Shops or online?

[Paul-K]

just wondering how much time people now spent looking for records in shops compaired to online?
do you prefer shops or online? theres not many shops left now. every time i do go to a record shop i tend to not find anything im after.

[mr sayers]

I buy more in the real world, mostly markets, I do look at stuff a hell of a lot online, but don't buy online that often. That said Discogs has been coming up with the goods a lot this year, hardly ever buy on ebay.

[Paul-K]

i really need to start looking on discogs. i never look on there to buy.

[mr sayers]

You should start, you've got unlimited saved searches unlike Ebay, and you can check them anytime instead of waiting for the email, which is a real plus and a good way to score for stuff!

[nebkins]

Spend far to much time on Discogs as i sell there as well but havent been buying much recently. eBay is always worth a look with nice things slipping unnoticed past a lot of people who have swapped over to purely Discogs.

But i much prefer the thrill of the chase in real life whether it be charity shops , boot fairs or record shops.

[Plainstone]

About 50/50 for me. Trouble is that it's too hot to think about traipsing round shops at the moment, so the only ones I've been in since getting back from Germany have been those close to subway/ train station exits. Been trading a lot, though

[d7bohs]

95% shops.

I rarely know I want a record until I see it.

[Paul-K]

i used to be like that, i mainly went shopping to see what the shops had.
recently though ive been focusing on records i really would like in the collection. i think i need to get back out there searching around. only been to one store this year and only 2 boot sales. ive spent loads on ebay though.

[babycart]

I gave up buying online almost two years ago. Didn´t see the point in waiting for a vinyl copy of a record I probably knew already from a download, and which I barely played once I got it.

the only real pleasure I got out of it was when a blind punt paid off, but p&p charges and a general rise in base prices has meant that that´s not worth doing.

Much prefer looking in a shop and being set off in new directions. I don´t think internet sales outlets have come anywhere near replicating the browsing experience. It´s all geared towards your existing tastes.

[d7bohs]

Much prefer looking in a shop and being set off in new directions. I don´t think internet sales outlets have come anywhere near replicating the browsing experience. It´s all geared towards your existing tastes.

Exactly.

Best buying experience this year - though I didn't realise it at the time - was buying a job lot of '80s soul LPs in a local charity. Most of it stuff I hadn't heard of, but they were mint and I'd nothing new to listen and......... well, these days it's all high top fades and brightly coloured big shouldered jackets round mine

[Rich Hero]

i used to be like that, i mainly went shopping to see what the shops had.
recently though ive been focusing on records i really would like in the collection. i think i need to get back out there searching around. only been to one store this year and only 2 boot sales. ive spent loads on ebay though.

Are there any good record fairs local to you, Paul? The right one may provide the best of both worlds.

Me, I've only managed to make it to a handful of boot sales (and bought nothing); visited the local charities more often (but nowhere near enough) found one or two interesting records, more buyers than I can ever remember and have mostly bought books; visited shops and fairs a similar number of times (and returned with more records from fairs); and bought most of my record purchases online. I'd put this down to having less disposable income, and therefore wanting to make it count when I dispose of it, but also seeing fewer records I want in shops. This may be due to being more particular about what I want to buy (and that, again, may be down to cashflow). Increases in shipping are pushing me back in to the real world but they also mean that I'm happier buying one expensive record where the postage is a small part of the final price than I am buying numerous cheap records and doubling the actual cost.

[medlar]

For new stuff it is very rarely shops these days, most of the stuff I'm after they don't stock so it has to be online specialist retailers.
I don't buy from ebay or discogs. All other stuff I enjoy digging around in charities and such like, it's fun to take a cheap punt on some record one has never heard of.
For example I recently picked up the Gogi Grant lp "If You Want To Get To Heaven - Shout" and it's great!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMFceitkP08

[Paul-K]

Rich, i havent been to a fair in years. i think ill go to the next one at the NIA. found some good stuff over the years from there. id love a good days record shopping. seems like its been ages.

[mr sayers]

Increases in shipping are pushing me back in to the real world but they also mean that I'm happier buying one expensive record where the postage is a small part of the final price than I am buying numerous cheap records and doubling the actual cost.

I think this speaks for the majority of us on here Rich mate.

[treeboy]

Oh to have a record shop within 20 miles of where I live. I love the tactile thing of actually flicking through loads of records, wondering what's going to pop up next. As a result, I do buy quite a lot online as opposed to in the real world. Not through choice. There's a couple of market stalls selling vinyl where I live, but they've normally packed up by the time I finish work. In the absence of real world sellers/shops, online is convenient for me. New stuff all online. Probably go to about half a dozen record fairs a year,once again, not many in this neck of the woods. How depressing, I've just realised I'm living in a vinyl desert!