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PrintDiggin' the Virtual Crates: Buying Records Online
News Type: Event — Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:22 AM EST
The one that got away.
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I don't like buying used records online. You lose out on all the charm of the dusty little record shop, the joy of flipping through records in crates, and – most crucial – the all-important chance to try before you buy. A damaged record isn't much use, after all, nor is one that you just don't like.
Still, sometimes buying online is simply unavoidable. I mostly collect jazz and funk records, and I don't exactly live in a major urban center, so if there's something I particularly want, sometimes I have to go online. I spent months looking for a copy of Jimmy Smith's Groovin' at Small's Paradise Vol. 1 without success, so eventually I gave up and bought it online. I was very happy with the purchase - until the record disappeared mysteriously from my collection awhile back.
Do Your Homework
So, how do you shop for used records online without getting taken for a ride? The answer, of course, is research. Know what you're looking for and who you're buying from. If you have a specific record in mind, the first part is taken care of – but if you're looking to dig the virtual crates a little, it will behoove you to have some resources handy to look things up.
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- Groups: Entertainment Gateway, Independent Music Fund, Newsvine Music: Listen In, Tunes
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{"commentId":1514047,"authorDomain":"emix"}
If I ever find out who took that record...
{"commentId":1514047,"threadId":"225952","contentId":"1329154","authorDomain":"emix"}
- 2 votes
#1 - Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:23 AM EST{"commentId":1514190,"authorDomain":"deatienza"}
The only time I've ordered a record online was my pre-order of Tilly and the Wall's Bottoms of Barrels and that was mostly because doing that got me a free 7".
I generally prefer just going into a store and seeing what I can find, and then afford.
{"commentId":1514190,"threadId":"225952","contentId":"1329154","authorDomain":"deatienza"}
- 2 votes
#2 - Wed Feb 27, 2008 11:59 AM EST{"commentId":1514249,"authorDomain":"emix"}
{"commentId":1514346,"authorDomain":"ejronin"}
I don't like buying used records online. You lose out on all the charm of the dusty little record shop, the joy of flipping through records in crates, and – most crucial – the all-important chance to try before you buy.
Very true, though I just sold my 3000+ record collection on ebay...so people DO buy them. However, I did list every track, pressing year (and sometimes pressing number) and so on to help people be informed as to what exactly they were getting. Some DJs, as I'm sure you know, shy away from the record stores because it takes a LOT of time (which is why I actually liked it), but once you ahve a good collection going, you want to get known records... those dance floor hits of yesteryear and you WONT find those in a store. I just sold my Tiesto: Song of the Siren and James Holden Nothing (93 returning Mix)...sadly, but you won't find those in a store and if you do, you've done some serious SERIOUS crate digging.
Nowadays, as in, not anymore but within the last two years, if I dug a crate, it was for sample sources... like jazz records, old 80's synth pop, and 70s disco... it is how you MAKE it rather than PLAY it.
{"commentId":1514346,"threadId":"225952","contentId":"1329154","authorDomain":"ejronin"}
- 3 votes
#3 - Wed Feb 27, 2008 12:37 PM EST{"commentId":1514362,"authorDomain":"emix"}
{"commentId":1514549,"authorDomain":"ejronin"}
It was a lot... it took about 6 boxes at 40lbs a piece. Selling records one at a time, while probably more inline with some seasoned DJs, it was geared towards collectors, and people just starting out.
I still DJ, but Beatport is my main source. You can do a lot with digital controls that you couldnt with analog. This however is not to say analog Djing sucks... analog Djing is about the art WITH the science of it and I still have very strong affections towards the analog style... I just... do not have the time and the money to keep up with it like I used to... and I live in middle GA where the appreciation and the scene dont' really exist like it did when I lived on the outskirts of DC... of course when Yo@!$%#oshi shut down and 611 records become a place I'd have to fly to rather than drive a couple of hours to I lost out too...
On the flip side, dancerecords.com and a number of other online record stores to have drops that you can listen to before you buy them so we're not totally being forced to shop for digital tracks, but again it sort of does require that you understand the scene and the process more so than if you just walked in a place a plate on the MK2s..and I'm still on mailing lists for Ultra, Platypus, Netwerk, etc...
Books like The Penguin Guide to Jazz (and similar offerings covering other genres if you don't listen to jazz, you philistine) are invaluable. They list artists alphabetically with brief bios and rate each release in the artist's discography, with more detailed discussion of the most important ones. Of course, "important" is in the eye of the beholder, and they don't always get it right, but this is a good jumping-off point.
very true. I've run into a lot of new Djs who look at record guides like a Beckett guide. They're not biblical references as to the value and worth, or even quality of a record. They're subjective materials that explain certain aspects to consider when listening, but as you say - its in the eye of the beholder. Hell, I'll read reviews of records and read how a new release is drastically different than some artists release from a month ago - go listen to it and be like... if by drastic you mean its 120bpm in the key of F instead of 90bpm in the key of E... sure... but essentially its the same and would not fit any differently before or after a certain style of record that it previously had... its the same boring record with a different pitch and key... .wonders never cease.
{"commentId":1514549,"threadId":"225952","contentId":"1329154","authorDomain":"ejronin"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1514569,"authorDomain":"ejronin"}
That's quite a few records. Did you sell them piecemeal, or as a package?
what really hurt... was letting go of the mixer and tables
{"commentId":1514569,"threadId":"225952","contentId":"1329154","authorDomain":"ejronin"}
- 1 vote
{"commentId":1514584,"authorDomain":"emix"}
{"commentId":1514565,"authorDomain":"kymlee"}
until the record disappeared mysteriously from my collection awhile back
:( Grr...It's supremely frustrating when music you searched long and hard for disappears. I had a party a few years back and a discovered soon after that my Thug Life Vol 1 and Coast II Coast ('da Liks) - both of which had to be special ordered - CDs were missing. I would have been even more angry if I'd had the vinyl versions and those had been stolen.
{"commentId":1514565,"threadId":"225952","contentId":"1329154","authorDomain":"kymlee"}
- 2 votes
#4 - Wed Feb 27, 2008 1:32 PM EST{"commentId":1514580,"authorDomain":"ejronin"}
both of which had to be special ordered - CDs were missing.
I've had stuff like that happen. It really really angers me. I never spun CDs.. only vinyl, but what I eventually did was put locks on my flight cases and if I was taking more than 5 steps away from them, I'd lock it, with a key...and flight cases, full flight cases can be heavy as hell so the weight deters people from trying to take off with them...
I HAVE had someone steal a table from me though... and someone tried to once run off with a mixer and FX pad... they didn't get far... I have friends...
would have been even more angry if I'd had the vinyl versions and those had been stolen.
You know... I have people who have been angry at me for GIVING classic vinyl away. Lke I gave away "Higher State of Consciousness", "Game master", and "Xpander EP"... all the original pressing and in mint condition. However the point of the EDM Dj scene is to share it with others... and if it means that you ahve to give away a record or two that means a lot, then you do it. Aphrodite game me "I need a Woman that Rolls" and "Spice" a long time ago... Green Velvet game me "Flash"... and I'm not saying I'm a 'big dog' DJ but you do it long enough and you run into big names and hang out briefly.. its about sharing what you've got..but when they get stolen, yeah its aggravating because with me...all you had to do was ask and I'd probably just give it to you.
{"commentId":1514580,"threadId":"225952","contentId":"1329154","authorDomain":"ejronin"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":1514591,"authorDomain":"emix"}
{"commentId":1515620,"authorDomain":"dreamer"}
I have never bought online- I really like the experience of searching the dusty bins:) I think there is nothing like searching the bins and finding something that I have been looking for. It makes a great day!
{"commentId":1515620,"threadId":"225952","contentId":"1329154","authorDomain":"dreamer"}
- 2 votes
#5 - Wed Feb 27, 2008 7:03 PM EST{"canLink":false,"threadId":"225952","isPrivate":false}
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