Shady scams and other silly business ideas to take advantage of earnest new vinyl collectors

fell down a rabbit hole last night researching vnyl and looking up irate customers. it's all very entertaining. apparently this nick alt guy doesn't even half-heartedly apologize to misled customers anymore, blocks anyone who voices polite criticism, and has 4x the fake followers ott does.

also amusing that he chooses the "we decided we don't give a fuck" defense over something like "we didn't know about that law and therefore can't deliver our originally planned service now." can't someone complain to the kickstarter cops?

They're prob p under-resourced

if that's possible after they raised almost 4x their kickstarter goal to provide a service less than half as involved/cost-intensive as the one customers thought they were buying...well...

I meant the Kickstarter cops

oh true

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCnouXJ2rl4

"This Glenn Miller album should kick off the mood and we think Peter, Paul and Mary will go great in your stash!"

Love the curator notes.

I mentioned this elsewhere but I am not surprised that these people start a special vinyl curation service and the only woman they can find to curate, based on the article, is linda ronstadt (maybe jefferson airplane counts, plus whatever that 70s comp was perhaps)

― katherine, Thursday, May 14, 2015 9:54 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Yeah, not to worry. I'm sure that as long as it's a dollar record (at most) they don't discriminate. In fact, there appears to be no logic at all in their "curation" beyond that one rule.

Not vinyl, but got twitter spam this morning on the "lifestyle products for guys" version of this silliness. Bespoke Post will send you, each month, a "Box of Awesome." A curated box of crap. Hell, maybe there will be vinyl in it one month. Never know! Sign up!

https://www.bespokepost.com/land/sem-bespoke/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=brand&utm_content=bespoke-post&utm_term=bespoke%20post&gclid=CJjt3dyDxMUCFc4kgQodKDAAPA

And, xp, gotta thank WFMU's Fabio for driving "Mr. Giant Man" into my brain and inspiring me to find that record.

think it was said but I love that these guys think that 'curate' means 'tell you what vinyl we included in your package and vaguely tell you we love some album'.

"Just dug through your Discogs, saw you like many of the same musical performance acts as I currently like! Hope you enjoy the Peter Frampton, Santana, and Ambrosia records! That Ambrosia albums is one of my personal favorites!"

Bespoke Post will send you, each month, a "Box of Awesome."

At least you can skip a box if you don't like the contents.

fell down a rabbit hole last night researching vnyl and looking up irate customers. it's all very entertaining. apparently this nick alt guy doesn't even half-heartedly apologize to misled customers anymore, blocks anyone who voices polite criticism, and has 4x the fake followers ott does.

― soyrev, Friday, 15 May 2015 05:58 (10 hours ago) Permalink

Dude has a brick & mortar store on Abbot Kinney now what does he care

wow, i signed up for VYNL's sister service, FUD, and here was my first shipment!:

http://downtrend.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/ctofis2.jpg

amazing! they really nailed my taste.

@a-lo have a feeling he will speak up about exactly how much he cares (and how sorry he feels) sometime early next week. but i might be wrong: live recordings

Quoting the owner:

“It fucking sucks when we disappoint our members. We honestly feel incredibly sad when a member doesn’t like what we sent. That sucks for them and also for us. It’s like you just spent all this time planning out what you think is an awesome surprise gift idea for someone and then they can’t mask the look of disappointment when they open it up right in front of you. It’s completely deflating. Unfortunately, this comes with the territory of being a human curated service."

I imagine in the back of his mind he's thinking: "Nailed it! Just got to stay in character, then nobody can call us out! It's all subjective, I'll say. As long as enough r/vinyl or Urban Outfitters type kids keep subscribing we should be just fine."

― Evan, Thursday, May 14, 2015 4:27 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

yeah read that, though that was before the article hit and social media blowback really picked up -

https://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=vnyl&src=typd

if it continues i think he's gonna crack under all the jeering. or at least when he realizes having a brick and mortar vinyl shop with a name that's mud is maybe not the best life preserver in 2015

of the competing parody accounts, this one shows the most promise imo

https://twitter.com/Vnylz

"Like Amazon Prime for Vinyls!"

I await the next move from VNYL with high expectations.

PRYMLS

TPES

still no mention of the hot stamper dude on here...maybe we've talked about him enough already.

http://www.better-records.com/dept.asp?dept_id=14-015-034

― sleeve, Thursday, May 14, 2015 7:45 AM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oops, okay!

i have less of a problem with the hot stamper dude though. the people who buy his 400 dollar eagles records seem to be really happy with what he gives them. so, he is providing some sort of crazy service to crazy people. the vnyl people on the other hand, man, i don't even know what's going through their heads.

agreed

https://twitter.com/Vnylz

Just had a look here. Golden.

I think all companies should answer their consumer complaints with a form letter that begins with "It fucking sucks when we disappoint our customers"

"...and that's why i'm going to ritually disembowel myself right now."

Like Fripp & Eno? We think you'll LOVE Loggins & Messina!

It just occurred to me, after reading this satirical tweet, that VNYL is an elaborate operation in IRL trolling.

Twitter Vnylz some good zingers going on. That's one of you, right? C'mon speak up.

I think all companies should answer their consumer complaints with a form letter that begins with "It fucking sucks when we disappoint our customers"

Imagining the letter McDonald's would write about the infamous too-hot coffee.

saw a pro-VNYL dude getting aggro on instagram, saying they were great and fuck the hipsters and he'd never seen foghat in a dollar bin.

Celebrate the life and music of BB King with some gently used Barbara Streisand records! Sign up today using code "BB" and get 3% off! #vibe

Why go from yard sale to yard sale searching for that perfect water-damaged Neil Diamond record? For only $15 a month we'll ship you three!

saw a pro-VNYL dude getting aggro on instagram, saying they were great and fuck the hipsters and he'd never seen foghat in a dollar bin.

― ceres, Friday, May 15, 2015 4:03 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

please lynk

have the VNYL fans ever been in a record store other than urban outfitters?

I think all companies should answer their consumer complaints with a form letter that begins with "It fucking sucks when we disappoint our customers"

In a way, bad customer service can be of benefit to a company. It can provide an easy scapegoat in the form of a low-paid phone worker who takes the brunt of the anger and can often use that opportunity to sell the customer on additional services.

Have the VNYL fans been in a record store?

saw a pro-VNYL dude getting aggro on instagram, saying they were great and fuck the hipsters and he'd never seen foghat in a dollar bin.

Hipsters ruin everything. Even things that are doomed from the get-go: Hipsters ruined it.

http://instagram.com/p/2mMCPnDIo3/

happy customer right here:

https://instagram.com/p/2pX5a1vDZq/?tagged=vnyl

what is up with the linda ronstadt and mary travers? good for any occasion, i guess...

https://instagram.com/p/2kECKouMlw/?tagged=vnyl

level with me, scott, do you have any foghat in a discount bin?

pretty sweet looking store...

https://scontent-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/11150840_1570216133258817_9016011502914235091_n.jpg?oh=222012ac6a830bf7b6ab1a50a0983199&oe=55D1D6EEp

oops...

i'd have to check. i have a two dollar bin near my door. inflation and all that...

Good luck. I've never seen one in there in all my years.