To what degree whould you support this seller?

brianlux

From a recent newsletter a seller puts out, I recently saw this:

"The shop is full of good stuff. It's mostly top quality reissues, though great used collections have been coming through (and leaving too fast). If you don't like cheap reissues then maybe don't stop by. But - If you're open to getting a quality reissue record you could never find an OG of for a decent price, then our shop is ******* **! To you snob record collectors who won't get with this golden age of reissues and insist on only buying O.G pressings, I suggest you look at your life and think about what you have become."

This is hard for me because this seller has great stuff and generally in the past seemed very cool.  But this seems over-the top to me- and I'm not that snob.  If I can find original LPs great, if not, re-issues are often an excellent option.  Very interested in seeing what you all think.

If you know this record seller, PLEASE do not post it here.  I didn't, and I don't need the potential reprisals.

Poll is anonymous, responses are appreciated.

F Me In The Brain

I find that kind of funny.  Also find that many small shop sellers are a bit on the snobby side so I have no problem with the person sharing that he doesn't have a stick up his butt.  He seems to be communicating clearly what his inventory looks like?
Dunno.  If his shop was near me I would stop by.
Would not go as far as saying I'm totally on baord with the message as I don't know that that means.  😅 

F Me In The Brain

brianlux said:

From a recent newsletter a seller puts out, I recently saw this:

"The shop is full of good stuff. It's mostly top quality reissues, though great used collections have been coming through (and leaving too fast). If you don't like cheap reissues then maybe don't stop by. But - If you're open to getting a quality reissue record you could never find an OG of for a decent price, then our shop is ******* **! To you snob record collectors who won't get with this golden age of reissues and insist on only buying O.G pressings, I suggest you look at your life and think about what you have become."

This is hard for me because this seller has great stuff and generally in the past seemed very cool.  But this seems over-the top to me- and I'm not that snob.  If I can find original LPs great, if not, re-issues are often an excellent option.  Very interested in seeing what you all think.

If you know this record seller, PLEASE do not post it here.  I didn't, and I don't need the potential reprisals.

Poll is anonymous, responses are appreciated.

Also, poll is not anonymous. 

JPPJ84

No way- this is over-the-top rude.

I‘d laugh at the seller and simply find another one. It is pretty stupid rude

Tim Simmons

Probably not, unless I can't get it elsehwere.

Agreed. 

Dude needs to get over himself. What he's selling isn't better or worse than anyone else. Sorry if he's inundated with questions about whether things are OPs or reissues, but man, thats what happens when you own a shop. Customers want to make an informed purchase. Glad he's doing great business where he's in a position to cull potential customers. Record stores are a tough market to be in. 

ZoSoTim

Probably. As long as they have the goods, it's all good.

I take it as a joke so I'll buy from them if they have what I want at a price I think is fair. 

Cropduster-80

Absolutely. I'm totally on baord with the message.

Doesn’t bother me at all. Record buyers are unreasonable. I hate selling stuff for that reason 

if a seller pushes back, sets expectations I respect that 

had to read it again about “cheap reissues”. That’s cool. I would post the opposite in my newsletter if I had one and I owned a shop so I get where he is coming from.

if you are selling expensive reissues or OG pressings and there is a target version available for 20 bucks, you get slammed as a scalper. Happens a lot.  So i would probably say “if you aren’t into audiophile reissues or Original Pressings, don’t stop by” . Can’t fault him for saying the opposite 

I’m sure if you are in the cheap reissue business or at least branding yourself as that, you get comments going the other way. 

I don’t dislike cheap reissues.  I buy them. It’s just not worth it for me to sell them if I don’t want them anymore so I just keep them.  Dealing with buyers with that frequency to recoup 10-15 bucks on an album would be unbearable.  I’m sure these higher quantity lower margin sellers deal with a lot from a lot of people 

LukinFan

Probably not, unless I can't get it elsehwere.

I'm assuming the seller is trying to be funny, but it doesn't really come off like that.

I say, fuck em. 

Cropduster-80

Absolutely. I'm totally on baord with the message.

LukinFan said:

I'm assuming the seller is trying to be funny, but it doesn't really come off like that.

I say, fuck em. 

I get more mad at sellers on shipping. So we all have our triggers 

when they say “ship within 7 days, sometimes longer” then you ask for an update on day 12 and they hide behind the terms. That’s worth a boycott 

everything else doesn’t impact me either way 

brianlux

F Me In The Brain said:

brianlux said:

From a recent newsletter a seller puts out, I recently saw this:

"The shop is full of good stuff. It's mostly top quality reissues, though great used collections have been coming through (and leaving too fast). If you don't like cheap reissues then maybe don't stop by. But - If you're open to getting a quality reissue record you could never find an OG of for a decent price, then our shop is ******* **! To you snob record collectors who won't get with this golden age of reissues and insist on only buying O.G pressings, I suggest you look at your life and think about what you have become."

This is hard for me because this seller has great stuff and generally in the past seemed very cool.  But this seems over-the top to me- and I'm not that snob.  If I can find original LPs great, if not, re-issues are often an excellent option.  Very interested in seeing what you all think.

If you know this record seller, PLEASE do not post it here.  I didn't, and I don't need the potential reprisals.

Poll is anonymous, responses are appreciated.

Also, poll is not anonymous. 

Oh damn!  I would wear I clicked the anonymous button!  Damn my old brain.  Apologies, all!!!

mickeyrat

Probably not, unless I can't get it elsehwere.

half the fun is digging crates and finding the gem. usually a reissue or repress anyway.

so what is supposed to happen to old vinyl according to this different type of elitist? hmm?

curious, what age you think this seller is?

brianlux

mickeyrat said:

half the fun is digging crates and finding the gem. usually a reissue or repress anyway.

so what is supposed to happen to old vinyl according to this different type of elitist? hmm?

curious, what age you think this seller is?

I'm not good at guessing a persons age, but if I had to guess, I would say maybe 40 to 45 years old.  In any case, definitely not a young adult, definitely not a boomer.
I have no issue at all with him promoting re-issues and I get it that there are probably record collectors who are snobs about their collection, but who am I or anyone else to say, and why would this seller care?

I run the small used vinyl section at the use bookstore in town and try to price used records at reasonable prices.  Those prices have sky rocketed in the 8 or so years I've been doing this.  I was thinking about this the other day because I recently purchased a nice collection of late 60s/early 70s rock and jazz LPs.   During the last week, I've been carefully cleaning them and researching values for pricing. At one point I thought, how can I price a used album pressed in 1968 for $25 to $35 when I bought the very same thing new for $3.99?  Well, obviously part of the difference is inflation.  But it also occurred to me that a 1968 pressing is 54 years old, which means in 1968, if I had bought a used record that old it would have been pressed in 1914.  At that time in my life, anything made in 1914 would have seemed ancient!  That would have been 7 years before my father was born. So that put things into perspective.
So anyway, my thought is that if someone likes to collect old things, who is to say that makes them a snob?  Some probably are but oh well, why make an issue of it?  And for some records, the discerning collector knows that the original early pressings were better pressed and sound better.  With this batch of records I've been going through, time and again I'll clean a record and look at it carefully and think, "Oh man, this is going to sound bad."   And then I put it on the turntable and am amazed how those old deep groves are so forgiving of surface scuffs and light scratches.  Time and again, I'm astounded by how good these old pressings sound with respect to the way they look.  And when I come across one that was played less or was taken better care of (the guy I bought these from is old and did not take great care of them), then I'm really going to hear something terrific.
So, yeah, early pressings are something to treasure if you love good sounding vinyl and you happen on something great and can afford it, that is the copy you are going to want, not an inferior reissue, especially not a reissue pressed from a digital source-- and we all know for a fact that a lot of vinyl reissues are pressed from digital source which kind of negates the whole purpose of wanting vinyl instead of a CD or a download.  Sure, it would be great if all early pressings of Kind of Blue sold for $20, but that's just not the reality, and for good reason.  And if you are a discerning listener and love good analog records and that is what you are after, that does not automatically make you a snob nor does it give you a reason to "look at your life and think about what you have become."

The more I think about this, the more I think this guy I am talking about has lost a customer.

mickeyrat

Probably not, unless I can't get it elsehwere.

brianlux said:

mickeyrat said:

half the fun is digging crates and finding the gem. usually a reissue or repress anyway.

so what is supposed to happen to old vinyl according to this different type of elitist? hmm?

curious, what age you think this seller is?

I'm not good at guessing a persons age, but if I had to guess, I would say maybe 40 to 45 years old.  In any case, definitely not a young adult, definitely not a boomer.
I have no issue at all with him promoting re-issues and I get it that there are probably record collectors who are snobs about their collection, but who am I or anyone else to say, and why would this seller care?

I run the small used vinyl section at the use bookstore in town and try to price used records at reasonable prices.  Those prices have sky rocketed in the 8 or so years I've been doing this.  I was thinking about this the other day because I recently purchased a nice collection of late 60s/early 70s rock and jazz LPs.   During the last week, I've been carefully cleaning them and researching values for pricing. At one point I thought, how can I price a used album pressed in 1968 for $25 to $35 when I bought the very same thing new for $3.99?  Well, obviously part of the difference is inflation.  But it also occurred to me that a 1968 pressing is 54 years old, which means in 1968, if I had bought a used record that old it would have been pressed in 1914.  At that time in my life, anything made in 1914 would have seemed ancient!  That would have been 7 years before my father was born. So that put things into perspective.
So anyway, my thought is that if someone likes to collect old things, who is to say that makes them a snob?  Some probably are but oh well, why make an issue of it?  And for some records, the discerning collector knows that the original early pressings were better pressed and sound better.  With this batch of records I've been going through, time and again I'll clean a record and look at it carefully and think, "Oh man, this is going to sound bad."   And then I put it on the turntable and am amazed how those old deep groves are so forgiving of surface scuffs and light scratches.  Time and again, I'm astounded by how good these old pressings sound with respect to the way they look.  And when I come across one that was played less or was taken better care of (the guy I bought these from is old and did not take great care of them), then I'm really going to hear something terrific.
So, yeah, early pressings are something to treasure if you love good sounding vinyl and you happen on something great and can afford it, that is the copy you are going to want, not an inferior reissue, especially not a reissue pressed from a digital source-- and we all know for a fact that a lot of vinyl reissues are pressed from digital source which kind of negates the whole purpose of wanting vinyl instead of a CD or a download.  Sure, it would be great if all early pressings of Kind of Blue sold for $20, but that's just not the reality, and for good reason.  And if you are a discerning listener and love good analog records and that is what you are after, that does not automatically make you a snob nor does it give you a reason to "look at your life and think about what you have become."

The more I think about this, the more I think this guy I am talking about has lost a customer.

have bought several copies of Brubeck Quartet Time Out. its a compulsion. have gotten 2 og 59 pressings and my keeper is a 61, as well as this double reissue.  59's and 61 are mono. gifted one 59 to the son of a former board member in poland.

covers not so great but the vinyl? stellar.

so according to dude, I'm a snob for prefering og or early repress/reissue of an album put out in 59 in its original mono as opposed to a decent reissue in stereo...... for cheaper.......

my spot is incredibly fair on pricing imo. looking for volume I expect.

another spot  fairly grades and prices accordingly but I trust is quality used so am good paying a bit of a premium..

the key for me from both is staff is personable and lovers of music.

would never see such a post from them.  they continue to happily get my business.

Cropduster-80

Absolutely. I'm totally on baord with the message.

The vibe I got was people automatically assuming a repress or an inexpensive one is somehow drastically inferior. It’s not necessarily and the seller is tired of that.   

you cannot always say an expensive original is better either and a lot of the price is collectibility and rarity 

there are collectors who want both quality and collectibility and collectors who want quality and quantity and don’t value collectibility. Not to mention there are lots who just want the definitive copy regardless of which it is.  

Personally I have no space or desire to have several copies of everything. It’s more economical in the long run to get the definitive one… expensive OG, cheap reissue, expensive reissue. Doesn’t matter 

this all boils down to bad interactions with buyers I assume. If people kept their comments to themselves I doubt this seller would have said anything. It’s the constant nitpicking out loud you get from buyers that gets frustrating.  If you look at the comment in the context of why he felt the need to address it at all, it’s a bit more understandable 

it’s like chad kassem in reverse selling expensive reissues. He will tell you flat out, you want a cheap one go elsewhere. He’s divisive too I guess. And people complain incessantly about the prices anyway 

brianlux

mickeyrat said:

brianlux said:

mickeyrat said:

half the fun is digging crates and finding the gem. usually a reissue or repress anyway.

so what is supposed to happen to old vinyl according to this different type of elitist? hmm?

curious, what age you think this seller is?

I'm not good at guessing a persons age, but if I had to guess, I would say maybe 40 to 45 years old.  In any case, definitely not a young adult, definitely not a boomer.
I have no issue at all with him promoting re-issues and I get it that there are probably record collectors who are snobs about their collection, but who am I or anyone else to say, and why would this seller care?

I run the small used vinyl section at the use bookstore in town and try to price used records at reasonable prices.  Those prices have sky rocketed in the 8 or so years I've been doing this.  I was thinking about this the other day because I recently purchased a nice collection of late 60s/early 70s rock and jazz LPs.   During the last week, I've been carefully cleaning them and researching values for pricing. At one point I thought, how can I price a used album pressed in 1968 for $25 to $35 when I bought the very same thing new for $3.99?  Well, obviously part of the difference is inflation.  But it also occurred to me that a 1968 pressing is 54 years old, which means in 1968, if I had bought a used record that old it would have been pressed in 1914.  At that time in my life, anything made in 1914 would have seemed ancient!  That would have been 7 years before my father was born. So that put things into perspective.
So anyway, my thought is that if someone likes to collect old things, who is to say that makes them a snob?  Some probably are but oh well, why make an issue of it?  And for some records, the discerning collector knows that the original early pressings were better pressed and sound better.  With this batch of records I've been going through, time and again I'll clean a record and look at it carefully and think, "Oh man, this is going to sound bad."   And then I put it on the turntable and am amazed how those old deep groves are so forgiving of surface scuffs and light scratches.  Time and again, I'm astounded by how good these old pressings sound with respect to the way they look.  And when I come across one that was played less or was taken better care of (the guy I bought these from is old and did not take great care of them), then I'm really going to hear something terrific.
So, yeah, early pressings are something to treasure if you love good sounding vinyl and you happen on something great and can afford it, that is the copy you are going to want, not an inferior reissue, especially not a reissue pressed from a digital source-- and we all know for a fact that a lot of vinyl reissues are pressed from digital source which kind of negates the whole purpose of wanting vinyl instead of a CD or a download.  Sure, it would be great if all early pressings of Kind of Blue sold for $20, but that's just not the reality, and for good reason.  And if you are a discerning listener and love good analog records and that is what you are after, that does not automatically make you a snob nor does it give you a reason to "look at your life and think about what you have become."

The more I think about this, the more I think this guy I am talking about has lost a customer.

have bought several copies of Brubeck Quartet Time Out. its a compulsion. have gotten 2 og 59 pressings and my keeper is a 61, as well as this double reissue.  59's and 61 are mono. gifted one 59 to the son of a former board member in poland.

covers not so great but the vinyl? stellar.

so according to dude, I'm a snob for prefering og or early repress/reissue of an album put out in 59 in its original mono as opposed to a decent reissue in stereo...... for cheaper.......

my spot is incredibly fair on pricing imo. looking for volume I expect.

another spot  fairly grades and prices accordingly but I trust is quality used so am good paying a bit of a premium..

the key for me from both is staff is personable and lovers of music.

would never see such a post from them.  they continue to happily get my business.

Sounds like you have a great store!   Very cool.

brianlux

Cropduster-80 said:

The vibe I got was people automatically assuming a repress or an inexpensive one is somehow drastically inferior. It’s not necessarily and the seller is tired of that.   

you cannot always say an expensive original is better either and a lot of the price is collectibility and rarity 

there are collectors who want both quality and collectibility and collectors who want quality and quantity and don’t value collectibility. Not to mention there are lots who just want the definitive copy regardless of which it is.  

Personally I have no space or desire to have several copies of everything. It’s more economical in the long run to get the definitive one… expensive OG, cheap reissue, expensive reissue. Doesn’t matter 

this all boils down to bad interactions with buyers I assume. If people kept their comments to themselves I doubt this seller would have said anything. It’s the constant nitpicking out loud you get from buyers that gets frustrating.  If you look at the comment in the context of why he felt the need to address it at all, it’s a bit more understandable 

it’s like chad kassem in reverse selling expensive reissues. He will tell you flat out, you want a cheap one go elsewhere. He’s divisive too I guess. And people complain incessantly about the prices anyway 

First of all, Cropduster, I appreciate your comments and would like to present a differing opinion that is not intended to be be a personal attack on what you said.  I believe you sincerely interpreted the letter to be basically harmless.

Here's how I see it:

I don't see any details or context in the newsletter that justify referring to people who prefer original pressings as sobs who need to look at their life and see what they have become.  I'm taking his words at face value and not applying any "vibe" I get from it or making any assumptions.   It reads as a blanket statement.  Besides, what is the point of all that?  Why try to drum up business by making a generalized disparaging comment about buyers who prefer original pressings?  I've already pointed out the advantages to those pressings.  Does subscribing to those advantages make a person a "snob"?  I don't think so. 
Making a blanket statement about a particular buying preference to me reads like reverse snobbishness.  "I'm hip, you suck."   As a seller of both books and records, you will not get that kind of attitude from me.  If you are a buyer and come across as a snob, that will probably register with me, but I am not going use that kind of situation  the promotion of my business or use it to make a generalized statement certain types of buyers.  I am equally not going to try to appeal to snobs.  I treat all customers with due respect- meaning some with outright expressed gratitude, others with indifference.  My business is not a political platform ("political" as in the broader context of the word.)

An uncalled-for passive aggressive attitude that divides people and simply creates hostility is not useful in this business.  Talk about vibe.  That's bad vibes in my book. 

Cropduster-80

Absolutely. I'm totally on baord with the message.

All I’m saying is the culture of record buying isn’t particularly healthy to begin with. It seems like no matter what anyone does it makes other segments mad 

im just trying to assign some responsibility to the buyers (customers) too. It’s not only on a seller 

doesn’t matter how polite a business owner is, that doesn’t make the customers behave.  If I own a business I truly love it would be a downer dealing with people sucking the passion out of it. 

if you like OG pressings you are a snob, if you like cheap reissues you are less than, if you like expensive reissues you are ok with getting price gouged. None of that is ok 

we do it to ourselves as much as a seller does.  I wish people just bought what they want and passed on what they didn’t. It’s only music 

I try to never give a record store owner a hard time to begin with so it probably wouldn’t even occur to me that that statement was even directed at me.  
I’m  not saying that’s why you interpreted it that way as I don’t know .

His last sentence was a bit over the line, absolutely.  It reads as being very frustrated with something clearly.  If we all did better that goes a long way 

im a snob on illegal boots. Doesn’t affect me though so I should do better myself. If you want a colored lost dogs, I shouldn’t judge. It’s the only version that isn’t prohibitively expensive 

brianlux

Cropduster-80 said:

All I’m saying is the culture of record buying isn’t particularly healthy to begin with. It seems like no matter what anyone does it makes other segments mad 

im just trying to assign some responsibility to the buyers (customers) too. It’s not only on a seller 

doesn’t matter how polite a business owner is, that doesn’t make the customers behave.  If I own a business I truly love it would be a downer dealing with people sucking the passion out of it. 

if you like OG pressings you are a snob, if you like cheap reissues you are less than, if you like expensive reissues you are ok with getting price gouged. None of that is ok 

we do it to ourselves as much as a seller does.  I wish people just bought what they want and passed on what they didn’t. It’s only music 

I try to never give a record store owner a hard time to begin with so it probably wouldn’t even occur to me that that statement was even directed at me.  
I’m  not saying that’s why you interpreted it that way as I don’t know .

His last sentence was a bit over the line, absolutely.  It reads as being very frustrated with something clearly.  If we all did better that goes a long way 

im a snob on illegal boots. Doesn’t affect me though so I should do better myself. If you want a colored lost dogs, I shouldn’t judge. It’s the only version that isn’t prohibitively expensive 

"the culture of record buying isn’t particularly healthy to begin with"

Like so much of our culture!

"If I own a business I truly love it would be a downer dealing with people sucking the passion out of it."

That is definitely one of the most trying aspects of having a small business.  The flip side is having a kid come up to me and say, "Thank you for having records I can afford," or (my favorite retail memory)  having a college aged girl come up to me and say, "When I was in high school, you suggested some great classics that were so great and lead me to loving literature!"  That's when it's all worth it.

"I wish people just bought what they want and passed on what they didn’t."

 Couldn't agree more.  Do what works for you!  The seller is question doesn't seem to abide by that idea.

"im a snob on illegal boots."

I zip my lips, lol.  I've become very anti-bootleg, but I only answer for what I do.  And to be honest, I have two of them.  One that was given to me, and one I bought in around 1988.  Oh oops, but I have it and I'm not going to recycle it. 

eeriepadave

To what degree? to the Nth degree for me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-ORHKxaXmA

brianlux

eeriepadave said:

To what degree? to the Nth degree for me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-ORHKxaXmA

I like the moving album covers!

HughFreakingDillon

No way- this is over-the-top rude.

it's the "get a life" that got me. guy sounds like a dick. 

brianlux

HughFreakingDillon said:

it's the "get a life" that got me. guy sounds like a dick. 

Yeah, disappointing.  The first few newsletter I received seemed cool, although there was one comment in an earlier one where he seemed to be putting down boomers.  I sort of get it- a modern version of "never trust anyone over 30" kind of thing- but that maybe should have been a clue.  The "I suggest you look at your life and think about what you have become" business really did it for me.  I won't be shopping there again.  If I'm not welcome to his business, he's not welcome to my money.