National Record Store Day

So, the shops around me started doing something this year to sort of combat this: anyone buying Record Store Day stuff had to open the shrink wrap in order to buy the item.

Thoughts?

As someone who works in a record store, my first thought it "Ha! Awesome." But we only got like 20 or 30 titles this year and tbh people seemed to be more interested in just record shopping in general than the hyped stuff.

anyone buying Record Store Day stuff had to open the shrink wrap in order to buy the item

That'll knock a fiver off the price on ebay..

Yeah, that's a great tactic. People who make a fuss will quickly give themselves away as ebay leeches.

anyone buying Record Store Day stuff had to open the shrink wrap in order to buy the item.

was there like some line before you purchased items where you had to line up to shame-facedly strip each album of its shrinkwrap in front of a two-man inquisition?

if it weren't for ebay leeches record store day probably wouldn't be a "thing" in the same way

which would be good maybe

Well yeah, it would be exactly what it was meant to be!

I thought it was about getting more people and more profits into record stores? In which case I'm all for store guy upthread who was increasing the price depending on how much they're going for on ebay.

Symbol: Zaireeka (lp box). 
Share price: 87.20 % Change: -0.06 % Change: -0.30
Buy:  45.20
Offer:90.25
Volume: 12  
Prev close: 70.50
Shares issued: 1,000 (numbered)
52 week high: 475.90

I like to imagine that if there *weren't* assholes selling shit on eBay, then the stuff wd be bought anyway by other fans that were farther back in line and it wd still be just as successful.

That probably is true in this magical world where ebay doesn't exist.

I honestly don't get the bad feelings about people flipping stuff. they BOUGHT stuff in a STORE. its not wartime. they aren't hoarding flour and sugar.

I mean making people open their records in front of you? fucking crazy. just don't buy the shit or don't open that day.

I was at an antique store last weekend in rural GA and was looking through their records and the lady behind the counter said "Oh, we're putting those on ebay, they aren't for sale." And later when i checked out she asked me who the guy was on the cover of one of the records I was buying, which was "McCartney II".

Who was it?

Paul McCartney LOL

But who is that, right?

Great, here comes the wave of flipper defending. Opinions on this board seem governed by the moon's gravity sometimes.

I understand your points but the records are meant for the fans. Therefore, the real answer is that the records themselves shouldn't be as limited as they are. Meet demand and the flipping won't be as ridiculous. I understand the fun of super limited releases for the labels but they should close the gap a little.

xposts

It Was Paul McCartney 2 !

Who?

yeah RSD is just done weirdly. stores not knowing what they are going to get in the mail until the last minute? not knowing what they will be paying for? so strange. but fun day of record shopping is no fun if there is a big list of rules at the door or something. just don't worry about the limited thing. just sell stuff and have fun. don't worry about what people do after they leave. a large percentage of them won't be coming back to your store until the next rsd anyway.

Its a great place to go if you want to buy a copy of that Kansas album with "Dust in the Wind" on it in Good condition for $8.

Wait, who's this McCartney guy again? Is he the dude on that duet with Pink? Oops. I mean P!nk.

No, he is in Foo Fighters.

Its a great place to go if you want to buy a copy of that Kansas album with "Dust in the Wind" on it in Good condition for $8.

― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Friday, May 10, 2013 10:10 AM (3 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

ah yes, those sort of places. it's like the LP-pricing version of outsider art. these are the places that single out every beat-to-shit elvis and beatles album they come across and price them at $50

yeah RSD is just done weirdly. stores not knowing what they are going to get in the mail until the last minute? not knowing what they will be paying for? so strange. but fun day of record shopping is no fun if there is a big list of rules at the door or something. just don't worry about the limited thing. just sell stuff and have fun. don't worry about what people do after they leave. a large percentage of them won't be coming back to your store until the next rsd anyway.

― scott seward, Friday, May 10, 2013 11:09 AM (3 minutes ago)

Yeah, any rules would make things very uncomfortable. The morning rush is tense as it is. But I totally understand any effort of the store to get on the good side of the customers that actually might shop there before the next record store day! Beneficial to win them over, nothing to lose pissing off the ebay opportunists in the process.

i didn't realize the steve gunn/hiss golden messenger record was an RSD release. i kinda want that.
but i got the charlie poole record from my pals in RVA, so what do i care.

"I4n J0hnson: Interested in only the least popular RSD titles since 2010."

Ha, Yeah I had been getting some of the Vanguard reissues yearly (none this year) myself and I don't think anyone else really cared about those either.

Well, my haul consisted of the Davy Graham ep, £6 or thereabouts.

I did get the Half Japanese CD set, but directly from the company for £20 or thereabouts.

There kinda sorta already are rules: http://www.recordstoreday.com/CustomPage/1038

Granted, not RULES rules, but there you have it.

they have agreed to act in the spirit of Record Store Day
they have agreed to act in the spirit of Record Store Day
they have agreed to act in the spirit of Record Store Day
they have agreed to act in the spirit of Record Store Day
they have agreed to act in the spirit of Record Store Day
they have agreed to act in the spirit of Record Store Day
they have agreed to act in the spirit of Record Store Day
they have agreed to act in the spirit of Record Store Day

What are the consequences if they don't, I'm wondering.

last time i checked there were a pile (i.e. at least 4 of them) of those flaming lips Zaireeka boxsets in my local shop ..

Consequence is that you don't get any records for next year. Store by me got in trouble and aren't allowed to participate anymore.

That's good, I guess.

But I get really critical and start to wonder — if there is a "pledge" like this, were these sorts of places ever on the buyer's side in the first place? Because "the pledge" was created out of unflaterring circumstances, right?

Just wondering out loud.

More reason for me to just sit the whole thing out, I guess.

Right I think the past issues of this nature motivated them to create the pledge. The conditions of the pledge aren't asking too much of the stores, honestly.

just look for the red badge of courage.

mark e, yeah and their own website has it on 'special offer' too...

even if all of the records went into the hands of true fans, lots of them would sell anyway if the price was right. the crazy ebay prices are not caused by flippers, they're caused by the labels pressing stuff in limited editions.

I mean, I don't think I own a single record that I wouldn't let go of for $100! It's just a record.

Great, here comes the wave of flipper defending.

Fuck you Flipper rules

haha

Somebody doesn't like Flipper? Oh I see.

We have so many flippers that aren't RSD specific, it's kind of fucking annoying when one of them comes in and buys up some reasonably priced stuff because he can sell it on Amazon to some lazy ass with more money than sense. I would totally rather have sold that copy of Fahey's "America" to someone who would listen to it instead of cash it in so he can buy more duplicate Beatles albums.

In conclusion the internet ruined record shopping thx.

Or sells it to brazil or something for double.

I just price the easily flippable stuff higher now. if someone wants to buy all my pink floyd records at once to sell online they are gonna pay for them. but I don't price them SO high that a kid who just wants the record won't buy it.

$15-$20 each?

around there, yup.

i think it was a day a couple years ago when someone came in and bought every beatles album i had - like 10 or 15 records - when i decided that i would go up 5 bucks or more for clean copies of stuff like that. i mean i'm still pretty cheap compared to some places but i want kids getting into records to be able to buy normal rock stuff. they come back for more for one thing. unlike the guy who wiped out my beatles section. never saw him again.