History of a gear and its affect on price...

Mystery

Mystery

constantly upgrading...
Had a guy interested in my receiver.
Asks me if I am original owner and if I had any issue with it.
I said no to both.
He wanted me to test it overnight with speakers on to make sure there is no issue and I did that, no issue.
He shows up and spends half an hour listening, checking all the buttons, dials and then says, "Without knowing history of it, I can only offer you $$$" that is half of what I'm asking.
WTH?
Either he's just looking for a haggling point or really dumb to think knowing its history somehow guarantees its longevity.

I said 'No' and showed him the door.
He already knew I'm not the original owner when we talked on the phone and asked me to test overnight.
Time waste.

What's your history with gears' history?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Past history never crossed my mind when buying gear.

If it is a piece that I'm considering and I like the looks & sound of the unit and I get a good vibe from the seller, that is all I need.
 
History can be bad or good. No issues? Well, how old is it and when will it have issues? No telling.

Old but recently re-furbished? To what extent? Again, no telling when the next untouched circuit or component is going to fail.

The guy was just looking to low ball you and he wasted your time. I would have charged him. ;)
 
You should have told him you just found out it was the unit hooked to Nixon's recorder in the White House and decided it wa worth 2x more than the asking price. If he challenges it, tell him to call Richard; you know Richard will deny it meanig it is true.
 
You shouldn't have let this guy into your home without knowing his history/background in the first place. :no:
 
I'd tell him to get the hell out of my house. I accurately describe my equipment, and arrange a price beforehand (assuming the condition matches my description, which it always will) so there are no surprises for buyer or seller.
 
Mystery said:
Had a guy interested in my receiver.
Asks me if I am original owner and if I had any issue with it.
I said no to both.
He wanted me to test it overnight with speakers on to make sure there is no issue and I did that, no issue.
He shows up and spends half an hour listening, checking all the buttons, dials and then says, "Without knowing history of it, I can only offer you $$$" that is half of what I'm asking.
WTH?
Either he's just looking for a haggling point or really dumb to think knowing its history somehow guarantees its longevity.

I said 'No' and showed him the door.
He already knew I'm not the original owner when we talked on the phone and asked me to test overnight.
Time waste.

What's your history with gears' history?
Click to expand...
:yikes:....Just wait until Google Glasses. People will be snapping pictures of your stuff...Maybe he wanted to hang out.
 
His argument was he has similar receiver that only works for few hours and then no output.
I did what he asked by testing it overnight over 12 hours continuous and it works fine.
After that test only he decided to come and still complains.
Crappy attitude.
 
I love that when somebody wastes my time going through all the motions before first ascertaining the lowest price I would accept - especially when he knew up front that we were miles apart to begin with!

I'll never forget the time years & years ago I stayed open late on a cold winter night for some dipshit customer to look over a black '90 Beretta, top to bottom, in & out crawling under the car every angle possible for 2 hours! Knowing the price of $5,995 all along, and still after finding absolutely nothing wrong - offers $3,000.

Threw the idiot right out.
 
There very few things that I'm the original owner of.
When you showed him the door, did you just point to it?
 
I'm with the now former buyer. Its always your prerogative to decided whether or not you want to sell to somebody of course but I see where the buyer was coming from.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 
Mystery said:
His argument was he has similar receiver that only works for few hours and then no output.
I did what he asked by testing it overnight over 12 hours continuous and it works fine.
After that test only he decided to come and still complains.
Crappy attitude.
Click to expand...

RamblinE said:
I'm with the now former buyer. Its always your prerogative to decided whether or not you want to sell to somebody of course but I see where the buyer was coming from.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

The buyer may have lacked tact but I see Ramblin's point. I bought several Pioneer receivers in a one year span and each of them crapped out in about the same way, although at different times. Considering the cost of a tech, caps, etc., even given a unit that worked overnight, and may work for a month, in my case I came to the conclusion that "vintage" gear was a serious crapshoot and, most often, a timebomb. I wouldn't touch a vintage piece anymore unless it was dirt cheap because the repair and upgrade costs often end up being 3-4X what the original "works now" price is. Again, perhaps the buyer could have been more upfront, not wasted time, and had a bit more tact.
 
I disagree. The guy was a jerk. The seller did as he asked. No issues. So what's the problem? To me, it looks like a chance to clearly try a lowball price which backfired. I would have thrown the guy out also. What a waste of time.

Vintage gear can crap out or it can run nicely for years. Overall I've had very good luck with vintage stuff. I've had vintage equipment since it was new and it's all I own. A few issues here but overall the reliability of most equipment has been commendable. Learning how to fix things helps also. Other than a couple power switch issues, I've had no trouble with Pioneer stuff. Usually the most reliable ones are the ones that have had steady or semi-steady use over the years instead of closet queens although the CQ's are usually the best looking.
 
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62caddy said:
I love that when somebody wastes my time going through all the motions before first ascertaining the lowest price I would accept - especially when he knew up front that we were miles apart to begin with!

I'll never forget the time years & years ago I stayed open late on a cold winter night for some dipshit customer to look over a black '90 Beretta, top to bottom, in & out crawling under the car every angle possible for 2 hours! Knowing the price of $5,995 all along, and still after finding absolutely nothing wrong - offers $3,000.

Threw the idiot right out.
Click to expand...

I have a friend that used to do that with cars he would buy.After one or two experiences i never went with him again.
 
I'm not complaining about offer but the reason behind it and also after spending 1/2 hour fiddling the gear.
If he noticed some cosmetic issues or other issues that were not described in the ad, then it's fine.
I already told him over the phone that I am not original owner so he wanted me to test it overnight.
I did that spending my electric bill.
Then he shows up and gives the same freakin reason to lowball.
$%^&*#@.
 
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Well I can't believe you agreed to test it overnight. Anyone asks me to do something like that I'd tell 'em to go pound sand. I have a receiver for sale. It is what it is. Here's how much it costs. You want it, fine. You don't, split. It's ok to ask if there's a little wiggle room in the price (and there may well be) but that's all the interaction there's going to be AFAIC.
 
audiojones said:
Well I can't believe you agreed to test it overnight. Anyone asks me to do something like that I'd tell 'em to go pound sand. I have a receiver for sale. It is what it is. Here's how much it costs. You want it, fine. You don't, split. It's ok to ask if there's a little wiggle room in the price (and there may well be) but that's all the interaction there's going to be AFAIC.
Click to expand...
Yup, that was my CL MO as well. If you are that concerned about an item ceasing to work, don't buy used, and certainly don't buy vintage. Really old electronics will break on ya sometimes, surprise. :)
 
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