thoughts on buying used

[big O]

I personnaly hate the phrase "pre-owned". If a seller is afraid to call something "used", they can't be trusted to give a true account of condition.

Most of my gear purchases are via the used market.

Simply buying used without other criteria isn't a good strategy with the exception that it's a good start to get a system up where you had nohing before. Pay no more than 20% of MSRP for known working units.

My advantage is product knowledge going back to the 1970's. That makes it easier to spot true bargains.

You see on eBay, for example, people paying $100 for a $200 FM Tuner while there are $600 tuners available for $50 that same week. Better still, you see over-performing gear for sale beside under-performing gear at similar prices. But you need to know which is which.

Take 30% off because you will have to eat repair costs. After you've bought a few used pieces, you have saved enough to be able to afford to lose the entire price and still be dollars ahead over new. From that point on you can buy used as much as you want.

I see incredible bargains every week as well as the opposite where people overpay for ordinary or even substandard gear.

There are a few areas where buying new makes sense ... Speakers in particular. But the best advice is jump in because the savings can't start unless you take the used plunge first.

great post.

i do want to ask why you recommend buying speakers new?

 

[slipperybidness]

I'll chime in.

I mostly agree, used gear can be a great market, but it isn't the market for noobs. If you are new to this hobby, or buying anything on the used market, then it's best to proceed with caution!

And, I agree with TLS. If you are gonna buy used, then that next insurance policy is to be able to troubleshoot and repair your own gear. If repairs after purchase eat up my savings, then I'll just buy new and be done with it.

It's absolutely worth the time and $ to invest in some decent testing gear and learn how to use it. I got all my electronics gear used too! And it all works great!

A bench power supply = $60
A BK precision function generator = $50
A 100MHz Tektronix scope with 2 brand new Tektronix probes = $300!!!

That was just about a steal on that o-scope. So, at just over $400, I have most of the gear that I need for long-term electronics work. The time to learn these skills....well, there is no substitute for experience and I keep on learning more every day.

 

[highfigh]

I personnaly hate the phrase "pre-owned". If a seller is afraid to call something "used", they can't be trusted to give a true account of condition.

Most of my gear purchases are via the used market.

Simply buying used without other criteria isn't a good strategy with the exception that it's a good start to get a system up where you had nohing before. Pay no more than 20% of MSRP for known working units.

My advantage is product knowledge going back to the 1970's. That makes it easier to spot true bargains.

You see on eBay, for example, people paying $100 for a $200 FM Tuner while there are $600 tuners available for $50 that same week. Better still, you see over-performing gear for sale beside under-performing gear at similar prices. But you need to know which is which.

Take 30% off because you will have to eat repair costs. After you've bought a few used pieces, you have saved enough to be able to afford to lose the entire price and still be dollars ahead over new. From that point on you can buy used as much as you want.

I see incredible bargains every week as well as the opposite where people overpay for ordinary or even substandard gear.

There are a few areas where buying new makes sense ... Speakers in particular. But the best advice is jump in because the savings can't start unless you take the used plunge first.

You can offer 20% of the new price, but demand vs supply still dictates most sales of the item. If the market has people paying $1200 for a 1978 Pioneer SX-1280, either pay it, look for one at a lower price, find one that needs a lot of work or look for something else. I could sell my turntable for its list price and it was made in '82- if I can get that amount, it's gone. I was surprised when I heard about the going price, but I usually look for a piece by using generic criteria and not usually a make/model number, unless I want to find a good asking price for on that I want to sell.

However, I and many others can either fix most items or take them to people we know who can and have different areas of expertise. For those who can't do their own repairs, it's a completely different ballgame.

Re: people paying more than something is worth, I think some of them are first-time e-bay users and got caught up in the excitement of the end of the auction. Others may feel obligated because they made the trip to see whatever it was.

 

[highfigh]

You have to know what you are doing buying used.

In this day and age a receiver without HDMI is not very useful and be very limiting. It is not worth much.

I can buy used with care, and only buy gear used I know I can service and or restore. You have to know what is potentially fixable. Older gear with discrete transistors you can pretty much keep repairing for ever. Units with early chips sets have a high failure rate, and the chip you need will likely be NLA.

Buying used not working can be very worthwhile for me, but probably not many.

Buying used gear with aftermarket parts is highly problematic.

A Shure V15 xmr with a Jico stylus is not worth beans in my view, but one with the genuine Shure stylus is worth a lot of money.

Then there are classics. For these vintage rules apply. Many are willing to pay a premium for great classics. I note from eBay people do know what the classics are, and are prepared to pay for them.

One thing about an older AVR without HDMI- if it works in all other ways and has a free optical or digital coax input, if it sounds particularly good, an outboard HDMI switch may be the only thing needed and they're not always expensive. They also change when needed, just like AVRs, but the expense of a full blown AVR is avoided. It works- I have a customer who bought a Krell Home Theater Standard preamp and their 5 channel amplifier- he wanted a system that a friend owned and when that became available, he grabbed it. It has no HDMI inputs. OK, he's impulsive and didn't think about everything, but the HDMI switch I bought for it has worked perfectly and does CEC and EDID. Four HDMI inputs, one output and an optical out- less than $200.

 

[highfigh]

Soundsmith carts for B&O turntables start at $199. If you can't afford that you can't afford a B&O.

I would not reccommend a B&O table in the first place (reliability is poor, parts are only available via cannabalism) but there you go if you just gotta have it.

I know the prices of Soundsmith and I know about B&O- I have been in the business for 40 years, but I also know there's a strong market for these and in good condition, they sell for a decent amount. Parts ARE available, but it's a matter of knowing where to look. I found more than a few B&O user groups and I have seen the prices on ebay & Craig's list- if I lose money, I'm not trying hard enough.

 

[3db]

or as they say in the car business "pre-owned"

i buy used now and i find i can get much value for my money this way but i wanted to know what the conventional wisdom is,as i see hardly any recommendations to try used.

preamps without hdmi that sold 15 years ago for $3000 now sell for $150
very good two channel amps can be bought for $50-300

in my area,dallas tx, one would be hard pressed to get half the new price for a set of speakers.

i bought a perfect condition paradigm pw2200 12" sub off craigslist for $200.

so, whats the good word on buying used?

My Yammy RX-V1500 and all of my PSB Alpha speakers are used and the system sounds great. One has to be careful and ask lots of questions to the seller about use of equipment to try and make sure its not been abused.