RSD: Do Flippers Really Hurt Record Store Day? *

Waterloo Records, Austin, TX.
It was a mad house. I was really lucky. A few of the records I got were the last item on the shelf. It's weird though. Some pressings were untouched, like the LCD Soundsystem box, and all the Folk boxes, which evidently are fetching high prices on the bay.

They got 5 Cake boxes. It was long gone and the spot was labeled "Sold Out" when I got inside.
When I got in the checkout line, which was about 50 people long, it put me right where the Cake Box had been shelved. I looked beside me and there was one sitting back on the shelf. I did a double-take, and grabbed it, confused and elated.
Someone must have not had the money, or grabbed 2. They put one back on the shelf right next to me.


A few hours later I went to a smaller shop near my house, and they had all kinds of hard to get stuff that had been snatched-up at Waterloo. Really odd to see people frantically grabbing at one spot, then see another empty with everything in it.

You're probably right

Agreed.

 

that is a good point

its tough to know if you are doing that though, I wait out in line on RSD and get my item. I wait a few days maybe travel to another store and here is this item sitting there that people are fighting for and in this store nobody checked or it got missed or just wasnt in demand to those customers I buy it......what do I do? may I sell it on ebay for 3 times what I paid? am I a flipper or a piece of crap if I do?

 

Another great point. That's why the uproar seems a bit excessive to me.

 

you could buy the lp and sell it here on sh forums for no profit, or is that just too weird of a concept

 

I do see the philosophical dilemma there. I went on Sunday to take advantage of the general sale, and I took a peek through the RSD leftovers bin to see if I could help out some forum members who had posted WTBs. I didn't plan on asking for more than my cost if I had found something, though I suppose if one lived in a place where, say, the Otis Redding LP didn't sell and was staring at 10 copies... Taking advantage of the "market" wouldn't make them a jerk. Though they could be awesome and unload them at their cost.

 

no but it becomes a moral judgement rather than somebody doing something right or wrong

 

what

 

people may judge someone here morally as a forum member for not doing someone a favor

however if they choose to sell it for profit they aren't wrong for doing so

 

so now we've shifted into moral relativism

please lock this thread

 

shifted? isn't that what this has been about from the beginning? there isnt any crime being committed

people are being judged by selling in the open market which is legal and thriving in the record hobby but because it is RSD there is a taboo

 

from page 2:

 

Money for nothing and the shipping ain't free.

 

you're going to have to substantiate that

 

LOL--no I'm not! It's the internet--people can say any old thing that comes into their head, as this thread shows.

 

Ironically, the song that you reference is about people who know nothing about how the music business works complaining about people who make their living by it.

 

There's no difference between RSD flipping and flipping any other "rare" record for profit.

Market availability, and popularity ultimately determines the price.

This is hardly a moral issue, and to imply so is ridiculous, in my opinion.

 

Some humans will always exploit the flaws in any system for their own personal gain. And RSD is a system. Personally I think flippers, and by that I mean the people who have no interest in records but merely sleep out to acquire and sell them, suck. Most people who exploit systems suck and make it worse for the rest of us who generally follow the rules. This includes everything from cheaters on multi-player games to large US corporations who use tax shelters or offshore their money, to flippers. You can call it capitalism or get up and go or survival or whatever, but it still sucks. What needs to change are the rules of the game (whether that's more production or changing how records are allotted or whatever) to discourage the behaviors, just like the tax rules for US corporations needs to change so the US isn't losing out in trillions on dollars. No matter what the case, it boils down to selfishness, IMO.

 

I thought you only hurt the ones you love.

 

Somebody please list a few of the really desirable RSD releases this year that flippers seemed to flock to. Could someone do that for me?

 

Everyone has their hands in your pockets from the time a record is distributed. Sometimes it's the distributors who hold huge shipments of anticipated releases, only to load up ebay, and discogs, sometimes it's the retailer. Other times it's the savvy collector, or some Hipster who happens on a stack of records at the local shop.

Both of the RSD participating shops I went to had marked up the products 10-20%, which is against the RSD agreement. I think this is a bigger issue than someone who waits in line and spends their own money to purchase something to resell it. Most shops did not allow multiple purchases of one title anyway.

We all have the opportunity to take advantage of any given marketplace when we become familiar with it.

I was prepared to be frustrated after waiting, luckily I wasn't. I empathize with those of you who did not get what you wanted. Hopefully you can have a better plan/day next year.

 

As I was standing in my favorite local record store this past Saturday. I was happy for the owner( a friend of mine) to see the all the people browsing for records. Then I said to him."where are all these people the rest of the year?"

Isn't RSD supposed to help your local grow and expand their business. After RSD, every year I never see any lasting impact on in store traffic.

 

This is an interesting point. With the LCD Soundsystem box there were 3000 made. There are roughly 30 current and 120 completed auctions on Ebay going back to the 19th.
This item was trickled to stores, the majority got maybe 1 or 2 a piece. Where are all those boxes??

 

There is on general difference. The RSD issue peaks prior and during RSD, then gradually decreases until all copies are truly gone from retail, often one or two years after the fact.

 

http://exclaim.ca/News/record_store...uch_those_exclusives_are_now_fetching_on_ebay

 

Also, I wonder how many of the eBay pre-RSD bids are completed. My guess is a lot of these are made by people who still go out on RSD and try to buy what they just bid on at retail. EBay is just a plan B for them. Same thing for the scalpers, how many are able to get what they are trying to sell if they are lining up (and/or paying others to line up)?