Two vinyl LP "completist" questions.

Gibson · December 2021

Gibson said:

One of each studio album release.

Tragically Hip
U2
Dave Matthews Band (of all the available albums on vinyl...still waiting on a few to be released)
City and Colour
Foo Fighters

Closing in on QOTSA, Coldplay, White Stripes...

I'm a simplistic completist... and I shouldn't have even said PJ. I forgot about Lost Dogs and Lo2L... but I was pretty hunogver when I wrote my list.

Cropduster-80 · December 2021

Tim Simmons said:

I'm trying to troll here, but I don't understand having a playable copy and a copy thats sealed. Like whats the point? I mean, unless its an investment to sell later.

And this isn't even a "play the record" type post. I guess my POV is, space is limited and having a copy where you interact with only 25% of the item (which is also available on the playable copy) doesn't really make sense to me. Is it a backup in case the playable gets ruined?

I mean, is it to just remember what it looked like on a store rack or fresh out of the shipping box? I don't get it.

To me a collection is sealed/not to be actually used. People do it with toys, baseball cards behind protective covers, vintage cars (they don’t drive), watches they don’t wear and keep the manufacturer stickers on, or whatever. A collection has inherent value in original packaging even if you never plan on selling it. Degree of difficulty of getting a pristine sealed copy of an old record probably has a lot to do with it.

Collections of anything don’t make a whole lot of logical sense, I agree. But people still do it

To me it’s distinctly different
1 a collection
2 records I listen to

when you have an interest in both it gets out of hand really quick

HesCalledDyer · December 2021

Cropduster-80 said:

Tim Simmons said:

I'm trying to troll here, but I don't understand having a playable copy and a copy thats sealed. Like whats the point? I mean, unless its an investment to sell later.

And this isn't even a "play the record" type post. I guess my POV is, space is limited and having a copy where you interact with only 25% of the item (which is also available on the playable copy) doesn't really make sense to me. Is it a backup in case the playable gets ruined?

I mean, is it to just remember what it looked like on a store rack or fresh out of the shipping box? I don't get it.

To me a collection is sealed/not to be actually used. People do it with toys, baseball cards behind protective covers, vintage cars (they don’t drive), watches they don’t wear and keep the manufacturer stickers on, or whatever. A collection has inherent value in original packaging even if you never plan on selling it. Degree of difficulty of getting a pristine sealed copy of an old record probably has a lot to do with it.

Collections of anything don’t make a whole lot of logical sense, I agree. But people still do it

To me it’s distinctly different
1 a collection
2 records I listen to

when you have an interest in both it gets out of hand really quick

I just hope vinyl records don't start going down the road of baseball cards, comic books, and video games with professional grading services that seal them in hard plastic cases as a means to artificially inflate the value "preserve condition." Good god, we're all screwed if that happens.

brianlux · December 2021

HesCalledDyer said:

Cropduster-80 said:

Tim Simmons said:

I'm trying to troll here, but I don't understand having a playable copy and a copy thats sealed. Like whats the point? I mean, unless its an investment to sell later.

And this isn't even a "play the record" type post. I guess my POV is, space is limited and having a copy where you interact with only 25% of the item (which is also available on the playable copy) doesn't really make sense to me. Is it a backup in case the playable gets ruined?

I mean, is it to just remember what it looked like on a store rack or fresh out of the shipping box? I don't get it.

To me a collection is sealed/not to be actually used. People do it with toys, baseball cards behind protective covers, vintage cars (they don’t drive), watches they don’t wear and keep the manufacturer stickers on, or whatever. A collection has inherent value in original packaging even if you never plan on selling it. Degree of difficulty of getting a pristine sealed copy of an old record probably has a lot to do with it.

Collections of anything don’t make a whole lot of logical sense, I agree. But people still do it

To me it’s distinctly different
1 a collection
2 records I listen to

when you have an interest in both it gets out of hand really quick

I just hope vinyl records don't start going down the road of baseball cards, comic books, and video games with professional grading services that seal them in hard plastic cases as a means to artificially inflate the value "preserve condition." Good god, we're all screwed if that happens.

I wonder if that is already happening? Because of the huge loss due to fire of the Apollo Masters, Inc. plant last year (one of only two places in the world that produce the lacquer discs used to produce LP masters), as well as the slow down in distribution due to COVID, and due to various marketing reasons, a lot of LPs are now produced in limited numbers that run out quickly. When added to that collectors who purchase extra copies to keep one copy sealed, we end up with inflated prices and shortage of product. This is going to make listening enjoyment for those of us who prefer playing records as opposed to CDs, FLAC, and downloads a challenging situation. It's a very concerning situation and I have no idea what the solution is.
The only good news I can offer is for younger vinyl LP fans who will probably find records flooding the market in coming years as us boomer record fans start kicking the bucket and their LP collections start getting sold off. I have designated certain people to inherit my collection when I'm gone, but the are listeners so will likely not sell off many (if any) of my records, but I do think a lot of boomer's kids who are not into vinyl will sell off mom and dad's collections in coming years.

Cropduster-80 · December 2021

HesCalledDyer said:

Cropduster-80 said:

Tim Simmons said:

I'm trying to troll here, but I don't understand having a playable copy and a copy thats sealed. Like whats the point? I mean, unless its an investment to sell later.

And this isn't even a "play the record" type post. I guess my POV is, space is limited and having a copy where you interact with only 25% of the item (which is also available on the playable copy) doesn't really make sense to me. Is it a backup in case the playable gets ruined?

I mean, is it to just remember what it looked like on a store rack or fresh out of the shipping box? I don't get it.

To me a collection is sealed/not to be actually used. People do it with toys, baseball cards behind protective covers, vintage cars (they don’t drive), watches they don’t wear and keep the manufacturer stickers on, or whatever. A collection has inherent value in original packaging even if you never plan on selling it. Degree of difficulty of getting a pristine sealed copy of an old record probably has a lot to do with it.

Collections of anything don’t make a whole lot of logical sense, I agree. But people still do it

To me it’s distinctly different
1 a collection
2 records I listen to

when you have an interest in both it gets out of hand really quick

I just hope vinyl records don't start going down the road of baseball cards, comic books, and video games with professional grading services that seal them in hard plastic cases as a means to artificially inflate the value "preserve condition." Good god, we're all screwed if that happens.

Would that be better or worse than sellers self grading which usually means over grading? No idea what the right answer is.

If I had a nickel every time I saw someone selling a sealed album with bashed in corners as “mint” just because it’s sealed, I’d have a much bigger collection

Tim Simmons · December 2021

HesCalledDyer said:

Cropduster-80 said:

Tim Simmons said:

I'm trying to troll here, but I don't understand having a playable copy and a copy thats sealed. Like whats the point? I mean, unless its an investment to sell later.

And this isn't even a "play the record" type post. I guess my POV is, space is limited and having a copy where you interact with only 25% of the item (which is also available on the playable copy) doesn't really make sense to me. Is it a backup in case the playable gets ruined?

I mean, is it to just remember what it looked like on a store rack or fresh out of the shipping box? I don't get it.

To me a collection is sealed/not to be actually used. People do it with toys, baseball cards behind protective covers, vintage cars (they don’t drive), watches they don’t wear and keep the manufacturer stickers on, or whatever. A collection has inherent value in original packaging even if you never plan on selling it. Degree of difficulty of getting a pristine sealed copy of an old record probably has a lot to do with it.

Collections of anything don’t make a whole lot of logical sense, I agree. But people still do it

To me it’s distinctly different
1 a collection
2 records I listen to

when you have an interest in both it gets out of hand really quick

I just hope vinyl records don't start going down the road of baseball cards, comic books, and video games with professional grading services that seal them in hard plastic cases as a means to artificially inflate the value "preserve condition." Good god, we're all screwed if that happens.

We're definitely there. Its just tough to have official grading like those other do, because its 2-3 minutes of inspection for cards, comics, toys, etc. But for records its that for the sleeve, then the 20-90 minutes to listen to the whole thing. Way more time consuming. So its left to people who love and know LPs and their non official scale for discogs and ebay and stores.

Tim Simmons · December 2021

Also, sorry I was NOT trying to troll. Kinda an important word to leave out.

brianlux · December 2021

Cropduster-80 said:

HesCalledDyer said:

Cropduster-80 said:

Tim Simmons said:

I'm trying to troll here, but I don't understand having a playable copy and a copy thats sealed. Like whats the point? I mean, unless its an investment to sell later.

And this isn't even a "play the record" type post. I guess my POV is, space is limited and having a copy where you interact with only 25% of the item (which is also available on the playable copy) doesn't really make sense to me. Is it a backup in case the playable gets ruined?

I mean, is it to just remember what it looked like on a store rack or fresh out of the shipping box? I don't get it.

To me a collection is sealed/not to be actually used. People do it with toys, baseball cards behind protective covers, vintage cars (they don’t drive), watches they don’t wear and keep the manufacturer stickers on, or whatever. A collection has inherent value in original packaging even if you never plan on selling it. Degree of difficulty of getting a pristine sealed copy of an old record probably has a lot to do with it.

Collections of anything don’t make a whole lot of logical sense, I agree. But people still do it

To me it’s distinctly different
1 a collection
2 records I listen to

when you have an interest in both it gets out of hand really quick

I just hope vinyl records don't start going down the road of baseball cards, comic books, and video games with professional grading services that seal them in hard plastic cases as a means to artificially inflate the value "preserve condition." Good god, we're all screwed if that happens.

Would that be better or worse than sellers self grading which usually means over grading? No idea what the right answer is.

If I had a nickel every time I saw someone selling a sealed album with bashed in corners as “mint” just because it’s sealed, I’d have a much bigger collection

Sad but true! The word "mind" should be stricken from the Goldmine standard of LP grading and replaced with something like, "Sealed" or even, "Sealed/Fine Sleeve" and then "Sealed/Not Mint Sleeve" with a description. Grading a record with at least some general description included should become more standard.

Same goes for used books. I sell used books though Biblio.com and only a very few times have I ever graded a used book "like new", and only then when I have very carefully examined the book and for any hidden flaws. I grade almost all like-new books as "near-mint" and have always included a detailed description of the book. I wish more book record sellers would be more accurate and descriptive in their listings. Sadly, few of them are.

brianlux · December 2021

Tim Simmons said:

Also, sorry I was NOT trying to troll. Kinda an important word to leave out.

I don't see anything you said close to trolling, Tim. All good and worthy comments!

Records are hard, that's for sure. I have a little used LP section at The Bookery in Placerville and it's a very lot of work for little gain. First of all, I only get a percentage of what sells (sort of like they are on commission). Then there's the time spent cleaning every record and sleeve, sometimes making repairs like re-gluing split seams, careful removal of old stickers, replacing torn generic inner sleeves, adding a quality outer sleeve, and play testing. Heck of a lot of work for little gain... but I do like doing it, so there is that!

Guy Dudebro · December 2021

brianlux said:

Cropduster-80 said:

HesCalledDyer said:

Cropduster-80 said:

Tim Simmons said:

I'm trying to troll here, but I don't understand having a playable copy and a copy thats sealed. Like whats the point? I mean, unless its an investment to sell later.

And this isn't even a "play the record" type post. I guess my POV is, space is limited and having a copy where you interact with only 25% of the item (which is also available on the playable copy) doesn't really make sense to me. Is it a backup in case the playable gets ruined?

I mean, is it to just remember what it looked like on a store rack or fresh out of the shipping box? I don't get it.

To me a collection is sealed/not to be actually used. People do it with toys, baseball cards behind protective covers, vintage cars (they don’t drive), watches they don’t wear and keep the manufacturer stickers on, or whatever. A collection has inherent value in original packaging even if you never plan on selling it. Degree of difficulty of getting a pristine sealed copy of an old record probably has a lot to do with it.

Collections of anything don’t make a whole lot of logical sense, I agree. But people still do it

To me it’s distinctly different
1 a collection
2 records I listen to

when you have an interest in both it gets out of hand really quick

I just hope vinyl records don't start going down the road of baseball cards, comic books, and video games with professional grading services that seal them in hard plastic cases as a means to artificially inflate the value "preserve condition." Good god, we're all screwed if that happens.

Would that be better or worse than sellers self grading which usually means over grading? No idea what the right answer is.

If I had a nickel every time I saw someone selling a sealed album with bashed in corners as “mint” just because it’s sealed, I’d have a much bigger collection

Sad but true! The word "mind" should be stricken from the Goldmine standard of LP grading and replaced with something like, "Sealed" or even, "Sealed/Fine Sleeve" and then "Sealed/Not Mint Sleeve" with a description. Grading a record with at least some general description included should become more standard.
Same goes for used books. I sell used books though Biblio.com and only a very few times have I ever graded a used book "like new", and only then when I have very carefully examined the book and for any hidden flaws. I grade almost all like-new books as "near-mint" and have always included a detailed description of the book. I wish more book record sellers would be more accurate and descriptive in their listings. Sadly, few of them are.

Goldmine LOL. Those were the days…

brianlux · December 2021

Guy Dudebro said:

brianlux said:

Cropduster-80 said:

HesCalledDyer said:

Cropduster-80 said:

Tim Simmons said:

I'm trying to troll here, but I don't understand having a playable copy and a copy thats sealed. Like whats the point? I mean, unless its an investment to sell later.

And this isn't even a "play the record" type post. I guess my POV is, space is limited and having a copy where you interact with only 25% of the item (which is also available on the playable copy) doesn't really make sense to me. Is it a backup in case the playable gets ruined?

I mean, is it to just remember what it looked like on a store rack or fresh out of the shipping box? I don't get it.

To me a collection is sealed/not to be actually used. People do it with toys, baseball cards behind protective covers, vintage cars (they don’t drive), watches they don’t wear and keep the manufacturer stickers on, or whatever. A collection has inherent value in original packaging even if you never plan on selling it. Degree of difficulty of getting a pristine sealed copy of an old record probably has a lot to do with it.

Collections of anything don’t make a whole lot of logical sense, I agree. But people still do it

To me it’s distinctly different
1 a collection
2 records I listen to

when you have an interest in both it gets out of hand really quick

I just hope vinyl records don't start going down the road of baseball cards, comic books, and video games with professional grading services that seal them in hard plastic cases as a means to artificially inflate the value "preserve condition." Good god, we're all screwed if that happens.

Would that be better or worse than sellers self grading which usually means over grading? No idea what the right answer is.

If I had a nickel every time I saw someone selling a sealed album with bashed in corners as “mint” just because it’s sealed, I’d have a much bigger collection

Sad but true! The word "mind" should be stricken from the Goldmine standard of LP grading and replaced with something like, "Sealed" or even, "Sealed/Fine Sleeve" and then "Sealed/Not Mint Sleeve" with a description. Grading a record with at least some general description included should become more standard.
Same goes for used books. I sell used books though Biblio.com and only a very few times have I ever graded a used book "like new", and only then when I have very carefully examined the book and for any hidden flaws. I grade almost all like-new books as "near-mint" and have always included a detailed description of the book. I wish more book record sellers would be more accurate and descriptive in their listings. Sadly, few of them are.

Goldmine LOL. Those were the days…

Are they not still the standard for grading?
I have their 6th edition in-print Record Album Price Guide published in 2009. It's obviously not very useful as a price guide but I keep it because it does have good info about various pressing, good articles in the front about pricing, selling grading, label identification, etc., and lots of cool black and white jacket reproductions.

Guy Dudebro · December 2021

Oh, I was referring to buying out of Goldmine. The good old pre ebay days of mail in blind auctions

brianlux · December 2021

Guy Dudebro said:

Oh, I was referring to buying out of Goldmine. The good old pre ebay days of mail in blind auctions

Interesting! I didn't know they did that.

Guy Dudebro · December 2021

Before ebay and discogs Goldmine is where you went if you were searching for rare stuff. I don’t know if they publish anymore. They’re probably on Facebook but I wouldn’t know because I’m not. They were in print for decades. You could buy fractions to whole pages and send in your typed or handwritten list for sale or auction.

brianlux · December 2021

Guy Dudebro said:

Before ebay and discogs Goldmine is where you went if you were searching for rare stuff. I don’t know if they publish anymore. They’re probably on Facebook but I wouldn’t know because I’m not. They were in print for decades. You could buy fractions to whole pages and send in your typed or handwritten list for sale or auction.

Interesting! I didn't know about them because until I moved to where I live now, there were always great records within driving distance that had good inventory, so I never thought to look further.

cp3iverson · December 2021

Tim Simmons said:

I'm not trying to troll here, but I don't understand having a playable copy and a copy thats sealed. Like whats the point? I mean, unless its an investment to sell later.

And this isn't even a "play the record" type post. I guess my POV is, space is limited and having a copy where you interact with only 25% of the item (which is also available on the playable copy) doesn't really make sense to me. Is it a backup in case the playable gets ruined?

I mean, is it to just remember what it looked like on a store rack or fresh out of the shipping box? I don't get it.

Only time I’ve ever done this was for a few of the PJ Vaults. I play the hell out of the 1998 shows. Always wanted a backup copy of them in case they get messed up. Of course I traded away my extra vault 3….

DarthMaeglin · December 2021

Not a completist question but this seems like a good thread to ask, lol.

My friend gave me a copy of No Code last night and when I pulled out the LP it had a bit of excess vinyl hanging off the edge (pics below, lol). It snapped off without issue thankfully and I’ll be spinning it later.

Now my question, lol. I’m just curious how often this happens, as this was the first time I’ve come across it.

MedozK · December 2021

DarthMaeglin said:

Not a completist question but this seems like a good thread to ask, lol.

My friend gave me a copy of No Code last night and when I pulled out the LP it had a bit of excess vinyl hanging off the edge (pics below, lol). It snapped off without issue thankfully and I’ll be spinning it later.

Now my question, lol. I’m just curious how often this happens, as this was the first time I’ve come across it.

Wow, talk about a quality control snafu. That should have never been sleeved in the factory. The machine that. cut the excess vinyl off the edge apparently somehow left a little intact.

I have had rough edged records and some with chips, but have never seen this.

brianlux · December 2021

^^^ Yeah, that is strange! I have never seen excess edge vinyl like that. My biggest frustration that way has been spindle holes that have not been cut properly and won't fit down over the spindle. It is nerve wracking to have to take am X-acto knife to that hole!

cp3iverson · December 2021

..

Two vinyl LP "completist" questions.

Comments

Categories