VC stuff being flipped on ebay

[vinyljunkie]

youd think so. which is why is still surprises me when people ask about certain records on messageboards all over. It happens every day, but it still surprises me nonetheless.

[Guest Admin]

We have sold on Ebay since 1999 and we used to use it as a way to get people to find out about us and hope that next time they will order from our store. I have been selling less and less on Ebay because they charge more and more and lately, I just don't have time to sell on there. I have automatic relistings that post on ebay when we get restocks. Sometimes, I forget that when I post the restock list and our store automatically puts it on ebay. Still working out a better way to do this.

And for the people mentioning records that we "discovered", I think that sometimes, we draw attention on records people might have thought were out of print. These are usually records that have been around for a while on other sites. But I think we are lucky to have people who check out our site and board and may not have time to check a million other sites. We do pride ourselves in trying to carry things you can't find everywhere else and from time to time, we will do our best to spotlight great releases you might have forgotten about.

No need for debates here. We sell on Ebay, but we focus on our friends at Vinyl Collective.

[sgoodcore]

this is the only way my distro sells out of a lot of releases.

something sells for a lot on ebay, and someone (or me) posts that i have them in my distro, and suddenly, the record that i couldnt sell for 2 years will sell 10 copies in 5 minutes, and then i see 6 or 7 up on ebay with matching usernames.

also, i dont see how you can that VC started a trend of getting certain releases distributed.

for instance, that waxwing LP was available on the second nature store for a LONG time for 5 bucks. i got them from them for my distro a year and a half ago.

i dont mean to be condescending but if you think that those records werent available anywhere else before VC got them, and promoted it, then you arent looking at many distros. most of the VC kids look at interpunk, and VC, and maybe Rev. or Hydrahead/Blue Collar, and thats it. if its not there, then it must be OOP, and so kids turn to ebay to pay high prices.

when in reality those records have been available in numerous smaller/indie places for a long time.

Well if the only place the VC kids are looking maybe the smaller distros have to get on the ball about making known what they have available?

[kevtv]

I think the "problem" of people flipping things on ebay will never go away. If there's profit to be had, someone will be bound t make it. How many times have I and many people reading this been tempted to buy multiple copies of a record because you know it will demand a higher price to the ebay crowd? How many times do I look at some records I won and wonder why I don't sell them since I could easily get over 100 bucks for some of them?

I look at ebay as a potential gateway to people finding out about a site like vinyl collective or other places to get records. Think back to when you got in to punk or whatever genre of music you like - you had to start someplace. Ebay is an easy place to search for titles you want. The prices, however, we all see as being absurd at times.

Records can mean different things to different people. Some people are all about listening to them. Others collect them like a lot of us used to collect baseball cards. Make a profit sometimes to go and buy more.

If ebay bothers you, just ignore it and do your own thing.

[mrc]

i wish there is a website that listed all the little distros that have webpages that you can order from. its pretty hard to search out new distros besides the big dogs (ie. rev, no idea, interpunk, very...)

I was super excited last week i found a pretty sweet distro that had one of the records i have been looking for, for the last few months.

maybe we should start a stickied thread that only list small/unknown distros to help everyone out.

[vinyljunkie]

Well if the only place the VC kids are looking maybe the smaller distros have to get on the ball about making known what they have available?

thats true. but it also comes off as kind of dick ish.

im not at all trying to turn this into a big guy vs. the little guy argument/discussion.

but how you do propose that little places "get on the ball about making known what they have available?".

places like VC/No idea, etc get checked a lot by default and have built up a fanbase (once again, this isnt knocking VC. virgil has worked hard to get where he is and i totally respect that). they have been around for 15, 20 years. also, they have labels that put out prolific releases, which draw attention. A lot of smaller places either have no label, or have a label that they put out a couple local hardcore records. therefore they dont draw nearly the traffic to their site.

A place like VC can afford and get returns by putting ads for their releases in print zines, etc, thus drawing traffic to look at their other titles. a small online distro only get a few copies of each record, and taking out a print ad for specific records is pointless because it may very well sell out long before the zine gets printed.

most smaller places rely on things like messageboards to post their restocks/new arrivals on. however, many big/popular boards, such as this one do not really allow that. Virgil has asked that other stores do not use this forum to promote their site, as he run a for profit business, and i totally respect that. what that means however is that small places cant use messageboards such as this to "get the word out".

a quick google search will bring up a TON of different places for various records, so not sure what more can be done there.

once again this isnt knocking VC, or any other larger distro. just pointing out that its not always a viable option to "get on the ball" about current stock in smaller distros. sometimes its up to the buyers to actually look for it. and i use the work "look" loosely, as generally all it takes is a 3 second websearch.

[sgoodcore]

I know man, I run a small label so I get it. I just think sometimes there's too much close-minded on the little people side where the little guys think, "well I put out good records, you people should find me." Didn't mean it to come off as dickish.

[vinyljunkie]

well thats true. i think it goes both ways. running a small label its hard to get your name out there, so you have to realize that it takes time to build up a fanbase/reputation, but at the same time i see where you are coming from, in that you cant just sit back and say, well if people want it they can track me down even though i have no web presence, and dont do anything to get my name out.

[Guest Admin]

i like that we have become a big distro. thanks, that is a huge compliment.

People do use our message board to get teh word out about their releases. I don't have a problem with labels announcing their releases, but I frown at other mailorders listing their entire catalogs on our board and then continually bumping up the thread even though no one is talking about it.

[dante3000]

How about you guys all just mail me one copy of whatever you put out and I'll pay for what I like? I can get all the stuff you put out and you get to hope I'll pay you. See, I think that's a good idea.