Thoughts on people scanning used cd's in a record store?

GET 'IM!!!

 

If we are talking about scanning all discs to find discs worth flipping, then I agree that this would be very irritating. However, I do not see the problem with checking reviews and prices on a few items using a smart phone. I do it all the time, and I am a regular customer at the local stores. I have found the prices on some items to be considerably higher than comparison prices online. I do not need to check most items that way but for higher priced items and items that I am unfamiliar with, I find it very helpful. Record prices have become inflated compared to even 5 years ago and there are some ridiculous prices out there.
Having said that, I was at a garage sale recently and the prices were very reasonable. I decided not to look at my phone for two reasons- first of all, I did not have a lot of time and I thought it would be rude. Secondly, the prices were very reasonable. Perhaps thrift bins and Goodwill should be viewed the same way.

 

We'll get that when we get the flying atomic bubble cars we were promised in 1963.

 

Really? I had no idea. I guess that's the unintended Luddite in me.

 

I can't figure out how it is worth anyone's time to try to flip used CDs, as they usually sell for so little these days on eBay and Amazon.

 

I bought David Bowie - The Video Collection the other day for £2 - it is listed on Amazon at £35.
I didn't scan it I just took a punt, the way I see it is sometimes I win and sometimes It is a donation to charity, and then I give it back.

 

Wait! Obnoxious people at PRX? Stop the presses!

 

In order to access the barcode, doesn't that mean someone would have to pull the CD out from the shelf and scan the barcode on the back artwork? That would take a lot of time and effort in a large used CD store.

 

Whar is the app they're using? Just out of interest; a real music collector has this info in the cabeza indeed.

 

I agree with the OP, a real CD connoisseur would have all of these matrix numbers committed to memory long before even thinking about stepping foot in a record store. What's wrong with people and their priorities these days? It's disgusting. Algebra, state capitals, historical events, your mom's birthday, let's be honest when are you ever going to use that stuff?

 

It occurs to me that this discussion should be in marketplace discussions since it really has nothing to do with music.

I am not offended by the discussion, I just don't think it belongs in the music forum.

 

Our world today. Sad, but true. I personally despise smart phones anyway. Sorry if I offend anyone. I'm "old school" and can't help it. I rely on physical interaction with the world as best I can. Modern technology is great for some, but takes the fun out of the hunt and search. I prefer to do it the old fashion way myself. Just wanted to voice my opinion is all. Sorry if I offend those reliant on said devices.

 

I like to visit PREX once every two to three weeks. The store opens 10am on weekdays so I'll usually be there by 10:45. More often than not I usually see this same guy who must be there when they open the doors. He has a hand cart full of discs, scanning away, clogging up the used cd aisle. Since he's always there, PREX obviously doesn't have a problem with this behavior. I personally think that him and his ilk are weasels who take away the fun of discovering nice finds so they can reflip for profit. Go out and get a real job.

 

I wouldn't make that leap. There must be HUNDREDS of well-known record stores in central NJ college towns - Spanish Prisoner hid the store's identity well!

 

I think it's awesome you don't have a smart phone. Seriously.

 

I sometimes scan discs just to figure out if they're out of print. I know more about used CDs than the average bear, but I don't know everything, so sometimes I look up titles to see if I can get them easily elsewhere.

I never "flip" CDs in terms of selling them, but I will pick up early pressings to use in trades for other CDs I want. Dunno if that's considered to be morally egregious...

 

I keep a little database on my phone to make sure I don't repurchase items, but it's low-tech - no scanning involved. It's just a document...

 

Just sounds like sour grapes to me. Bothered that someone might find something using technology that you would miss.

 

Let me clarify my original post. These people are not picking a random cd to research online, they go through every cd in the bin and scan the barcode and fill up baskets with their cherry picks.

I find this very obnoxious behaviour. The next time I see this, I think I'll ask the staff if they a policy about this. The store does have a new owner, and they may not have any set policy. In my opinion, if this number of people doing this increases, it will eventually hurt their business. as repeat customers will stop going into the store. If they are going to allow this, I think they should impose a dealer surcharge.

The fact is that the PREX does not jack up their prices to ebay levels for rare cd's to sell them online. They make a point of keeping prices low, of course they also pay very little when buying items. Another store in New Jersey, Tunes, takes the opposite approaches and jacks up the price on much of their inventory to ebay levels.

 

I don't think so. Not at all.

http://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/where-have-all-the-record-stores-gone/

 

I saw someone scanning all of the used jazz and classical CDs in a $2.00 clearance table at a music store, which had over 1,000 CDs on it. He did it slowly, then would take out large numbers of the CDs from a section, but not all.

I left before he was finished. I went back the next day and some of the CDs which he had in his pile were back on the clearance table. I really wonder what he was doing.

 

I'm not opposed to technology, it can be a valuable tool. I'm also not against hunting for a good price (which isn't necessarily the cheapest).

What I strongly dislike is the mindset of people who are searching ONLY to see if they can flip something. It's almost hateful to my mind. Perhaps it's because I'm passionate about music, and by extension music lovers. As soon as music becomes an object, then it brings out the worst in people. If I go into a store and see a rare Beatles album for a good price - I wouldn't buy it. I don't like the Beatles, there is no reason for me to own it other than flipping it. I'm far more likely to fire off an email toa friend saying "Hey, do you want me to pick this up for you?" or to post on the net telling people what I found, in the hope that a fan of the music might benefit.

We all need to make money, I get it. But that need doesn't have to pervade everything in your life. Music for me - as a non-musician - is about pleasure, and only pleasure. I sink money into my music, and the return is the pleasure of hearing great things. I have some special editions, with special packaging, and I do love the physical aspects, but I don't own anything that doesn't have the music at the heart of the purchase.

I don't need to be money-grubbing, sorting through the garbage in the hope of finding a winning lottery ticket. Perhaps I'm crazy, but I'm aware that when I buy something from a store, I'm denying it to someone else.

Just how money-centric do you have to be to go into a store and scan the codes on CD's to see if you can flip something?!? Do these people also carry a cup around and ask people for money while they do it?

It's these kind of actions that artifically drives up prices for those of us who have more altruistic principles. I don't mind people making money from selling on music, but when that's the primary goal of walking into a secondhand store, it just doesn't sit right.

Sorry if I offend anyone.

 

Are you OK with young men with BO hogging up two bins (or more)?

Are you OK with BO shoppers (BOS) who only hog one bin?...

 

Have never sold any recorded music item for more than I paid for it, but see no problem at all with behavior that seems to me to improve the efficiency of the market place. In the long run placing more copies of an item for sale on the internet will drive used prices down on the internet.

I don't go to used stores looking for a deal on something of great collectible value, I go there looking for a good price on music I want to own a physical copy of. And one thing I can get in stores more easily than online is knowledge of the existence of things I would not have even known to search for.

 

Ouch! That was crappy.

I wonder if they found a way to monetize it, like adding in special subscription-only features.