Vinyl so expensive rant

The Smiths weren't really that popular in the UK. Even less so in the US. Popular would be Alison Moyet or Michael Jackson.

 

The Smiths were the biggest "cult" band in the UK from 1984-1987. They never played arenas in the UK but that was almost certainly through choice. Their studio LPs either went to number 1 or 2. £25-30 for a quality copy of an original Queen is Dead is a very fair price.

 

To discover its true condition you must open and play it.
The best grade it can then receive is near mint as it has been played.

 

Sorry but 25-30 quid for a nm Queen Is Dead is not ridiculous.It's extremely competitive! A reissue will cost you 20-25 in HMV! You're point about Smiths originals not being rare is true.However nm Smiths originals is a different matter.
The same can be applied to any collectable record,including those that sold heavily on original release.You are falling over original Beatles,Zeppelin,Sabbath,Floyd albums on eBay and discogs.But truely ex or nm copies are rare birds! That's why you pay a premium for them.
I agree that the vinyl resurgence has brought out the chancers and that the internet has not helped in that the market is now much more global.However,I think you need to decide if you want originals or reissues.
The 'it's just a piece of plastic in a cardboard sleeve ' comment,whilst literally true,unfortunately does not hold water in any area of collecting.A piece of Chippendale furniture is just carved wood isn't it? It's about desirability against availability.
Anything is 'fundamentally worth'what the buyer is willing to pay,be it a can of baked beans,the Mona Lisa or an original Smiths L.P.It's called capitalism,and I fear we are stuck with it for the time being!

 

AMEN! Me too...

 

The whole marketing strategy surrounding the CD takeover in the mid 80's was a masterstroke.Not only the 'perfect sound forever ' bollocks,but also they managed to persuade millions to re-buy music that they already owned! And owned in a better sounding format! Just for a 'lifestyle 'change.The scourge of the minimalist!

 

EVERY market operates on the simple supply / demand law. The world - wide distribution dynamic just adds some flavoring. The same issues have occurred in Vintage Audio Gear, and other markets. Just 1 example follows:

About 15 years ago, I purchased a PIONEER Rt-701 single direction reel-to-reel deck in MINT condition on ebay for $75 + $15 shipping. Now, those units go for North of $350 , some have sold for $650 + $50+ shipping as recently as last Fall.

 

Classic and MFSL are limited edition and that's when they're new. Their titles fetch much more in the out of print market as a rule. Want to buy them, buy them when they are current and available. Not after the edition sold out. The licensing only allows these companies so many pressings, some can be renewed, some not renewable on that front.

 

The record market could go either way, based on the whims of the buying public. In the late 80's and early 90's, people were expecting sports cards to keep increasing, and look what happened there (with the exception of PSA 10s...)

 

Records are a good thermometer for many things in modern life. People say they're too expensive - and surviving 40-60 year old used goodies are certainly getting harder to find (and thus more expensive, generally) - but literally everything is getting more expensive. And to top that off, setting up rigid standards for purchases is just self defeating. A good example is those saying they will never buy a VG record. I have bought many VG records that play fantastic, some are even visually great, and I've bought many NM records tha had readily apparent visual and sonic defects. The grade means almost nothing by itself.

 

2021 may be the year I finally stop buying records.

I own about 1750 records that I've been collecting since 2003 or so -- I've really only had enough disposable income to really afford modern record collecting in the last 5 years, so the majority are from that timeframe.

Here's what I've concluded:

1) Record collecting is very expensive -- most new LPs are $25+ or more, which feels like a lot to be spending on 'any old' album (i.e. not a personal favorite, etc.)
2) Record moving and storing is a major pain -- I've moved with my collection 3 times now, and out of everything I own, moving the records is one of the worst categories of items to move.
3) It's easier than ever to find other ways to listen to music -- I'm not a fan of supporting Spotify necessarily, but between Spotify, Youtube, Soulseek, etc. you have a million ways to hear music, many of which are more convenient than putting on a record (and there are many more ways to support the artists these days as well with Bandcamp, Paypal, etc.)
4) What's really the point of owning an album anyway? I do love having the artwork, but it's a lot to pay just to have the artwork/physical item when it's heavy, it takes up space, no one really cares about your collection (i.e. 'showing off' isn't a valid argument for purchase), etc. etc.
5) So many newer pressings have issues -- I hate the feeling of paying $30 for an album, another $5 to ship it, and then it has a dish warp right out of the package.

I could go on, but these are just my thoughts. I guess I'm at a stage in my life where I feel more like I want to be unloading all of my crap instead of taking more in -- it'd be nice to have a collection of 100-250 records that really mean the most to me, but I think I could let the rest go and get on with my life.

 

Why don't you listen these songs on Youtube or Spotify?

 

I don’t follow. Why would I do that ?

 

I think what happened to sports cards was the internet. Instead of interacting with established dealers and a few serious collectors, you now had anyone with a stash of cards in the garage.

 

I would have done more buying in 2003. Used prices were a lot lower, and new releases are often long OOP.

 

I thought I would resurrect this thread because I've been kind of feeling like I've been less inclined to buy records due to their price since becoming a father two years ago (priorities.. you know...)

But the problem has gotten totally out of hand lately, to the point that I'm just not buying any new music anymore. I was just browsing around Amazon.ca for a feeler (I always buy local - go Record Land!) and there is barely a record to be found under $30 on the site, with the majority of them being in the $40-60+ range. Used sales haven't been looking much better lately. Even my local flea market sellers have Lionel Richie, Trooper and any other typical billion-seller albums from the 70s and 80s for over $20 when these could have all been found for less than $5 just a few years ago.

Given how much the price of everything else has gone up since the pandemic came around (my gas bill last month was 77% higher than a year ago...), is anyone else feeling priced out of buying records these days? Is anyone feeling like the market will sort itself out? Anyone expecting government regulation on vinyl prices (haha)?

 

Yup, Lionel and Lauper are were under $5 recently......everything is climbing. Kids pay it, especially the 22 year olds grabbing the Billy Idol albums. I wish I had a dollar for every Steve Perry album from 37 years ago hugged by a teen girl I've seen at a store.

 

You’d have two dollars at the most then......

 

Lionel I'd pass on for $1 everywhere........now even Abba albums are empty divider cards.

 

You are over estimating the quality of turntable hardware used by most people in the age of vinyl. The marketing of the compact disc was correct in that manner.

 

Steve Perry? Really? I don't believe everything is going up. What I've seen is it's just the common stuff you still hear on the radio. Anything other than that is really hard to sell unless it's a popular niche. Anyways, I just bring it up because the store I'm at has a couple Steve Perry albums that have been sitting for a few bucks for about three years now. I don't think even casual Journey fans know who Steve Perry is. I bet if I put a note 'Guy From Journey', it'd sell.

Edit: Maybe I misread you. Do you mean you still see a lot of Steve Perry albums out and about? I do.

 

Your profile picture is one of the most iconic (pleasing to see) Ive seen on this site. Please don't change it....

 

I haven't changed it in over a decade (I think). It's my job to keep Mrs. Slocombe in the forum's DNA.

 

One of the things that put me off buying vinyl in recent years was walking into a brand new record store, which was selling all of their records, new or used, sealed up in heavy plastic sleeves (so you couldn't look at the actual record itself) and going for $30-40 each. Even the relatively common used stuff. I said, "if this is modern vinyl collecting, I'm just going to go back to CDs."

 

That's just a bad store. Aesthetics is a good thing but to seal up the used stuff so one can't look at it? That's just silly. It's almost as bad as a vendor at a show who doesn't price their albums.