Are $20 LP and $30 2xLP list prices bullshit?

[riddle350]

If Temporary Residence can do Mono's Gone for $20 than there are absolutly no reasons why you should have to pay the same price for a single LP with shitty art/packaging.

[mattisr1984]

im pretty happy i neither care for matador's roster (sans fucked up) or all these major label reissues. my threshhold for a brand new 2xlp is about $20. past that, its just getting ridiculous. and yes, i agree -- inflating the prices is surely going to make the vinyl bubble burst much sooner than it normally would.

[casey]

Boycott 'em. I won't pay that price unless it's something I NEED or is super rare.

That's not really a boycott, then.

[geezfools]

I just won't buy it, straight up. Fuck that. The prices have gone up way too much, even on the 7"s lately. I think 6-7 is too much and I have been passing on a TON of vinyl lately because of it. I think $15 is even too much for a basic LP. Those NOFX represses, I bought the originals for $8.99 years ago, no way am I paying $20 after shipping for a 15 year old record, no thanks. There aren't many records I'd spend on that much on new. Sure, something rare/limited I want, yeah, anything else, whatever, download it. Shooting themselves in the foot and this goes for any label.

7"s are an who other situation. It costs us more to press a 7" than a CD and that isn't right. I hate charging as much as we do for 7"s, but we have no other choice.

I realize this and it's not really a stab at you guys, though it is frustrating seeing other 7"s elsewhere out there for $4 still. I know it's all about numbers and who is pressing it. Either way, I still buy 7"s at that cost, but I sure have looked at a few and thought, you know what, I don't really need that, I'll pass for now and maybe trade for it later....

[geezfools]

I just won't buy it, straight up. Fuck that. The prices have gone up way too much, even on the 7"s lately. I think 6-7 is too much and I have been passing on a TON of vinyl lately because of it. I think $15 is even too much for a basic LP. Those NOFX represses, I bought the originals for $8.99 years ago, no way am I paying $20 after shipping for a 15 year old record, no thanks. There aren't many records I'd spend on that much on new. Sure, something rare/limited I want, yeah, anything else, whatever, download it. Shooting themselves in the foot and this goes for any label.

Says the guy who paid how much to get the Green Hell edition of The '59 Sound?

In all seriousness, if I want the record bad enough, I buy it. That's the price we pay as consumers. I'll shop around before dropping the money, but I'll still buy it.

I bought three copies when I got them to offset the cost of shipping so I didn't pay quite as much per LP as everyone else did, though it was substantially more than any other LP's I've paid for, plus I went into it knowing I would get my money back if I sold one to someone or traded. And since that, I've cut down on my vinyl spending/splurges/impulse buys a ton. I seriously put tons of shit into the shopping cart and then look and go, you know what, I don't REALLY need this or that, I'd love to have it, but I don't really need it, especially if the price is above the $12 for LP & $5 for 7" range.

So yeah, I paid too much, things have changed though

[travis]

ADA just sent me this list. Kinda ridiculous prices for vinyl. Im sure their retail orders will start going down.

[troymess]

I look at the price or cost to make the record. If the record costs around $4-5 a piece to make, I can't imagine spending $20 on that record. However, if an extreme amount of money and/or time went into the packaging (For example, the new Dreamend LP), then yes $20 might be reasonable.

Most of the time, those prices are a joke though.

[Snaggle Von Swift]

I would have to REALLY want the album to pay that much, doesn't happen too often.

[dynamitekid]

I would not pay that much for an album, no matter what it was. If Defiance, Ohio can sell their full lengths for $6 then there is no reason to sell it for $20.

[slinch]

The closest thing to a record store I've ever been to (a music store with a selection of maybe 100 titles on vinyl, mostly top charts stuff) sells LPs for 19-21 euros a piece (that's $26-$29). So $20 for a record might suck to you, but I'd be glad to have that.

[flood]

it definitely does suck as a smaller label selling records.. in all honesty we make like 2-3 bucks off anyone going thru distro channels... less once you account for postage and packaging (and god forbid time).. but we still manage to sell them for $10 ourselves..

what it really is .. labels like matador have stupidly huge overhead and since they're no longer racking in the bucks from high margin cd sales... they have to make up for it somewhere else.

[forgeagain]

it definitely does suck as a smaller label selling records.. in all honesty we make like 2-3 bucks off anyone going thru distro channels... less once you account for postage and packaging (and god forbid time).. but we still manage to sell them for $10 ourselves..

what it really is .. labels like matador have stupidly huge overhead and since they're no longer racking in the bucks from high margin cd sales... they have to make up for it somewhere else.

That kind of defeats the purpose of being a big label if you have more overhead than you can afford. Time to lay some people off.

I agree though, if I can sell an LP limited to 500 for $12 SLRP it's absolutely ridiculous to see retail prices up near $20 on records limited to the thousands.

[rtw88]

Total bullshit. I buy almost all of my records used. I think in the last two years the only records that I've ordered were a bunch from No Idea, and the Algernon Cadwallader LP which was 10 bucks shipped. The only two records I've payed $20 for were Cave In - UYHS Tour Press and Piebald - When Life Hands You Lemons on green. That's my absolute lemon. Someone offered me my white whale for $30 ppd, but I just can't do it. It's not fun anymore at that point.

(This is no in any way a knock against VC. I think they have decent prices, and great shipping costs. I just don't order online much.)

[theambulancereview]

$20 for a single LP is Ricockulous.

[lonesomexloveus]

in the words of bob barker: that's TOO MUCH!

[andywax]

Maybe they feel justified because they're starting to press/repress everything at 180 gram? IDK.

http://www.matadorrecords.com/matablog/2009/03/16/vinyl-titles-back-in-print/

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[celebdeath]

these pricings are making it totally unaffordable to build collections. if VC or the like cannot supply a certain record, then it wont be bought. ends up being upwards of $50-$60 Australian to get a goddamn record, so its back to CDs for the majority of my music bought.

living outside the States, i'm pretty used to paying extraordinary prices anyway (mainly due to the ridiculous cost of shipping), but these pricing structures bite the big one.

[stefan]

Dear Var,

Thanks for bringing this up, I feel like sometimes people need to be reminded that they're being had and have a choice in the matter. $7 LPs from No Idea will always get my money way before $16 LPs from where ever else.

The big problem with Matador in particular is that they're doing press runs in the thousands AND have standard/cheap packaging AND charge an arm and a leg. Pressing on 180g (especially since they don't have the plates done specially for it most of the time) and including a download code are just bullshit excuses for charging that much.

I will gladly fork over more for super small runs (and I'm not talking about 200/300/500 color variation splits of the same damn packaging) or for unusual diecut/specialty etchings/woodboard cover packaging. But otherwise, one shouldn't be charging $10+ for wholesale and then complaining about the fate of mom and pop indie stores.

[pez]

I would not pay that much for an album, no matter what it was. If Defiance, Ohio can sell their full lengths for $6 then there is no reason to sell it for $20.

[smailtronic]

silly. Just silly.

[mikeian]

so i sent matador an annoyed email about what they had on their FAQ (which seems not updated and from a previous price hike, i think) and complained about their prices

from the FAQ:

Why is Matador’s vinyl so expensive?

We use only 100% virgin vinyl and press on 180 grams. In addition, we sell fewer copies of every record on vinyl as each year passes. The high origination costs for vinyl (separate tape master, cutting lacquers, reference acetates, test pressings, metal mothers and stampers for the music, and separate films for the artwork) mean that it has become impossible for us to break even at that sales level. We’re committed to releasing vinyl — it’s what 23 out of 24 employees prefer — but we’re also committed to staying in business. So a price hike was necessary. And you know what? It’s still cheaper than CD.

and i got a reply:

Even at 18 we barely make any money - the prices for 12 inch vinyl at rti, and for jacket printing everywhere, have gone through the roof over the last year.

take it for what you will, it's still expensive to be paying that much for a single lp

[knealey]

I was totally fine with paying 20 for the new propagandhi LP. They used all recycled materials which is pretty cool.

[theambulancereview]

I got into vinyl because it was so cheap...

[ene]

people on here do realize that a lot more money goes into putting out a record on a label the size of matador than just the cost of the vinyl and the jacket right? i agree 20 is too much to pay for a new record, but people comparing it to when you put out 500 copies of some local band have to be kidding.