Comments on: Lou, Red, Mr. PC and Everything is Beautiful

By: Paul

Paul — Sat, 27 Nov 2021 00:02:09 +0000

To sell a valuable record to a record store for a flat fee is just asking to be taken advantage of. Consignment is the only sensible strategy for dealing with resellers, be it ebay or brick and mortar.

By: Steven

Steven — Fri, 26 Nov 2021 22:16:34 +0000

On my occasional trips through St. Louis I’ve found Euclid to be a good place to make a stop, Vintage Vinyl not so much. St. Louis is a worthwhile stop. The art museum is fantastic and the City Museum downtown is like no other place on earth. Fun for kids.

By: Anders Wallinder

Anders Wallinder — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 08:27:36 +0000

Interesting discussion.
Regarding the digital file download and LP buying/selling I don’t think they have much in common. When you own an LP or a CD you don’t own the music – only the right to listen to it in that way. Not sharing it to make copies. And LP’s don’t copy so well as you know
When it comes to unscrupulous sellers and buyers I prefer to to business with the good ones that actually tell sellers what the LP’s are worth and pay accordingly like 50% or maybe a bit more for high end titles. I think bad word goes around if stores trick their selling customers into selling for scraps. BAd Karma for sure.

By: heup

heup — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 22:13:33 +0000

As there is some talk about the ethics of buying and selling records for low and high prices, a thing entered my mind that I now & then thought of lately: probably nearly everyone will agree that it is illegal to download music for free. In some countries you can get fined even (ore more). They say that is because the artist and the record company, the ones that put all their effort and money in it in the first place, should be rewarded financially. BUT, should it not be illegal in the same way to make a big profit on a record without sharing the profit with the artist or the company?
Or you can put the question the other way around….. if it is ok to sell a record for say 2000 that you bought ages ago for 20, is it not ok to share music for free with music lovers on the internet? no matter if it is music from 50 years ago, or music from 2021?

By: Bill W.

Bill W. — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 19:52:12 +0000

JOK…. Gotta say, your morals are far higher and more admirable than mine. If I’m in that brick & mortar store and see that Randy California lp for $5, I buy it. And I don’t feel I’m doing anything unethical or improper in the process.

By: maarten kools

maarten kools — Tue, 23 Nov 2021 19:42:33 +0000

combining jazz record collecting with ethics and moral seems to me a tricky business…

By: JOK

JOK — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 20:35:42 +0000

Martin: I do that all the time. I see highly valuable records at the Brick and Mortar shops and I always tell them “you need to rethink the price on this one”. I found a Randy California record (that I already had) for $5 and I told the guy, “this record is in good shape and it’s not easy to find, you need to raise the price”. Conversely, one guy was selling “Introducing Carl Perkins” for $400, but it was a re-issued “Dootone” and I told him that he was way over pricing that record.

By: Martin Kelly

Martin Kelly — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 16:41:12 +0000

As a thought experiment, let’s just flip this situation on it’s head: imagine you go into a bricks and mortar shop and see a selection of highly collectible records in great shape on sale for well under the market rate. What would you do? Would you just grab them at the advertised prices or would you offer to pay a higher amount?

It’s tempting to say just grab ’em and run, isn’t it? But just think through the longer term implications for a moment. What if the shop goes out of business because it doesn’t make a margin at such low prices? Then where would you be for your local choice of venues to go record shopping?

Also, I see paying a fair price as an investment in a relationship that can bear more fruit in future. Back in the Spring I visited a record shop where they had kindly kept some records aside for me to inspect. Knowing which records they were in advance enabled me to go there with a clear idea of a fair price and I talked the folks at the shop through my reasoning and helped them with pricing some of the records I wasn’t interested in. I came away with six or seven nice records and a new relationship that means the shop knows what interests me and they’re likely to give me first refusal on relevant items when they come up. That should beneficial for me in the future.

By: Japhy

Japhy — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 16:28:38 +0000

@Steve Hinds, I go to Euclid (and Vintage Vinyl) only occasionally these days, as I don’t do a whole lot of retail buying anymore, and I rarely come away with much that makes it worth the trip (both shops put their best stuff right on ebay, obviously). But I have patronized both stores for 25 years.

Euclid has always specialized in Jazz, so I never really did find deals there, and definitely no steals. However, there was a time not more than a few years ago where regular trips to the Vintage bins could yield some nice, affordable scores, including Blue Notes. No longer. It’s like 65% new presses and 35% junk that’s been sitting there forever. Every once in a while you’ll see something like a Mel Brown on Impulse! or, like, a Houston Person on Prestige, and they want $20-$25. The thrill of the dig is gone.

Euclid is a 2-story shop where the upstairs houses what I’d describe as an impressive-sized selection of “OK” Jazz. They do offer up some of our beloved Blue Note and Prestige, but it’s mostly later pressings (e.g., blue- and green-label Prestige) or condition-issue stuff. The pricing, while on the high side to a seasoned veteran like me ;), is probably fair for something you’d stumble across in a retail shop these days.

Now, I also collect alternative, indie, and some rock, and Euclid has been pretty good to me over the years in that regard. I’ve found some obscure stuff for fair prices (though by and large little there is a “steal”). For example, I had a Robyn Hitchcock record on my want list for years, and one day there it was, for like $12. On the other hand, you can just as easily pick up some other record and shake your head at the price tag.

Overall, if you happen to find yourself in St. Louis, both shops are definitely worth visiting.

By: Clifford Allen

Clifford Allen — Mon, 22 Nov 2021 03:11:36 +0000

depends on the vibe/situation. there is the chance that if one told her she could get more, they wouldn’t be for sale anymore… but that’s her call to make. if she didn’t do the research on those “old records” and price them accordingly… or if she just wants ’em gone, then I guess it’s her prerogative.