BilboBaggins
Addicted Member
I see these threads all the time. You know, how much is my gear worth? I see a new one this morning actually.
So I thought, why not put together a guide for valuing audio gear for the newbie and oldie, alike.
I’m hoping people can add their valuing methodology and experiences here. It will be very helpful to people who don’t know how to value audio. As well, perhaps it will help prevent people from posting the links to their prospective treasures, asking the value, and ending up losing out to someone who jumps on it.
Here are my guidelines with added contributions from others so it ia all on the first post;
1. Most important, never post a link or image to an item you are interested in, unless you want to tell the world. I can’t recall how many times I’ve seen threads where the prospective buyer posted a link or an image to an online ad, only to have someone else who is watching for these threads scoop it up right in front of him, her or them. The image can be searched for using google images.
2. Do your own research. Most people don’t know it, but value in a local sale is different from value in an eBay sale. Local value is what you would expect to pay online if someone sees the ad and comes out to check it out. It is different for me in Ottawa, vs someone in Toronto even though we are in the same province and only 4.5 hours away. So asking someone what is my gear worth, will not give you a good handle on the value. It is also different for items in isolated areas where there are limited audio enthusiasts.
3. HiFiShark.com is your friend. It will take local listings and world wide listings to give you a good idea of what people are asking, and it also features a tab of sold and expired ads, which I find handy to indicate what the item went for. You do need to do your own filtering though.I use it to tell me what recent sales have been. Here is the search string I use from google: “Tannoy Cheviot site:hifishark.com”
4. There is a lot of judgement involved in valuing something. Condition, cosmetics, popularity, desirability, and what you are willing to pay all play a role. I try not to pay any more than I could get if I wanted to sell it. This approach works for me because I may not end up keeping the item. So if I paid less than market value, I have a good chance of getting it all back if I don’t like the component. I didn’t do this in the beginning and this resulted in maxed out credit cards, and careful budgeting for a few weeks or months to get by.
From quadman2
- Availability. I suppose your mention of "desirability" might cover this aspect, but it does play a large part in what's out there. Covid had its impact on sales, and to an extent still does.
- I think as the axiom of it's worth what people are willing to pay is still the bottom line, and even this is affected by the "fad" influence.
5. Consider the information you find out about the item you are reading about as suspect. Not because people are malicious, but because they want to help, and audio is quite complicated. I’m still learning about it, and I expect I will be as long as I delve here. I tend to look for people who have similar tastes and experiences as guides.
Additions below are contributions from readers.
6. Ebay can be very handy but some digging it needed. Some things I consider.
- Look at SOLD listings, option toward the bottom left. For sale is not the guage of what the value is.
- Look at the total price including shipping. Someone with a high sales price but includes expensive shipping is not a true indicator of price value.
7. If there are a lots of SOLD to compare, there are likely some outliers on the high and low side. Do not get hung up on those.
8. Check the variations of what was sold and what matches what is being valued e.g. Big difference between a beater sold for parts and a recapped and serviced unit. Lots fall between these as well. You may do a good amount of reading but you need to get a feel for what a unit in your condition is reasonable worth.
9. Compare the sell rate. In the sold you may see 3 sold at decent prices, but when you look at the (item) for sale there are 17 up for sale and 9 of those are in the sold price range. That is not a good a situation as 3 sold and none for sale. You want to get an idea if the unit is a mover, or if you are looking at a grind.
- Don't get hung up on really high for sale prices, there are always dreamers that are price super high and are willing to wait for that one sucker. And sometimes they are priced high since they don't have it in stock but want to keep a listing alive so a crazy price is attached to it.
Everyone hears differently, and our rooms and equipment is all part of the mix.
How do you judge the value of audio gear?
So I thought, why not put together a guide for valuing audio gear for the newbie and oldie, alike.
I’m hoping people can add their valuing methodology and experiences here. It will be very helpful to people who don’t know how to value audio. As well, perhaps it will help prevent people from posting the links to their prospective treasures, asking the value, and ending up losing out to someone who jumps on it.
Here are my guidelines with added contributions from others so it ia all on the first post;
1. Most important, never post a link or image to an item you are interested in, unless you want to tell the world. I can’t recall how many times I’ve seen threads where the prospective buyer posted a link or an image to an online ad, only to have someone else who is watching for these threads scoop it up right in front of him, her or them. The image can be searched for using google images.
2. Do your own research. Most people don’t know it, but value in a local sale is different from value in an eBay sale. Local value is what you would expect to pay online if someone sees the ad and comes out to check it out. It is different for me in Ottawa, vs someone in Toronto even though we are in the same province and only 4.5 hours away. So asking someone what is my gear worth, will not give you a good handle on the value. It is also different for items in isolated areas where there are limited audio enthusiasts.
3. HiFiShark.com is your friend. It will take local listings and world wide listings to give you a good idea of what people are asking, and it also features a tab of sold and expired ads, which I find handy to indicate what the item went for. You do need to do your own filtering though.I use it to tell me what recent sales have been. Here is the search string I use from google: “Tannoy Cheviot site:hifishark.com”
4. There is a lot of judgement involved in valuing something. Condition, cosmetics, popularity, desirability, and what you are willing to pay all play a role. I try not to pay any more than I could get if I wanted to sell it. This approach works for me because I may not end up keeping the item. So if I paid less than market value, I have a good chance of getting it all back if I don’t like the component. I didn’t do this in the beginning and this resulted in maxed out credit cards, and careful budgeting for a few weeks or months to get by.
From quadman2
- Availability. I suppose your mention of "desirability" might cover this aspect, but it does play a large part in what's out there. Covid had its impact on sales, and to an extent still does.
- I think as the axiom of it's worth what people are willing to pay is still the bottom line, and even this is affected by the "fad" influence.
5. Consider the information you find out about the item you are reading about as suspect. Not because people are malicious, but because they want to help, and audio is quite complicated. I’m still learning about it, and I expect I will be as long as I delve here. I tend to look for people who have similar tastes and experiences as guides.
Additions below are contributions from readers.
6. Ebay can be very handy but some digging it needed. Some things I consider.
- Look at SOLD listings, option toward the bottom left. For sale is not the guage of what the value is.
- Look at the total price including shipping. Someone with a high sales price but includes expensive shipping is not a true indicator of price value.
7. If there are a lots of SOLD to compare, there are likely some outliers on the high and low side. Do not get hung up on those.
8. Check the variations of what was sold and what matches what is being valued e.g. Big difference between a beater sold for parts and a recapped and serviced unit. Lots fall between these as well. You may do a good amount of reading but you need to get a feel for what a unit in your condition is reasonable worth.
9. Compare the sell rate. In the sold you may see 3 sold at decent prices, but when you look at the (item) for sale there are 17 up for sale and 9 of those are in the sold price range. That is not a good a situation as 3 sold and none for sale. You want to get an idea if the unit is a mover, or if you are looking at a grind.
- Don't get hung up on really high for sale prices, there are always dreamers that are price super high and are willing to wait for that one sucker. And sometimes they are priced high since they don't have it in stock but want to keep a listing alive so a crazy price is attached to it.
Everyone hears differently, and our rooms and equipment is all part of the mix.
How do you judge the value of audio gear?
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