Vinyl:Ordering vs. buying at record stores

[Moon]

I really don't think its a mystery that each have their goods and bads

When it really comes down to it, getting warped, badly pressed vinyl in the mail without any chance to make sure theres no cuts or problems really sucks.

i started off spinning without a credit card and from the records stores, 100% of my wax were good quality unwarped beauties. i could easily cue em nice and fast without the needle jumping all over the place and i was able to make sure the sound quality was right without feedback.

Although theres such a great selection out there with the internet, having a good local record store with peeps who stock the shit you want (and order the ones you want as well) is the way to go

and internet shopping with a credit card is the devil! i'm tired of being broke now. :tounge1:

[stringbeans]

almost all my records have been ordered off the net and none of them are warped or cut

ive also discovered that ordering off online stores is actually cheaper than buying them from local stores.. so i think ill stick with my online purchases :)

john

[cheeseburger]

i don't see anything in local stores that i see online.

if i lived downtown i would support locally but i don't

[*STARFISH*]

hmm it depends..
half n half

[Akeel]

i can never find any good trance in the city!

does anyone have ATB - 9pm?

:kam:


it depends on your genre too. Release sends out their email once a week with all the new breaks releases, most of which end up at your local record store in a few days.

[Wood]

real DJs dig in crates, that's all i gotta say

shopping on line is cool if you know what you're after, but there's much more to shopping at a record store than just buying wax

meeting other DJs, making connections, getting turned on to new things by the people you meet in the shops, staff or otherwise. Most of the local DJs i've booked for my various clubs, parties, eadio shows, are people i've met at my shop. The record shop is where it all goes down.

Online shops & poeple who use them exclusively are a major factor in the current lull in dance music. Don't underestimate the importance of a physical shop.

[AWOL]

I live downtown and I still don't see anything I want to buy.

And when I place special orders with local shops, here are my major complaints.

1. The store tries the first week to get the record & never again (unless you ask them about it)

2. after trying & knowing they can not get it, they never let me know (unless I ask)

3. if they can get it, it takes 2-5 weeks, much slower than anywhere online & sometimes it takes this long to find out they can get it or not (by now it's not available online anymore either)

4. Seeing my special order on the shelf, having never heard from them

5. local stores are more expensive

6. I used to get records that skip or are scratched all the time from FF & ocassionally Bassix

with online (with the sites I shop on):

1. Always in stock

2. 2-4 days shipping

3. $3 to $5 cheaper per record

4. Amazing selection (too bad local shops only use the same 1 to 3 distributors!)

5. Promo's like crazy, (and they don't care who you are. here you have to be friends with Soda or whomever works at the shop to get promo's)

6. Full length audio samples. I listen to samples on certain sites and shop at the cheaper sites (Juno baby!)

People keep saying everyone should support their local shops but why? They're overpriced, no selection, and the only other use for them is DJ equipment and tix. Plus DJ gear can be finnanced from Tom Lee or Long & McQuade.

[AWOL]

Plus staff is really snobby sometimes.

Especially when Kris worked at Boomtown, he was the reason I stopped shopping there. But hey, I'm sure they don't need my $100+ a week.

[cheeseburger]

Originally posted by AWOL

4. Amazing selection (too bad local shops only use the same 1 to 3 distributors!)

5. Promo's like crazy, (and they don't care who you are. here you have to be friends with Soda or whomever works at the shop to get promo's)

well said, these 2 points are they biggest reasons for purchasing online.

[AWOL]

plus if you shop locally you'll have all the same records that everyone bought that week. good if you're a jobber DJ but no so good if you want different stuff from everyone else.

[Veni*C]

i like ordering offline cause you have waaaaaaay more selection and can find dope tracks...but going into a rekkid store and actaully being able to listen to the rekkid is better cause you dont have to just listen to the part they have picked out....so ya...im in the middle....just depends....

[AWOL]

Originally posted by Wood
real DJs dig in crates, that's all i gotta say

I'd agree if this was London & the shops had lots of records. I dug for 2 years and all I've seen is records on the shelf that nobody wants. besides, I dig online.

Online shops & poeple who use them exclusively are a major factor in the current lull in dance music.

So people buying music online doesn't support the artists or labels? My understanding was the money still goes where it usually goes. I thought MP3's were to blame.

[matéo]

^^^^^^

I totally disagree with what people say about getting promos etc.
I have had numurous promos/ rare records held for me at various shops. Im not superstar dj Kraig, Precise, Czech, or Vinyl Richie but I still manage to get great records in. VinylLab was great and so is hipnotik I buy the ocasional record downtown but unfortunately work doesn't allow me to travel there during daytime.

Rob I know what you mean about snobby staff. When I walk into Beatstreet I feel like they see me as a surrey kid ready to take any piece of vinyl I see without purchasing it.

Also wood you took the words right out of my motuh well said.

[matéo]

I find gems every time i go out to local shops that I bet not mroe then two or three people have.

[AWOL]

there are many hidden gems at Hipnotik, mainly because they don't get "raped" like the shops downtown.

Platinum Records in Seattle & Portland (I've been to both) are great. Their breaks section is as big as Active Passes entire stock. Show me a section like that and I will dig.

They have every label & every release in stock. Not just having label sections empty or with one or two of the current releases. They stock almost every release.

That's a real shop.

[stringbeans]

vinyl lab was cool.. great location and the staff (jeremy) was really cool and helpful

other record stores ive been to, the staff just sorta stand behind the counter and stare at you.. its kinda intimidating and not very friendly

and at on deck, that chick who works there knows absolutely nothing about the music thats there... i think its really important that the staff knows whats new and what you might like. i mean, when i used to go to vinyl lab, jeremy would just start picking out tracks for me as soon as i stepped in and he'd be like "here, try these! you might like 'em!"

not to pigeonhole the record stores currently in vancouver, but its just from my experience that the ones ive been to have been not so great (with the exception of vinyl lab)

john

[AWOL]

Stephen (Skip EZ) from Vinyl lab is now at On Deck. He was helpful when I went in last week. Showed me a record I overlooked (turns out it was a record that I heard online that I wanted).

[Wood]

awol, what i was saying is that people not going to record shops could hurt the sense of community among DJs, as shops have been an integral meeting place for people in our 'profession' or what-have-you. There is still something to be said for meeting people in real life, not all communication should take place online...

frankly i'm not interested in anyone's petty beefs about local shops, i know every one of them work their asses off for the loyal customers. You can't please everyone, but the hoards of satisfied customers speak for themselves.

[Akeel]

rI usually go to boomtown when soda is working and when the breaks shipment comes in, granted boomtown does get picked over pretty quick but then i would just head over to hipnotik or vinyl lab to find what i wanted.

Service for me is a big issue, when i first started buying records and dj'ing i never bought from bassix because of the severe attitude thats displayed when i first started going there. Same with FF to a certain extent.

I get good service @ boomtown and as of late On Deck, these are the two shops i stick with. Everytime i go to hipnotik its all stuff i've already heard or already have.

[AWOL]

Originally posted by Wood
awol, what i was saying is that people not going to record shops could hurt the sense of community among DJs

ok, I misunderstood the comment "Online shops & people who use them exclusively are a major factor in the current lull in dance music."

I thought you were saying online shoppers ("the people who use them") were responsible for the decline in the music industry ("current lull in dance music").

[vangroover]

Originally posted by ~Veni_C~
i like ordering offline cause you have waaaaaaay more selection and can find dope tracks...but going into a rekkid store and actaully being able to listen to the rekkid is better cause you dont have to just listen to the part they have picked out....so ya...im in the middle....just depends....

online is cool cause you can find exactly what your looking for easy, but its always fun when you just dig threw some records and find an amazing track you have never herd of.

[Sykonee]

I prefer shops meself. Great way to waste an afternoon on just digging through crates of music (better than point and clicking an afternoon away, at least :sick: ).

[e_BoY]

I guess it also depends on what genre of music you spin. I mean if you spin hardhouse or trance the selection isn't as good as lets say breaks or something in the local stores. Thats when online comes in handy. Then again im just assuming cause im not a dj nor do i know anything about djing. You guys are the pros on this one

[shift]

For the most part I fully agree with what Wood said, that aspect of community is important, and I think that if you're limiting yourself to strictly buying on-line you're doing just that, limiting yourself.

That said I find that for the most part Canadian reocrd stores don't carry the styles I'm interested in, so I end up doing the majority of my shopping through on-line stores based in the UK. That may change now that I've moved here tho', I checked out On Deck last week and was impressed with the selection, and I plan to check out some others next week when I've got some time. See ya there.... or not as the case may be.

[bebu*funfun]

im still waitin to get tables, but ive been buyin 1-3 records each week just for listening purposes and making it an entertainment/time consuming thing to do afterschool to go check out records.. i dont find ANYTHING i see online at stores, but it allows me to dig around and listen to tracks that i dont think ill ever listen to and broadens my knowledge on whats good and not good. im still lookin around to find out which store is cheaper/more deals..etc.. cuz i totally know im buying everything at the wrong price. chris told me to check out virgin and i did.. the down is the that you can't listen to it, but if you know exactly what albums/singles you want.. its nice and cheap.

but yea if i had a credit card id prob resort to online shopping instead, for the quick access and convinience. but right now the only way i can buy anything online is to wait for chris to make his online purchases. hehehehe.

i went to on deck yesterday and got EXCELLENT service from this guy...and he was pretty cute as well. he kept feeding me records after records.. yea he was awesome.. and i left the place with selections that i would have never have bothered listening to and i was one happy gal.