Time to sell?

[MCH]

I have been doing some changes in my system recently (basically going balanced) and as a result buying/selling some stuff. I guess it is no news for anyone that prices are somehow crazy. Devices that were launched one or two years ago are now more significantly more expensive that when they where the newest models....
I work in the chemical industry, a couple of steps back in the supply chain, but still very much connected, and i can tell you that we are giving for a fact that 2022 is going to be worse, if not much worse, than 2021, and we will be lucky if 2023 gets any batter...(the products i know more about go for intance in paints - think speakers - , composites - think electronics - , adhesives - think anything - but the situation is, as you know, much broader).
On the other hand, it also has some positive consequences. When getting rid of a few things that i won't use anymore, wow, i could sell almost anything, in a matter of hours, for almost the same price that i paid one or two years ago. Call me stupid, i don't feel good selling something for more than i paid, but these days i could certainly do that. All these electronics that used to become landfill after two years are becoming gold.
So guys, is it time to empty the drawers? Chances like this don't show up often...

 

[JayGilb]

I have been doing some changes in my system recently (basically going balanced) and as a result buying/selling some stuff. I guess it is no news for anyone that prices are somehow crazy. Devices that were launched one or two years ago are now more significantly more expensive that when they where the newest models....
I work in the chemical industry, a couple of steps back in the supply chain, but still very much connected, and i can tell you that we are giving for a fact that 2022 is going to be worse, if not much worse, than 2021, and we will be lucky if 2023 gets any batter...(the products i know more about go for intance in paints - think speakers - , composites - think electronics - , adhesives - think anything - but the situation is, as you know, much broader).
On the other hand, it also has some positive consequences. When getting rid of a few things that i won't use anymore, wow, i could sell almost anything, in a matter of hours, for almost the same price that i paid one or two years ago. Call me stupid, i don't feel good selling something for more than i paid, but these days i could certainly do that. All these electronics that used to become landfill after two years are becoming gold.
So guys, is it time to empty the drawers? Chances like this don't show up often...

I agree. As a lover of vintage gear it's been disappointing watching the prices go through the roof.
I've only been buying gear that is non-functioning and fixing it to save money, but some of the parts are getting hard to find and expensive.

 

[mhardy6647]

I agree. As a lover of vintage gear it's been disappointing watching the prices go through the roof.

Well...
It's OK with me -- in case I need to sell some stuff to buy a loaf of bread, or toilet paper or whatnot.

 

[beren777]

If you have stuff you aren't likely to use and isn't likely to outperform the S&P 500 over the long-term, sell it. Prices are high because people somehow have a lot of excess dollars in their pockets. Those dollars will get eaten away over the next year at an increasing rate given inflation and lack of ongoing stimulus payments. Sell it and park the money in a mutual fund for a few years until you figure out what you want to do with it.

 

[MCH]

wow i never thought of amplifiers as assets, but well, i guess if you have many or they are very valuable, why not

 

[drummerbrent]

Would anybody please chime in on good or bad experiences selling vintage gear online? Is Audiogon the best place? I have some vintage Marantz tube stuff and am debating whether to try selling online vs. taking it to a shop like Audio Classics. Thanks

 

[HiFidFan]

I recently sold my Kenwood KR4300 that was in decent working condition but needed a tuner alignment and there was a pretty wide channel imbalance. I threw it on C'list and was surprised at the amount of interest. It sold within days at way more than asking.

 

[USER]

Would anybody please chime in on good or bad experiences selling vintage gear online? Is Audiogon the best place? I have some vintage Marantz tube stuff and am debating whether to try selling online vs. taking it to a shop like Audio Classics. Thanks

Audiogon seems to be slowly dying. A cursory look shows that it's a wasteland of $1000 snake oil cables. Depressing. You will get a pittance at an audio shop. It is only worth it (perhaps) if you are looking to trade in. But take what you think you can get for it and take away 2/3rds.

I have used a combo of usaudiomart and ebay with great success. I add on the fee difference to the eBay listing. People know the fee difference so you should acknowledge it in your list price. Usaudiomart is fabulous and you get PayPal protection. Just make sure that you pack the unit very well. Any issues and it'll be on you. Account for the fact that delivery companies are absolute shit right now. Make sure that it can survive a drop. People are paid poorly, are overworked, and the service reflects this.

Check hifishark to see recent sale prices across the web and proceed from there. I think that more and more people are using hifishark to search for components and usaudiomart (and the international equivalents) to sell.

 

[audio2design]

What is the price of a 2*4 now? About 1/3 the peak price. Prices may still go up but they could crash too. They will crash eventually.

 

[MCH]

Check hifishark to see recent sale prices across the web and proceed from there. I think that more and more people are using hifishark to search for components and usaudiomart (and the international equivalents) to sell.

hifishark is a great tool overall, but can be a bit missleading because you only see asking prices, not actual selling prices. Having something like discogs would be perfect.

 

[muslhead]

Would anybody please chime in on good or bad experiences selling vintage gear online? Is Audiogon the best place? I have some vintage Marantz tube stuff and am debating whether to try selling online vs. taking it to a shop like Audio Classics. Thanks

I have had much better success with USaudiomart than audiogon. In addition to a higher success rate, you keep more money as the fees for Audiogon are more than USAudiomart's (zero).
Ebay has way more eyes but you pay 15% for those eyes and the egregious rules favoring the buyers when it comes to returns. I no longer take the risk anymore after being ripped off 2x on ebay as a seller.

 

[muslhead]

During inflationary times, hard assets have historically done the best. Hard assets have a different definition depending upon what country you are in.
Since inflation typically leads to recessions, stocks, in general, are not a good place to park money as they decline at worst or go sideways at best. These periods of declines and or consolidations, can be lengthy for example the period of '66- '82 ish had US stocks going no where for more 14-16 years. The periodicity of non-rising markets (other than hard assets) depends upon the length of inflationary period, depth of decline, sentiment and a number of other variables. In essense, no one knows the answer. It's just to be good to be aware of history as the markets dont always repeat, but they do rhyme.

 

[drummerbrent]

Thanks everyone for your responses! As an aside, I've done OK on ebay for musical equipment, but usually prefer Reverb because they have lower commissions, cheaper negotiated UPS shipping, and a great insurance program. Starting to see more stereo equipment and AVRs there too.

 

[Billy Budapest]

Audiogon seems to be slowly dying. A cursory look shows that it's a wasteland of $1000 snake oil cables. Depressing. You will get a pittance at an audio shop. It is only worth it (perhaps) if you are looking to trade in. But take what you think you can get for it and take away 2/3rds.

I have used a combo of usaudiomart and ebay with great success. I add on the fee difference to the eBay listing. People know the fee difference so you should acknowledge it in your list price. Usaudiomart is fabulous and you get PayPal protection. Just make sure that you pack the unit very well. Any issues and it'll be on you. Account for the fact that delivery companies are absolute shit right now. Make sure that it can survive a drop. People are paid poorly, are overworked, and the service reflects this.

Check hifishark to see recent sale prices across the web and proceed from there. I think that more and more people are using hifishark to search for components and usaudiomart (and the international equivalents) to sell.

I heard from sellers that Audiogon’s fees increased so they moved their business to usaudiomart and eBay.