What was it like buying vinyl 5-10 years ago?

[chutterhanban]

I've only been collecting for about 4 or 5 months. I'm wondering if how we do it now is similar to how it was done 5-10 years ago.

Comment on these current observations of mine specifically:

- It seems to be a primarily "virtual" market.

- Most records have pre-orders.

- If it's a repress of a really popular album, it may never even hit stores (and sometimes not even be available outside of a pre-order).

- Usually, if an indie label release is popular enough, it gets "re-pressed," not continually pressed.

- Color/jacket variants are the hottest topic in conversations about vinyl.

- There seem to be a large amount of collectors/buyers.

- Will it be impossible to find TA - Parting, Copeland - In Motion, The Starting Line EPs, etc. in 5 years?

Also, anything else you can think of that would be surprising or that I just wouldn't have thought of. Keep in mind, though I'm very immersed in collecting at this point, it has only been a few months. If there was something that was different just 1 or 2 years ago, I won't even know that.

Enlighten me, I've always been curious.

[bengalimenace]

In a word: easier. In a few words: easier, far less expensive and got me made fun of a lot.

[Daiei]

I'm gonna comment as a house DJ.

Record hunting was both bliss and hell. You'd spend hours digging in crates at several locations and not find one thing. On the other hand, you'd have those days where you'd find an absolute gem for dirt cheap.

Music was more "rare" not only because vinyl was a lot harder to come by than CD's, but because half the time you'd never find out what song was playing in the first place.

[nothingnatural]

In a word: easier. In a few words: easier, far less expensive and got me made fun of a lot.

This sums it up for me.

[jase]

From my perspective it's pretty similar in my town. One good record store, that isn't well known to anyone that doesn't go out of their way to find. All the other music stores have a corner in the very back of the store with about 10 records, all way over-priced.

Online has certainly become a more popular way for people buying records, though all retail stores are going through the same sort of situation. So it's not limited to record stores.

Bands themselves, a lot more smaller bands seem to be getting vinyl pressed, which is great for me. 5/10 years ago very few bands that came through my town had anything pressed, let alone had any in stock at the shows

[bengalimenace]

5-10 years ago I didn't see any stupid hipsters come into my store, drop an entire paycheck on shitty dollar records and then shit talk you and tell you how awesome their collection is compared to yours because blah blah bob loblaw hipster bullshit.

[nothingnatural]

5-10 years ago I didn't see any stupid hipsters come into my store, drop an entire paycheck on shitty dollar records and then shit talk you and tell you how awesome their collection is compared to yours because blah blah bob loblaw hipster bullshit.

Hahahahaha

[apeman]

It didn't feel that different just five years ago, compared to nowadays. Maybe except for the amount of pre orders. Fifteen years ago it was a different story, since nobody really wanted to have vinyl records around, so I had lots of good times going trought friends' collections, second hand shops, flea markets etc. getting heaps of records cheap.

[peanutuk]

It was good fun 10-20 years ago but much harder as all you had was local record shops, secondhand shops and a few magazines like " Record Collector" " Spiral Scratch" to find the stuff you're looking for. I remember spending hrs in shops just flicking through crate after crate of shite just to find that one golden nugget , it was hard sometimes but enjoyable at the same time.

Nowadays with the internet you can virtually find anything (but it comes at a price ) . There's been certain records i couldn't find in the past but now some of them records i've managed to get 3 or 4 times now which is great cause you can sell them on to fund something else you're after.

The only problem i find now is the competition of buying new limited vinyl, you know half the people are only buying to flip so you've got to get in quick, i dont get pissed off with flippers as i,ve done it in the past as its a means to an end.

Also the cost of shipping pisses me off especially as i like a lot of stuff overseas but i'm greatful to the few uk distro folk who i've got to know throught the web, do save me a lot of money and will go out of there way to get me stuff....so a big thanks to those guys ( you know who you are ) and my overseas friends aswell

50% of me love the old days but the other 50% love the new days .......i get so confused

[element101]

the only thing I didn't like was trying to get money orders for every single order I made. I for one am glad to make the switch from mailorder to paypal.

[circlingvultures]

In the late 90's early 2000's the big thing was Screamo. Real stuff, not the shit that's out today. Records were pressed in smaller numbers and a bit harder to find, prices were crazy. Now all that stuff is mostly worthless. You can find records that always sold for a lot of money for a couple bucks now. A few held their own but for the most part it's everywhere and it's cheap.

I see that happening with a lot of the bands that are hyped on here starting soon. People will start dumping collections and the price of other "fair weather" fans collections will drop and there will be an abundance of records for cheap.

That's when you kind of get a feel for who buys records because they love the format, and who buys records as a hobby.

[gmoney]

Back in the day, I had to hike 30 miles and back just to make it to the record store - and they only cost a quarter for a 12" and a nickel for a 7"!

To deliver them to my friends, horseback was the quickest way.

[somethingvinyl]

I wanted to DJ in 1998 and so I started buying records in pursuit of that. When I realized my old ass record player wouldn't cut it, I just started picking up things that I thought were cool. Punk rock and hardcore 7"s, some LPs.

There were pre-orders in 2003/4. That's as early as I recall them. I remember buying Pedro the Lion and OneLineDrawing from Jade Tree before they were released. There was some intensive for buying before the release date. No idea how I paid for it. Paypal maybe? The vinyl was available but I only bought things I "needed" on vinyl at the time. And I would eventually pay for it later.

Mailorder was fun but yeah money orders were a pain. Never had a record lost in the mail, though.

[jhulud]

Back in my days...ZZZZZZZZZ...what?!?!...

[circlingvultures]

There has been a discussion ongoing with my friends about a certain record store that we grew up with and is now closed. It's been closed for more then ten years but the impact it had on all of us is still going strong.

It was about 2-3 miles from my parents house. It was open while I was in high school and a bit beyond I think. I used to skate there after school and look through records for hours, every day. In the summer we all hung out there. We all skated and they had a skate shop too. They opened at noon and we were outside at noon and they had to kick us out at night. Shows happened up stairs. I remembered every record they had in there so the minute something new came in it stood out like a sore thumb to me.

Internet was around but no one cared. As records came out, the store got them and we were stoked. I remember the day I got the Descendents Everything Sucks LP. I was beyond thrilled. I also remember getting the kid dynamite records when they came out. That stands out because the kid that worked there wouldnt sell them to a local guy because he just wanted to sell them online. Color vinyl was a treat if you got it but there was no pre order crap, not many variants. It was more fun back then. I know there are guys older then me on here that have been doing it longer but that's when I started. Early 90s.

[circlingvultures]

I dont think I have bought a mail order in ten plus years now. I used to have the stubs all over the friggin place.

[controlthebleeding]

i don't see things any different from 5 years ago, but i'll go as far as 20+ instead. 30+ if you ask..

I always had fun buying stuff back in the day. mainly because 7"s were 2.50 - 3.00ppd and records were 6-8ppd. mind you i'm speaking about buying punk rock records and not your typical ratt lp (which i still bought a ton of metal as well). buying through distros and labels was always cheap, but it came at a price. you'd have to wait anywhere between 2 and 4 months. i've had orders that took up to 6 months to be delivered. lookout once took a whole year to send me my records. and in that time before paypal, i never once got a order lost or stolen.. weird huh.

record shopping on the other hand was always awesome. early 90's was a good time to shop for records. san antonio's HOGWILD, and Austin's "Sound Warehouse" had tons of records for sale. i could usually find a NEANDERTHAL "Fighting Music" for $8 every so many months, normally i could walk out there with a few records anytime i went no matter what. Hell i got my "Love Buzz" 7" for $2.99 at sound exchange. i always found gems (by gems i mean music i wanted, not for the variant or monetary value, but for my personal enjoyment) there once every few weeks. But it was austin and records have always been sold here thru at least 6 to 7 outlets at any given time. So i guess i'm lucky.

With the internet at anyones disposal it makes it hard to find any old records nowadays in a record shop, but i still go because i actually like rummaging through the records for something i might like every now and again, weather it be a $1 record or a $20 record. Something i never thought of until it was in my hands. like a didjits album or a Saxon record. Plus i kinda like the smell of old records

that's all i got.

[circlingvultures]

I agree with Mike. Going to a record store and looking through records in the 90s was awesome. The youth crew stuff was in used bins, Victory was actually putting out a few decent albums(something that haven't done since at least 2000, if not earlier). Going to an out of town record store was a whole new chance to find awesome shit. And you often did. Now it's impossible, you have to know someone before the record hits ebay. The internet made everything easier but it sucked a lot of the spirit and fun out of it. Anyone can buy themselves a big collection online in no time.

[jhulud]

The internet made everything easier but it sucked a lot of the spirit and fun out of it. Anyone can buy themselves a big collection online in no time.

And that's what makes up all these n00bs and Newjacks that can drop any amount of money in eBay and instantly have "awesome" collections with very little effort...pfffft... :

[somethingvinyl]

I sell at record fairs at times and the old time blues and jazz guys hate eBay. They still have price guides and will price things according to that. But their business has had to expand in order to be able to sell in this day and time. Despite their hatred, they've been able to have more business because of the global marketplace that the internet has provided.

It was fine just to buy a record because you wanted it, not because it was color or you know you can sell it for more. I'm glad I got in on some of the 90's record shopping, albeit for just a year or two.

[controlthebleeding]

We also used to buy stuff solely based on what label it was on, or even how the cover looked

It was kind of exciting, a roll of the dice if you will

i was soooooo about this.. i would just buy about anything from any label i enjoyed. sometimes just by reviews in mrr too. compilations helped as well.

i was a very small records or slap a ham fanboy. ain't gonna lie.

[jase]

We also used to buy stuff solely based on what label it was on, or even how the cover looked

It was kind of exciting, a roll of the dice if you will

I bought The reatards - Teenage hate in the late 90's just because of how the cover looked. I got home, put it on and loved the shit out of it almost instantly. I'd never heard a band play like that before

[scottheisel]

I'm glad I got in on some of the 90's record shopping, albeit for just a year or two.

THIS. I worked at a record store from 1998-2000 (and shopped there frequently from 1996 or so on), and it's insane how no matter how big my collection grows, the stuff I bought during that time period is still my most-played stuff and is generally still my most valuable stuff. My only regret is not buying doubles of everything at the time!

[MattyIceyo]

I remember going to newbury comics when I was 15 and bought Skankin Pickle, Nofx punk in drublic, pearl jam vitology and no use for a name..all of that was readily available..and i would kill to go back to those days and much like scott said, pick up doubles and things...also echoing scott alot of the records from the earlier days are the ones i listen to the most (the Fat Wreck, epitaph, nitro kung fu stuff)

[controlthebleeding]

- Will it be impossible to find TA - Parting, Copeland - In Motion, The Starting Line EPs, etc. in 5 years?

in 5 years 3/4 of the people on here probably will already have gotten rid of all their records, gotten married or had kids and music isnt that important for them anymore. i've seen it happen for years.