I'd like to suggest that if you would like to help enlarge this hobby, and can afford to do so, you should consider giving things away, not selling or charging for transfer of ownership at all. I've used this method many times recently and it seems to get younger people involved or more interested in higher-end audio than they would ever have become without such an opportunity.
Even if you end up giving your stuff to someone who is a "private dealer," you still help others acquire items at bargain prices when they are re-sold. That dealer will tend to let your item go for less money than he otherwise would because he got it for free.
No, this altruism is not tax deductible, but if you get a good feeling from giving to charity, you will get an even better feeling giving something to a fellow audiophile, budding audiophile, music lover, or even nascent any of those, knowing that you are not directly benefiting financially from the transaction. I am fortunate to have had enough money to have pursued this hobby for 50 years now and will continue to pursue it. But I realize that many folks struggle to pay even used prices for high quality audio gear and that there are so many competing hobbies and interests around these high-tech days which compete for disposable income dollars. I'm in the financial position now where I can afford to help others acquire things which could help them experience a quality of musical reproduction they might never encounter otherwise. I figure that I have enjoyed these items for years now and it is time to share that enjoyment with others who might otherwise never embark on this path.
Sure, you can give stuff to your friends, if you like, or loan/exchange items with them for awhile, if not permanently. There is nothing wrong with that.
But you know that many of your friends are either already deeply into this hobby, or have not the slightest interest in it. I like the "random acts of kindness to strangers" involved in giving stuff away, which "random acts" could help others have a new-found transcendental music appreciation experience, and giving things away to friends does not usually involve that aspect.
I have found that the local Craigslist (in my case
Craigslist Chicago) and local
Offer Up are two websites which allow me to move along no longer needed items at my convenience, usually on the same day as I list them. One recent weekend, I gave away three sets of speakers, an AVR, and a Blu-ray player all to folks who responded to my ads within minutes and picked the items up the same day.
If you cannot justify actually giving things away, then, alternatively, you could consider selling items for well under their used-market value. I've done this for years as well and you can be assured of appreciative buyers and lightning quick sales. I have had good experiences via Audiogon, eBay, and Craigslist doing this, both where local buyers are concerned and where the items had to be shipped.
We all worry that our hobby is disappearing as the baby boomers die out. That would be a shame. Consider doing your part to light the musical enjoyment fires of a new generation of audiophiles and music lovers.
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