You want to sell an old Pioneer SX-XXXX stereo receiver or want to Buy a 1960’s Vintage H.H. Scott 299 integrated amplifier…where do you go? It’s easy to go crazy so I will shed some light on the current situation with buying/selling vintage stereo equipment. There are venues which are better for sellers and also sites which are more geared towards buyers.
Starting with ebay…yes the good old “Bay” was once both a friendly buyer/seller commerce site. It all started changing around 2008ish when the powers that be knocked over the applecart and allowed only one way feedback. Now the playing field is no longer level and buyers can’t have anything but 100% positive comments. That’s right…Sellers are not allowed to expose a buyers unethical behavior using fb. The only feedback a seller is allowed to give a buyer is Positive no matter what. As previously stated that leads to a situation where all buyers only have positive feedback. Googoo Gahgah everyone gets a trophy even if they are losers, dishonest, or even petty criminals. What’s the point of a rating system that only allows ++++ positive? For selling Ebay is the worst. Why you ask? Is it just the fb policy? NO, there are many reasons, here are a few. You the seller do all the work as in a Job. You take pictures, you write a description, you post the auction and you TAKE ALL THE RESPONSIBILITY OF A LOPSIDED SYSTEM That is As a SELLER. As a seller you have no rights, a buyer can state “item is not as described.” You have to give a refund and if you don’t ebay does it for you with your bank account or cc on file. Stating “as is” means nothing. What if your buyer receives your 45 year old Heathkit amplifier and removes the proprietary 45 year old parts that are not available anymore. He may or may not substitute his bad parts and return your item. A form of stealing none the less, but what can you do? You can do nothing because you can’t prove it and even if you can your always wrong even when your right. Some buyers are blatant criminals and will actually send you back something completely different from what they had received from you. What do you do? Nothing your out the $$$ and out the unit. Yes even the right fighters lose against someone 3,000 miles away. Imagine this happening after you did all the work, possibly fixing, shipping, packing, describing, answering questions, plus the emotional strain of being a good citizen being ripped off by some low life, etc, etc. Some other things which are not in the sellers favor are: Fees on selling price, listing fee, even an ebay imposed shipping fee, record of sales which can and will be used to collect taxes, paypal, and a host of other wonderful things that make you accountable and visible. Buying on ebay…now we’re talking. This is the BEST place to BUY because of the one sided system that favors buyers. You NO LIKE? You send back for any reason. I am not positive but I believe a 6 month money back guarantee is in place now? 180 days money back on any half century old piece of refuse you can find on the bay, lol. Sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? I wonder if the money back thing applies to underwear, air conditioners, battery operated nose hair clippers? Anyway, ebay is a great place to buy or I should say rent.
Ok, where to sell??? That’s a difficult one. Everyone states Craigslist is the best. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. You have to expect to receive 1/5-1/3 the price of what you would get on ebay. When you see people selling audio equipment or anything else on Craigslist or some new rogue buy/sell site they get their prices from ebay 11 out of 10 times. That’s correct even Grandma with advanced glaucoma at 99 years old knows to look up their item on ebay for what it’s really worth. But you see, it’s not worth the sellers, asking price, selling price, average of completed auctions selling price, etc, etc. Why? Because of all the work the seller does is many times worth more then the selling price. The ebay seller takes all the risk for the above mentioned reasons so of course they expect mile high prices for what they sell. They deserve it. When you sell on Craigslist or Backpage, etc. your selling to local yokels and don’t have a country wide, or worldwide audience. When selling on Craigslist or any of the other buy/sell sites that are popping up, expect to get CASH but 1/3-1/5 the average selling price on ebay. When I see these yoyo’s selling their old audio equipment on Craigslist, letgo, I many times laugh. They are asking ebay prices and some have the items relisted over and over for years at a time for the same ebay price or a slight discount. I know…”you don’t need the money.” Or your a big businessman who knows the right person(sucker) will eventually arrive and hand you over their hard earned cabbage. hahahaha The opposite of ebay, the buyer takes all the risk when purchasing on Craigs because he has NO protection like on ebay. No matter how great the deal is, the buyer takes the risk buing on local sites. That’s why the prices have to be adjusted accordingly. The main attraction of Craigs is that you get immediate cash in your pocket, quick efficient transactions, your buyer gets to see what they are buying so no disappointments , no rules or regulations, no records, etc. Common sense and logic tells us to conduct all transactions in a public place where there are cameras and other people around. In these uncertain times there are loads of vermin, desperados, druggies, and troglodytes looking to rip you off for their next beer, or fix. Always be careful.
In summary, everyone uses ebay as a reference for selling price. It’s prevalent even when going to estate and yard sales. Look…here it is on ebay for $$$$ and I am only asking $$$. Great, I don’t even argue with them, selling something for half the price of ebay they are getting the better end of the deal. I usually tell them that would be their best alternative since the only place you can get ebay price is on ebay. But no look, I am selling it for half. Really? What about ebay fees and work, time, packing supplies, unfair policies, stress, energy, etc. I know that’s worth nothing, it’s fun to work for free or not get paid fairly. And good luck selling your equipment. First of all they probably will never sell it on ebay and it will be thrown out when moving or by their children when they inherit it. Since ebay has become very seller unfriendly the hoards of buyer/sellers are long gone from yard sales and even auctions. The large heavy items such as stereo/DJ/Pro Sound equipment just sits there. If you go later in the last day of the sale many times you can pick it up for a few bucks or the home owner will just give it to you. The closer it is to the street the closer to the garbage, lol.
Bottom line, it’s best to buy on ebay due to the buyer money back guarantee. There are some uninformed sellers out there who sell equipment thinking that if the lights illuminate it works. Obviously, not so. There are some dishonest sellers out there where you don’t even want to negotiate with and want your money back. Ebay is the place to BUY. To sell that’s a little more difficult. As stated Craigslist is the place most go to sell. It’s time consuming and you really do have to deal with assorted flavors of riff raff. Many times the buyer will point out a pin dot imperfection and want a further discount. Many times they won’t show up as promised. But, you get Cash and cash is king, even less of it is better then other forms of legal tender. I know…Sell your audio equipment to me. I am respectful, prompt, courteous, honor my word, pay in cash, take a shower everyday, won’t leave an oil stain on your driveway with an old jalopy, I buy as is, working, non-working, sometimes working, as long as it looks ok and is complete, I am NOT interested in your old jewelry, Lionel trains, collectables, I am Just into audio/stereo/hi fi equipment ancient guitar amps, or ham radio stuff, plus I am a nice guy….etc., etc.
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