thedannychang

I totally agree. Nevertheless, I think the selling/purchasing of vinyl is somewhat different now than it was 30-40 years ago. During those times, vinyl was the primary method of music consumption and therefore, all of the records were mass produced to bring it to as many home as possible. People who initially bought records during that era most likely didn't harbor the idea that some of these would become very rare and valuable. Rather, they purchased it for the sole intention of hearing the record, since it was one of the only ways to hear recorded music aside from the radio. This is similar to what the CD was like before Napster. Yet, because there are many more (affordable) ways to consume music these days, whether its Spotify, Rdio, Grooveshark, YouTube, free downloads, piracy, etc., the resurgence of vinyl had to be coupled with something for which consumers would be willing to pay. This resulted in many ideas, one of significant ones being of scarcity. Many records are released in limited amounts, and thus, an immediate value is attributed to them solely based on the limited quality of them. It's getting more and more difficult for a record to reach a state of natural rareness, since the rareness is already attributed to them via the limited quantity. Therefore, if you look on eBay today, you can see a colossal amount of older records being sold at considerable prices due to their rare nature. At the same time, you can also see records released within the past 2-3 years being sold at significantly high prices due to their rare nature as well. However, this rareness didn't take time to develop, since it was already marketed as an item that was limited. Like I said before, I totally agree that it is more natural for a record to become rare and valuable over time. However, I think it's becoming increasingly difficult for this phenomenon to occur with the attributed limitedness bestowed by the record companies. The record companies know that by cutting the supply to be lesser than the demand, it increases the demand for the overall product of vinyl records and in turn, creates buzz about each upcoming release. This is a huge way that the record companies are perpetuating the reawakened world of vinyl, by creating immediate scarcity/rareness, and riding the wave of the buzz of the limited releases. Both of these weren't really as significant issues as they were back in the heyday of records. However, I totally agree with you about the former process being more natural.

I guess you could consider it trading if your purchases remain in the world of vinyl. However, if you make a large premium on a record, that means you have more purchasing power, even if it is just for vinyl. Therefore, it may not be ideal for the consumer who buys your record at a premium (even though they decided to buy it), but I guess it's a somewhat noble thing to put that money back into supporting other artists. But like I said before, I have absolutely no problem with this. I actually think the way you do it is the best way of dealing with selling records.

Could you reiterate what you mean by taking a chance by holding onto a record? Are you talking in terms of someone who's interested in selling, or just someone as a a collector? Sorry, I'm just kind of confused. It might be my 1AM brain.

I agree. Therefore, I don't see there should be any problem with letting the market do its role regardless of intent.

I totally agree. However, I think it's a good and progressive idea to discuss the intricacies of it instead of simply berating record flipping and not evaluating similar actions like selling used records at a premium.

It happens on here too (i.e., anytime someone lists a rare record and asks for an offer). I know this is going to be unpopular but just to be clear, I don't necessarily disagree with selling records at a premium in any capacity. I'm usually fine with the market playing its role. Sure, it's unfortunate that I can't have all the records that I want at the prices that I want, but that's just how the free market works.

That just seems like a poor way of justifying selling used records at a premium. This illusory grace period of a year between owning a record and selling it is very subjective and it still involves a party selling a record for an extremely high price to another party that may really want to listen to the record. This is essentially the same process as flipping a record, except for this alleged grace period. To put things into perspective, no one would complain if someone flipped a record for the retail price right after they purchased it. Therefore, the only tangible difference is the amount of money paid, which in both cases of selling a used record and flipping a new record amounts in a premium. If you're going to go by the market, then flipping records should be alright since people are willing to pay astronomical prices for these OOP records. If the demand is as great as the price, people will pay premiums for records even though these prices may be greater in the secondary market. Therefore to reiterate, I guess my overall argument is that if people disagree with flipping records, they should also disagree with the selling of used records at a premium regardless of any grace period.

But what about those people that buy a record for $20 with no initial intention to sell it, listen to it, and then sell it for $100? It's seems like most people are fine with this. How is this okay, but flipping is not okay if the result is essentially the same? It seems like both of them should be condemnable.

Just a question to all. Why is it okay to look down upon record flipping but it's acceptable to sell/purchase rare, used records at a premium (i.e., something like The Alchemy Index which originally sold for much less than it is being sold for now in the secondary market). We constantly see records selling for a premium on this very forum, and it seems like most people are okay with it and even purchase these records. Therefore, is it the intent of the buyer that sets these situations apart? If someone listens to a record and then sells it for a premium, is it okay even though you're selling for a higher price than you paid in either scenario? It just seems hypocritical to me when people are fine with selling/buying a record like Jimmy Eat World's Futures ​for an exorbitant amount and are okay with it, but if it was sealed and in better condition, people would condemn this person and accuse them of flipping it.

Not really a huge fan of this new song or its hook, but I think he can get it together for the record. I'm really hoping for some more tracks produced by The Neptunes.

mmmmmmm...Sabra Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

I know this is primarily for records that have yet to receive a pressing, but I really wish Explosions in the Sky's first record, How Strange, Innocence, would be pressed again. I think the record was only out of 300, and I have yet to see one on sale, even on eBay.

If you could pick one record from above on which to take a chance, what would you choose?

I'm currently trying to severely limit my vinyl purchases, so I don't think I'm gonna be able to. However, I'm gonna check out these bands online.

yes please

Makes sense. Before I got into vinyl, I had never heard of Title Fight or The Menzingers, which I would probably be crucified for not knowing now. Glad I'm being exposed to all of these new bands.

Am I just totally oblivious, or have other people never heard of any of these bands?

Same. Kevin, pick Joyce Manor if you don't already have the record.

pmd

Me too. Thought they were restocked and I got super excited

I just want more of Wes Anderson's stuff to be pressed. Hopefully it will happen since the Moonrise Kingdom soundtrack did so well during Black Friday last year.

Does the runner up know that he/she is the runner up?

Damien Rice's O and 9 need to be pressed

Man, it took forever for me to get an original pressing of Rock Steady. Glad to see that more people will be able to enjoy it now. "Running" is my favorite song of all time.

I know you may be looking for someone with a copy on here, but you can also find a lot of these online easily.