Record store prices
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muncybob
Posts: 2,970
We went to a small town about 30 minutes from here in part to visit a record store I heard about but had never visited. The store layout was good with plenty of room to move around and the selection seemed decent, although I was looking only for certain albums(I have a list of about a dozen or so I'm looking for). I'm getting close to just ordering them from Discogs, but I like the store adventure.
I was surprised on the pricing for records at this store, most of them were $19 and up. The very small shop near here averages around $9 a record. It's a very small shop that becomes crowded with 4+ people in it. The owner allows returns if not satisfied with the record's condition.
Doesn't $19 seem high for an album that clearly hasn't been cleaned, is in a very flimsy plastic sleeve and has obvious signs of crap either stuck on the vinyl or actually in the grooves? What pricing is acceptable in your neck of the woods?
I was surprised on the pricing for records at this store, most of them were $19 and up. The very small shop near here averages around $9 a record. It's a very small shop that becomes crowded with 4+ people in it. The owner allows returns if not satisfied with the record's condition.
Doesn't $19 seem high for an album that clearly hasn't been cleaned, is in a very flimsy plastic sleeve and has obvious signs of crap either stuck on the vinyl or actually in the grooves? What pricing is acceptable in your neck of the woods?
Yep, my name really is Bob.
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Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub.
Comments
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Are those $19 records new or old?
If new, that's cheap for around here.
Our record stores suck. All of them.
Expensive and weak selections and inventory.
It's kind of like they apply the Craigslist model to their stores.I disabled signatures. -
I've pretty much sworn off buying used from local shops. Pricing is generally ludicrous. Unless it's something I'm specifically searching for that's hard to find, I'm not paying more than it sold for new umpteenth years ago. Current pricing trends will bring about the second death of vinyl IMHO.
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I generally only buy sealed. My wife on the other hand buys used. I actually paid $17 for Wham last weekend. I bet you can't guess who that was for.
Prices are sky high. I recently purchased a sealed Mofi of Sgt. Peppers from 1982. But it does sounds good.2 Channel Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II, 2 REL Carbon Limited, Norma Revo IPA-140B, Lumin U2 Mini, VPI Prime w/SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC, Modwright PH 150, Denon DP-59l w/Denon DL-301MKII, WAY Silver 3 Ana+ Speaker Cables, WAY Silver 4+ Interconnect Cables, AudioQuest Niagara 7000 w/Dragon and Hurricane Power Cables -
Deals are few and far between here in the CLE.
You have to be selective and willing to work for it, but
you can still find some deals.
OTOH, new prices have pushed me out of the market.
It would have to be something pretty cool to buy new
now for me.
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$8/record probably average where I shop.
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If new $19 is below average at the stores I frequent, used in good condition varies between $8 through $15, new vinyl around $25 to $30. Picked up a used near mint Tommy Bolin Teaser the other day for $11 and a Charlie Daniels Band Fire On The Mountain immaculate used for $9 and a Johnny Van Zant Band No More Dirty Deals in near mint for $9 pretty good day.Home Theater
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The price of 'Good' vinyl is what drove me to Streaming. Not the same, but much more affordable and the selection is unlimited.
To build a decent Record Collection today would cost a small fortune, unless you luck out and buy someone else's Collection. Then you end up with a bunch of crap you basically have to give away, to end up with what you really want. -
All in all, you vinyl guys have it pretty good, lol. The prices on my “drug of choice”, SACD, are going through the roof. I just snagged this gem the other day at a local record shop, and the $40 price was a steal -
I remember in the early 90’s walking in to Best Buy and shopping a 16’ section of SACD & DVDA. Average prices were $15-$20…"Conservative Libertarians love the country, progressive leftists love the government." - Andrew Wilkow
“Human beings are born with different capacities. If they are free, they are not equal. And if they are equal, they are not free.”
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Well, you do get a bit more for the UHQR and at a quick glance I didn't see a negative review, the SACD does have some less than stellar remarks. Still, I'm not paying $125 for a single record...I doubt I would hear any improvement.Yep, my name really is Bob.
Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub. -
Well, you do get a bit more for the UHQR and at a quick glance I didn't see a negative review, the SACD does have some less than stellar remarks. Still, I'm not paying $125 for a single record...I doubt I would hear any improvement.
Exactly, a prime example of 'Diminishing Returns'.
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I just picked up some vinyl yesterday from a record store in Madison that I like to frequent. Entire downstairs is used vinyl, well graded and for the most part reasonably priced. My purchases were from $3.99 to $8.99 for the most part for VG/VG to VG+/VG+, with an occasional $11.99 to $14.99. That’s not to say some LP’s weren’t out of this world sky high. I’ve noticed whereas a couple years ago any Beatle album and some other very popular LP or artists brought huge bucks now it seems the Beatles have decreased substantially in general, but not Pink Floyd. Frank Zappa still pretty high in general. This store has a “new additions” section which is pretty good as a rule. Madison is an upscale community that homes the University of Wisconsin and for whatever reason this store is able to score large collections that in quite good shape. They usually even have a few sealed originals from the 60’s and 70’s, which always blows my mind. I’ve noticed prices in general have gone up over the last few years for more popular bands/albums and especially rare albums but the real increases have been in the new vinyl.
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Here’s an example of a used Wall. Youch
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And for the silver spoon crowd, another Pink Floyd offering.
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It seems to me like too long ago I used to walk into used record stores and LPs were $3 to $4 a pop. Seemed to be a much bigger demand for used CDs at the time. Of course this was probably 15 years ago when stores like Best Buy still had a music section and people used to go to the mall.
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I've been around long enough to have owned all the original pressing releases of most of the very best in the 60' and 70's. IIRC, I gave $4 or $5 for the official release of DSOTM.
Over 500 of these classics were lost in a divorce many years ago
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Went to the record store and noticed they had a new section in the used section downstairs: “Audiophile.” A few were sealed. Prices were out of this world.
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17.95 original price, now 250! such a bargain.
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Rip it! That's what Keiko does. And I guarantee you that 99% of the time when I rip a LP to CD, my rip sounds better than any factory redbook disc.
To get the best deal requires just a little bit of patience. I used to buy the bulk of my records from the late, great George Grand right here on CP. Since his passing I've had to be a bit more conservative. I find discogs, musicstack and even fleabay to be good resources. Just choose your sellers wisely and ask lots and lots of questions. Deals are out there, you just have to work for them nowadays.
Local record stores tend to be pricier, but you have to consider the atmosphere for retailers these days. It costs money to rent these spaces and keeping the lights on ain't cheap now thanks to our resident, Corn Pop, but I digress. If you get in good with some of the business owners, you can often times score deals from them to. -
I picked this box set up over the weekend at a local shop. It appears to be in excellent condition but haven’t given it a listen yet.
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Looks like that Sinatra set is between $400 and $550 on Fleabay if it's the 16 album one with the Geodisc?
The used music store I used to go to was really cool until their owners started selling their best stuff online. Prices in the store went up. Once they did that there was no reason to go there if the best stuff was marked up and could be bought online anyway and what was there was junk. They effectively killed their own store. -
Looks like that Sinatra set is between $400 and $550 on Fleabay if it's the 16 album one with the Geodisc?
The used music store I used to go to was really cool until their owners started selling their best stuff online. Prices in the store went up. Once they did that there was no reason to go there if the best stuff was marked up and could be bought online anyway and what was there was junk. They effectively killed their own store.
Yes, its the 16 album with Geo.2 Channel Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II, 2 REL Carbon Limited, Norma Revo IPA-140B, Lumin U2 Mini, VPI Prime w/SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC, Modwright PH 150, Denon DP-59l w/Denon DL-301MKII, WAY Silver 3 Ana+ Speaker Cables, WAY Silver 4+ Interconnect Cables, AudioQuest Niagara 7000 w/Dragon and Hurricane Power Cables -
It still amazes me that artists like Sinatra used to put out a new album about every six months back in the '50s and '60s.
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It still amazes me that artists like Sinatra used to put out a new album about every six months back in the '50s and '60s.
And the musicians that played on those albums were very thankful. Yamaha RX-A2050 AVR (5.0.2); LG OLED77C2 4K TV(4) Polk Monitor 10B's w/SoniCaps, Mills, and RDO-194 tweets (R/L F/R)(2) Polk RC80i (Top Middle)Polk CS300 center channelAnalog: B&O TX2 Turntable, Nakamichi Cassette Deck 1Digital: Pioneer CLD-99 Elite LD, Panasonic DMP-UB900 UHD Blu-RayBedroom: Arylic Up2Stream AMPv3 driving Polk Monitor 4's w/peerless tweets -
I didn't do too gawd awful bad this weekend, up in the mountains. I sifted through a bunch of junk LP's but found a few gems....and compared to other stores I frequent? Not at bad prices either.
Got a sealed, Canadian edition LP of Bliie Eilish's - "When we all fall asleep, Where do we Go?" - $25
Sealed, original Boston's LP - "Third Stage" - $15
and a minty (looks like it's never been played) Foreigner LP - "Foreigner 4" - $10
I was most surprised about the Billie Eilish LP. I remember looking about (maybe) a year ago and the prices were through the roof....if you could even get a hold of one. The F4 LP was one I already have but I slap wore that one out as a teen. This was just to get a fresh copy with better sonics than the one I have now. All of the jackets look brand spankin' new.
Tom
~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
I used to buy the bulk of my records from the late, great George Grand right here on CP. Since his passing I've had to be a bit more conservative.
Tru dat! Folks here didn't realize what an asset he was to the forum. All that typing, scouring, listing, shipping and more he did on his own time, and for a great cause. I probably got more than just a couple hundred albums from him and most (if not all) were better than he described.
Tom
~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Nice find.
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I used to buy the bulk of my records from the late, great George Grand right here on CP. Since his passing I've had to be a bit more conservative.
Tru dat! Folks here didn't realize what an asset he was to the forum. All that typing, scouring, listing, shipping and more he did on his own time, and for a great cause. I probably got more than just a couple hundred albums from him and most (if not all) were better than he described.
Tom
Yeah, I miss him too and think of George often. I was just spinning some classic, southern rock, Molly Hatchet LPs a couple nights ago that I scored from him. We had a lot in common and wish I had an opportunity to meet him, which I believe I will on that great day of our Lord. George was/is truly one of a kind.
Edit: Tom, you may send that Boston, Third Stage LP to me asap. I'll PM you with my info shortly.
All joking aside, to find that still sealed and for only $15.00 is a very nice find. I bought a sealed copy of Double Vision from George Grand a few years back from one of his sales. I don't think he charged me more than $5.00 for it.
How do you like your Animals Box Set? Played mine once, put the LP in a nice, MoFi type inner sleeve and stored it away. I have an upsampled, 192k CD rip in my NAS for regular playing that sounds excellent.
