I've been following some similar pieces of gear to what I have in my system, just to check their market value, for my own curiosity. And I've discovered that many of the pieces I own have increased in value.

I recently watched a preamp like mine, a Parasound Halo 3, it sat on eBay for a long time at $565, and finally sold for that price, and I see another asking a similar price. I only paid $350 for mine 5 or 6 years ago. That's not too unusual I guess? But I recently bought the big Krell! And replaced my very nice Forte' Model 3, and they sell all the time on Audiogon for $700 to $750, and I only paid $300, again 5 or 6 years ago. That's a huge increase! In fact, almost every piece of used gear I own, is worth more now than it was when I got it within the past 7 years. Even my speakers are averaging $500 more than I paid.

I've read an article in a hi end magazine a while back saying that Hi Fi was a terrible investment. A sure way to loose money. I guess if you must buy new, that would be very true. But in the used market I seem to be making better gains than gold bricks. Why is this?

Is it just a shift that has occurred in these recent years? Has the cost of new gear driven up the cost of used gear? Or have I just accidentally chosen pieces they have increased in demand? Is anyone else noticing the same thing with their equipment?

It seems to me that a big stereo could be a nice way to store wealth? As long as most of the gear you own has done most of its depreciating before you buy it. And of course it's nice enough that age won't make it worthless, it beats a no interest savings account hands down! So you've got $30k in a standard savings account, drawing about 0.0050% interest, giving you 50 cent on the thousand interest per year. And if the banks go bust and lock their doors, you have no access to it. And you have to fill out a tax form to claim those pennies. But! If you buy stereo with it, then no taxes, and home owner's insurance covers it if stolen, or lost in a fire. And you get to enjoy that money every day instead of looking at numbers on a computer screen. And if you're as lucky as I am, and most of your stereo is going up in value, it seems like a great place to hide some money. And don't forget your record collection, used records have gone up in value a lot in recent years.

At any rate, I'm very surprised to find this trend that almost all of my stereo has increased in value since I bought it.

Ruseell




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