Ebay Versus The Storefront: A Cultural Shift
The thing with eBay: The inventory replenishes every day, by at least several hundred new items. It’s much different than when we used to buy our records in physical stores. If you didn’t get to your favorite store for a few weeks, you may not have missed anything. Or, if you happened to walk in at just the right time, you might have been in luck for a major score. With eBay, you get the sense that if you miss something one day, don’t worry, it’ll eventually come back. The challenge with eBay, versus the traditional record stores, is that there is only one item and you are competing on price with every other collector in the world. That’s one of the reasons the prices on eBay are high versus what you might find in a store, and why so many of the top sellers — such as Euclid and Jazz Record Center and Atomic — do a lot of their business on eBay these days. What do you think? If you comment on this post, you can be eligible to win the free Leo Parker Blue Note record we’re giving away.
While it is true that ebay sometimes artificially pushes up prices of vintage pressings, I think buyers who are patient will find reasonable bargains. My strategy is to bid on the same album several times from different sellers. I usually end up winning the auction after the fourth or fifth attempt. I currently live in Austin, TX, and lived in Houston, TX, for many years before Austin. There are some great record shops here, but it is very hard to find the rare Blue Note and Prestige vintage pressings that can be easily found on ebay at almost any given time. I understand that you might have to pay $100-$150 on ebay while you might only pay $50-$100 at your local store, but you might not ever find the record at your local store. The only exception is the Austin Record Show that comes to town once a year. Unfortunately, ebay has caused many sellers to not sell as many of their “rare” albums at the show as before.
The shop here in Boston, like others, tends to put their best stuff on ebay. This is even true of the local flea market seller I used to go to! The nice thing about the store is though this is their new busines model, they still stock the shelves with a few nice finds for those of us Luddites. This week I picked up Art Tatum on Clef, Billy Taylor v.1 on Prestige, Mundell Lowe on Riverside and Cannonball Adderley on Blue Note (dg!). I think it’s a sad shift, but understandable one for the merchants. And I’m sure those customers who live in parts of the counrty with no lp stores, or where the music they collect is difficult to find, welcome it as well.
Thanks to Ebay, i’ve been able to add to my collection many records, that i would never have even dreamed of. I’m in France, and Ebay is my main source for rare records. (But i must say that Blue Note are sometimes available on french market from french sellers at correct prices)
Another reason I prefer stores is because it allows you to inspect the lp before buying it. I try to buy VG+, but in certain cases (i.e. a Stan Getz on Norgran) I’ll gladly take a VG at the right price. Regardless, I get to make an informed decision. It’s one luxury eBay doesn’t (always) provide.
A good ebay score is about as satisfying as pulling that rare find off the wall of your local shop…but nothing beats the mildewed gem in a junk store or garage sale that just needs a little love and a new inner sleeve. Mediocre records acquired this way, always seem to have more personal value that the record you knew and payed the appropriate price for. Probably because they’re so few and far between.
I tend not to care too much about the usual things that concern collectors – 63rd st pressing, deep groove etc. While these things are nice, as long as it’s a reasonable facsimile – no yucky blue liberty label, or floppy vinyl etc- i’m happy with a second or third pressing…. which has enabled me to make some pretty satisfying purchases on ebay that were overlooked by serious collectors.
Well said bethellodge!
Bethellodge makes a great point. When I first started getting into jazz it was all about the music and the specific pressing of the record didn’t matter so much. Sometimes I would like to get back to that feeling, but then when I see that Lexington Avenue address or the yellow label Prestige, the collector in me takes a strong hold and it’s only the original pressing that will satisfy it.
I collect mostly jazz 10″, which has all but disappeared from the record shops in the San Francisco bay area. At any given time, I can bid on numerous Pacific Jazz and Contemporary artists at very reasonable prices. I can build a wide-ranging collection on ebay in a fraction of the time in buying record stores. I still go to them as well, but 90% of my material is from ebay. Hose them if you want, but you can’t beat the variety.
I’m finding that collectors seem to be less interested in 10-inch LPs these days. As I do the price guide, the prices seem to be a bit lower, except than on the real nice ones, particularly the Blue Notes. As I put records on eBay, some collectors will ask whether they are 10-inch and, if they are, they won’t bid. It’s a shame because the 10-inch LPs sound great and there is generally no doubt to their authenticity.
That’s right. As a collector, i’m less attracted by the 10inches. I don’t know why, maybe a mix of differetn reasons : smaller cover, smaller, shorter duration. I would not pay for a 10 what i pay for a 12. Anyway, there are some i’m looking for : Meet Mr Gordon, for example, or some Blue Notes.
I just grabbed a Blue Note 10″ last night for $9 (Art Hodes’ Hot Five). Which struck me as really weird. Until now, I hadn’t experienced any decline in demand for this format. If anything it was just as strong, if not more so, as the 12″. Maybe that is changing. FIne with me, now I’ll be able to afford them!
Nice discussion! Allow me a belated one penny contribution:
I noticed a sizeable drop in prices on EBay for 10″ records, whereas in the price guides they are rated too high. I am tidying up my collection and my policy is to keep the 10″ issues and to sell off te 12″ re-issues, especially since in many cases the 12″ issues were incomplete. 2 10″ albums on one 12″ being often impossble, some tracks were left out on the 12 inchers. Pacific Jazz did that and also Blue Note for the Clifford Brown memorial album. Contemporary was very ingenious: they made an extra session of 4 titles to fill up the 12″ album (the Niehaus albums as examples).
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