Mobile Fidelity Vinyl One Step of SANTANA, BILL EVANS TRIO, etc.*

No, I think it’s ridiculous to have a bunch of people deride a product that they have never tried due to a YouTube video. Funny how the dude who was told to piss off by ERC has a ton of issues, but the dozens of customers on this forum report little to no issues. I’ve had one issue with an ERC record and it was replaced with a flawless company quickly and simply. Never seen a sharpies cover in my life and haven’t seen a single report of such outside of Mikes video. I’m more than willing to bet he could have gotten a more than acceptable replacement within a couple of days if he had any goal other than demeaning the company

 

Is your issue the price he is asking or that he dogged ECM? The Bill Evans box set was increased because of limited supply. Had nothing to do with increased costs. I'm not sure anyone on this thread knows what Mike paid. Could have been $100 or $500. He can ask whatever he wants for it just like Chad with his Bill Evans set.

 

So wait, let me get this straight. In the video @4-2-7 linked, Mike brags about a record which he retailed for $30 went OOP and he jacks his stock up to $125 due to secondary market prices. That is OK, but if the manufacturer, who actually had the hand in bringing the product to market, with the associated risk and creative vision does it, it’s bad? How does that make any sense?

 

Youre making assumptions that arent true. I believe Mike addressed that in the Mike vs Mike video.

Brother you are really jumping around all over the place with this.

There is a reason Mike doesnt like ERC. He stated the reasons. Had nothing to do with getting burned as being refused as seller for ERC. I believe he even read the emails concerning this.

But I guess he made those up and is a liar.

Mike is a businessman. Is he shrewd? Yup. Would he probably sell me a record for more than it is worth? Maybe. Thats on me though. I didnt know my stuff well enough. I get that. But this other issue? Yeah I think youre off man.

 

Agreed on many who have just entered the hobby of playing records.

 

My issue is the hypocrisy. He parades around YouTube like he is the level headed voice of reason, but then takes advantage of the market each and every chance he gets. It’s lame AF

 

And it ain’t cheap traveling and staying in the Netherlands plus shipping records back and forth. MMJ just changed the prices on their website. A few key strokes

 

Given how badly the Sinatra Estate screwed Mobile Fidelity not too long ago by pulling rights on scheduled releases, I think we can forget about any future MFSL Sinatra. If I were them, I wouldn't even consider it.

 

I guess we see manufacturers and indies differently.

 

I don’t think his story, which is quite interesting merits your calling him narcissistic or an a$$. I wish people would refrain from hateful language towards people in the vinyl community (including Fremer, Kassem, Grundman, the 45 rpm guy, etc.).

It really bothers me that people attribute only bad motives to others.

 

If you control the supply and you jack your price up to take advantage of the prices of the secondary market, thats ****ed. (Aka bill evans box)

 

I know someone personally who bought the way out west ERC and had the exact same issues (sleeve bowed and all).

 

sshhhh those people dont exist

 

One thing I will say here , it’s much easier to see the legitimacy or BS of someone while watching them on your screen. Lots of nuances are missed when written and read and the attitude and personality can really change the intention

 

MMJ also went into the audiophile reissue game long before it was cool and extremely profitable. But sure, let’s condemn those that actually assumed risk and gave creative effort to the hobby for trying to profit once the market got hot, and celebrate retailers for flipping records for 10x their value.

Sorry, I will back the labels who actually produce stuff that I enjoy and not the middleman leeches. If some folks on these forums get their way there will be no labels to produce these items and the leeches will be brought down with them. Hooray!

 

Look, hey there are many times I dont agree with Mike. And many others that are in the business. Fremer I dont agree with much of the time either. I think most music related businesses have some carnie in them. Its the nature of the business. But when I guy is basically being slandered for the reasons he is speaking against a company and there is false claims against the dude, that doesnt seem right to me.

Its like when peopls in the RSD thread were claiming Mike paid off RSD in some bribe scheme to corner the Art Pepper mono market lol. Its ridiculous. He explained that also. And it came down to people dont know what they are talking about

 

Why is everybody jumping on the "life support" comment? My take from that was simply that he thought that AP's new-releases situation was not very good, and he's not wrong. I don't think he meant that AP itself was in trouble. Chad's attention has just been shifted elsewhere.

 

That’s not a fair assessment. He accidentally purchased 44 copies of a Sade album, and they sat in his bins for three years. In retail, 99% of the time, that’s a disaster, with inventory taking up valuable store space and usually being marked down to well below cost in the hopes of selling it. This isn’t the 1970’s when retailers could return everything that didn’t sell to Pickwick for full refund. These days they take a huge risk.

In this case, the price of the album had shot up on the secondary market, and a customer told him. He marked them to market and gave the album exposure on his collectible wall and they sold out. I thought it was an interesting and unusual story.

 

Not sure what the other issues are, but yes the sleeve bowing is a thing, but ERC will replace such sleeves easily. Ironically enough the handmade sleeves that are prone to bowing are the same used on the Sam Records release the In Groove has for sale for $1,000.

 

I guess we do. One is integral in bringing the products I cherish to market. The other is a middle man. The former deserves to be rewarded for their hard work and risk far more than the latter IMO.

 

I too have asked for clarification from Music Direct on being able to select another shipping company. No response as yet. There’s no way I’m paying those shipping rates!

 

I emailed them about this a couple weeks ago and they said there are no plans for any Sinatra releases.

 

But if records sit in the bins of MMJ for 8+ years, and they double the price when the market picks up, they are the bad guys?

Again my issue is the hypocrisy from both Mike and, maybe more so, his fan boys. They are so quick to deride MMJ, ERC, MoFi, Chad Kassem, etc, but when their YouTube VC idol does it, it’s just “good business”. Not to mention all but one of those people/groups mentioned actually creates desirable products and the other doesn’t. Without the hypocrisy I couldn’t care less what he charges for records. I don’t buy from him - never have, never will. No sweat off my back. I will continue to support the labels.

 

I think the more important point in the video is consumer behavior. Record sits in a bin at $30 MSRP for years and doesn’t sell, but put it on the wall at $125 and he blows them out. Kinda like One-Steps oops wrong thread?

 

i guess i just dont understand how you can compare the middle man record shop to the manufacturer/label. If they have records sitting on their shelves after 8 years, sounds like they misjudged the market to me.