Honesty required

[trio leo]

Hi fellas,
Can I ask for an honest answer? I have my amplifiers up for sale on this and other forums.
Would you say forums were a good place to advertise Hi-Fi equipment or is it better to try and sell through the magazines or on ebay.
I get the impression Ebay has gone the way of everyone wanting something for nothing so that they can sell it on for a profit.
When you have good equipment for sale , you would prefer it to go to an enthusiast, so that they can enjoy the quality of the goods.
Or is it that times are pretty tough and everyone needs a bargain?

Kind regards Al

[The Grand Wazoo]

As far as sales are concerned I'd say you need to get the word out. There's no substitute for reaching a wider audience.

However..............(and this is the tricky bit)................you really shouldn't saturate your prospective punters with over-advertising.

[YNWaN]

There are a lot of people now who either trade hi-fi as a hobby or as a business. They all try to buy low and sell high - such is the nature of making a profit. In addition, a significant number of these 'traders' trawl the forums looking for bargains.

If you sell on eBay it will sell for what the market will currently support - if that's not what you are prepared to accept, that's another matter.
________________

I know someone who sold a component to someone claiming poverty only to see it for sale a couple of weeks later at a profit.

Some time ago there was a thread about Decca cartridges and I mentioned I had a Gold that I never used - three people subsequently contacted me offering to buy it (all at well below the market value, all pretending to be enthusiasts).

[jandl100]

I buy & sell a lot of kit - not for profit (overall I lose out) but just cos I like to try different things.

I usually try the forums before eBay. Wigwam is good as it has lots of members, PFM similarly even though it is heavily Flat Earth oriented still.
But I've also had good success, and many happy customers :) on AoS.

I used to use HiFi Adverts and Hifi-for-sale, but have had little success with those for the past year or so.

Yup, try the forums first, then eBay. :thumbsup:
The problem with eBay is its unpredictability. Sale values of +/- 50% are easily seen from week to week. :scratch: A big gamble, unless you set a costly Reserve.

[Ali Tait]

I've found stuff will sell on the forums, but more expensive items can take a long time to shift. The good thing about forum advertising is that eventually someone searching for that particular bit of kit will find it on a forum via a search engine, but it can take a long time. The last bit of pricey kit I sold took months to shift, but they did go eventually. You just have to be patient.

[Mark Grant]

The problem with ebay is the high fees, about 10% or more by the time you have paid the ebay and then paypal fees.
Also the risk of being scammed.

I suggest to take some quality photos of the kit you are selling and put them in your for sale posts.

People like photos and it gives confidence that what you are selling is as described.

Also remember that more people browse forums than ever join or post and people that are not members wont be able to send you a message.

To help with google searches edit the tags at the bottom the page to add the make and model of what you are selling, google likes tags and keywords :)

[worthingpagan]

Like Jerry, I buy and sell quite a lot and mostly always lose money. The wam used to be good, watch out for the hissy fits though. Nowadays i use ebay or the Friday Ad. Friday ad is great as it reaches a large audience and is Free. I always take lots of photos and keep them in a folder for ever. This forum is as good a place as any to sell to hifi nuts :)

[John]

I also think on high end equipment your market a bit limited most people who have high end gear will and use forums will probarly have what they want and those that are new who do not might find such a jump quite scary
Yes its nice to sell to a fellow nutter but its not always possible

[synsei]

I always sell on ebay simply because the kit I tend to sell wouldn't shift on forums, being more inclined towards the budget end of the market. Selling on ebay has its pitfalls however, some of which have already been mentioned.

For example, I picked up a lovely pair of KEF Kit1 speakers for 70 quid a month ago. My intention was to relist them on ebay with a better description and photographs with the hope that I'd make a reasonable profit. Things didn't go quite to plan. I should have broken them up and listed the drive units (T27's and B200's) and crossovers seperately which would have maximised my profit. Unfortunately I let my heart rule my head (I couldn't bear to break them up) and sold them complete and subsequently lost 26 quid in the process. Lesson learnt... :eyebrows:

[Jonboy]

Yep Forums first then Ebay, i prefer the Forums as i like to sell it to someone for a fair price and not let paypal and Ebay take the cream, it works out at nearer to 15% for all the fees.

The best place i think though is at the Audio Jumble where you can have a deal and a good day out

[Tim]

Alan, I would start afresh here with some good photographs of the equipment and if you reduce the price, just keep updating the original thread which does two things, advertises your price reduction and gives the thread a bump. As Mark points out, keywords are essential for Google to help you when people may be searching for what you have.

I would also try eBay Buy it Now, it will only cost you 40p to test the water - I have successfully sold a lot of relatively expensive gear using Buy it Now. Selling with a reserve has not worked for me as people often give up, unless you publish the reserve price in the listing, which can keep people interested if they have an idea of your expectations.

Being an Albarry fan I know their worth, but unfortunately a lot of people don't. I think you have them priced fairly, but above what I believe the market will currently stand, going by how much Albarry often sells for. You are selling a very niche product, which with the mods puts them way above what they would normally sell for. The sceptics won't appreciate that upgrading the mains cables will have made a difference worth paying for, so it's a bit of a Catch 22.

Anyway, good luck and I only wish I could afford them myself, as I would bite your hand off.

[Reid Malenfant]

Alan, I would start afresh here with some good photographs of the equipment and if you reduce the price, just keep updating the original thread which does two things, advertises your price reduction and gives the thread a bump. As Mark points out, keywords are essential for Google to help you when people may be searching for what you have.
Yes I agree entirely, pictures are incredibly important & what better place than here in the gallery :D

Perhaps somepne with permissions can stick this thread in a more relevant slot ;)

[Theo]

I've always had success selling (and buying) on forums. As others have mentioned, the key is to take good and plentiful images, and always an honest description.

Also, have patience. If you are desparate to sell (and don't mind knocking off 15% of the final selling price), you're probably better off on eBay. If you're willing to wait, forums are fine. In my experience, there are far fewer time wasters on Forums in comparison to auction sites. Yes, you may get chancers offering half of what you want, but be courteous: sometimes you find a mutual meeting ground :)

Above all, I've met some lovely people whilst buying and selling, and have kept in contact - a definite bonus.

[Spur07]

patience is the key if your using forums to shift equipment. You probably wont get a quick sale unless your selling something like Naim or Linn. Also, prices are expected to be a little lower on forums in comparison to ebay because you're not paying fees. The last thing I sold was my Royd speakers, it took at least 3 or 4 months to find the right buyer - in New Zealand as it happened! You'll come across your fair share of idiots however, and, speaking as an outsider, its something quite peculiar to the Hi-fi community imho that I'd never encountered before.

[icehockeyboy]

________________

I know someone who sold a component to someone claiming poverty only to see it for sale a couple of weeks later at a profit.



Possibly to alleviate his state of poverty?

[trio leo]

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies, maybe I'm being a little hasty.
I have some photos in the gallery (I hope,) I'll try and figure out how to put them in the advert.
I feel if I sell in a forum that my well loved equipment will be "going to a good home " as it were.
I appreciate the Albarry's having new mains cables may not be of interest to some, but I'm just trying to show the equipment I have is in good condition and is likely to last for many years.

best regards Al

[YNWaN]

Possibly to alleviate his state of poverty?

Though he used the claim of poverty to achieve a reduced price in the first place.

[Darren]

Possibly to alleviate his state of poverty?

Haha! Indeed!

[TBL]

I know someone who sold a component to someone claiming poverty only to see it for sale a couple of weeks later at a profit.



The seller sold at a price he was happy with, so what's the problem? You also have to bear in mind that what the new owner tried to sell it at is probably not what he got. I remember this exact discussion thread from wigwam and I also remember watching the sale on ebay, it didn't sell and as far as I know was not re-listed.

If I put stuff on ebay with a BIN it is pretty much always more than I paid for it. I do this in the full knowledge that I will get offers below my asking price and when it does sell I might at best break even. If I sell on Forums I always ask the same (or less) than I paid depending on how long I've owned it.

[synsei]

I often bid for items on ebay from lazy sellers who haven't bothered to provide a decent description or photo in their listing, knowing there is a good chance it'll go for a song. I also actively search for poorly titled listings using an app for the same reason. I occasionally haggle down the price from sellers listing items with a BIN price. Items I win using these methods always find their way back onto ebay at some point furnished with an accurate description and good photos. Much of it will have been cleaned and serviced too.

The way I see it, we live in a free market economy and the onus is on the seller to achieve the best possible sale price he or she can manage using every means possible. If that seller fails to achieve that aim due to their own incompetence, so be it (I include myself in that statement too). I make no apologies for using these techniques as they are responsible, by and large, for furnishing me with most of the equipment I own today.

If we are going to start criticising people for making a profit from vintage hifi we may as well pack it all away and take up knitting. After all, how many of us have watched classic gear sell on ebay for absurd amounts. Demand always dictates the outcome.

[Rare Bird]

I love it when a seller spells the manufacturers name really wrong hence hardly anyone bids :eyebrows:

[synsei]

Or worse still, they just put 'Hifi System' or 'Stereo'!!! I've seen that many a time and have taken advantage ;)

[bogle111]

I often bid for items on ebay from lazy sellers who haven't bothered to provide a decent description or photo in their listing, knowing there is a good chance it'll go for a song. I also actively search for poorly titled listings using an app for the same reason. I occasionally haggle down the price from sellers listing items with a BIN price. Items I win using these methods always find their way back onto ebay at some point furnished with an accurate description and good photos. Much of it will have been cleaned and serviced too.

The way I see it, we live in a free market economy and the onus is on the seller to achieve the best possible sale price he or she can manage using every means possible. If that seller fails to achieve that aim due to their own incompetence, so be it (I include myself in that statement too). I make no apologies for using these techniques as they are responsible, by and large, for furnishing me with most of the equipment I own today.

If we are going to start criticising people for making a profit from vintage hifi we may as well pack it all away and take up knitting. After all, how many of us have watched classic gear sell on ebay for absurd amounts. Demand always dictates the outcome.

I'm with you on that one synsei. Though non hi-fi related, I have emailed the seller after the BIN price was achieved: I was looking at the tax implications from abroad when someone else pounced. The bidder was from Nigeria. The seller came back to me and we agreed a price as I found out he had two of them, I bought them both. He was happy and couldn't believe his luck. He got more than he paid for them new. He knew a value for them that he wanted.

Am I to blame for buying them knowing what they could fetch somewhere else in a collector's market - No. If it is something I know about, and I can sell for more than cost, then that is the free market. Better than leaving it in the Bank to devalue. Demand always dictates the outcome.

As for "Sniping", it is a bu**er, but that is where it is at today. Go to any auction house and the game is the same as it always has been. Comes down to demand again. As for vintage hi-fi, the prices are inflated, but I don't see them falling in the next few years and if anything, they will rise IMO.

If however, I knew another member was bidding on something here or any other forum for hi-fi before me, then I would not interfere or bid against. I would wait until they backed out first, then see if I was still interested, though would probably be off the boil by then. I would like the same courtesy back, but do not expect it to save disappointment.

I do not buy and sell hi-fi for profit - too long in hi-fi industry to want to go back there. However, should I want to sell some of what I have, then I would take close to a market price and would be foolish not to. I also realize some people may wish to deal in hi-fi for profit, and that is fine by me. "Greed" on the other hand, is a whole different topic with plenty of examples (inc. hi-fi) on that famous site. There are a lot of "chancers" there.

Regards
Pete