Oxfam forge forward!

[Belson]

So I learnt this morning that Oxfam are to launch their own musical download site, charging something like 75p per download, with 10p of it going to charity.

The choice of songs will be fairly 'comprehensive' and will also feature some exclusives to the site only, by the likes of George Michael etc.

Bearing in mind the recent rants about charidees, what do people predict the future holds for the charity way of digging? Is a British institution, the way of the Saturday morning dig, about to turn the corner and vanish up its own ebay/record collector priced arse?

And with boot fares yielding little or no fruit, is e-digging really the only way ahead for the British/UK collector?

[Sie Vulture]

Quote[/b] ]And with boot fares yielding little or no fruit, is e-digging really the only way ahead for the British/UK collector?

Totally agree - booting so far this year has been shocking!

(apart from the weekend that LDJB joined Chris and I in the North East, but in all fairness we only turned up 'nice to have bits' rather than 'heat&#39

As for the future... I fear Belson is right IMHO...  

[sermad]

All it is is a reskinned od2 (mycola and the like) service. I guess its just a new revenue stream for them for not much cost - they system is already in place. Im pretty sure you'll get natwest music download service soon.

Booting this year has been terrible. Thats life.

[vibra]

Exactly. I don't feel that Oxfam are offering a music download site *instead* of selling records in shops here, it's just a new form of raising funds and IMO good luck to them.

Internet music downloads are clearly the way forward from an industry point of view, what with CD sales being significantly down every year, and so I think it's a shrewd move by Oxfam to capitalise on this development.

[Belson]

Quote[/b] (vibra @ May 26 2004,11:53)]Exactly. I don't feel that Oxfam are offering a music download site *instead* of selling records in shops here, it's just a new form of raising funds and IMO good luck to them.

Internet music downloads are clearly the way forward from an industry point of view, what with CD sales being significantly down every year, and so I think it's a shrewd move by Oxfam to capitalise on this development.

And so far, my point has been well and truely missed.

It's not the quality of the service that they are offering - it's the increased awareness of music and the possible knock on effect it will have to the Oxfam/Charity record stores selling (increasingly wayward and ridiculously priced) records.

They clearly are targetting music as a way to make money - and like Vibra says, good luck to them. But what about the potential knock on effect, when they continue to realise that they've got a pile of gems sitting in every store - whether they're gems are a bunch of turkeys, cos we all know they don't know the difference!!

Prices and attitudes to Vulture types are going to continue to change - aren't they?

[Rich Hero]

Quote[/b] (Belson @ May 26 2004,12:00)]Prices and attitudes to Vulture types are going to continue to change - aren't they?

Yes, it's unfortunate that people are getting wise to diggers (vaguely related - I saw at least two different news reports last week alone on the BBC about eBay). But the nature of what we do means we're ahead of the curve, and those striving to make a profit out of us, above and beyond our means, will always be playing catch up. We're simply not made of money and this isn't exactly a common or garden pursuit, so the pot of money up for grabs is limited. I'm sure most of us would prefer to put in time and effort than money and there's more than one way to skin a cat (sorry, &#33 - we're all online, evidently, and I'm sure we've all bought records from other sources than charities, boots, record shops (real or virtual) or fairs. Prices and attitudes may indeed be changing, so it's time get creative (and shoehorn in another chestnut) - when the going gets tough...

[sermad]

Well we all new that proper record shoppe oxfams were coming. Maybe this is the start of a major push?

I havent shopped in oxfam for months because the prices are not consistent across the stores. 50p one - 99p other - 4.99 next. good luck to em - I think the percentage of sales from us vv types in miniscule compared to normal punters. You should see the dalston oxfam. Its full of people buying all sorts of records. None of them are looking for what I want. They just like records too. - even crap mantiovani and other such crap.

[vibra]

Quote[/b] (sermad @ May 26 2004,12:21)]You should see the dalston oxfam. Its full of people buying all sorts of records. None of them are looking for what I want. They just like records too. - even crap mantiovani and other such crap.

Ha! ha! I've had that experience as well. Punters shouting to their mates in all sincerity "wow, look" pulling out 'No Jacket Required' or 'The Best Of Status Quo'. And I whispered to myself "wow, look" as I pulled out a Soul Condor..

[wayne]

I think this has been going on for a good year or two now: have to say, the mainstream charity chains just aren't often worth looking in very often these days, as the stock tends to be (a) overpriced and (b) pretty static (can these facts be related??). But I suppose us 'Vulture Types' (does this refer to the kind of records we're after, or our tendency to be cheapskates, by the way?) just have to get more inventive.

If the mainstream charities aren't much use anymore, put the time into finding the little local ones, the house clearance places etc...that's where the stuff I'm finding is mostly coming from these days. And the Booters haven't been brilliant, but I suppose it depends what you're after. The lounge and easy stuff is still reasonably priced, I find - but if you're after black music, say, or rock, everybody expects everything to be worth a fortune whether it is or not.

Even so, I've had a few nice bits out of them this year - things that go for ££ in That London, but have slipped through the net up here. And despite the headline-grabbling stuff on ebay, there are plenty of bargains to be had. An LP might go for £60 one week, but you might also bag it for a fiver the next. And the fashion cycles have an effect, too. The exotica stuff dried up for awhile after the big 90s revival, but bits are turning up for cheap again now.

So, I dunno, really, but I'm not too depressed about the situation. And with the mainstream charities, music is only part of it: the clothes, books, bric-a-brac...the prices are outstripping 'proper' antique shops, boutiques & booksellers across the board at the moment. I think they might have to rethink the policy eventually, since the stock is remaining more or less static in most of the refitted/upgraded Oxfams I've checked on any regular basis.

[wayne]

Quote[/b] (vibra @ May 25 2004,13:26)]

Quote[/b] (sermad @ May 26 2004,12:21)]You should see the dalston oxfam. Its full of people buying all sorts of records. None of them are looking for what I want. They just like records too. - even crap mantiovani and other such crap.

Ha! ha! I've had that experience as well. Punters shouting to their mates in all sincerity "wow, look" pulling out 'No Jacket Required' or 'The Best Of Status Quo'. And I whispered to myself "wow, look" as I pulled out a Soul Condor..

Very true - pulled a Bobbie Gentry 'Touch 'Em With Love' out of a box full of 80s Dire Straits & Eric Clapton LPs and the bloke was going, 'Blimey, that's going back a bit, innit? Anybody still listening to that, then?'. And I'm sure the lady in the charity shop from which I bought two record cases of UK easy LPs last week was slightly baffled by what on earth I wanted with about 80 old Button Down Brass and Ray McVay albums...

As am I sometimes, when I've got home and played the worst of them

[son of stan]

I'm reading this book at the moment which is a collection of Mass Observation diaries from the immmediate post-war period. One of the contributors is this antiques dealer who is fretting on about people wising up to the value of old stuff and the perception that everything is being shipped to the USA ("THERE'LL BE NOTHING LEFT SOON!&quot. This was in 1946.

I think if you've got broad horizons and are prepared to be a bit open minded about what you're looking for, there'll always be decent records to be found cheap. Charities and booties are two sources; there are loads of others. Keep 'em peeled.

[bongolia]

yeah, robbing Mark's house when he's on holiday would be a very good source...

[BoneyVotel]

Oxfam is only one charity, & obviously a large firm, so if they can make dough from downloading music, fair enough. I don't think any of us have unearthed any REAL decent finds in Oxfam for a very long time (Bar the odd exception).

I went in our branch the otherday, bought nothing & left the same copy of Prudence & the Pill that's been there for 12 months, they can carry on losing what little cash I'd put there way, dont' bother me. Ive spent a lot with them over the years, but shopping in Oxfam dont' give you the same buzz as the smaller charites. For a start there's no lovely old ladies, suddendly turning into super bitches & slagging off the other shift for not putting the bags of knickers away!! Listening to old ladies slag other old ladies off is cool. Oh & they always talk about operations too with elderly shoppers.
In Oxfam you gotta push past a pile of dodgy bongo's, an African linen basket and some woven rugs and it's never worth the effort.
Not really hammered boots this year (1 i think) lets wait till the summer & the casuals come out, fingers crossed.

I gotta agree that on line digging is really he only way I can now find stuff Im after / or want clogging up shelf space.

[Nick Cope]

God, the music industry is so incredibly crap. £1 or 75p - it's still far too expensive. When are they gonna 'fess up' to all of this and concede that their glory days are well and truly over and that the only way of doing online music realistically, is through micro-payments... between 1 and 5 pence per tune. It'll happen eventually, but not before thousands lose their jobs and before music has suffered generally some more.

As for Oxfam's strategy: it's a bloody stupid one that will get swallowed up very quickly. What a waste of resources for a supposed charity.

[sermad]

£1 for a tune is dirt cheap considering people pay £4 for a shit ringtone. Im building an ondemand music service for a biiiiiiig record label. They are all doing it mate.