Vinyl Prices

[scottheisel]

says the dipshit who charged $15 for a single LP

Lol. Can't believe it took you an hour. The same LP was available for $13 at the same time. $15 for an LP with screened covers that cost $$$extra$$$. Dumb ass.

Sure, but your cost on those LPs wasn't the same, since you didn't have regular sleeves for them in the first place. I'm assuming these copies were an overage from the first pressing, which also means the records themselves were most likely sold to you at a lower price per unit than the actual order you placed. These 42 copies had a lower cost per unit than the other few hundred you've already sold, and I can't imagine the screening cost all that much, given that the design work was most likely done pro bono by Brent.

[finchbadass]

says the dipshit who charged $15 for a single LP

Lol. Can't believe it took you an hour. The same LP was available for $13 at the same time. $15 for an LP with screened covers that cost $$$extra$$$. Dumb ass.

this all boils down to you think you're better than everyone that has ever and will ever exist.

[lexicondevil]

For that matter, what did it cost a dude in the U.S. in 1973 when he went to pick up a new copy of Dark Side of The Moon? I've never gotten a real indication of how much it cost to buy new records in that era.

My dad says that back in the 80's when he was working at a record store most single LP's were about $8 new.

In the early 80's I would generally pay $5.99 for most domestic releases. When it went to $7.99 I was pissed. And then came those shiny little silver discs that unrealistically fucked up the whole pricing scale. Records cost more today because things cost more. Milk just isn't a nickel anymore. Damn.

[mxv]

i understand all the complaints about the record prices... but honestly? you guys in the us have it so good!

lets have a look at the average vinyl prices in germany:

7"s - around $7

single lps - around $24+

double lps - around $28+

there are always cheaper records but then we also have bands like deftones that get charged $32 for a single record and almost $40 for a double lp.

when ordering from overseas (what we have to do prettttty often) you have to add $10-15 for shipping for a single lp.

boohoo

If you are in the USA, the prices you just quoted at the top of your post are what Hydrahead charges, before shipping. Except the 7"s are 10 dollars.

[trevorm]

LOST MY SHIT WHEN

[dreamover]

In reply to scott: The overages were the same rate. We actually payed someone to do the printing. Brent didn't print them.

[RustyShackelford]

[dreamover]

Lol. Can't believe it took you an hour. The same LP was available for $13 at the same time. $15 for an LP with screened covers that cost $$$extra$$$. Dumb ass.

this all boils down to you think you're better than everyone that has ever and will ever exist.

I think I'm better than no one.

Except you.

[scottheisel]

In reply to scott: The overages were the same rate. We actually payed someone to do the printing. Brent didn't print them.

What kind of plant charges the same rate for overages? That is a crock of shit.

[lonesomexloveus]

[geezfools]

the only time I wonder about labels motivs is when some labels regularly charge $4 for a 7" and other say they HAVE to charge $7...

[mindovermatter]

In reply to scott: The overages were the same rate. We actually payed someone to do the printing. Brent didn't print them.

What kind of plant charges the same rate for overages? That is a crock of shit.

I've gotten records pressed at United, Pirates and Erika...and they've all charged the same amount, per LP, for overages. Granted, those overages can help drag down the actual "cost per record" over the entire pressing because then you get to break down the mastering/plating/etc costs a little bit thinner.

This analysis, however, makes both sides of *this* argument mostly moot.

I would also like to add (because I've said this in MANY other threads as well) that if people would just STOP shelling out $25 for a single LP, then people would stop charging that much because their inventory wouldn't fly off the shelves. There are plenty of indie labels that charge beyond reasonable prices for an amazing product. Support them instead, and you could buy nearly double as many records.

IMAGINE YOUR DEADFORMAT TRADELIST THEN!

[Shitty Rambo]

I remember CDs costing $16.99 + tax in CA in the mid-to-late 90's.

I also remember the days when a dime bag cost a dime.

[controlthebleeding]

i don't use the "cool story bro" ever, but i may soon have too just to use this photo.

[vinylville]

I have accounts with manufacturers and distributors.

What about the records that wholesale for nearly fifty bucks?

:^/

[smailtronic]

the only time I wonder about labels motivs is when some labels regularly charge $4 for a 7" and other say they HAVE to charge $7...

I would imagine that the total number pressed is the dominant factor at play in that situation.

[kurtz]

i understand all the complaints about the record prices... but honestly? you guys in the us have it so good!

lets have a look at the average vinyl prices in germany:

7"s - around $7

single lps - around $24+

double lps - around $28+

there are always cheaper records but then we also have bands like deftones that get charged $32 for a single record and almost $40 for a double lp.

when ordering from overseas (what we have to do prettttty often) you have to add $10-15 for shipping for a single lp.

boohoo

Those of us in the US have to pay those prices too when we buy imports. There are tons of good records pressed every year that are not from the US.

[kurtz]

Also, I agree with the OP.

I pass on records pretty regularly these days that I would normally impulse buy without thinking if they cost a few dollars less.

[wtfomfg666]

Single LPs should cost $10-13

Double LPs should cost $13-18

7"s should never cost more than $5

Fuck you if you overcharge.

Says the guy who charges 30 dollars for a test press. What is that like a 400% markup?

[RustyShackelford]

i typed out a long paragraph stating my opinion. then my computer shut off and i lost it.

but basically it was this: OP is a jerk

[rochambo]

I miss the old PPD prices. Fat Wreck:

Recess:

And cool catalogs you'd get in the mail, pre world wide web:

[jailhouse]

No one should pay over 5 bucks for a new release 7". 7's have always been used as a promotional single for a band, upcoming full length etc. To pay over 5 bucks for a 2-3 songs is stupid, and greed on the labels part. If a label can only press 1-200 7's, they probably shouldn't be pressing it at all.

7's have never been a money maker, or a profitable product, people that try to make bank on 7's suck.

Also, people overseas that think we have it good because they have to pay 20 bucks for an LP, keep in mind that our currency is in the shitter, 1 euro is almost double what 1 U.S dollar is worth.

I have hemmorhoids and my ass itches right now as well.

[tape]

says the dipshit who charged $15 for a single LP

Lol. Can't believe it took you an hour. The same LP was available for $13 at the same time. $15 for an LP with screened covers that cost $$$extra$$$. Dumb ass.

so you admit that there are other factors that might drive the price of an LP above your demanded price?

$13 in current dollars would have been worth about $4.50 or so in 1980 dollars. did new records cost $4.50 in 1980? oh, they didn't? they cost roughly twice that? interesting.

[mxv]

Lol. Can't believe it took you an hour. The same LP was available for $13 at the same time. $15 for an LP with screened covers that cost $$$extra$$$. Dumb ass.

so you admit that there are other factors that might drive the price of an LP above your demanded price?

$13 in current dollars would have been worth about $4.50 or so in 1980 dollars. did new records cost $4.50 in 1980? oh, they didn't? they cost roughly twice that? interesting.

See Threat, Minor - Out of Step 12" EP.

PPD price in 1983: $3.50

Back in the analog age when I was a teenager (the 1980s) LPs were between 6-8 dollars each. Some stores would charge 9 or 10 for certain releases but that was rare unless it was a double LP which was usually 10 dollars. I believe Husker Du - Zen Arcade cost me a whopping 9 bucks when I bought it new when it came out. 7" cost 2.50 - 3.00 on average. It was rare that one would set you back 4 bucks. 12" EP's were usually 5 dollars.

By the late 1980s, the average price for an LP at the store was 8 dollars. Then those silver coasters came out and labels realized they could gouge the shit out of the consumer and make bank on the things. They'd be paying about 2 bucks or so per disc (including full packaging) and retail them for 15 or 16 dollars. Chain stores would charge 17 - 20 dollars for most of the things and it was the independent stores that actually had the better prices on CDs. Then a store called Best Buy came along and went national and decided that they would undercut everyone on the price of CDs, even taking a loss on them in an effort to get people into their stores where they'd inevitably spend more money on their other products. This helped kill off a lot of mom/pop stores which sucked but the upside was it also forced out places like Coconuts and Suncoast who had the highest prices anywhere. Prices on CD's got a little more down to earth for awhile after that and 12 bucks was becoming a lot more common.

Personally I wish LPs were still 8 bucks, but inflation happens. 20 dollars is too steep for a single LP. $15 is tolerable especially if it comes with a digital download as well. $13 seems more fair for a single LP. Honestly I think every single piece of vinyl should come with a digital download and when you have a label like Hydrahead charging 20 dollars for a 4 song 12" there is absolutely no excuse for them not coming with a download, especially when you think of the profit margin they have. If Dischord can charge me 11 dollars for a colored vinyl LP and have it come with a download, then no one can justify not including one for a 20 dollar, similarly packaged record.

Ultimately bitching about it on a message board isn't going to make labels change their pricing schemes. Speak with your wallets. While I love a lot of the music Hydrahead puts out, I won't buy their records anymore because their prices are insulting and they don't even try to soften the blow by including a download with my record. The last thing I bought on that label was the last Torche record and only because I bought it from the band for cheaper than it would have cost me to buy it from the label.

[dreamover]

Most of the original post was me being bored at work and posting something I figured it would be hard to argue with. So many people take themselves way too seriously on this board.

To reiterate, I do understand when prices are higher for certain versions. I am one of the ones who would rather see a higher price point for a test I really want so I know I can get it for sure, rather than a lottery-like distribution. I think there's no reason every single LP shouldn't be available for a $13 price point in some form. Sure, tests and whatever can be higher (collector editions, OOP editions) but when a new normal edition is available direct from the label, it shouldn't be $20. My frustration mostly comes from seeing the good labels that get it, constantly pricing records at $10-13 for runs of 500 (the lower the run, the more expensive to produce)... Then major labels pressing 5,000-20,000 copies selling them for $22. I understand distros and stores need to mark up, the problem is the labels selling them with such a high price point to begin with.