catman Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 G'day all, a bit of a vent! Today was our second annual record fair in our town. As I did last year I went along and ended up buying four LP records. Two things were apparent, the number of vendors was less than last year, and secondly one of the vendors was selling 'all' his records at one (very) premium price. One might even say an exorbitant price, however his range was very good and I did hand over my cash for two records. What was worse than his prices was his 'attitude', that I personally found quite offensive. Essentially it was, no negotiation on price and if you don't want to buy, 'go away'. I was not impressed at all. If I'd been feeling a little more confrontational, things might have become somewhat more heated, but I restrained myself thankfully. This chap was clearly cashing in and milking the present renewed interest in records for all that he could. The other vendor was much more pleasant and reasonable and was a pleasure to deal with. It was an 'interesting', shall I say experience. Regards, Felix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candyflip Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Hey Felix, At a Record Fair here last month, a new seller turned up with about 400 titles. All s/hand, all pretty well looked after (the odd anomaly), and ALL of them were $40 each. That's right - no matter who the group, or the title, or that rarity (and none were 'rare'), they were all clearly labelled $40 each. Suffice to say, he was doing no business, which is exactly as it should be - the record buying public are now completely savvy. They know what's what, and they vote with their feet. I take no personal offence at this sale pitch. I did take the time to explain to this poor gent his mis-understanding of the current vinyl market, and the fact that over 100 sellers had cheaper, better, similar offerings, to which he was dismissive. He stated his records were Mint (they were not) and so all prices stood. And so I walked away (as did many around me). Self regulating industry - could not ask for more. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reverend Johnny Heathen Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Snobbish behaviour in the record collecting scene? Whoda thunk? ...I just take that to be a part of this scene. There are also a bunch of great, open minded, friendly guys who just want to share their journey and share in yours. I try not to let the snobs bother me. And the price gouging? That's just part of it all too. It seems the market has spun well out of control and even cheap little akai belt drives and their equivalent that fetched $40-$50 dollars a few years ago on the second hand market are now selling for upward of $250. Bizarre. But as the other poster has said - you just walk right by. Me, I just laugh and shake my head at these guys. No idea. I suspect its who you know in this scene. These guys will be gone again soon enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussievintage Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 5 hours ago, catman said: What was worse than his prices was his 'attitude', that I personally found quite offensive. There are people who just should not be running a business where public interaction is required. There's a certain hifi store that I won't ever go to again for this reason. For most of us, it's a hobby, and we want to enjoy it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wimbo Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 (edited) 5 hours ago, catman said: What was worse than his prices was his 'attitude', that I personally found quite offensive. Would this have been a problem and make you not buy his stuff if all the prices were $10? Not stirring, just asking. I was in the "HiFi" industry for 35 years and found some customers exactly the same. Snobish, Had prepared themselves to argue (and had done their homework to strengthen their arguing, focusing on one product.) and would never purchase anything anyway,no matter how much time you spent with them. (I did say some). I buy a lot of LP's new now as the price is comparable to a lot of second hand stuff. Edited April 22, 2017 by Wimbo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Full Range Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 I will find out how things pan out on next months record fair in Brisbane as I have planned on going Will be going with a set list of titles I need Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelw Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 i went to a local record fair this month. the records were varied in price from $1 - $250 for some "rare" heavy hair metal album. what was of more concern was the condition of the records. 99% were so crappy even a skip would spit them out. my best find was a cd ! a mint xrcd24 of james newton howard and friends as for being self-regulating.... some of the worse sellers have been around for ages. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogicprObe Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 Record Fairs are just money making exercises. I don't have a problem with that.......................but I absolutely refuse to pay an entry fee! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frankn Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 (edited) I came home today with a couple of new purchases and found I previously purchased one of the albums a few months ago!! Interesting was that the previous purchase at the same place was 20% cheaper - coincidence? I'm glad today's purchase was also 20% off. Edited April 22, 2017 by frankn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LogicprObe Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 JB? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TOPSHELF Posted April 22, 2017 Share Posted April 22, 2017 I popped in to see phil at vintage records as i hadn't seen him for about a year or more. I was greeted like an old friend and he still remembered all my personal circumstances. It was my birthday so i picked out a few nice records and Phil told me to look through a pile of records he was about to put out that were absolutely mint. I picked 4 and nearly fell over when he said $5 each! I've seen these titles easily sell for $20 a pop. I then bought some outer sleeves and when he added everything up he rounded it down by 15 and threw in a new record he had pressed for last years rsd. What can i say, all vinyl was spotless and in a mofi inner and new outer. A quick look through discogs says I'd make about $80 (excluding) the freebie if i was to sell them. He was about to put out 10? Crates of newly arrived records from America and he had just nearly sold out of a huge mobile fidelity collection. I need to get in there more often.....Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candyflip Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 1 hour ago, TOPSHELF said: I popped in to see phil at vintage records as i hadn't seen him for about a year or more. I was greeted like an old friend and he still remembered all my personal circumstances. It was my birthday so i picked out a few nice records and Phil told me to look through a pile of records he was about to put out that were absolutely mint. I picked 4 and nearly fell over when he said $5 each! I've seen these titles easily sell for $20 a pop. I then bought some outer sleeves and when he added everything up he rounded it down by 15 and threw in a new record he had pressed for last years rsd. What can i say, all vinyl was spotless and in a mofi inner and new outer. A quick look through discogs says I'd make about $80 (excluding) the freebie if i was to sell them. He was about to put out 10? Crates of newly arrived records from America and he had just nearly sold out of a huge mobile fidelity collection. I need to get in there more often..... Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk You do! Just don't believe you'll be able to 'sell' anything on Discogs, fair price or not. The vast majority of prices quoted are for Americans and Europeans buying each other's stuff - not paying AUS$25+ to get something shipped to the other side of the world from us. This is, I believe, the great pricing issue that few talk about with Discogs values. They are very relevant over there, but not so much here. I can put 50 items on Discogs and not have one of them move in a month. I can do the same on eBay and see two or three go in a weekend (mostly local buyers these days). Discogs is not eBay, and never has been - 1 or 2 sales of something there should not a market make. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spider Posted April 23, 2017 Share Posted April 23, 2017 I agree Candyflip, having just started this journey I thought I might try purchasing on Discogs (I have used the site for many a year for information) but quickly found out that shipping changed everything. That $4 single isn't so cheap when you add in the shipping! The only thing I've done is purchase off locals on Discogs - it's become an eBay substitute for me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schnuck Posted April 27, 2017 Share Posted April 27, 2017 I used to go to the Camberwell Town Hall and Essendon record fairs. Prices have to be a bit lower for me to justify buying records you can't listen to in a dark room with people reaching over you to check the crate behind the one your looking in. John from Sydney that used to come down and take up 10 or so tables. He had a shop in Newtown Sydney. Nice guy and great prices as he just wanted to move the stuff. I went down to Box Hill late last year and it was all a bit too hard for me but worth a look if you have the energy and patience. Pricing was too much. Scratched US imports for $30 or $40 dollars so have to agree with OP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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