The rising tide in the bargain bins

Exactly! CDs have also been experiencing this for some years now, but the reduction in size of the regularly priced used CD bins is really starting to accelerate as well.

Everyday Music in Portland (Oregon) recently downsized and consolidated a huge CD store into the smaller adjacent vinyl annex because "...the same old CDs were just sitting there". Fortunately for CD fans their other Portland store continues to have a large CD section, including an extensive dollar bin.

 

That seems to be key to a thriving record shop - offering a large selection.
People come to browse, often not knowing ahead of time what they might buy. If selection is sparse, they won't come in very often. The two CD/L.P. shops in my area that have been in business the longest (one since 1956, the other since 1984) have large selections, each with about 5OK ceedee titles in stock.

Can't sell what you don't have !

 

Not near,in da city on da South Side. Double Decker,808 St, John St. Free parking around the building and free parking on nearby blocks. Biggest problem may be increased foot traffic and the pandemic as social distancing is the law of the land. Do not park across the street,nor visit the steakshop as they love to bring the parking cops for vehicles in public parking past one hour. We just lost a great diner,not due to the pandemic but a nearby Mexican bodega makes decent food to order at great prices,along with another nearby Latino-owned steakshop.

 

Depending on the metal albums on CD, there's quite a few that do commend high value, especially 80s and early 90s metal. I'm always on the hunt for them, especially the black/death/thrash metal albums.

 

Over the last few years we have been buying many (hundreds) of CDs, online and in person, for next to nothing. Many I wouldn’t consider at $4 or 5, but for a buck or 10 for five dollars, it’s very hard not to pass them up. Lately, things seem to be changing. Perhaps more folks during the pandemic are snatching discs up, too? We’ve been after some obscure early 90s country CDs and they seem in low supply with prices at 5 to 6 bucks on up. Time to finally get to listen to all the many stacks we’ve bought in the past.

 

Well I just got back from the record store and I bought another 50 CDs. 42 to listen to and 8 for the cases. I looked through thousands is CDs and it really is work doing that.

 

Here is all of what was in the throw away bins:

Dave Matthews Band:
Under the table and dreaming
Everyday
Stand up
Crash
Before these crowded streets
Barenaked Ladies:
Rock spectacle
Gordon
Blues Traveler:
Bridge
Four
Bruce Hornsby and the range:
The way it is
A night on the town
Scenes from the south side
Barbra Streisand:
Back to Broadway
Till I loved you
Love is the answer
Paul Simon:
The rhythm of saints
Surprise
Songs from the capeman
Peter Gabriel : US
Alanis morissette:
Under the rug swept
So-called chaos
Frank Sinatra: September of my years
The cranberries:
Everyone else is doing it so why can't we?
Wake up and smell the coffee
Celine Dion: falling into you
Lenny Kravitz: baptism
Elton John:
Sleeping with the past
The big picture
Kate Bush: The Red shoes
Pretenders: Last of The Independents
Pink: can't take me home
I also bought five copies of Madonna Bedtime stories for the blue tray
I also bought a CD called the not for the yellow tray
I bought doves pounding DVD video single. For the super audio case
Sting:
The soul cages
Ten summoner's tale
The best of Ken Burns Jazz CD for my friend
Enya: the memory of trees
Michael Bolton greatest hits 85 to 95
Jewel: pieces of you
Manhattan transfer: best of
Dee'lite: World clique
Olivia Newton-John: back with a heart
Crowded House: self title
Paul McCartney: memory almost full
Oasis: live forever
Midnight oil: Blue sky mining

 

The only reason I'm going through all the CDs is because it's paying off. The first time I come up empty that's when I'm not coming back. You're smart to take into consideration time distance gas an effort because when I look through these CDs it does take me 10 minutes it takes me hours and after I've been getting up and getting down and looking through endless piles of CDs I'm tired.

most valuable thing you own is your time so yes can serve it and spend it wisely and I salute you for doing the prudent thing.

 

Any time I hear about bargain bins, it reminds me of back in late 92/early 93. There were stacks and stacks of the Bulletboys CD Freak show.

They couldn't even give em away.

All these years later I still haven't seen that many copies of one album in bargain bins.

 

Lol. In some movies one guy was trying to explain how many people owned Frampton comes alive album to a younger guy. He said they used to give it away with laundry detergent in grocery stores.

 

I can speak from experience -- back in the '90s I used to spend a lot of time at the Princeton (NJ) Record Exchange and looking through their bargain bins. This was at a time when I was unattached (another reason I can't do that now).

In the LP stacks, I eventually accumulated an entire set of US release Beatles mono LPs -- Meet the Beatles through MMT (the White Album mono LP was UK only, and it wouldn't have been in the bargain bin).
In the 45 stacks, I accumulated a bunch of 45s of songs that I remembered when I was little, but hadn't heard for about 20 years at that point. Also got some Who 45s on the Decca label.

Two things:
These were on the ground, it required me sitting on the ground and or crawling on my knees. I would have to be cognizant of people looking at the "good stuff" directly above, be considerate -- move around etc. I would be there so long that I got stiff and my back would start hurting.
Also, I was there so often that I'm sure --- that to the staff I became one of those "regulars without a life" similar to what you see in the movie High Fidelity (but this was before that movie was out).

But -- after 25+ years I still have most of what I got then.
(the stuff I got rid of was along the lines of -- hey I'm getting these things so cheap -- this is a good way for me to "try out" artists I'm not so sure about and see if I want to dive deeper ---- and the stuff I got rid of were the things that didn't make the cut).
I imagine you may be doing something similar. But it's going to take some time. There are listening projects I've been trying to do for 25+ years that I haven't finished yet. Case in point: I still have brand new CDs that I bought in the '90s that I haven't listened to yet (I do plan to!). Always getting sidetracked by something else.

 

You nailed it. I go to the bargain bins and there is probably 50 feet of bin at waiste level. There are drawers underneath so there is another 50 feet. And on the floor there is another bin so yet another 50 feet. Above all these Bins is a wall with a shelf on the very top with a four inch shelf that holds another 5 or 6 CDs. On the other side of the aisle there is another 20 feet of just the floor in bargain bin. So all in all that's about 170 feet of bins give or take a couple feet.

I'm in pretty good shape and it takes me at least a couple hours to go through that. Now when I'm going through these bins I'm not taking my time and picking up every CD and reading what's on it I'm quickly flipping through the CDs to recognize cover art or letters or words. A lot of these are upside down or turned around and I have to fix them and try to recognize something. And if I do recognize something that I think I want to buy I have to pick it up inspect the quality of the case open it up and check the CD to see that it isn't too badly damaged.

I have a little basket I can put it in and then move on but I can't devote to much time to any of this because I could spend all day there. I'm sure there are tons of great CDs that I missed and some that I didn't recognize but I've seen in Media or advertisements or something. Of the four hours I spent there going through bins I picked up almost a hundred CDs for nothing. And when I went back the second time a lot of the CDs that I remember seeing many of them like Elton John were gone. So it's hit-and-miss and you get rewarded if you put in the effort.

It's true what you say when I'm down on the ground I have to be careful where I place my legs I don't want to stick my legs out too far and trip anybody coming by.

After I go through all these CDs I'm sure I'll go back at least one more time to exchange the CDs that didn't work. I'm halfway through and by today I'll finish the first 40 CDs that I bought and I start on the next 40. It truly is a lot of work but I know that I'm saving hundreds of dollars.

 

While I am buying these CDs there are also other CDs coming in the mail that I need to listen to. I don't have the luxury of waiting a long period of time to listen to these. If I don't listen to the CDs I bought in the store they could be damaged and later when I listen to them they don't work and I'm stuck with them.

The CDs I get in the mail I need to listen to them to check them and if they're not good I need to send them back or be compensated for them. So all I'm doing all day long is housework while I'm listening to CDs or just sitting and listening to CDs.

 

Today I went back to exchange the two CDs that didn't work for ones that did. Looking through the bins to find the replacement CDs I came acrossed more I either missed or they added since the last time. Today's hall:

Elvis Presley A legendary performer Vol 2
Madonna Bedtime stories- for the tray
Barenaked Ladies : Are Me
Everything to everyone
Dave Mathews Band Some Devil
Blues traveler Traveler
Bruce Hornsby Harbor Lights
Living Color Vivid
Alanis Morissette Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie
Sting Brand New Day

It cost me $4.60. walking back to the car with no other cars around mine I found $7 on the ground. Looks like it won't be one of those days.

 

Yeah, so far the titles I've scanned above certainly sound like the CD bargain bins I've been accustomed to for the last decade or so.

 

There is some good stuff in there. I saw U2 Joshua tree. If you want to investigate an artist this is the place and the time. Liz Phar, Melissa Etheridge, U2, REM, Enya, Trisha Yearwood, Elvis Costello, Celine Dion, Travis Tritt, Annie Lennox, Michael Bolton, Indigo girls, Dixie Chicks, Confederate Railroad, Garth Brooks, George Winton, Shakira, Madonna, Ace of Base, Steve Winwood, and along with the artist that I've been pulling so many more that I can't even remember.

 

These seem like the usual suspects in any U.S. thrift store, Salvation Army, Goodwill.

 

Snap them up. Everything comes back around eventually.

 

Thanks. Good to know. I guarantee you that you probably won't find a dozen of them together at the thrift shop. I am guaranteed a good copy. I am happy to pay between 25 and 50 cents each.

 

These are pretty ubiquitous here in the UK. The sort of stuff that I would leave on my local Air Ambulance 10 for £1 shelf. Unless the Streisand are Japan or early US issues, I won't go near them.

 

Oh I'm having fun learning about artists and groups. There is a resent thread on 10,000 maniacs. There are half a dozen of those in the bins. Don't know which to buy maybe all of them.

 

I bet you would find a dozen of those titles together in some thrifts. You can buy these anywhere, knock yourself out. I'm surprised stores other than thrifts even accept some of those titles anymore. I'm not saying all of these titles suck, they are just very common CDs and are everywhere.

 

I'll take that bet. Show me a thrift store that has a dozen copies of Dave Mathews entire catalog. Or 5,000 CDs to look through. I'm sure any one title you may be able to find a dozen at a thrift store but not in the same way you can't at this record store. And I'm not buying any of this and make money off of it. As far as I know I'm just going to be throwing this away, but for the price of admission to learn about a band and get a taste of their entire catalog is very reasonable.

 

I’m glad you’re having fun and discovering new music. As long as you’re not spending more time or money than you can afford, knock yourself out! It’s a great way to discover new bands and new music.

 

My Air Ambulance charity shop sells CDs 10 for $1.25 (they are a clearance shop although some must be local donations because I don't believe the Genesis Lamb Lies Down on Broadway Virgin fatbox would have remained unsold in a normal charity shop). If I see a CD that interests me such as the Genesis one or Steve Hackett's Momentum that I saw the other, then it's worth picking up the extra discs to check out the artist. I bought two Bon Jovi discs with the Steve Hackett one.