Blogcritics: Comments on Surfing through record bins

Comment by Howard Owens

Tue, 24 Aug 2004 13:42:11 EDT

It probably doesn't have a lot of value. What you could do is determine what the bear minimum price is you'd be willing to sell it for ... like, if I can't get X amount, I would rather just keep it. And then place the item on Ebay with that price as the reserve ... if you get more, great, you profit. If not, you get to keep something that your heirs might enjoy.

Comment by Eric Olsen

Tue, 24 Aug 2004 08:44:42 EDT

it's worth more to keep

Comment by Jeff Grace

Tue, 24 Aug 2004 02:04:43 EDT

Everyone should have a logon date so you can tell if they know what the hell their doing on the web... mine would be 08/04/04. Before that I was working in an office with 1994 software and no Internet access. So basically I don't if I'm typing or blogging or...? Anyhoo... I'm sure you guys can dig this one... I used to be a DJ (20 years ago) So every once in a while I run across some artifact that I've kept for years. Thinkin' "Hey this could be worth... a dollar?... are you sure... well you know what I'm sayin'. Here's a Frank Sinatra album I've lugged eveywhere for the last 20 years. It's a "D.J. SAMPLE - PROMOTIONAL COPY" That I wonder about. Frank Sinatra All Alone Arranged and Produced by Gordon Jenkins Reprise R-1007 A (10,167) All Alone / The Girl Next Door / Are You Lonesome Tonight Charmaine / What'll I Do / When I Lost You R-1007 B (10,168) Oh, How I Miss You Tonight / Indiscreet / Remember Together / The Song Has Ended Cover: Weber / Art Direction: Merle Shore / Printed In U.S.A. I can describe it in more detail if you want. I've got a couple of other people looking for info on it. I just want to see if it's worth anything to $ell. ([~spAce~]) 08/04/04

Comment by Eric Olsen

Sun, 7 Sep 2003 21:02:18 EDT

Great post Howard - love the vinyl, and like you say, if you haunt the used bins it's cheap. I'll go in somewhere and walk out with 100 records for $50 - can't do that with CDs. And you really can still find classic vocalist, exotica, jazz, etc if you go to stores that specialize in contemporary rock/rap/pop, and don't know dick about the old stuff. Storage is an issue, but I fit about 10,000 in shelves along two walls of a room. They go pretty high though.

Comment by Howard Owens

Sun, 7 Sep 2003 19:15:40 EDT

Mac -- a turntable will open up a whole new world of music for you, believe me. And it's inexpensive hobby, if you're smart about it. There are lots of good used turntables available. If you can find a dealer who charges a reasonable price, services them himself, and is a good guy, you'll be real happy with your purchase. I recommend finding the best quality used turntable you can. The cheap new turntables aren't worth it, and the expensive ones aren't really any better than a good, well serviced used one. If you don't have a good amplifier, you'll want to get one of those, too. Again, lots of good stuff available on the cheap. It helps if you can find a local dealer who can help you (I know a guy in Thousand Oaks, Calif. if you're in the area). And I, too, have two turntables (actually, three), and a microphone (actually, two).

Comment by Jim Carruthers

Sun, 7 Sep 2003 17:25:08 EDT

A world where music fans have no turntables? Impossible! INCONCEIVABLE ! Realistically, depending on what sort of gear you have (do you have enough quads to support a turntable?) you should be able to get a half decent Technics turntable (apparently there are all these guys called D.J. who are keeping the industry alive). And, yes, I do _have_ two turntables and a microphone.

Comment by Mark Saleski

Sun, 7 Sep 2003 17:15:29 EDT

interesting comments Diva...the key concept here being 'convenience'. i grew up on lps but then switch like a madman in the mid-80's. but a few years ago i bought myself an new turntable and found that there is just boatloads of music out there that can be found nowhere else. as far as the iPod goes, one possible route would be a cd recorder...much like a tape deck but writes directly to cds.

Comment by Mac Diva

Sun, 7 Sep 2003 16:49:02 EDT

Yo, Howard! Here's an angle for a possible subsequent entry for you. I recently considered buying a record player. I'm inheriting LPs as older relatives die and can either keep them and play them or sell them. I was about to purchase a very hip looking phonograph at Renaissance Hardware when I reconsidered. As someone weened on cassettes and CDs who has graduated to MP3s, would I really use the phonograph? Would an iPod addict give up portability for a format that is anything but? Are records and record players now for audiophiles only? I'm sure I'm not the only one wondering about this. What do you think?

Comment by Jim Carruthers

Sun, 7 Sep 2003 16:22:55 EDT

When I lived in Montreal, I used to go to a great used record store called Cheap Thrills. Since I went there every week and bought something pretty much every week, the staff got into the habit of setting aside stuff for me they thought I would like for cheap. One of my favs is a Japanese collection of 50s rock and rolls covers, done phonetically by the singers (yes, they were doing the "roca-mot-ion" with "rittle eva").

Comment by Jim Carruthers

Sun, 7 Sep 2003 16:14:38 EDT

Great googly-moogly, don't ever get a job where you are asked "Do you want any of these albums, I'm going to throw them out" or a gig as a record reviewer (rule of thumb, the worse the record is, the more copies they send you). I once did an idle guess-timate about my vinyl collection and figured it weighs almost a ton. So that's why I haven't moved in a long time.

Comment by Howard Owens

Sun, 7 Sep 2003 16:13:15 EDT

Or if it does make it to CD, why waste money on a new CD when you just want to experiment and explore? Thanks for the note.

Comment by Mark Saleski

Sun, 7 Sep 2003 15:39:12 EDT

right on howard! used vinyl can be quite addicting. the best part about it is that there's just tons of great music out there to disocver that will never make it onto cd. ...and the cover art to exotica albums is fun all by itself.