Why do local record stores charge discogs pricing but not list on discogs?

If you are going to look up a record's worth on discogs, then why not just list it for sale there too? And if you are not listing it there why charge the same price as them? Shouldn't a smaller "local" market command a lower price than a "global" market?

I do 95% of my record shopping on ebay and discogs despite there being many record stores in the New York city area. Each time I visit the local stores I find I waste tons of my time and gas to pick out stuff I could just order from the comfort of my own home. It's just baffling how they stay in business...

 

NYC, and other larger cities, are essentially playing at the global level, so pricing will reflect that. Some of those records stores you visited do sell online.

Given the choice between buying in store or online, I would pick instore. It's not always practical, but when it is, that's what I do. Not everyone is like ie buying almost exclusively online, so it I'm not baffled by how the better record stores stay in business.

What does baffle me though are people who would choose to buy online instead of in person despite the record being the same price. Inspecting a used record yourself is always better than having to hope someone else's opinion on the grade of the record is actually correct. Seems rather pointless to pay $20 to someone in Idaho for a record they can get locally, unless, of course, they can't be arsed to leave their home to begin with or they don't live close enough to record stores and taking the trip would be onerous.

 

If we are talking about second hand records then a huge advantage to the customer of a shop vs online is been able to view the product. A huge disadvantage to the shop vs online is the amount of overheads. I think charging average or slightly above average discogs price is fair.

 

We've got dealers here who translate Discogs prices into Aussie dollars so an album will be AU$62.80

 

If the online seller grades accurately then there is no need to physically inspect the records. There are many reputable sellers online. Unfortunately they are a minority. But thankfully I've learned who are the good ones and only buy from them. Occasionally I am disappointed but always have get a full refund when that happens.

 

Media mail is so cheap in the US that it makes little economical sense to spend gas and time to visit a local record store. That's why I think local record stores need to be cheaper than online. Otherwise I am just paying more for less.

 

Not sure I agree with that. I visit one famous record store in NYC once a year and see the same records collecting dust in their "Audiophile" bin. They lumped "Digital recordings" and "Quadraphonic" in their audiophile bin. So that may explain why they haven't sold in years

 

See the same stuff online. Where do you think online sellers get their ideas form?

 

Actually the thing I hate the most is when record store just list anything good on Discogs or eBay (they all have accounts there), but when you in the actual store all they have in the bins is mediocre, very common stuff - Discogs/eBay leftovers and rejects. And most of the time I leave empty handed just because i don't see anything worth buying.
Record stores in NYC been doing this for years, but lately everything really dried. Personally I'd prefer Media Mail to be $30 instead of $4, maybe then I would have started seeing good records in the stores again. Though, I know it will never happen.

 

There is almost no cost for an online seller to have their inventory sit unsold for years. Record stores, however, have to pay rent, employees, utilities, insurance etc... That's why I find it baffling how they stay in business...

 

I really can't be bothered to explain things further. It's hardly that complicated to understand.

 

There's one store in town that does that but they have all their online titles located in one box that you can flip through.

Stores were selling outside of the local market well before the internet showed up though. I remember the Goldmine listings. The internet just made it a lot easier and allowed more people to participate, but it has always existed.

 

One of my local stores doesn't sell anything online, they know their local market so some genres are what you might call global pricing while others are much lower, they also discount, you wouldn't believe how much of their stock is bought by dealers, online or otherwise, now it's one thing selling something of lowish value that will sit for months for 50% of online rates, but why would they sell something like a mint 1st press Nick Drake for anything less than the global pricing when they could sell it many times over and very quickly. Shops pay rent, taxes and employ people, if anyone deserves the full value it's shops not online sellers with minimal overheads. When eBay took off a lot of shops started listing all their best stock on eBay rather than putting it out in the racks, the result was customers stopped bothering as their shop stock was poor, most of those shops are no longer in business, you need to decide what you are or at least strike a fair balance between online and shop.

 

There's a CD/DVD store next to my local Record store. When you go sell a CD to him, he'll go online and find the cheapest price it is going for, and try to talk you down from there. The he'll find the top price online, and sell it accordingly.

Makes sense to me....

 

I hear a lot of folks say we should support local. But I don't quite get it. Why should I feel obligated to support someone who operates in an expensive, inefficient and obsolete manner?

 

So you have a choice other than Amazon and a few others and so your local shopping streets are busy and vibrant creating employment and a pleasant neighbourhood rather than being rundown, boarded up, derelict and a magnet for crime. Personally I like shops and don't think they are in any way obsolete though I already miss what we once had and dread to think what we will lose due to the pandemic.

 

If record stores go away I am sure there are many other types of stores that will fill their place. Some things have to be done in-person. Record shopping isn't one of them.

 

Strongly disagree

 

Back in the eighties and nineties we had a fantastic street, about ten bookshops and five or six record shops, the rest of the street was a good mix, clothes, art supplies, Hi Fi, etc., come the internet and increased rent most of those shops went, there's now a single book shop, no record shops and most of the street is now coffee shops and bars, I used to visit three times a week, I haven't been in two or three years. A couple of good record shops in a street are as good as any other business for anchoring a shopping area and with the current vinyl buying demographic, gender balanced, mostly under thirty, they are much better at attracting shoppers than most businesses. I'd also say record buying is absolutely something to be done in person, at least for used and if you want to actually buy what you think you are buying, also a really good record shop will turn you on to music you've never heard, let alone considered buying, record shops add a lot of value to the buying experience. In the UK at least when streets lose the small independent retailers they are usually replaced by charity shops, coffee shops and estate agents, it's like cutting down virgin rain forest and replacing it with palm oil or rubber plantations, the shopping streets all end up looking identical and people no longer have real choice.

 

I have a local record store that will use Discogs and/or Popsike as a guide to make offers when buying used records--they'll typically offer about 30-40% of the median Discogs price, I think. But then they do put used records in the racks for less than the online market price. If something is super rare, the shop owner might put it on eBay, but he usually doesn't bother.

 

Not for me, if I buy used, I want to be able to inspect a record before I buy it. And I like the idea of being able to browse, sometimes it leads to me buying an album which interested me after I saw it. Also, some shops overgrade, I tend to be someone who likes honestly graded records sold at fair prices.

 

The value of an item depends on what venue/platform it's being sold on. Everything sells for more money on eBay and Discogs because both venues have world wide exposure and demand. Your local store does not have anywhere near that kind of exposure or demand. So it's silly when local stores or sellers try to charge eBay or Discogs prices. They don't have that same kind of exposure or demand.....there's is far less. So the worth of their items is also far less. No buyer will pay eBay/Discogs prices on Craigslist, yardsales, local stores, forums, Facebook, etc.....None of those venues have the demand or exposure to justify those prices. eBay and Discogs are not the authority on what an item is worth. They are simply platforms to sell/buy items. Nothing more.

 

Yup, that sounds like most towns in the US as well. Though most of these charity stores carry records also. It can vary from random stuff to pricey stuff at consignment kind of stores.

One thing about record stores is the ability to read all the text on the front and back of the cover. With ebay/discogs it's a bit of a nuisance and sometimes the photo resolution is too blurry to read anything.

However, I still think the cons outweigh the pros for me. I particularly dislike small record stores where I am the only person browsing. I feel obligated to buy something even when I can tell everything is overpriced. I know this is not a fault of the record store, but more my personality.

And last, I always get the urge to use the restroom when I start browsing in a record store! So before I visit I need to plan where the nearest public restroom is.

 

I think you just need to find better record shops, I'm not sure New York has been good price wise since the late eighties, before then I knew a lot of people who would fly to New York just for a few days record shopping, it was that good back then, I still remember seeing fantastic stuff they'd brought back with $1.99 price stickers, I really wish I'd visited back then, I was invited, but never got my act together, too late for the bargains now.

 

"Why do local record stores charge discogs pricing but not list on discogs?"
because they want the profit without having to pay the online fees.