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Minor personal crisis, I need to sell most of my audio gear - how best to do it?

Nathan Raymond

Nathan Raymond

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On Tuesday heavy rains flooded the streets and overwhelmed the storm drain system in my city of Haverhill, which then backed up into the sewer system and despite me running two pumps, flooded my basement so quickly I had over two feet of water and my washer, dryer, water heater, and furnace are probably a total loss.

What I didn't know is that when water comes in from outside a house, regular home insurance does not cover that, so my claim was denied, which came as a great shock to me. Apparently I would have needed flood insurance or an infrastructure rider for any coverage. While my city and surrounding towns have declared emergencies, when I spoke with my mayor yesterday he said the damage was too localized to pass the county-level thresholds to trigger the release of MEMA or FEMA funds, so there will be no assistance.

In my attic I have about 50 headphones, 100 IEMs, some desktop amps, DACs, etc. like new in their boxes. What would be the fastest/best way to sell them to raise money for new appliances?
 
Sorry to hear of your loss. This site has a buy and sell forum. Some things seem to sell quickly.
 
You can consign it with The Music Room. I've used them in the past to conclude in satisfactory tranactions. Ask for Nick. Good luck.
https://tmraudio.com/consign-with-tmr/

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Really sorry to hear about thing your bad fortune. Don't rush it or give any away
 
Nathan Raymond said:
On Tuesday heavy rains flooded the streets and overwhelmed the storm drain system in my city of Haverhill, which then backed up into the sewer system and despite me running two pumps, flooded my basement so quickly I had over two feet of water and my washer, dryer, water heater, and furnace are probably a total loss.

What I didn't know is that when water comes in from outside a house, regular home insurance does not cover that, so my claim was denied, which came as a great shock to me. Apparently I would have needed flood insurance or an infrastructure rider for any coverage. While my city and surrounding towns have declared emergencies, when I spoke with my mayor yesterday he said the damage was too localized to pass the county-level thresholds to trigger the release of MEMA or FEMA funds, so there will be no assistance.

In my attic I have about 50 headphones, 100 IEMs, some desktop amps, DACs, etc. like new in their boxes. What would be the fastest/best way to sell them to raise money for new appliances?
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I have sold audio equipment at https://www.usaudiomart.com/ (which has a related site in Canada, it will be listed on both). Everything that I listed there sold quickly and easily.
 
dasdoing said:
selling stuff in a hurry will never get you the real value of things. get a loan and sell stuff slowly to pay it back
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Yeah I realize I won't get as much... I just need to figure out a balance though and determine how valuable my time is. For instance, if I don't want to put a new washer and dryer in a basement that can flood again, I need to get quotes from plumbers and electricians ASAP to convert a first floor closet to handle a washer and dryer. The basement would benefit from a sump pump, and that's a project I could take on myself, though I can't do these things and sell all my gear at the same time. I'm not sure a loan would work out financially vs having money up front, even if it is less than I'd get in ideal selling circumstances.
 
@Nathan Raymond I'm sorry about the flood, but to put it in perspective, it's not a catastrophe. In 2017 our family home of 29 years filled up wit 3' of water and was so badly damaged it had to be torn down. As for your laundry, there is a pretty good chance it will work if it gets dried out, ours did. Same for the furnace. If the furnace does not dry out, it likely can be repaired for a lot less than a new one.

Get some fans to dry out your basement by moving as much air through it as possible. You want to avoid mold. If the basement smells moldy, there are chemicals to clean it up. Don't panic. The furnace will not be needed for a few months and you can use a laundromat for a while. Avoid borrowing. Realistically, selling excess audio gear is a side show. I doubt the IEM's will bring much. Maybe you should be thinking about why you bought so many.

It might not be worth remodeling to protect a laundry from a future flood. If the water wasn't that deep, put the new laundry on an elevated base.
 
Just curious, why so much gear in the attic? You generally deal slowly over time or ?
 
NiagaraPete said:
This site has a buy and sell forum.
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Unfortunately due to scammers, a recent rule change means that facility is for paid forum donors only.
Nathan Raymond said:
On Tuesday heavy rains flooded the streets and overwhelmed the storm drain system in my city of Haverhill, which then backed up into the sewer system and despite me running two pumps, flooded my basement so quickly I had over two feet of water and my washer, dryer, water heater, and furnace are probably a total loss.
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Gosh, terrible news, sorry to hear this. :(

I'd start posting the whole lot on eBay and https://www.usaudiomart.com/. It may be worth considering selling the whole lot in one go if possible, rather than separate listings, however that will require quite a specific buyer though too. Best of luck with your circumstances.


JSmith
 
Unfortunately, I believe that Audiogon receives the most action for selling gear. But they have ridiculously high fees. My buddy Kurt at Echohifi.com runs an upfront shop. They can either sell your gear on consignment or buy it outright. If you connect with them, tell them Ken sent you. I have no business connection with them. Good luck.
 
rubinken said:
Unfortunately, I believe that Audiogon receives the most action for selling gear. But they have ridiculously high fees. My buddy Kurt at Echohifi.com runs an upfront shop. They can either sell your gear on consignment or buy it outright. If you connect with them, tell them Ken sent you. I have no business connection with them. Good luck.
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Doesn't audiogon depend more on how silly the gear is, tho?
 
rubinken said:
Whatever. There's just a lot of audio buyers there. That can help the op sell more quickly q
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Just saying the more ridiculous the claim, they're the better site to use. Mostly a joke, tho.
 
I want to reiterate my suggestion to use U.S. Audiomart. First off, even though it says "US" it has an international reach. When I was selling a bunch of equipment, I had buyers in the US and Canada, but also Sri Lanka, Dominican Republic, and, as I recall, Malaysia. You can list your gear as a classified without paying any commission, or, you can create a "buy it now" with payments through PayPal Commerce, which has a modest commission, but is great for buyers that don't want to get involved in any interactions. It is very well organized, not snobby at all, and in my experience the buyers you will encounter are very pleasant. It is very easy to set yourself up with an account and get your gear sold.

I added this info because I noticed the remarks about commissions etc. on other sites.

US Audio Mart America's Newest Online Hifi, Audio & Home Theater Classifieds

America's Largest FREE Audio/Hifi and Home Theater classifieds site. Buy, sell, and trade high end audio and Home Theater equipment. For enthusiasts, hobbyists, and casual listeners.
www.usaudiomart.com www.usaudiomart.com

or

Canuck Audio Mart Canada's Largest Online Hifi, Audio & Home Theater Classifieds

Canada's Largest Audio/Hifi and Home Theater classifieds site. Buy, sell, and trade high end audio and Home Theater equipment. For enthusiasts, hobbyists, and casual listeners.
www.canuckaudiomart.com www.canuckaudiomart.com
 
I'd go with a combination of ebay, usaudiomart, local craigslist, etc for individual (and IMO painful) sales. Not knowing what the meaning of flood insurance is, am sorry.
 
Ron Texas said:
@Nathan Raymond I'm sorry about the flood, but to put it in perspective, it's not a catastrophe. In 2017 our family home of 29 years filled up wit 3' of water and was so badly damaged it had to be torn down. As for your laundry, there is a pretty good chance it will work if it gets dried out, ours did. Same for the furnace. If the furnace does not dry out, it likely can be repaired for a lot less than a new one.

Get some fans to dry out your basement by moving as much air through it as possible. You want to avoid mold. If the basement smells moldy, there are chemicals to clean it up. Don't panic. The furnace will not be needed for a few months and you can use a laundromat for a while. Avoid borrowing. Realistically, selling excess audio gear is a side show. I doubt the IEM's will bring much. Maybe you should be thinking about why you bought so many.

It might not be worth remodeling to protect a laundry from a future flood. If the water wasn't that deep, put the new laundry on an elevated base.
Click to expand...
Yes, I'm glad things weren't worse for me. Elsewhere in my city, a sewer main burst and created a giant sinkhole 15 feet from a house where everyone has had to be evacuated. The city estimates it will cost $1 million dollars to fix that sewer main.

I've been running fans and a dehumidifier as soon as I pumped the water out of the basement. I've got the furnace opened up to aid in airflow, but from turning one of the motors by hand in the upper chamber, I can hear sloshing of liquid so I think repairs will be needed. I'm just waiting on techs at this point to check out that and my water heater. The two appliance repair places I've called about my washer and dryer tell me that because of the height of the water, it would be a fire hazard for me to use them and they're not worth trying to repair. Both were elevated prior to the flooding, the washer 4 inches and the dryer 9 inches.

I know why I bought so much audio gear. Right before the pandemic, I was really happy with the apartment me, my wife and kids were living at. First floor of a house in a nice neighborhood with a big yard. Then the pandemic hit, and remote work and schooling, and that's when I learned that the four car garage on the property that the landlord rented out to other other people was being used as the basis for a car repair business by at least one of those renters. So many days a week the lawn would have anywhere from 3-5 cars parked on it, with cars partially disassembled and being worked on, and lots of people we didn't know around, so we kept the kids in the house, which broke my heart and stressed us all out even more. When I complained to the landlord, he tried to tell me it wasn't a big deal, and when I kept complaining, his ultimate reaction was to say our rent was going to go up a lot. So in the middle of the pandemic I found another apartment for my family. I thought I found a good one - the first floor of a home with the landlord, who was retired, living upstairs. However after moving in, I quickly learned he was a strange guy who had evicted his brother from the house and didn't like the sounds that kids make. If my young son did so much as play Nerf basketball in his bedroom it was considered too much noise. What was especially strange is that the landlord had met our whole family before we signed the lease, so it wasn't like we surprised him with the kids. The landlord got more and more hostile and threatened multiple times to evict us, so even thought he last thing I wanted to do was buy my first home during the pandemic, that is what I did. During those years I experienced some of the highest amount of stress in my life. Music, audio, and headphones was a way for me to safely unwind and feel ok. It got me through a very rough patch. My buying definitely got out of hand, and I wish it hadn't.
 
@Nathan Raymond hopefully this is just a pain in the neck and not a disaster. Give the laundry some time to dry out. If it works, good. If not find a basic washer/dryer to replace it. Looks like the furnace will need repairs.
 
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