Buying used - Why do you like it and what do you not like?

[admin_exported]

Hi, everyone. My name is Darren, soon to be founder of Immersion Audio. I'm starting as an online used store.

As a little bit of market research, I'd like to know your thoughts, as a whole, on a few matters.

Why do you like to buy used?

What makes you buy one used item over another?

What puts you off of used items or used equipment websites?

What would you do to change how used items are sold on websites?

This'd be a great help in getting my busienss off to a better start to hopefully benefit some of you in the near future 🙂.

Thanks in advance,

Darren of Immersion Audio

[If this is the wrong forum, I apologize and am fine with it being moved, I didn't see another forum where the response would be as good!]

 

[dannycanham]

I like to buy all my kit used. Bought and sold possibly 50 pieces of hi fi. I cannot afford the systems I choose new. I don't think the systems I choose are worth the new price. I treat my purchases like a long term demo which is not cost effective on new kit.

Commonly I tend to go three types of kit. Highly rated magazine gear that has then gone out of fashion by the magazine. Then there is usually loads on sale pushing the price down. Cosmetically imperfect gear that again pushes down the price. Gear that few others have heard of that again pushes down the price.

Hi resolution photos of all sides and convenience of getting the item are big pluses. Off putting if not.

An improvement for me would be to be able to treat a store like it was a rental/demo. Ie if I bought an item from them I could guarantee getting a percentage, say 75% of the price back if I sold it back to them in the same condition.

 

[shooter]

Hat's of to you Darren for starting a new business in these troubled times, good luck!

Why do you like to buy used?

Value for money, i love a bargain and have built my system around a mix of new and used.

What makes you buy one used item over another?

Quality of piece. I'm only interested if the item is near mint with all relevance's, remote, manual's boxes etc. If it's not cared for then i'm not interested no mater what price it is. Part's availability. I was thinking of getting a Wadia not long ago only to find out transport and laser isn't available and on a 2k product it would of been a huge gamble.

What puts you off of used items or used equipment websites?

^^ and non responders.

What would you do to change how used items are sold on websites?

Dunno.

 

[MajorFubar]

Buying used.

What I like:

I like the fickle consumerism which renders yesterday's technology worthless, so I can now buy today what I couldn't nearly afford yesterday in the knowlege that in most cases it does its job just as well as it did yesterday.

What I don't like:

I don't like it when a seller's idea of "great condition" turns out to be my definition of "just about works and looks like it's been used as a defensive weapon"

 

[the record spot]

Like: Accurate item descriptions, good choice, quality gear, plenty of detail and photos, possibly useful links to reviews or relevant stuff about the item. Also price, my current amp would be around £1500 in today's money, possibly more. I bought it for £200 and spent another £100 servicing it. It canes anything else I've heard, period.

Dislike: Inaccurate descriptions - record collectors use an agreed system to grade records, from Mint down to Poor and everyone knows the score. We've all seen hifi on Ebay that's described as "very good condition" or the like and it turns out that it's a mess. Ambitious pricing (forget it), crap returns policy - the Distance Selling Regulations, read up on them especially the bit about rights of the consumer to try out goods as long as they take reasonable care. None of this, "buy, but you can only return if you haven't opened the damn box". Against the rules/legislation and too many get away with it.

Good luck, hope it goes well!

 

[Anonymous]

Why do I like buying used:

Product selection - the range of products available used is incredible and dwarfs the selection of current/new items. The range of products within my budget is also much greater thanks to depreciation.

I believe buying used is absolutley the best way to get the most bang for your $

What makes me buy one used product over another:

Reviews/reputation - I will only purchase products with plenty of good reviews by the hifi press and consumers. That said, I bought my speakers on the reputation of their manufacturer and their spec - it was a gamble but a very worwhile one!

What puts me off of used items or used equipment websites:

Details and pictures - a lack of these is a really off putting and incomprehensible on my part. I want to see what Im buying so decent and plentiful photos are an absolute must. Details/specifications so I know exactly what Im buying and links to consumer/pro reviews for the lazy will also help to sell your item...

When buying used from an individual I except that there is some risk involved in terms of no warranty but if I was buying from a specialist dealer I would expect a warranty of say 3 months to show you are confident in the equipment you are selling.

Good luck Darren.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Darren,

Some good points about accurate description etc. already made. I'd like to add 'swift, honest and useful replies to inquiries' to the list. My main reason to want to deal with an online business rather than buying from individuals through an auction site.

Best of luck with the business.

Jack

 

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone! Thanks for the kind words and supportive comments 🙂.

The pictures idea is one of the very first things I thought of. My local Hi-Fi shop lists its kit with a 150x150 thumbnail of one angle and that's it. Many items don't even have a picture. My main online rival uses a 720p video of the item spinning on a turntable. Not ideal as it just doesn't give you any detail. I have a D-SLR that I have been using for pictures on items I have sold privately. The level of pictures on my website will at least as good as those, which can be seen on these albums:

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y210/MarDarren/Monitor%20Audio%20RX1%2028th%20April/

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y210/MarDarren/Arcam%20A85/

http://s6.photobucket.com/albums/y210/MarDarren/Arcam%20CD72%2029th%20May%202011/

Gear selection is something I will be a bit picky on. I wont be taking in any old bits of gear that people want to offload, one of the company 'mottos' from the beginning, is "We only ever recommend equipment which we would proudly own ourselves.". I'd never take in anything which doesn't have areadily available favourable review.

The "long term demo" concept is definetly a good idea. Perhaps something like "If you would like to sell the item, we will guarantee to give you 70% of what you paid for it; assuming the condition hasn't changed and the included accessories and packaging are present."

As for replies, I will be by my phone pretty much 24/7 for any queries via text or call. I keep my iPad with me at all times for E-Mails too. I know this is an important point, as I was trying to buy a KW550 the other week and the seller (an online shop, not a private individual) still hasn't got back to me!

Warranty will be 6 months for electronics, 12 months on loudspeakers. May revise this at some stage.

My first item will be going up for sale very shortly, under the company name. A one-off piano black pair finish of B&W 804 Nautilus'!

Thanks again for all the well wishes!

Darren (If any mods are reading, any way to change usernames on this forum or are they set in stone?)

 

[audioaffair]

Used can offer excellent value for money and I used to buy kit used. Whilst anyone will argue a dealer commenting on this is biased somewhat, I started buying more new about 5 years ago to get access to the warranty, buying advice and help if needed after a few issues with kit purchased on auction that ended up being faulty and cost a fortune to fix in one case. Big benefits also in being to demo equipment at your local dealer. If anything quality equipment has dropped in price over the last 5 years allowing you to get a much better sound for the same pound, even with inflation considered. Having said that there are some cracking bits of kit available used like the ubiqutous Pioneer A400 that has quite a following on here (although the Yamaha A-S500 gives it quite a run for its money nowadays to my ears!)

 

[jubair]

The main reason I like buying used is because it's cheaper and also equipment is properly run in so you don't have to wait for weeks for it to sound its best. I will only buy items in very good condition with all original packaging and accessories however. I also buy used items with the view of giving them an extended audition and if I don't like then I can sell without much of a loss.

My main worries about buying used is lack of warranty but I' ve never had a problem with any equipment I've bought so far fortunately. Also you have to wait a long time sometimes for the item you want to come on the used market at a good price. It pays to be patient and not pay over the odds for anything so your losses are minimized when it comes to selling on.

The advantage of buying new is the item will be in perfect condition and you will get a full warranty. You can also audition the item but I've always found in the case of the speakers they sound very different in my home. You can sometimes take equipment home for audition and that can be helpful but sometimes a week is not long enough to judge an item.

 

[jubair]

The main reason I like buying used is because it's cheaper and also equipment is properly run in so you don't have to wait for weeks for it to sound its best. I will only buy items in very good condition with all original packaging and accessories however. I also buy used items with the view of giving them an extended audition and if I don't like then I can sell without much of a loss.

My main worries about buying used is lack of warranty but I've never had a problem with any equipment I've bought so far fortunately. Also you have to wait a long time sometimes for the item you want to come on the used market at a good price. It pays to be patient and not pay over the odds for anything so your losses are minimized when it comes to selling on.

The advantage of buying new is the item will be in perfect condition and you will get a full warranty. You can also audition the item but I've always found in the case of the speakers they sound very different in my home. You can sometimes take equipment home for audition and that can be helpful but sometimes a week is not long enough to judge an item.