You are so right. I’m older and getting back into vinyl. My complaint is the poor quality as much as quantity and price. I found out quickly if it’s available, it’s crap. I’m now moving into CD just like I did in the 80s.
I was never into vinyl for those reasons. Plus the upkeep is much easier with CDs, I watch this guy (even though I often disagree with him) Because he provides some good information.
CD sounds every bit as good if not better than vinyl. I still regularly purchase LPs which is influenced by a variety of factors, however, no OG or audiophile pressing should ever be worth more then $100 imho. Even the rarer jazz records have arguably identical CD releases for $1-$5. There is also an abundance of people who entered the market post 2006, which to me marks the point where you can see real movement in vinyl going above book value since 2008. These people are buying every “collectible” and driving prices up all around. Kinda resent people new to the hobby for this reason.
Yeah I think CDs have gotten a bad rap. I buy vinyl, cassettes, reel-to-reel, 8-track and CD. I can put 5 CDs in my player and put on random (still my favorite way to listen, cannot do that with vinyl. With vinyl you have constantly clean off the dust and turn the record over - not so with CD. Plus the fact that CDs are dirt cheap at yard sales and estate sales. There is still a lot of stuff from the 90s,00s, etc that was not ever released on vinyl.
We are the problem. As long as we fall for this, it will happen. I think Guido is right, you can pay a 30% premium if you really wanted this record but at a 300% premium you would help the community to resist your desire and let it go.
Unfortunately, this has been affecting pretty much any collecting hobbies. However it’s particularly infuriating with records, when you just want to enjoy a specific one for what it is, music, can’t find it anywhere, and eBay has 15 of them listed as sealed, never played, for 5 times the retail price.
People that flip turntables aren’t much better... and the vintage gear flippers in general. Don’t even get me started on that subject. I’ve had many hobbies in my life and granted, they are all expensive, but vinyl has gotten ridiculous. New & used. I’m part of the problem because I’ve been gouged plenty and keep coming back. I’ll tell ya the vinyl community on RUclips is fantastic including this guy! Great video!
Totally agree! I recently got back into vinyl collecting during the pandemic and can't believe how much more expensive vinyls are now. Plus the scalping issue is definitely a virus in the community. I refuse to pay $150 to $400 for a single vinyl because scalpers are driving these prices. I rather stream the album on Spotify until I find a reasonably priced vinyl.
This is the reason I hate Record Store Day. They get you all psyched up about a particular release and you look forward to getting a copy and playing it. So you get up extra early, wait in line, get in the store and find out they only got 5 copies of a record that 50 people came to get. Very frustrating and then you see it on Ebay for like $175. I'm done with RSD!
People paying more than $50 for a new release from a flipper is stupid unless it's a double LP gatefold....ill just buy the CD . Also I'd wager most that overpay from a flipper are also collectors that won't even listen to the record and resell in 2 years lol.
Every hobby suffers from this. Where there is a dolllar to be made there is someone in the hobby. You are right, as long as it is easy for them to flip it they will keep doing it.if it becomes hard, they will move on to something else.
Nicely stated and very appreciated. The same cancer has been happening to audiophile CDs since the early 2000's especially after MOFI closed for the first time.
The sad thing is the Flipers. They go and buy as many as they can from the artists websites until the product become sold out and then they go on "Discogs" and they sell the items 10 times more from the beginning price because "they became sold out". These people are the parasites of this planet
I believe there is a karmic commercial hell and receipt for people who don’t care about the music or the format but solely seek to buy all for lower prices and anticipate or perpetuate the demand in order to make their pretty penny. They will have money they have their greed, but more depth of despair will come to their lives for ruining an otherwise beautiful community.
Artist need to set a limit of 2 sales per person online for 1 item . Yes there'd be ways around this using multiple credit cards but that would make it a chore to do so.
Totally agree. Same thing just happened with the new Craft Recordings Small Batch release; and this phenomenon has afflicted hip hop and electronic releases for a while now. It is a cancer on the hobby.
I think you spelled out the entire problem extremely well. I can’t think of any other avenues at this moment that we as the consumer can take to stop this insanity.
It’s a demand driven market because everything that’s issued claims to be a limited edition; wether it’s new color or art work; or better sound reproduction or additional songs so it automatically drives the price up. Record collecting is starting to look like baseball card collecting in the 80s. So unless it’s a reissue of an album I’m crazy about I stick with collecting older stuff from the 80s and 90s. I did splurge on the Eagles live album reissue but that’s the exception not the norm. Another thing you need to be aware of is exactly what it is your buying; Example Charlie Daniels released a double album grey vynal of his greatest hits which seemed like a great thing if your a fan but if you looked at it closely it wasn’t the original recordings but the original songs redone. Sorry CDs voice at 65 wasn’t the same as when he was 25!!!!
I think many make the mistake that they pay big money for the "unearthed Bill Evans" record but don't have the main body of the artists work. The hype created by the record companies plays a big part. They sell us the rare lost tape, the record store limited edition and some are stupid enough to buy into that. I don't and that is my recommendation. Buy the main 30 John Coltrane records first before you buy the last found in the attic new release of a recording made from a concert in Iceland 3 days before he died......and focus on second hand, regular editions and be careful with all this audiophile BS. You pay a premium for an audiophile Rolling Stones record? Makes no sense, the Stones where records poor in the first place, just as an example. And you can ask all collectors for not doing that, but the scalpers, the flippers are mostly not part of the community, they come from outside and they do this with many items, with many collectables.
I totally agree with you on all these recordings. This RSD business is getting out of hand.Especially when you buy a overpriced release and find it is a poor quality product. Very sad!
A great video for discussion. Absolutely agree the hobby is getting saturated with Record scalpers the last two years for sure. The sellers ARE AWARE OF the demand on these limited releases and are jumping in an asking ridiculous prices for some of these limited series etc. Also when you have a site that publishes / on a monthly basis what the top 30 records sold for that month , that type of information will continue to escalate the sale of these records, Unfortunately.
British artist Paul Weller has refused to issue any more records for Record Store Day due to the "flippers". He said he was tired of his records jumping to extremely high prices, ruining it for the regular collector.
It's like the stock market: you need to be disciplined and follow a few rules. Namely, never pay above retail, don't miss on pressing announcements and avoid Discogs scalpers like the plague. And always, ALWAYS remember the tulip bubble of 1636. These are not unique pieces of art like the David of Michelangelo or the Mona Lisa. They are just vinyl records. Some are very limited, yes. But they have been pressed before and at some point in the future they will be pressed again. In the meantime, CDs or Spotify but don't feed the scalpers! This is coming from someone who can pay the $1,300 (currently going price) for that splendid Beatles Mono Box behind you but refuses to do so while I think about tulips.
@@anadialog Yes, I know. This is getting ridiculous. You can get it at Discogs for less, around $1,300. But still, that's more than 4x the original price of ~S320. Crazy bubble. Thanks for the video!
If this is selling second hand for $3000 bucks imagine what the label could make if they made more and raised the price a bit. The labels can kill this market if they wanted to.
Sorry to say, but as long as there are avid resellers and unregulated market, there’ll be record scalping. Mofi’s Kind of Blue, for example, last time sold out in one hour! Its just nuts! I ended up buying it for 90 bucks in discogs. Thanks for the great content!
Hi Guido I totally agree with you. Sometimes their gone in minutes. I received an email from MOFI saying saying back in stock I went to the sight and they were gone. Scalpers use multiple emails and have ways to purchase many albums all under the radar. I wrote too you a few months back that if it continues this way it is going to ruin vinyl resurgence. The prices are too high everybody wants a piece of the pie with a marketing strategy of lets make the most monies while it's hot. No investments in pressing plants, terrible. Ciao bello.
Something else that costs more is the shipping cost these days since covid.If the band/ group has it`s own site by from there.Discogs is probably one of the worst though some of their sellers are fair in there shipping costs.I have also found that shipping cost here where I live are around the same price as buying from the band/ groups site.
The one thing that really gets me mad is not so much the price, it’s the quality I have several new records that the serifs noise is so bad it’s ruined my plusher of listening to them. My older pressings sound really good, so what’s going on with new vinyl I’m not happy 😡
This is the most aggravating thing. These records are NOT that scarce. It seems to me that a lot of of people who have recently gotten into the hobby (past 10 years or so) are now ruining it. Bidding up prices to have amassed comprehensive collections of rare music when they couldn’t give a darn previously. I see this on Instagram seemingly often. So many “pop-up” record stores. Only way to find decent priced vinyl these days is to source it myself.
Bought over a hundred records this last year not being able to sh#t. However these prices are concerning and definitely have slowed down my fun. Just can't afford it. Still managing one record a month or so, but if prices keep climbing the end is near.
@slider2699 in the course of upgrading my vinyl playback system I’ve upgraded my CD playback. Comparing the two, there’s really very little difference. I think you’re right about streaming. Something new needs to take foothold. There’s lots of newer hobbyist (less than 10-15 years) driving vinyl market. Once quality streaming becomes ubiquitous vinyl will hopefully drop.
@slider2699 i might be one of those cd buyers lol. I need to learn more about quality streaming. I’m not very technically savvy and it seems hard to navigate sometimes. But I’m very interested to learn.
I was just looking at my 4 crates of vintage albums, I was trying to add up in my head how much I spent in the last 3 years. I remember checking my credit card statements I spent almost $600 in two months on used records. I have started to slow down. I notice a lot of the new records don't sound as good as the vintage records. I bought Tim Buckley Star sailor it had a lot of distortion on a few songs.
Fully agree with your thoughts. But I think as long as the market pays (not me), those scalpers will continue to make MONEY. Lots of it. PEOPLE WILL PAY. Mostly scared collectors who are afraid they will miss out. Take Record Store Day for example. Sure, I've missed out on a few titles, due to selling out, but I have always (so far) been able to pick them up online at an extremely close price to what they originally cost on RSD. Some lower, some a little higher. But nothing as you describe. I will NOT pay scalper's prices. Keep up your good work on the vinyl hobby.
Most people paying scalpers prices are likely collectors who won't even listen to it and resell it again in a year or two. I'll buy the CD for $12 , I'll never pay more than $50 for a new record. Would have to be something I want desperately or a double LP gatefold .
First and most important: Don’t buy from scalpers. Make them loose interest. Don’t put more money in their pockets to buy even more records to scalp. Second: Stop buying limited colored editions. The production of these variants are blocking the record plants. Way more vinyl could be pressed if we collectors go back to black. Third: Don’t believe the hype. There are so many records out there. Go out and discover music in the wild. There is so much going on under the radar. Last but not least: Think twice before buying a reissue. If it is a common record buy it second hand. There is better use for virgin vinyl. If it is a remastered version, are you sure you can hear the difference? If it does need an a to b comparison to tell the difference, again the rare vinyl could have been used more wisely. Be humble, stay curious and concentrate on what matters most - the music.
I started buying LPs in about 1970, they cost $4:00/$5:00. With inflation, that is equal to $27.00/$35:00 today. Considering many, many albums can be bought for less $20.00, it seems pretty good!
Unfort. with limited releases, Discogs and the like can be handy if you are looking for a release that is obsolete or sold out elsewhere. When i saw Techmoan's video about the Scratch & Sniff album, i would liked to have one myself as i can smell (could, because of Covid i lost my smell for now :( ) and have various forms of synesthaesia, but found a copy on Discogs, indeed more expensive, but i think otherwise harder to find, or not find at all. But i agree hoarding albums to resell many times more the price is toxic. But like you said, they can sort of overcome it by capping how many copies each individual can buy.
Hi dear Guido Nick here from Greece : Nice video and topic too as usual and i DO agree with all of what you said my friend and thx for the advices you mentioned :-) My best regards and i wish the best of luck and the best of health to you , to all of your familly and to all people on this planet too :-)
Thank you Guido for getting this out in the light, the more people that know this is happening the better chance we have of stopping it, so share this video with as many people as you can,drive these thieves out of business
You reminded me of the 40th anniversary edition of Split Enz's True Colours release. The original issue sounds fine and you can get it for under $10 on eBay/discogs/Amazon. The special thing about this new edition is it's remastered & they added a couple more tracks. However, I'm not paying $50+ for a single disc release and we have the original pressing sans the extra songs. There's 4 different color variants since the original had 4 different cover color variants originally (look it up to see what I'm talking about). Another thing that's happening is like you said, people are buying up all the initial copies that went for say $25 and selling them for 6 times the price (noticed this on an RSD release we recently purchased from a local shop for a 2LP release. Now upwards of $40 for a 2LP release that has added content and other goodies is fair but nearly $200 is not) We need to not only go to social media about this but also speak loudly with our wallets. Hopefully, over time it'll calm down. The same can be said for purchasing decent equipment to play said records on.
Scalpers are scum, but so are the consumers who have no self control and buy from them. The local shops around me all share info on scalpers and blacklist them from their stores, which I appreciate. BTW, if you want an out of print record from a band (providing they aren't extremely popular), try contacting the band members or the artist who worked on the album art. Both typically have extra copies sitting around and will gladly sell you one for a fair price. It doesn't hurt to ask!
There are limited seats in a theatre, that logic does not apply to records. Press more. The Yusef Lateef - Eastern Sounds pre-order sold out in seconds today. A pre-order...crazy.
It absolutely does apply. As was explained in the video there's a lot more that goes into getting that record into your hand than just 'pressing more'. The process is slow and pricey, especially if the end product is of any decent quality.
@@nathanielnicholson559 Overall the complexity of the process and limited access to quality equipment come into play as was explained in the video. However, an important contributing factor also lies with labels restricting the number of copies on purpose to build hype, independent of the 'slow and pricey' process, hence driving the prices up. That's a business decision, a marketing strategy which encourages record scalping.
@slider2699 Yeah, we're essentially saying the same thing. Those Gloversville passings were made not far from where I live. When the plant shut down half the equipment went to Nashville, the other half sat in the weather for a couple years before getting scrapped :( Such a shame.
Funny you making this video in the week I bought an new album for which I paid my personal highest amount for. Not from ebay or discogs but a shop. The fact that there are only one or few left drove the pice to about 2-3 times normal price which was not cheap to begin with. I don't think that's how a shop should operate. I could not find it cheaper on the internet though, and at least this is a new copie instead of 2nd hand. This was an exception for me. On one hand I feel glad I have that copie, but on the other hand I feel cheated and I don't like that. So this was a one time experience for me. Life goes on even without special editions.
@@anadialog Indeed, I expected to have bought the last copie (which would also not be fair for a shop) but they still have at least one for sale. It's Elvis Presley's Pot Luck sessions FTD. Rare to find, There's one on discogs for an insane amount and one on ebay for the same amount I paid from the shop.
Excellent and well-timed topic. You hit the nail on the head. Stop the hysteria and boycott these people scalping records. The Record companies should negotiate a larger volume for these limited run releases and limit purchases to 1 or 2 per person. Let's Publicize the scalpers also.
Right on brother. Scalping is ruining the experience. Scalping sports and concert tickets used to be illegal throughout the US. Occasional arrests and threats of arrest prevented at least the open scalping. I’m generally against more government intervention but a maybe a rule needs to be adopted with scalpers subject to arrest.
Due to shipping delays some local record stores don't get their shipments in until after a release is sold out. Then they mark it up to $100 with out ever offering the item at MSRP.
@@anadialog toad hall records does it all the time with MoFi releases. He got his Johnny Cash Walk the line on late and sold them for $100 on his website
Discogs are allowing this to go, they don't give a sh@t. Craft record companies should do more to verify who is a genuine purchaser. Until the industry stops ripping us off I'm not buying any new vinyl I'm just going to do more research and carefully buy good quality used.
The problem isn't the sellers, the problem is the buyers who are willing to run the prices up to get them. Also, the companies that press these high quality records are playing the "rare", "limited availability" game for all it's worth. They have the ability to press any number of records but hold back production to squeeze your last penny out of you. Don't blame the guy whose planned ahead and might make a few dollars.
I underlined both these aspects but let's keep into focus who is creating the problem, which I would like to underline, is illegal in certain countries and circumstances.
This happened with cds in the 1983-1987 time frame. Titles deleted and hard to get very quickly! They needed to make more facilities which they did by 1988 but it's not so easy with vinyl. The problem lies with the label who doesn't make enough. Maybe these sellers are trying to make up for that pallet toilet paper and hand sanitizer they can't get rid of.
I just found out that a fire devastated the vinyl industry last year. Apollo Masters burned up Feb. 6 2020. They made the lacquer used to make 75% of the blank laquer
Even most local record stores charge ridiculous prices for old Opies of records that are often in poor condition. I know they have rent to pay etc, but £10 for old records that have been cleaned often hiding the fact that the record is useless. As for new records, £25 and up for re-releases of records that you can buy on cd for £5...or a 2nd hand copy for £5... Madness, as for the scalpers & flippers, well yes I avoid them like the plague, I don't have money to burn for a recording that I can listen to elsewhere for a fraction of the price. Maybe we need to stop buying this stuff over and over again, just be satisfied with something simpler.
Never heard of the word scalping before. I always called it speculation. It's not exclusive to records, consumer electronics or stocks, over here there's a lot of real estate speculation going on. That's even worse than speculation with records, as homes have become unaffordable for many people... Because having a roof over the head is a basic need in life. The problem with basic needs is that people HAVE to buy it, while records aren't a definitive must, so people can decide not to get dragged into those speculation practices.
I've stopped buying from these websites as I am fed up of being told they are sold out straight away. There is an insane website called Better Records which is an absolute joke with its prices
I bought a copy of George Harrison's 50th Anniversary 'All Things Must Pass' last week before they were all gone. I opted for the 3 LP black and green splatter vinyl limited edition box set. (Only available on George Harrison's website).
I buy and sell records. Not new ones, however. I get most of my records at garage sales. When I do, I try to get a bulk deal and buy all the records they have. Then I keep the ones I want, then sell the ones I don't. I generally keep more than I sell. Plus, they are old, usually well used copies, so I am only selling them for a couple dollars at most.
Totally unacceptable but no different to live concert tickets, collectibles etc...its simple economics involving supply v demand..Craft Small Batch is a good example..I blame record production and the exclusivity of some records..
Actually, if you check the discogs page of the record mentioned by Guido "Franco Battiato - La Voce del Padrone, 40th Anniversary Edition" some of the scalpers are local independent record stores. Shame on them!
Plenty shops adjust their prices according to online catalogs like Discogs. So if speculator push up the price on Discogs, the price in shops will follow.
That's the truth, completely. I was trying to buy La voce del padrone the same day of the anniversary release and it was impossible to find it. So frustrating. I would like to add another unfair behaviour of online stores, in that they accept reservation orders in advance of the record release, but once the day come, or some day later anyway, they tell you that your order was cancelled because they couldn't find the record from their providers. This is very annoying and something to be fixed as well.
I feel for you man but i already went through that rabbit hole with sneakers when I was young, Jordan's. I was a collector and this situation never change. There will always be people with money who doesn't care about fareness and buy from them. The only culprit are the production company for limiting the pressings. It's a way for them to make conftable margin, not sature the market and keep doing this eternally. I started buying more CDs. It's dirt cheap and better than streaming.
Funny thing, here in Mexico a bookstore that also sells movies, DVDs, blu ray, and vinyl, this March started an insane one month 3x1 sale of all audio and video media. That very sale made me return to vinyl after decades. I bought a good bunch of records to start from scratch again. Suffice to say, the vinyls sold out but no scalping happened at that level because the vinyl resurgence here is not that strong because of the acquisitive power of most people, vinyls sell reaaally slow here so scalpers don't stand a change to recover their investment quickly. Old, vintage vinyls do sell more, and their prices are quite varied, but not as high as a new press vinyl.
What are some releases that this is happening with? I love Discogs, but use it for finding rare old albums. I know I buy a ton of old Japanese records directly from japan and they sell for double the cost here because often times the shipping alone is more than the record. And that taken into account makes Japanese albums super expensive.
Well, most MoFi, some AP, and just special reissues that have a limited pressing number, in most cases they are gone in minutes as several here have reported...
I say... let nature takes it's course, a gd friend told me, " when you shake the tree, monkeys will fall down " .... but I agree with you Rgds & stay safe... Azmi, Malaysia
As a record collector and music lover, I have a completely different view of it. Scalpers are annoying, but the majority are only doing it to make a LITTLE money. As you say, you can’t buy more than a couple of Records per household. It also proves the value of your own record collection; it’s not depreciating (unlike most other things you buy like cars for example). Just like collectible cars, you want collectible records to increase in value, that way your own collection has some value when you pass it on. ‘Scalping’ is a pain, but if you already have that ridiculously overpriced ‘scalped’ record, you can now potentially sell yours at a profit and buy two more records! A Win, Win situation. 😃😃
@@antalantal2366 My point is that most people who are doing it are not Scalpers. And the few scalpers out there that are, in their own perverted way are doing everyone a favour by increasing the value of your own record collection.
I'm not sure if it works that way. The type of releases talked of in this video are new releases and the key to making money with these things as a scalper is to move them quickly. The longer you own one of these the less value they'll have simply because the novelty is gone. If you're in this game to make long term money, then its original pressings you want not these modern ltd editions which have strictly short term benefit
Dire Straits Brothers in Arms half speed master by abbey road studios just came out. I lost my CD in an auto accident and thought this would be a good chance to get it again. I pre-ordered it but got and email that the store's allocation was canceled. It's sold out all over. There are re-sellers now selling it between $57 and $89 on Discogs, Amazon and Ebay. What gets me is then there are collectors that buy multiple copies. One to listen to and one to save. Since it was originally digitally recorded, in this case I'll probably just buy the CD again.
Well, there is one vinyl scalper in next town, eastern Slovakia. He had small shop and some truly wonderful vinyl pressings.. but he is selling like Polish versions of UK´s original released albums for double amount of original prize. He tried to tell me by him all sellers are setting the prize after him around the world. There is album Bathory self titled album with Yellow Goat cover and prize is outrageous! (mint copy 3.500€), caused by pressing plant error. Black metal records from 1991-1994 are selled for absurd prizes.. even original Deathlike silence production or Satyricon "Dark Medieval Times"
long before anyone had heard of a CD, there were analog multitrack recordings. they use them to make a mix for the final two channel version for example a vinyl record and these analogous multitrack recordings can still be found today. that means you could re-release an album from 1975 you might raise the volume on the drum a bit or maybe lower the volume on the guitar a bit and so on
The 1 copy or 2 copies per order needs to become the norm. I understand that if you are creative you can by pass the restriction, but they could still enforce it, if the will is there. But it's NOT!! I feel so bad for you young folks who have to succumb too scalpers for concert tickets!! Had this been standard practice back in the 60's and 70's..i never would have had the pleasure of seeing 1.) Hendrix 2) The Doors 3.) The Who 4) Yes 5.) Elvis 6.) The Rolling Stones and many other artists who I saw on face value tickets.
I believe that someone 'scalped' 3 copies of The Beatles' 50th Anniversary 'White' Album from a Wal-Mart store here where I live about a month ago. They had 3 copies in stock for $49.99 plus tax, and the next day when I went back to buy one, all 3 were gone. They had been there for about a month before I decided to buy a copy. But, I found a copy on eBay for about the same price.
I have a better solution. You can by such vinyls, but then... make a good copy on a tape and sell the disk. I mean it. This way has many advantages. 1. you can get 90% of the price back 2. your shiny, expensive cartridge will live forever (almost -) ) 3. The record made can be listened forever with no affecting a quality (at least during 40 years) 4. you will have an analog sound 5. you won't feed cartridge, pads, clamps, cables, phono pre-amps sellers (whatever matches your spending) all the time while this staff degrades. 7. others can buy the disk and listen. 8. you'll get 5 stars and a reputation All you need is to lube your Studer/Telefunken/Revox once per 20 years. PS This is why they do not advocate tapes but rather want you to be a part of a vinyl infrastructure.
Hmm, fortunately, I'm usually not into the usual stuff, so most of the time it's quite affordable. And sometimes (Tropic of Cancer - Restless Idylls) I just pay the 60 euros. What I also do more and more is switching to the CD. Unfortunately. What I liked about some of the Record Store Day releases is that they miscalculated here and got stuck with lots of records that barely anyone wanted...
Vinyl now is like how laser disc was back in the day over normal price not much to pick and always sold out and waiting for it to come back in stock. They should learn from laser disc which it failed because how they where marketing it and selling it.
In one of your videos you mentioned of a Canadian company that custom make rca selectors to connect multiple units etc…can you give the company’s name please
The price of used records have really gone up in prices in Portland record stores. Records that I bought for a Dollar or two are going for $15.00 or $20.00.
A few years ago I found out that Joe Jackson was playing near me. As soon as tickets went on sale they were sold out and had to be purchased, at around 4x the original price, from the company that bought them. Apparently the venue didn't care as they fulfilled their obligation of selling the tickets. Every seat was filled and the show was amazing, but if the 'just press more' logic was viable we would've gotten a 4x longer show, which was not the artists responsibility or problem and would've done the band and audience a huge disservice as fatigue would have taken over on all counts after a while and the enjoyment would start to fade and turn into annoyance. I believe that, yes, limiting the purchase quantity is the only way to slow the scalping disease.
I don't pay more than a couple dollars a record. If it is more than that I pass. I find decent stuff I need here and there for my price. Why pay way more when I can stream it for free?
Me I'm more annoyed buy the new vinyl sounding worst than CDs. I stopped buying last year because constantly after comparing new music on vinyl and CDs. The CD s were better. The only vinyl I buy now is Jazz records because some effort is done in the mastering process but even then you have to be careful about the pressing. :( I still like vinyl, i love the artwork, i like the listening process but i buy rarely records nowadays.
Do not buy from scalpers: it’s quite easy... La voce del Padrone (orange or blue edition) it’s still quite easy to find in local shops, even in big music shops, but we are lazy and we want to easily buy just tapping on our smartphone screen...
I think that Discogs and Ebay should step in as well to help stopping this practice. 🤔 La mia copia del disco di Battiato la trovai circa 15 anni fa in una bancarella di un mercatino dell'antiquariato a Genova per pochi euro... 🙄 edizione originale naturalmente, un po' consunta la copertina, ma incisione perfetta. Altri tempi.... 😄
I don’t buy many records anymore but when I do buy a new one, I can always find it at a reasonable price. Can someone care to name examples of scalping happening today? If you’re gonna say beatles/dylan/grateful dead/zeppelin etc, well that says it all really.
@@anadialog I would like to dispute that actually. Here are two examples of LPs reissued recently that I got (easily) for standard retail price: Bangles - Sweetheart of the sun (ltd ed: 300 copies) Rolling Stones - High Tide and Green Grass (let ed: 700 copies) Both can still be found today at competitive prices so its certainly not an all-pervasive problem
New records do cost way to much. But hey I don't see the problem with scalping. If the demand and price is up the label should press more. I understand that can take time. I would say just hang out and wait on it, you don't need a limited edition, it doesn't sound any better anyhow. Besides all that every record pressed is limited. You can only get so much out of it before you got to make a new stamp. I highly doubt these stamps that press limited records are destroyed. I would say that the very same stamp is pressing records that are not labeled "limited".
Before I watch the video, I'll just guess what "record scalping" is - It must be when those "ultra true" audiophiles shave little bits off all their vinyl discs, and assemble them into newfangled analogue magic.
if they have the recording that they used to create a master tape then you could actually make an improvement such as more dynamic drum sound. so that it sounds more live 😃
What do you think about dealers who sell at normal prices but also increase them in line with the Discogs price? I felt awful about buying the recent MoFi release of Ah Um for £210 from SNVinyl (RRP £90), but at the same time I was relieved to get it, as it’s one of my favourite jazz albums of all time. So was he doing me a service or was he scalping me?
He was scalping you. And worst of all, even retailers associated with labels like Music Direct / MFSL and Acoustic Sounds / AP do this more and more frequently (eg last few copies of Dylan's Mono reissues by Mofi priced at $100 in Music Direct). This is the worst kind of scalping, because they don't respect their own MSRP. If bloody labels can't play the game without cheating, what would you expect from the average Joe at Discogs? I blame the labels for this practice, not restricting copies per customer on limited releases and being completely deaf on market demand for OOP popular releases. HELLO UNIVERSAL, BEATLES MONO BOX REPRESS, PLEASE!!!
I think a lot of this depends when the record was released. If it is gone in days, ai think there should be a law and criminal persecution. If some time has passed, few month or years, then it is normal that something increases if it isn't available anymore. The second part of the (hopefully one day considered) criminal activity is ti stash several copies because you want to manipulate the market. If it is just one or two extra copies and what to sell it at a decently higher price, ok with that.
@@anadialog I like your nuanced view on this topic. Indeed manipulation of markets in finance and commodities can be prosecuted against, and the same thing is happening with records. The situation though is different with records and monopoly laws need to reflect this. The problem is it's not an organised monopoly with one person/company buying up all the stock - it's spread across possibly a few dozen individuals/companies and they get away with it because of limited runs. Sadly, nothing will change, because (a) this issue doesn't affect politicians and they tend to act only when their interests are in dangered or if its a vote winner (and their aren't enough votes to be had with records). And (b) I doubt the police would enforce changes to monopoly law because Serious Crime will always trump crimes against consumers.
record store day 21 is gonna be a nightmare with Linkin Park's "Meteora" and Balck Sabbath's "Master of reality" getting represses as those will be a scalpers wet dream given a). Meteora is a very hard to find release and b). Black Sabbath fans will want the exclusive press and replica poster from the original release. I hate scalpers. There is a record store in Birmingham UK called Ignite records that has regular scalpers in buying rare pressings they sell at 20=30 quid because they want fans to have the pressings and then people buy them and charge 90 online. Governments regulate the scalping of concert tickets and they need to extend it to other forms of collectibles and entertainment media in my opinion!
I don't know if you've heard of Waxmage pressings. Very limited releases (of almost mediocre bands tbh) but on very stunning made vinyl. Releases tend to sell out in seconds - I watched one to sell out in 3 seconds - and get reselled for sometimes 10 times the price. It's just disgusting to watch. Seriously disgusting.
i see in lp groups hoarding reissues. 15 plus lps destined for a crosley. cause it sounds better. lmao. demand isnt for listening. newer r2r dacs are going to take off just due to cost. most new issues were done at 24 96 and the ambience reduced. round n round
Vinyl is a hobby that tends to appeal to those who want something extra, a bit special and they are willing/able to pay for it. Much of the equipment costs thousands rather than hundreds of euros/dollars and is similarly overpriced. The whole scene is elitist and has never been about value for money and access for all.
I agree on most, but I absolutely disagree that you need money to listen to vinyl. You can do it at various levels. There are great turntables at 120$, better than a CD player at that price.
Questa cosa succede continuamente in Iran... Dove le sanzioni fanno si che la merce non arrivi in quantità elevata. Ci sono persone che comprano per esempio le mascherine, il sapone, cellulari... Tutto quello che è comprabili, e li vendono al doppio
Thanks for informing me. The problem is that they are auto-generated and sometimes the system does not work. At that point I have to do it with an external company and pay for it, but I will do it.
Unfortunately dirty speculators are everywhere. There is lots of money out there and with online markets it is possible to effectively manipulate supply and price.
You are so right.
I’m older and getting back into vinyl. My complaint is the poor quality as much as quantity and price. I found out quickly if it’s available, it’s crap. I’m now moving into CD just like I did in the 80s.
I was never into vinyl for those reasons. Plus the upkeep is much easier with CDs, I watch this guy (even though I often disagree with him) Because he provides some good information.
CD sounds every bit as good if not better than vinyl. I still regularly purchase LPs which is influenced by a variety of factors, however, no OG or audiophile pressing should ever be worth more then $100 imho. Even the rarer jazz records have arguably identical CD releases for $1-$5. There is also an abundance of people who entered the market post 2006, which to me marks the point where you can see real movement in vinyl going above book value since 2008. These people are buying every “collectible” and driving prices up all around. Kinda resent people new to the hobby for this reason.
Yeah I think CDs have gotten a bad rap. I buy vinyl, cassettes, reel-to-reel, 8-track and CD. I can put 5 CDs in my player and put on random (still my favorite way to listen, cannot do that with vinyl. With vinyl you have constantly clean off the dust and turn the record over - not so with CD. Plus the fact that CDs are dirt cheap at yard sales and estate sales. There is still a lot of stuff from the 90s,00s, etc that was not ever released on vinyl.
😝
We are the problem. As long as we fall for this, it will happen. I think Guido is right, you can pay a 30% premium if you really wanted this record but at a 300% premium you would help the community to resist your desire and let it go.
Unfortunately, this has been affecting pretty much any collecting hobbies. However it’s particularly infuriating with records, when you just want to enjoy a specific one for what it is, music, can’t find it anywhere, and eBay has 15 of them listed as sealed, never played, for 5 times the retail price.
But your finding what you want when you want on Ebay plus there are damn few record/head shops around now days unfortunitly
People that flip turntables aren’t much better... and the vintage gear flippers in general. Don’t even get me started on that subject. I’ve had many hobbies in my life and granted, they are all expensive, but vinyl has gotten ridiculous. New & used. I’m part of the problem because I’ve been gouged plenty and keep coming back. I’ll tell ya the vinyl community on RUclips is fantastic including this guy! Great video!
True...Thanks man!
So right about used gear folks! They’re horrible. Ridiculous prices often times.
the scholarship if this man is amazing. he explains to us as clear as water. thank you for your work man!
Totally agree! I recently got back into vinyl collecting during the pandemic and can't believe how much more expensive vinyls are now. Plus the scalping issue is definitely a virus in the community. I refuse to pay $150 to $400 for a single vinyl because scalpers are driving these prices. I rather stream the album on Spotify until I find a reasonably priced vinyl.
This is the reason I hate Record Store Day. They get you all psyched up about a particular release and you look forward to getting a copy and playing it. So you get up extra early, wait in line, get in the store and find out they only got 5 copies of a record that 50 people came to get. Very frustrating and then you see it on Ebay for like $175. I'm done with RSD!
absolutely! i'm also done with RSD!
People paying more than $50 for a new release from a flipper is stupid unless it's a double LP gatefold....ill just buy the CD .
Also I'd wager most that overpay from a flipper are also collectors that won't even listen to the record and resell in 2 years lol.
Recent shipping costs are higher this year. Better to buy direct from a store than online.
Every hobby suffers from this. Where there is a dolllar to be made there is someone in the hobby. You are right, as long as it is easy for them to flip it they will keep doing it.if it becomes hard, they will move on to something else.
Nicely stated and very appreciated. The same cancer has been happening to audiophile CDs since the early 2000's especially after MOFI closed for the first time.
Thanks...true!
The sad thing is the Flipers. They go and buy as many as they can from the artists websites until the product become sold out and then they go on "Discogs" and they sell the items 10 times more from the beginning price because "they became sold out". These people are the parasites of this planet
Bastards!
I believe there is a karmic commercial hell and receipt for people who don’t care about the music or the format but solely seek to buy all for lower prices and anticipate or perpetuate the demand in order to make their pretty penny.
They will have money they have their greed, but more depth of despair will come to their lives for ruining an otherwise beautiful community.
Artist need to set a limit of 2 sales per person online for 1 item . Yes there'd be ways around this using multiple credit cards but that would make it a chore to do so.
I'm totaly agree. The Orange version of La voce del padrone sold out in 5 hours, that's insane.
Totally agree. Same thing just happened with the new Craft Recordings Small Batch release; and this phenomenon has afflicted hip hop and electronic releases for a while now. It is a cancer on the hobby.
I think you spelled out the entire problem extremely well. I can’t think of any other avenues at this moment that we as the consumer can take to stop this insanity.
He knows best
@@bobzmuda3940 seems to know best. I’m not sure what Guido does for his primary income. He’s definitely a classy guy.
@@stimpy1226 classy, italian, beautiful man
Why thank you much! 😊❤ You're too nice! All of you!
Everything that’s popular is always gonna be scalped.
It’s a demand driven market because everything that’s issued claims to be a limited edition; wether it’s new color or art work; or better sound reproduction or additional songs so it automatically drives the price up. Record collecting is starting to look like baseball card collecting in the 80s. So unless it’s a reissue of an album I’m crazy about I stick with collecting older stuff from the 80s and 90s. I did splurge on the Eagles live album reissue but that’s the exception not the norm. Another thing you need to be aware of is exactly what it is your buying; Example Charlie Daniels released a double album grey vynal of his greatest hits which seemed like a great thing if your a fan but if you looked at it closely it wasn’t the original recordings but the original songs redone. Sorry CDs voice at 65 wasn’t the same as when he was 25!!!!
Then there are apparently some artists who sell limited edition of their albums on their website at very high price
I think many make the mistake that they pay big money for the "unearthed Bill Evans" record but don't have the main body of the artists work. The hype created by the record companies plays a big part. They sell us the rare lost tape, the record store limited edition and some are stupid enough to buy into that. I don't and that is my recommendation. Buy the main 30 John Coltrane records first before you buy the last found in the attic new release of a recording made from a concert in Iceland 3 days before he died......and focus on second hand, regular editions and be careful with all this audiophile BS. You pay a premium for an audiophile Rolling Stones record? Makes no sense, the Stones where records poor in the first place, just as an example. And you can ask all collectors for not doing that, but the scalpers, the flippers are mostly not part of the community, they come from outside and they do this with many items, with many collectables.
Good points
I totally agree with you on all these recordings. This RSD business is getting out of hand.Especially when you buy a overpriced release and find it is a poor quality product. Very sad!
A great video for discussion. Absolutely agree the hobby is getting saturated with Record scalpers the last two years for sure. The sellers ARE AWARE OF the demand on these limited releases and are jumping in an asking ridiculous prices for some of these limited series etc. Also when you have a site that publishes / on a monthly basis what the top 30 records sold for that month , that type of information will continue to escalate the sale of these records, Unfortunately.
This has been happening on Record Store Day for years.
British artist Paul Weller has refused to issue any more records for Record Store Day due to the "flippers". He said he was tired of his records jumping to extremely high prices, ruining it for the regular collector.
Wise idea!
It's like the stock market: you need to be disciplined and follow a few rules. Namely, never pay above retail, don't miss on pressing announcements and avoid Discogs scalpers like the plague. And always, ALWAYS remember the tulip bubble of 1636.
These are not unique pieces of art like the David of Michelangelo or the Mona Lisa. They are just vinyl records. Some are very limited, yes. But they have been pressed before and at some point in the future they will be pressed again. In the meantime, CDs or Spotify but don't feed the scalpers! This is coming from someone who can pay the $1,300 (currently going price) for that splendid Beatles Mono Box behind you but refuses to do so while I think about tulips.
Insane! In the thumbnail of this video I inserted a current pic of the mono box on Amazon going for 3000$. I got it at its original price luckily.
@@anadialog Yes, I know. This is getting ridiculous. You can get it at Discogs for less, around $1,300. But still, that's more than 4x the original price of ~S320. Crazy bubble. Thanks for the video!
If this is selling second hand for $3000 bucks imagine what the label could make if they made more and raised the price a bit. The labels can kill this market if they wanted to.
Right on. Well said.
Sorry to say, but as long as there are avid resellers and unregulated market, there’ll be record scalping. Mofi’s Kind of Blue, for example, last time sold out in one hour! Its just nuts! I ended up buying it for 90 bucks in discogs. Thanks for the great content!
Hi Guido I totally agree with you. Sometimes their gone in minutes. I received an email from MOFI saying saying back in stock I went to the sight and they were gone. Scalpers use multiple emails and have ways to purchase many albums all under the radar. I wrote too you a few months back that if it continues this way it is going to ruin vinyl resurgence. The prices are too high everybody wants a piece of the pie with a marketing strategy of lets make the most monies while it's hot. No investments in pressing plants, terrible. Ciao bello.
So sad...
Something else that costs more is the shipping cost these days since covid.If the band/ group has it`s own site by from there.Discogs is probably one of the worst though some of their sellers are fair in there shipping costs.I have also found that shipping cost here where I live are around the same price as buying from the band/ groups site.
The one thing that really gets me mad is not so much the price, it’s the quality I have several new records that the serifs noise is so bad it’s ruined my plusher of listening to them. My older pressings sound really good, so what’s going on with new vinyl I’m not happy 😡
Steely Dan "aja" went from being in every dollar bin to now being worth over 20 bucks. Same with Sade. Great video!!!
This is the most aggravating thing. These records are NOT that scarce. It seems to me that a lot of of people who have recently gotten into the hobby (past 10 years or so) are now ruining it. Bidding up prices to have amassed comprehensive collections of rare music when they couldn’t give a darn previously. I see this on Instagram seemingly often. So many “pop-up” record stores. Only way to find decent priced vinyl these days is to source it myself.
Bought over a hundred records this last year not being able to sh#t. However these prices are concerning and definitely have slowed down my fun. Just can't afford it. Still managing one record a month or so, but if prices keep climbing the end is near.
Exactly...
@slider2699 in the course of upgrading my vinyl playback system I’ve upgraded my CD playback. Comparing the two, there’s really very little difference. I think you’re right about streaming. Something new needs to take foothold. There’s lots of newer hobbyist (less than 10-15 years) driving vinyl market. Once quality streaming becomes ubiquitous vinyl will hopefully drop.
@slider2699 i might be one of those cd buyers lol. I need to learn more about quality streaming. I’m not very technically savvy and it seems hard to navigate sometimes. But I’m very interested to learn.
I was just looking at my 4 crates of vintage albums, I was trying to add up in my head how much I spent in the last 3 years. I remember checking my credit card statements I spent almost $600 in two months on used records. I have started to slow down. I notice a lot of the new records don't sound as good as the vintage records. I bought Tim Buckley Star sailor it had a lot of distortion on a few songs.
@@jimmyjoejeeter2366 Ha I noticed that too. Like they lost the formula or something. 😆 Many old records do sound better. Quality control is horrible
Fully agree with your thoughts. But I think as long as the market pays (not me), those scalpers will continue to make MONEY. Lots of it. PEOPLE WILL PAY. Mostly scared collectors who are afraid they will miss out. Take Record Store Day for example. Sure, I've missed out on a few titles, due to selling out, but I have always (so far) been able to pick them up online at an extremely close price to what they originally cost on RSD. Some lower, some a little higher. But nothing as you describe. I will NOT pay scalper's prices. Keep up your good work on the vinyl hobby.
Bravo!
Most people paying scalpers prices are likely collectors who won't even listen to it and resell it again in a year or two.
I'll buy the CD for $12 , I'll never pay more than $50 for a new record. Would have to be something I want desperately or a double LP gatefold .
First and most important: Don’t buy from scalpers. Make them loose interest. Don’t put more money in their pockets to buy even more records to scalp.
Second: Stop buying limited colored editions. The production of these variants are blocking the record plants. Way more vinyl could be pressed if we collectors go back to black.
Third: Don’t believe the hype. There are so many records out there. Go out and discover music in the wild. There is so much going on under the radar.
Last but not least: Think twice before buying a reissue. If it is a common record buy it second hand. There is better use for virgin vinyl. If it is a remastered version, are you sure you can hear the difference? If it does need an a to b comparison to tell the difference, again the rare vinyl could have been used more wisely.
Be humble, stay curious and concentrate on what matters most - the music.
I started buying LPs in about 1970, they cost $4:00/$5:00. With inflation, that is equal to $27.00/$35:00 today. Considering many, many albums can be bought for less $20.00, it seems pretty good!
Unfort. with limited releases, Discogs and the like can be handy if you are looking for a release that is obsolete or sold out elsewhere.
When i saw Techmoan's video about the Scratch & Sniff album, i would liked to have one myself as i can smell (could, because of Covid i lost my smell for now :( ) and have various forms of synesthaesia, but found a copy on Discogs, indeed more expensive, but i think otherwise harder to find, or not find at all.
But i agree hoarding albums to resell many times more the price is toxic. But like you said, they can sort of overcome it by capping how many copies each individual can buy.
Hi dear Guido Nick here from Greece : Nice video and topic too as usual and i DO agree with all of what you said my friend and thx for the advices you mentioned :-)
My best regards and i wish the best of luck and the best of health to you , to all of your familly and to all people on this planet too :-)
You too Nick, thanks!
Thank you Guido for getting this out in the light, the more people that know this is happening the better chance we have of stopping it, so share this video with as many people as you can,drive these thieves out of business
Thank YOU!
You reminded me of the 40th anniversary edition of Split Enz's True Colours release. The original issue sounds fine and you can get it for under $10 on eBay/discogs/Amazon. The special thing about this new edition is it's remastered & they added a couple more tracks. However, I'm not paying $50+ for a single disc release and we have the original pressing sans the extra songs. There's 4 different color variants since the original had 4 different cover color variants originally (look it up to see what I'm talking about). Another thing that's happening is like you said, people are buying up all the initial copies that went for say $25 and selling them for 6 times the price (noticed this on an RSD release we recently purchased from a local shop for a 2LP release. Now upwards of $40 for a 2LP release that has added content and other goodies is fair but nearly $200 is not)
We need to not only go to social media about this but also speak loudly with our wallets. Hopefully, over time it'll calm down. The same can be said for purchasing decent equipment to play said records on.
Great video. I agree with everything you say. I for one will try to comply.
Scalpers are scum, but so are the consumers who have no self control and buy from them. The local shops around me all share info on scalpers and blacklist them from their stores, which I appreciate.
BTW, if you want an out of print record from a band (providing they aren't extremely popular), try contacting the band members or the artist who worked on the album art. Both typically have extra copies sitting around and will gladly sell you one for a fair price. It doesn't hurt to ask!
good job! thank you for saying this at loud!
As a vinyl collector you right bro I bought a lot of vinyl record that cost me a lot n in discod too
There are limited seats in a theatre, that logic does not apply to records. Press more. The Yusef Lateef - Eastern Sounds pre-order sold out in seconds today. A pre-order...crazy.
It absolutely does apply. As was explained in the video there's a lot more that goes into getting that record into your hand than just 'pressing more'. The process is slow and pricey, especially if the end product is of any decent quality.
@@nathanielnicholson559 Overall the complexity of the process and limited access to quality equipment come into play as was explained in the video. However, an important contributing factor also lies with labels restricting the number of copies on purpose to build hype, independent of the 'slow and pricey' process, hence driving the prices up. That's a business decision, a marketing strategy which encourages record scalping.
@slider2699 Yeah, we're essentially saying the same thing. Those Gloversville passings were made not far from where I live. When the plant shut down half the equipment went to Nashville, the other half sat in the weather for a couple years before getting scrapped :( Such a shame.
I mean that is a pretty stellar record, too bad 23 of them are sitting on discogs listed for 300+ dollars gathering dust
Funny you making this video in the week I bought an new album for which I paid my personal highest amount for. Not from ebay or discogs but a shop. The fact that there are only one or few left drove the pice to about 2-3 times normal price which was not cheap to begin with. I don't think that's how a shop should operate. I could not find it cheaper on the internet though, and at least this is a new copie instead of 2nd hand. This was an exception for me. On one hand I feel glad I have that copie, but on the other hand I feel cheated and I don't like that. So this was a one time experience for me. Life goes on even without special editions.
I think it is even more serious when it's a shop doing it!
@@anadialog Indeed, I expected to have bought the last copie (which would also not be fair for a shop) but they still have at least one for sale. It's Elvis Presley's Pot Luck sessions FTD. Rare to find, There's one on discogs for an insane amount and one on ebay for the same amount I paid from the shop.
Excellent and well-timed topic. You hit the nail on the head. Stop the hysteria and boycott these people scalping records. The Record companies should negotiate a larger volume for these limited run releases and limit purchases to 1 or 2 per person. Let's Publicize the scalpers also.
Bravo! You are absolutely right!
Right on brother. Scalping is ruining the experience. Scalping sports and concert tickets used to be illegal throughout the US. Occasional arrests and threats of arrest prevented at least the open scalping. I’m generally against more government intervention but a maybe a rule needs to be adopted with scalpers subject to arrest.
Ho capito già dal titolo che ti riferivi a La voce del padrone! Questa è una pratica che mi fa inc@zzare veramente!
Mammamia guarda....🤬
Due to shipping delays some local record stores don't get their shipments in until after a release is sold out. Then they mark it up to $100 with out ever offering the item at MSRP.
Can "Real" stores do that with new products? Is it legal? This case scenario is even worse...
@@anadialog toad hall records does it all the time with MoFi releases. He got his Johnny Cash Walk the line on late and sold them for $100 on his website
Discogs are allowing this to go, they don't give a sh@t. Craft record companies should do more to verify who is a genuine purchaser. Until the industry stops ripping us off I'm not buying any new vinyl I'm just going to do more research and carefully buy good quality used.
The problem isn't the sellers, the problem is the buyers who are willing to run the prices up to get them. Also, the companies that press these high quality records are playing the "rare", "limited availability" game for all it's worth. They have the ability to press any number of records but hold back production to squeeze your last penny out of you. Don't blame the guy whose planned ahead and might make a few dollars.
I underlined both these aspects but let's keep into focus who is creating the problem, which I would like to underline, is illegal in certain countries and circumstances.
This happened with cds in the 1983-1987 time frame. Titles deleted and hard to get very quickly! They needed to make more facilities which they did by 1988 but it's not so easy with vinyl.
The problem lies with the label who doesn't make enough. Maybe these sellers are trying to make up for that pallet toilet paper and hand sanitizer they can't get rid of.
😂
I just found out that a fire devastated the vinyl industry last year. Apollo Masters burned up Feb. 6 2020. They made the lacquer used to make 75% of the blank laquer
Even most local record stores charge ridiculous prices for old Opies of records that are often in poor condition. I know they have rent to pay etc, but £10 for old records that have been cleaned often hiding the fact that the record is useless. As for new records, £25 and up for re-releases of records that you can buy on cd for £5...or a 2nd hand copy for £5... Madness, as for the scalpers & flippers, well yes I avoid them like the plague, I don't have money to burn for a recording that I can listen to elsewhere for a fraction of the price. Maybe we need to stop buying this stuff over and over again, just be satisfied with something simpler.
Indeed!
Never heard of the word scalping before. I always called it speculation.
It's not exclusive to records, consumer electronics or stocks, over here there's a lot of real estate speculation going on.
That's even worse than speculation with records, as homes have become unaffordable for many people...
Because having a roof over the head is a basic need in life.
The problem with basic needs is that people HAVE to buy it, while records aren't a definitive must, so people can decide not to get dragged into those speculation practices.
I've stopped buying from these websites as I am fed up of being told they are sold out straight away. There is an insane website called Better Records which is an absolute joke with its prices
Hi, I know why it's better to buy records on my local Shop only. I can preorder by normal picepoint any record.
Thank's to you for a real great job👍
Pretty much happened with Ariana Grande My Everything split vinyl....that was so annoying. They should just use black for everything.
I bought a copy of George Harrison's 50th Anniversary 'All Things Must Pass' last week before they were all gone. I opted for the 3 LP black and green splatter vinyl limited edition box set. (Only available on George Harrison's website).
I buy and sell records. Not new ones, however. I get most of my records at garage sales. When I do, I try to get a bulk deal and buy all the records they have. Then I keep the ones I want, then sell the ones I don't. I generally keep more than I sell. Plus, they are old, usually well used copies, so I am only selling them for a couple dollars at most.
Totally unacceptable but no different to live concert tickets, collectibles etc...its simple economics involving supply v demand..Craft Small Batch is a good example..I blame record production and the exclusivity of some records..
Another reason to buy from a local shop.
Local shops can be just as bad esp if they are the only one in your community.
@@scrambaba Edit: my local shop.
That has nothing to do with this. Did you watch the video even?
Actually, if you check the discogs page of the record mentioned by Guido "Franco Battiato - La Voce del Padrone, 40th Anniversary Edition" some of the scalpers are local independent record stores. Shame on them!
Plenty shops adjust their prices according to online catalogs like Discogs.
So if speculator push up the price on Discogs, the price in shops will follow.
That’s why I moved to CDs and sometimes cassettes when available nowadays. It’s ok. They can hold on to the vinyls. Not feeding to the fomo.
That's the truth, completely. I was trying to buy La voce del padrone the same day of the anniversary release and it was impossible to find it. So frustrating. I would like to add another unfair behaviour of online stores, in that they accept reservation orders in advance of the record release, but once the day come, or some day later anyway, they tell you that your order was cancelled because they couldn't find the record from their providers. This is very annoying and something to be fixed as well.
Assurdo!!
I feel for you man but i already went through that rabbit hole with sneakers when I was young, Jordan's. I was a collector and this situation never change. There will always be people with money who doesn't care about fareness and buy from them.
The only culprit are the production company for limiting the pressings. It's a way for them to make conftable margin, not sature the market and keep doing this eternally.
I started buying more CDs. It's dirt cheap and better than streaming.
Funny thing, here in Mexico a bookstore that also sells movies, DVDs, blu ray, and vinyl, this March started an insane one month 3x1 sale of all audio and video media.
That very sale made me return to vinyl after decades. I bought a good bunch of records to start from scratch again.
Suffice to say, the vinyls sold out but no scalping happened at that level because the vinyl resurgence here is not that strong because of the acquisitive power of most people, vinyls sell reaaally slow here so scalpers don't stand a change to recover their investment quickly.
Old, vintage vinyls do sell more, and their prices are quite varied, but not as high as a new press vinyl.
What are some releases that this is happening with?
I love Discogs, but use it for finding rare old albums.
I know I buy a ton of old Japanese records directly from japan and they sell for double the cost here because often times the shipping alone is more than the record. And that taken into account makes Japanese albums super expensive.
Well, most MoFi, some AP, and just special reissues that have a limited pressing number, in most cases they are gone in minutes as several here have reported...
I say...
let nature takes it's course, a gd friend told me, " when you shake the tree, monkeys will fall down " ....
but I agree with you
Rgds & stay safe...
Azmi, Malaysia
Start a thread on Discogs.
As a record collector and music lover, I have a completely different view of it. Scalpers are annoying, but the majority are only doing it to make a LITTLE money. As you say, you can’t buy more than a couple of Records per household. It also proves the value of your own record collection; it’s not depreciating (unlike most other things you buy like cars for example). Just like collectible cars, you want collectible records to increase in value, that way your own collection has some value when you pass it on. ‘Scalping’ is a pain, but if you already have that ridiculously overpriced ‘scalped’ record, you can now potentially sell yours at a profit and buy two more records! A Win, Win situation. 😃😃
Well...But somebody who buys a couple of records is not a scalper... I do not get your point
@@antalantal2366 My point is that most people who are doing it are not Scalpers. And the few scalpers out there that are, in their own perverted way are doing everyone a favour by increasing the value of your own record collection.
I'm not sure if it works that way. The type of releases talked of in this video are new releases and the key to making money with these things as a scalper is to move them quickly. The longer you own one of these the less value they'll have simply because the novelty is gone. If you're in this game to make long term money, then its original pressings you want not these modern ltd editions which have strictly short term benefit
@@JohnnyFriendly good point
Dire Straits Brothers in Arms half speed master by abbey road studios just came out. I lost my CD in an auto accident and thought this would be a good chance to get it again. I pre-ordered it but got and email that the store's allocation was canceled. It's sold out all over. There are re-sellers now selling it between $57 and $89 on Discogs, Amazon and Ebay. What gets me is then there are collectors that buy multiple copies. One to listen to and one to save. Since it was originally digitally recorded, in this case I'll probably just buy the CD again.
Anything good people will see you can make a fortune on it! Greed ruins everything (see what happened to the record companies)!
Well, there is one vinyl scalper in next town, eastern Slovakia. He had small shop and some truly wonderful vinyl pressings.. but he is selling like Polish versions of UK´s original released albums for double amount of original prize. He tried to tell me by him all sellers are setting the prize after him around the world. There is album Bathory self titled album with Yellow Goat cover and prize is outrageous! (mint copy 3.500€), caused by pressing plant error. Black metal records from 1991-1994 are selled for absurd prizes.. even original Deathlike silence production or Satyricon "Dark Medieval Times"
long before anyone had heard of a CD, there were analog multitrack recordings. they use them to make a mix for the final two channel version for example a vinyl record and these analogous multitrack recordings can still be found today. that means you could re-release an album from 1975 you might raise the volume on the drum a bit or maybe lower the volume on the guitar a bit and so on
The 1 copy or 2 copies per order needs to become the norm. I understand that if you are creative you can by pass the restriction, but they could still enforce it, if the will is there. But it's NOT!! I feel so bad for you young folks who have to succumb too scalpers for concert tickets!! Had this been standard practice back in the 60's and 70's..i never would have had the pleasure of seeing 1.) Hendrix 2) The Doors 3.) The Who 4) Yes 5.) Elvis 6.) The Rolling Stones and many other artists who I saw on face value tickets.
I believe that someone 'scalped' 3 copies of The Beatles' 50th Anniversary 'White' Album from a Wal-Mart store here where I live about a month ago. They had 3 copies in stock for $49.99 plus tax, and the next day when I went back to buy one, all 3 were gone. They had been there for about a month before I decided to buy a copy. But, I found a copy on eBay for about the same price.
Scalpers detected (thumbs down). Hope you are doing well mate. Best regards and Tks for the always interesting topics.
Thanks you Rafael! Hope you are well too in this hell!
I'm ok mate, music helps a lot, and yes it's hell indeed. Keep yourself and your family safe Guido. I'll be around as usual.
There doing the same in graphics cards.
i just said fuck it and started buying cds again there a real bargain
hi this is going on with lego sets as well price of records is now silly fipping i call this you get this alot
I have a better solution. You can by such vinyls, but then... make a good copy on a tape and sell the disk. I mean it. This way has many advantages. 1. you can get 90% of the price back 2. your shiny, expensive cartridge will live forever (almost -) ) 3. The record made can be listened forever with no affecting a quality (at least during 40 years) 4. you will have an analog sound 5. you won't feed cartridge, pads, clamps, cables, phono pre-amps sellers (whatever matches your spending) all the time while this staff degrades. 7. others can buy the disk and listen. 8. you'll get 5 stars and a reputation
All you need is to lube your Studer/Telefunken/Revox once per 20 years.
PS This is why they do not advocate tapes but rather want you to be a part of a vinyl infrastructure.
Absolutely! I do that with high-res audio as I explained here: ruclips.net/video/A1skO6rDgtA/видео.html
@@anadialog Thanks. I have to check this out
I agree with you
Hmm, fortunately, I'm usually not into the usual stuff, so most of the time it's quite affordable. And sometimes (Tropic of Cancer - Restless Idylls) I just pay the 60 euros. What I also do more and more is switching to the CD. Unfortunately. What I liked about some of the Record Store Day releases is that they miscalculated here and got stuck with lots of records that barely anyone wanted...
Vinyl now is like how laser disc was back in the day over normal price not much to pick and always sold out and waiting for it to come back in stock. They should learn from laser disc which it failed because how they where marketing it and selling it.
In one of your videos you mentioned of a Canadian company that custom make rca selectors to connect multiple units etc…can you give the company’s name please
I feel like Third Man Records promotes this behavior.
The price of used records have really gone up in prices in Portland record stores. Records that I bought for a Dollar or two are going for $15.00 or $20.00.
A few years ago I found out that Joe Jackson was playing near me. As soon as tickets went on sale they were sold out and had to be purchased, at around 4x the original price, from the company that bought them. Apparently the venue didn't care as they fulfilled their obligation of selling the tickets. Every seat was filled and the show was amazing, but if the 'just press more' logic was viable we would've gotten a 4x longer show, which was not the artists responsibility or problem and would've done the band and audience a huge disservice as fatigue would have taken over on all counts after a while and the enjoyment would start to fade and turn into annoyance. I believe that, yes, limiting the purchase quantity is the only way to slow the scalping disease.
Yes, great example. I reported the same and in some countries it is illegal to purchase large quantities of tickets.
I don't pay more than a couple dollars a record. If it is more than that I pass. I find decent stuff I need here and there for my price. Why pay way more when I can stream it for free?
Me I'm more annoyed buy the new vinyl sounding worst than CDs. I stopped buying last year because constantly after comparing new music on vinyl and CDs. The CD s were better.
The only vinyl I buy now is Jazz records because some effort is done in the mastering process but even then you have to be careful about the pressing.
:(
I still like vinyl, i love the artwork, i like the listening process but i buy rarely records nowadays.
Do not buy from scalpers: it’s quite easy...
La voce del Padrone (orange or blue edition) it’s still quite easy to find in local shops, even in big music shops, but we are lazy and we want to easily buy just tapping on our smartphone screen...
Very true! But we are also living a pandemic and a lot of people are living far from stores and can't reach them...
I think that Discogs and Ebay should step in as well to help stopping this practice. 🤔 La mia copia del disco di Battiato la trovai circa 15 anni fa in una bancarella di un mercatino dell'antiquariato a Genova per pochi euro... 🙄 edizione originale naturalmente, un po' consunta la copertina, ma incisione perfetta. Altri tempi.... 😄
Good point!
I don’t buy many records anymore but when I do buy a new one, I can always find it at a reasonable price. Can someone care to name examples of scalping happening today? If you’re gonna say beatles/dylan/grateful dead/zeppelin etc, well that says it all really.
All new limited release undergo scalping today. It's a sad fact.
@@anadialog I would like to dispute that actually. Here are two examples of LPs reissued recently that I got (easily) for standard retail price:
Bangles - Sweetheart of the sun (ltd ed: 300 copies)
Rolling Stones - High Tide and Green Grass (let ed: 700 copies)
Both can still be found today at competitive prices so its certainly not an all-pervasive problem
New records do cost way to much. But hey I don't see the problem with scalping. If the demand and price is up the label should press more. I understand that can take time. I would say just hang out and wait on it, you don't need a limited edition, it doesn't sound any better anyhow.
Besides all that every record pressed is limited. You can only get so much out of it before you got to make a new stamp. I highly doubt these stamps that press limited records are destroyed. I would say that the very same stamp is pressing records that are not labeled "limited".
Before I watch the video, I'll just guess what "record scalping" is -
It must be when those "ultra true" audiophiles shave little bits off all their vinyl discs, and assemble them into newfangled analogue magic.
if they have the recording that they used to create a master tape then you could actually make an improvement such as more dynamic drum sound. so that it sounds more live 😃
It's because HD vinyl is to be coming out was the plan if it ever does.
What do you think about dealers who sell at normal prices but also increase them in line with the Discogs price? I felt awful about buying the recent MoFi release of Ah Um for £210 from SNVinyl (RRP £90), but at the same time I was relieved to get it, as it’s one of my favourite jazz albums of all time. So was he doing me a service or was he scalping me?
He was scalping you. And worst of all, even retailers associated with labels like Music Direct / MFSL and Acoustic Sounds / AP do this more and more frequently (eg last few copies of Dylan's Mono reissues by Mofi priced at $100 in Music Direct). This is the worst kind of scalping, because they don't respect their own MSRP.
If bloody labels can't play the game without cheating, what would you expect from the average Joe at Discogs? I blame the labels for this practice, not restricting copies per customer on limited releases and being completely deaf on market demand for OOP popular releases. HELLO UNIVERSAL, BEATLES MONO BOX REPRESS, PLEASE!!!
I think a lot of this depends when the record was released. If it is gone in days, ai think there should be a law and criminal persecution. If some time has passed, few month or years, then it is normal that something increases if it isn't available anymore. The second part of the (hopefully one day considered) criminal activity is ti stash several copies because you want to manipulate the market. If it is just one or two extra copies and what to sell it at a decently higher price, ok with that.
@@anadialog I like your nuanced view on this topic. Indeed manipulation of markets in finance and commodities can be prosecuted against, and the same thing is happening with records. The situation though is different with records and monopoly laws need to reflect this.
The problem is it's not an organised monopoly with one person/company buying up all the stock - it's spread across possibly a few dozen individuals/companies and they get away with it because of limited runs.
Sadly, nothing will change, because (a) this issue doesn't affect politicians and they tend to act only when their interests are in dangered or if its a vote winner (and their aren't enough votes to be had with records). And (b) I doubt the police would enforce changes to monopoly law because Serious Crime will always trump crimes against consumers.
It was download that forced record companies to lower the price of CDs
record store day 21 is gonna be a nightmare with Linkin Park's "Meteora" and Balck Sabbath's "Master of reality" getting represses as those will be a scalpers wet dream given a). Meteora is a very hard to find release and b). Black Sabbath fans will want the exclusive press and replica poster from the original release. I hate scalpers. There is a record store in Birmingham UK called Ignite records that has regular scalpers in buying rare pressings they sell at 20=30 quid because they want fans to have the pressings and then people buy them and charge 90 online. Governments regulate the scalping of concert tickets and they need to extend it to other forms of collectibles and entertainment media in my opinion!
I don't know if you've heard of Waxmage pressings. Very limited releases (of almost mediocre bands tbh) but on very stunning made vinyl. Releases tend to sell out in seconds - I watched one to sell out in 3 seconds - and get reselled for sometimes 10 times the price.
It's just disgusting to watch. Seriously disgusting.
i see in lp groups hoarding reissues. 15 plus lps destined for a crosley. cause it sounds better. lmao. demand isnt for listening. newer r2r dacs are going to take off just due to cost. most new issues were done at 24 96 and the ambience reduced. round n round
Vinyl is a hobby that tends to appeal to those who want something extra, a bit special and they are willing/able to pay for it. Much of the equipment costs thousands rather than hundreds of euros/dollars and is similarly overpriced. The whole scene is elitist and has never been about value for money and access for all.
I agree on most, but I absolutely disagree that you need money to listen to vinyl. You can do it at various levels. There are great turntables at 120$, better than a CD player at that price.
Questa cosa succede continuamente in Iran... Dove le sanzioni fanno si che la merce non arrivi in quantità elevata. Ci sono persone che comprano per esempio le mascherine, il sapone, cellulari... Tutto quello che è comprabili, e li vendono al doppio
Orribile!
I’m curious why you don’t have captions turned on for those of us who are hearing impaired?
Thanks for informing me. The problem is that they are auto-generated and sometimes the system does not work. At that point I have to do it with an external company and pay for it, but I will do it.
Done!
Unfortunately dirty speculators are everywhere. There is lots of money out there and with online markets it is possible to effectively manipulate supply and price.