect like new to give you crap if they don’t like it. I can see why sellers so much prefer a local pickup. That said, then you have to allow some audio dick into your house to then try and low ball you to save $50 on something you’ve already given them at half of what it’s worth. There are little audio hifi shops in my are that sell used gear. Probably asking them if they have any interest in the stuff would be a smart play.