The Worst Pricing You've Seen at a Record Store

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by LitHum05, May 6, 2019.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. LitHum05

    LitHum05 El Disco es Cultura Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    I was shopping for records outside of Philadelphia this weekend. I encountered the most absurd pricing I've ever seen inside a physical record store. Here are some highlights from the soundtracks section:

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]

    These images (if they are coming through correctly) are: The Top Gun Soundtrack (VG+) for $22.00; The Phantom of the Paradise Soundtrack (VG-) for $42.00; and (this one takes the prize) The Pretty Woman Soundtrack (sealed) for $80.00. This place either 1) doesn't know how to price; 2) thinks it's clients are dumb and/or completely uninformed; or 3) thinks that it's clients are willing to spend well over double the price of what items are worth on the open market in order to support a brick and mortar shop (despite the fact that Philly itself has several normal record stores with normal pricing).

    Has anyone encountered anything quite this bad?
     
  2. LitHum05

    LitHum05 El Disco es Cultura Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
  3. LitHum05

    LitHum05 El Disco es Cultura Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
  4. GentleSenator

    GentleSenator what if

    Location:
    Aloha, OR
    i usually see prices like that in consignment shops or antique malls. clearly being sold by guys who don't use the internet or frequent the SH forums.
     
    Sane Man likes this.
  5. Tom B

    Tom B Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ojai
    The most ridiculous is (was?) Peaches in New Orleans which was so far off the scale that it was worth a visit for a laugh.

    I was disappointed by Rock n Roll Heaven in Orlando at Christmas. Very very high prices.
     
    Dan Steele, black sheriff and AaronW like this.
  6. LitHum05

    LitHum05 El Disco es Cultura Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    Can you think of examples? I wish my pics were working. You'd get a real kick out of those.
     
  7. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    I don't see your images, but the worst pricing is no pricing, where the guy prices them at the counter when you bring them up. I was already there and had budgeted the time, so I spent an hour in a shop like that once. I found an obscure classical record that I know the guy had no idea about and had got in a bulk buy, and that on a good day might be worth $30 retail. He suggested $100. I suggested he keep it.
     
    nytechy, Gaslight, Shawn and 5 others like this.
  8. Sane Man

    Sane Man Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bethlehem, PA
    +1; There's also a record convention around here that goes on at a farmer's market/antique mall/dirt mall/whatever you want to call it twice a year. Entry is $2. 90% of the vendors are horrifically/laughably overpriced and either aren't aware of the internet or are banking on their clientele not being aware of the internet. Awful. I still drag myself to go to it for the 1-2 vendors that I know are decent and tend to have the same location year after year.
     
  9. LitHum05

    LitHum05 El Disco es Cultura Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    I just remembered another. A common copy of “Meet the Beatles” at a VG- for $35.
     
  10. deadbase

    deadbase Forum Resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    Rock n Roll Heaven:
    ABB - Win, Lose or Draw $30
    Stevie Nicks - Bella Donna $40

    That place is a joke. I wrote a Yelp review of the place, but since it was my first one and it was one star, they didn't publish it.
     
  11. LitHum05

    LitHum05 El Disco es Cultura Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    In Illinois? I didn’t want to name names but mine is in a place called Plymouth Meeting, PA.
     
  12. deadbase

    deadbase Forum Resident

    Location:
    Illinois
    In Orlando. I quoted your message and thought it would include Tom B's.
     
  13. EdogawaRampo

    EdogawaRampo Senior Member

    In about 2002 or so I visited a used record store that, in its early 1970s heyday, was a fantastic place. Big, huge stock of out-of-print records in the storeroom so when you asked looking for something there was a good chance they'd have it, and as I recall when I went there as a 12-year-old in 1972, prices weren't too bad for a kid who'd saved money from a summer job.

    Fast forward to 2002 and was in that city again and dropped by. What a sad shell of the place it had once been. A tiny fraction of the stock it once had, all of the stock common, thrashed and priced like you were looking at some kind of rare record collector's dream. I looked at the Beatles records and they had a MFSL Abbey Road in basically poor to fair condition. Cover had full seam splits all the way to the spine, the record was scratched up...The price? $80. Unbelievable for a record store. The long-haired guys looked pretty young. I assume they didn't know any better. Still, that's no excuse. Learn a little before you dive into to a new business.
     
    caravan70, WillieDaPimp and Dave like this.
  14. BigMikeATL

    BigMikeATL Well-Known Member

    Location:
    USA
    With the resurgence of vinyl, prices are going up virtually everywhere and sometimes it gets absurd, bordering on obscene.

    A number of records I bought in VG+ condition in 2012 now command 2-4x the price.

    Eventually they'll hit a ceiling and sales will drop, necessitating price cuts. There's good old supply and demand at work.
     
    Old Rusty likes this.
  15. Roger Beltmann

    Roger Beltmann Old...But not obsolete

    Location:
    helenville, wi.
    Here in the middle of nowhere I regularly buy used LPs for fifty cents or a dollar at flea markets and resale shops. Record stores are more like four to eight dollars. If you stay away from big cities and get off the beaten path I think you'll find prices drop. Thrill of the chase and all that.
     
  16. jimac51

    jimac51 A mythical beast.

    Location:
    Allentown,pa.
    Late to the discussion but I spent lots of time in Plymouth Meeting ,as my wife's work had monthly meetings nearby. I'd drop her off and hit as many record stores as time allowed. Back then,a small Tower,Borders at nearby King of Prussia. A place called Record Connection(?) was a pretty standard CD store in the '90s. All gone. I'll assume the place you're talking about it is The Rock Shop located in a mall that has seen better days. They were going downhill decades ago.
    Fun fact:the first IKEA in the U. S. was across from the mall with inadequate parking from day one. Think of the kazillion places IKEA could have tested America and they choose a place minutes from Philly and a center place for turnpike connections to all the suburbs and access to N.J. . They moved down the road as soon as the lease expired. U.S. headquarters are there,too .
     
    Dan Steele, WillieDaPimp and LitHum05 like this.
  17. Whoopycat

    Whoopycat Forum Resident

    Location:
    Des Moines
    There's a record shop at the mall by my house that has ridiculous pricing. For example $40 for a VG copy of CSNY Deja Vu.

    I call it "hey have you heard vinyl is making a comeback" pricing.
     
  18. krisjay

    krisjay Psychedelic Wave Rider

    Location:
    Maine
    If they can get 3 or 4 uninformed people with money to spare, then they don't need the 10-20 customers they otherwise would need. Not a great long term buisness model in my opinion. Maybe it get's them by, though I can't see how.
     
    LitHum05 likes this.
  19. LitHum05

    LitHum05 El Disco es Cultura Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    How uninformed can you be these days though? What would possess you to pay $40 for a generic pressing of Michael Jackson’s “Off the Wall” ?
     
  20. krisjay

    krisjay Psychedelic Wave Rider

    Location:
    Maine
    There are people who will pay 5 bucks for a bottle of water. Need I say more.
     
    nytechy, Strat-Mangler and Old Rusty like this.
  21. neut6o1

    neut6o1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR, USA
    I paid $10 for a clean copy of "Off the Wall" recently and felt a little bad. All of these classic albums have gone up in price because people are looking for copies. Prince, David Bowie, INXS even. But mostly I have seen about $10-20 pricing rather than $40. I luckily don't have super high priced record stores around me. Just the normal Vinyl revival rising prices. Sometimes I see $40 classic albums, but it is because they are a rare pressing that is sought after and it is usually marked as such. $40 and above records are usually 90s records.
     
  22. mobility

    mobility Member

    Location:
    philadelphia
    please remember these outlets have an agenda. to make money. it ain't personal (which it should be) . i'ts business. in the philly region most sellers have no clue what they actually have. they rely on the notion that theres a sucker born every second. the philly FAKE GAME as it's known for our city. as there is someone out there with deep pockets or just genuinely wants the record no matter what. approach the counter with comparable pricing from ebay etc and show the seller. usually you can at least make a better deal. there are many sellers who frequent other stores and buy the record they want and sell it in their store for more. research research.
     
  23. LitHum05

    LitHum05 El Disco es Cultura Thread Starter

    Location:
    Virginia
    I was wondering about this. So you are saying they are willing to pay me $15 for a dollar bee gees album they sell for $30? Somehow I doubt it.
     
  24. mobility

    mobility Member

    Location:
    philadelphia
    if they are out of this album. yes they will pay you $15 if they can sell it for $30. a double gain financially unless i misunderstood your question. i have a collection of black exploitation movies on vhs, dvd and even beta max from my parents. i am no seller and have no idea what any of this is worth but i do know making money is baby steps with a little luck and an person not familiar with what it's worth will make coin over time. i also have a giant collection of jazz guitarist as featured artist. if i never heard of them i just buy it. i get crazy offers from buyers BUT i can't accept them when i know i bought them from WOOLWORTHS (old philly store) or some thrift shop for $10. got to keep it honest. not trying to be a know it all. take time out to talk to a real friend/seller/buyer on the up and up to educate you on how it is a win win even if taking a loss is productive.
     
  25. PBo

    PBo Forum Resident

    Location:
    New England
    I was in Florida recently and went to a record shop that was located in Sarasota. Everything was overpriced. You know when you go into an antique store and they have a common, beat up, Beatles Capitol pressing and are asking like $100 for it just because it's the Beatles? Well, this was a whole record store like that. I was astonished at the overpricing. Common records that I usually see priced at $2 most places, this guy had priced at like $15 and $20.

    Seriously, one of the records first records I picked up was a stereo pressing of Strange Days by the Doors, the record was ok looking, but not mint, and the sleeve had water damage and half of the printing torn off the back cover (it looked like the back cover must have been stuck to another record at some point and pulled off). It had a sticker on the front asking $50 for it! I asked the guy if the price was correct and he said "Yes, that's normally a $100 record", so I shook my head and said "No, it's not" and put the record on the counter and walked out.
     
    caravan70 and GentleSenator like this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine