Couldn't find a forum to drop this so here it goes.
I'm interested in finding an up to date Blue Book for audio equipment ... I'd like to step uip my buying/selling and need a decent source to look up values. I see Audiogon offers an online service (which I've not used, and is a bit pricey) and there's also Orion Blue Book online (which I have used once, also pricey). In addition to these (and eBay) is there a less expensive online source or a current bound book that lists values?
You just look at what is being asked for what is being offered on the different sites. Put "vintage audio for sale", or something similar, possibly the brand and model of what you are looking at, in a search engine. As with anything "vintage" the condition often determines what you can ask. Stock is almost always best when dealing with vintage; simply because you don't kbnow what the person who has modified, or made do with substandard parts, has actually accomplished. Also, most vintage gear has standout products that are more highly prized than another, almost identical, product. As with anything, new or old, a fair price is what someone will pay. If you ask too much, the public will let you know. If you ask too little, well, everything has a learning curve. Just hope you're on the other end of one of those deals.
jan, I undestand the process of fishing around the net from various sources for pricing info, and I've been doing that, but that can be somewhat time consuming. It would be more practical to have a reference book at my side and just flip to the page to instantly get pricing guidelines. Does such a book exist? Or a site with info than Orion and Audiogon?
Jan, I undestand the process of fishing around the net from various sources for pricing info to get an average and I've been doing that, but that can be somewhat time consuming. It would be more practical to have a reference book at my side and just flip to the page to instantly get pricing guidelines. Does such a book exist? Or a site with info than Orion and Audiogon?
Not that I'm aware of. The folks who keep track of the pricing for various models would like to get something back for their effort. One thing about vintage audio is the pricing doesn't move around like it can on some other vintage products. If you use the Orion guide for one product, that's probably the price you can expect for two years. For most pieces, a good guess should do. As a group, Yamaha amplifiers from the 1980's all have kept the same relative value. That should make it unnecessary to look up each specific model.
Other than that, I would say you will simply learn what a piece is worth by experience. Vintage sellers attend lots of vintage fairs and have a community built up just like any other group interested in a certain product. It depends on how deeply you want to get into this process. If you are only looking to pick up a deal every now and again, the net and the Orion should get you by.
Find Kegger's email and drop him a line. He has been selling vintage for a little while now.
I'm interested in vintage equipment; but also more recently manufactured gear also, i.e. within the last 10 years. Is the Orion Blue book an 'audio only' source, or do they do pricing for other kinds of merchandise? Are you aware if it is an online entity only or do they produce a version in print?
Orion does many sorts of products. They are marketed by specialty. They used to produce an Orion Blue Book for Audio which many audio shops bought each year. I don't know whether that is still available or not. There were some restrictions years ago that allowed only dealers to buy a copy.