Quitting Buying Records

[bathroommonkey]

why does anyone need to announce on a message board that they aren't buying records anymore?  

[Guest Justin Maheiny]

 

I never understood why "quitting buying" necessarily has to mean "selling my entire collection." How about just show some restraint and pull back for a while?

Just my two cents.

 

 

Same reason you throw away all your crack pipes when you quit smoking crack.  Gotta remove all temptation!

[jtcohenour]

Same reason you throw away all your crack pipes when you quit smoking crack.  Gotta remove all temptation!

 

Damn

[turnstiles]

I'm quitting. Selling off 80% of my collection in the coming months. 

[youmightbewrong]

Nobody's quitting anything. It's all a hoax.

[rudeboydh]

Good thing most of my collection is ska records so nobody on here would probably want to but them anyways. 

[jtcohenour]

Good thing most of my collection is ska records so nobody on here would probably want to but them anyways. 

 

I have quite a few Ska records.  I got into the 3rd wave in So Cal in the early to mid 90's.  I really like Skankin' Pickle and VGS.

[SpazzyMcGee]

I keep an excel spreadsheet of all my records. Where I got them, how much, average cost of a record, sum total, what I've sold, etc.

I've spent well over what I thought I would when I started this venture and that was only a year and a half ago..

The deals and rare low price deals are what really get me. I definitely have cut back and need to a lot more but it's so difficult. Especially past 2am.

[gutzonborglum]

I keep an excel spreadsheet of all my records. Where I got them, how much, average cost of a record, sum total, what I've sold, etc.

I've spent well over what I thought I would when I started this venture and that was only a year and a half ago..

The deals and rare low price deals are what really get me. I definitely have cut back and need to a lot more but it's so difficult. Especially past 2am.

 

 

I think I would have a mental breakdown if I kept such a concise list.  I more than likely wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I kept a tally on the total amount spent on records over the years.  I prefer the 'blissfully ignorant' route. 

[iron666monkey]

I think I would have a mental breakdown if I kept such a concise list. I more than likely wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I kept a tally on the total amount spent on records over the years. I prefer the 'blissfully ignorant' route.

100% agree. This gave me a good chuckle. It's been worth every penny though and I have zero regrets.

[SpazzyMcGee]

I think I would have a mental breakdown if I kept such a concise list. I more than likely wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I kept a tally on the total amount spent on records over the years. I prefer the 'blissfully ignorant' route.

I think one of the reasons I like records so much is the act of organizing them or cataloging them, while listening of course.

I look at the total every so often but there is about 80 blank rows in between my entrees and the total. I shiver some nights thinking about it..

[anthemforadoomed]

I have quite a few Ska records.  I got into the 3rd wave in So Cal in the early to mid 90's.  I really like Skankin' Pickle and VGS.

I just met/ saw Mike Park from Skankin' Pickle/ Asian Man Records play solo last night. He was awesome!

[Nebula]

Resellers always fuck everything up.

[jtcohenour]

I just met/ saw Mike Park from Skankin' Pickle/ Asian Man Records play solo last night. He was awesome!

 

I'd love to see him solo, but he wasn't stopping through Omaha on the tour.

[Derek™]

I keep an excel spreadsheet of all my records. Where I got them, how much, average cost of a record, sum total, what I've sold, etc.

I've spent well over what I thought I would when I started this venture and that was only a year and a half ago..

The deals and rare low price deals are what really get me. I definitely have cut back and need to a lot more but it's so difficult. Especially past 2am.

 

This is something I do as well, more or less.  I have a private spreadsheet that I use to catalog the common details - label, pressing, variant info, etc. - but I also make it a point to log how much I paid for the record.  (I don't bother with sales or location of purchase, though.)  That column gets tallied into a reminder of what I've spent.  I reset it every year, since I only started doing this back in 2011 or so.  Needless to say, it's been a very eye-opening experience.  2013 has been the most expensive year for me, by far.  But...

 

It's been worth every penny though and I have zero regrets.

 

This for sure.

[radiatorhums]

This is something I do as well, more or less.  I have a private spreadsheet that I use to catalog the common details - label, pressing, variant info, etc. - but I also make it a point to log how much I paid for the record.  (I don't bother with sales or location of purchase, though.)  That column gets tallied into a reminder of what I've spent.  I reset it every year, since I only started doing this back in 2011 or so.  Needless to say, it's been a very eye-opening experience.  2013 has been the most expensive year for me, by far.  But...

 

I use mint.com to keep track of what I've spend on records, only pain is making sure to keep up to date on what cash I spend on music.  Trying to keep up with a spreadsheet was too much work for me, I tried that a few years ago.  Overall, I think 2011 or 2012 was my most expensive year.  I've reigned it in a bit this year and I think I've collected the bulk of my $40+ OOP/rare chase LPs.

[SpazzyMcGee]

This is something I do as well, more or less.  I have a private spreadsheet that I use to catalog the common details - label, pressing, variant info, etc. - but I also make it a point to log how much I paid for the record.  (I don't bother with sales or location of purchase, though.)  That column gets tallied into a reminder of what I've spent.  I reset it every year, since I only started doing this back in 2011 or so.  Needless to say, it's been a very eye-opening experience.  2013 has been the most expensive year for me, by far.  But...

 

 

This for sure.

 

Definitely agree on no regrets.

Go organization!

[Shitty Rambo]

I think I would have a mental breakdown if I kept such a concise list. I more than likely wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror if I kept a tally on the total amount spent on records over the years. I prefer the 'blissfully ignorant' route.

Not to be offensive but this is rather absurd. If you're a member of this board then you probably "consume" music more aggressively than others. Not to be all artsy-fartsy, but that's just who you are. Music is probably a REALLY big part of your life.

You wouldn't make a spreadsheet for the amount of money you spend on food or toilet paper, would you?

If you can't split the bill then moderate your spendings like an adult. This isn't an addiction, it's mostly impulse purchases. We're all using PayPal and credit/debit cards, basically spending money we 'don't see'.

I would almost argue that someone who primarily shops at a brick and mortar store doesn't spend as much as a mail-order-only buyer does on records in any given month.

Bottom line is that if the heat's too hot get out of the kitchen. The only way to combat inflated prices is to not buy the product. Buying music digitally still supports the artists and still gets you the music, if that's the issue. If record collecting has ever made a guy lose everything and forced him onto the streets I've yet to hear that tale.

[radiatorhums]

If record collecting has ever made a guy lose everything and forced him onto the streets I've yet to hear that tale.

 

I bet that guy has plenty of LP mailers to sleep under!

[gutzonborglum]

Not to be offensive but this is rather absurd. If you're a member of this board then you probably "consume" music more aggressively than others. Not to be all artsy-fartsy, but that's just who you are. Music is probably a REALLY big part of your life.

You wouldn't make a spreadsheet for the amount of money you spend on food or toilet paper, would you?

If you can't split the bill then moderate your spendings like an adult. This isn't an addiction, it's mostly impulse purchases. We're all using PayPal and credit/debit cards, basically spending money we 'don't see'.

I would almost argue that someone who primarily shops at a brick and mortar store doesn't spend as much as a mail-order-only buyer does on records in any given month.

Bottom line is that if the heat's too hot get out of the kitchen. The only way to combat inflated prices is to not buy the product. Buying music digitally still supports the artists and still gets you the music, if that's the issue. If record collecting has ever made a guy lose everything and forced him onto the streets I've yet to hear that tale.

 

 

No offense taken.  I would honestly use that same statement for toilet paper, gasoline, food, etc. 

 

Obviously I'm able to afford to consume something that I love, and if and when the day comes where it starts to affect other aspects of my life financially, something will change. 

 

I read what Zach had written and that was the first thought that popped into my head.  Some people love being that organized and logging every little thing. Some people need that.  Me, personally, I would most definitely go insane.  I'm not wired for that. 

 

  Also, I guarantee my wife spends more on her classroom each year than I do on records.  I'm trying to claim that crown, though.

[jtcohenour]

I would almost argue that someone who primarily shops at a brick and mortar store doesn't spend as much as a mail-order-only buyer does on records in any given month.

 

[MahPah]

Don't do it man. I went through the same a couple years ago. Even used some of my student loans on records instead of books and supplies. Now I severely regret it and am slowly piecing back together all the vinyl I sold. So many great pieces I'll probably never see again. Just slow down...a lot..and be more critical about what you buy. Trust me you will regret it.

[ndebardlebon]

I think about selling my records sometimes when I'd like the instant money, with the thought that I'll be able to piece the collection back together when I'm more financially stable down the line. Since I don't know when that will be, and I feel like a good portion of what I have is either a gift/good deal/rare or oop, I know I'd regret doing it. 

 

When I first started collecting I spent about six months obsessively checking this site for news on what was being pressed and the sales thread and thank god I'm out of that phase because that was way too damaging to the bank account. Sometimes I still do it in waves but it's only a day or two at a time when I have the money for it.

 

Budgeting for records is the way to go. 

[atticus]

I keep waffling back and forth about having a collection for collections sake or having records that reflect my current musical taste. I have a lot of records that I don't really listen to that would fetch a good deal of money but there's always that little voice that says "you might want to listen to that someday" or "that album was so significant when you were in high school" but the fact of the matter is my tastes have evolved. For example I still appreciate Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge but when someone offers me $120 for it... That's enough for a few newer wants and let's face it, there will be a repress if I just HAVE to get it back. So currently I am on a "don't keep things just to keep them" kick and it's working out wonderfully. Using records to purchase more records has been pretty sweet for my bank account. I consider myself fiscally responsible enough to stop buying records if it begins adversely affecting my finances, but it's pretty sweet to not have to even worry about it. I'm sure soon I'll be posting in the Sellers Remorse thread, but for now this system is helping me keep a pretty decent list of stuff I can say mostly gets listened too pretty regularly.

[Skibum00]

I have really started reeling in record purchases as well, just recently. What kind of cemented it for me was the Temple of the Dog release, I had it in my cart for $50 bucks and realized I could get this CD on half.com for like 3 bucks. The premium for vinyl just became too high. I still buy now and then but I am starting to substitute CDs instead of the vinyl in many cases when the price difference is that huge. I just bought the new Mansions record for like 17 bucks, that price range is the sweet spot for me.