For 07 can dealers get rid of secret squirrels?
Manduro3000
265 Posts
The whole secret squirrel thing is just so outdated. If record sellers dont want a record to get out, then don't try sell it! Keep buried in you crate covered in dust and spider webs. Example...http://www.recordkingz.com/shop/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=29&products_id=3613So what other things would you guys like to see disappear for 2007?
Comments
youd have to really find me in desperate need of a vinyl fix to drop $20 on that shit. let alone 250 pounds
From memory that record is just someone like Jimmy Takeuchi (sp?), its been on eBay at least twice in recent times and goes for about ??10-20, but since Recordkingz put that silly price on it people are biddin it up higher now.
Sorry to take you out of your better-life dream, but the main goal is not for him to hide record references.. just to grab more money with it.
Just be realistic: what's the interest for him to sell 9$99 a record with the title on ebay when he can sell it 4x this price as a secret squirrel?
You're hittin the wrong target: The problem (if it's really a problem) is not recordkingz, it's the people who buy secret squirrel from him.
I feel sorry for the buyers they really seem to trust a lot of these secret squirrel selling guys, and while the buyers must take blame for being a little naive they are purposely being misled into thinking the records are rare when this is often not the case.
I don't really think Recodkingz are the worst culprits in the game, to be honest, some of thier secret stuff is at least semi-rare, some other dealers realy take the piss.
I know what you mean... but I honestly think guys who are misled are not average vinyl searchers like us, who spend mad time on internet/diggin' seeking for informations or grabbing records for cheaper on the bay, it's more producers or rich collectors who are made of money.. so what's the big deal if a guy like Madlib, Cash Money or Marcofunk spend more as they should do?
This is just the good ol' law of demand/offer
innit tho!
Just to make things clear:
I'm definitly not the devil advocate on this case, as I sell myself some secret squirrels. I agree sometimes Julian overexagerate... but maybe you would understand better if you would have a website and make a living of it.
Here's why I decided to do some secret squirrels:
I put a 7" for sale for 150 euros on my website. It's a stuff I bought on a typical garage sale, found two copies, kept one for me, never saw it elsewhere, music is dope, tiny label, sort of private press, absolutly no infos on the net about it.
I spent time to do an MP3 of it, to make a good description and all the stuff I usually do.
A customer was interested, he told me he'll buy it. Then he get back to me and told me there's a copy on ebay, and he prefers to bid on this copy.
The guy on ebay put a shitty description, of course no MP3, no appeal at all.
The record finally left for 130 or 140 euros.
Maybe it's pretentious, but I'm pretty sure he would left for almost nothing if I didn't put it on my website showcasing this record, plus it was me who probably grabbed another copy!
So explain me what would be the interest for me to spend time to go at garage sale at 5 in the morning, drive (at least) 50miles, listen hundreds of shit to find the good one, then put the record on my website, and see all the website spotters buy it from an asshole on ebay who're not able to do a correct description or any MP3, not able to even understand what's good and what's bad??
So now when I discover a new record, with no infos about it, OR a common record that people don't know it's dope but a hundreds of dumb sellers sell for nothing on cdandlp cause they have no ears.. I just do a secret squirrel.
Don't forget the time and energy dealers spend to find records and references..
This is bullshit... not to knock anyone's hustle but producers are #1 not made of money like everyone seems to think, #2 not sitting on online forums all day figuring out how rare or common something is, and #3 most importantly deserving of the same honesty and service as any other customer.
Not to mention, record dudes have gotten into some serious shit behind that attitude... overcharging producers like "well he won't check ebay"... motherfuckers are not as stupid as some of these dealers seem to think.
If I wanted to argue all day I could post about the racial implications of this as well...
Also, as a dealer, myself, make your money or whatever, but if your game is to sell $20 records for $200 on some "secret squirrel" shit rather than unearthing truly rare and quality items, well I don't have a whole lot of respect for that.
Lame. We're all diggers here homie. You don't need to justify the time you spent to sell a record. That's just part of the game. You need to justify why you need to profit off newbies lack of knowledge.
- spidey
- spidey
as I have used Thomas sites to find dope records after not knowing off them until I stumbled upon his site.
this statement right here is pretty fucked up too. I mean everyone has already posted what I would have posted but this shit just makes it sound like you are trying to scam the buyer. A common record that is dope does not a secret squirrel make. that shit is just straight up shady.
My beef (and I've had 2 online dealers who try to pull this) is when you are obviously interested in buying the record, they still wont tell you want it is. The only way you will find out any details about the record is after the record arrives at your door you open up the box. That what I'm not feeling.
my personal case in point. i make buying trips to japan, pay for a hotel, plane ticket, ship records home, grab the trains all city.... dudes still want that $10 record from japan for $10, when i already had to ship that shit back to australia, fly out and grab it, and make some living.
basically, records are only worth what people are paying for them. when i first started listing japanese stuff online, shit went bonkers and set some sort of "market price" cuz the shit had never hit the bay like that before. now everyone and their mothers have hit japan and copped those records, they are worth no more than $2!! actually, you can get most japanese stuff cheaper on eBay then in Japanese stores now!!! i kept some titles secret squirrel, not to let the knowledge out, only for respect of the cats who hipped me to those titles (muro, etc.).
my 2 cents. but yeah, overcharging in 2007 without justification is gay (no homo).
peace.
MORAL OF THE STORY : if you can straight rob a dude and sell a dollar bin LP for 100 bucks, you're a king. And the buyer is a clown. As opposed to a murder scene, im' not on the victim side, sorry. With that said, hit the stores and make connections, that would avoid lots of problems...
You misunderstood my thought. I didn't said I change my price regarding who want the record. The price still the same for Cut Chemist or any bedroom producer. I just said that some people get MORE MONEY THAN TIME. It's not a matter of knowledge or stupidity. A guy like David Holmes prefers to buy a record higher at a dealer's place instead of searching on ebay and spend more time, even if he knows perfectly he could buy it cheaper.
In a way, HE KNOWS PERFECTLY YOU CHARGE HIM FOR THE EXTRA KNOWLEDGE YOU GIVE HIM. Please try to understand some people think in a different way as the average soulstrut headz.
Once again I don't know if it's part of the game, but the time, dedication and money you spend to find a record is a big issue in the final price..
Maybe I'm dumb but how racial implications have any connections with this??
Totally not, and I agree with you on that, but once again it's a misunderstood. Please understand there is different ways of thinking what is a secret squirrel. I just try to keep record what I think IS THE RIGHT PRICE for this record, despite the fact that with ebay any dumbass who got a computer can sell any records in the world without having any proper taste in music, and of course decrease the price of this record.
If I think a record deserve to be a 30$ record, I'll put that price to the record. If 3 guys sell it for 5$ on cdandlp, I'll still put 30$ on it and will hide the name of the record.. is that so difficult to understand?
Others, however...
It's not as crazy as it used to be though. Didn't Raj get like $60-something for Les Crane?!?!?
Homie, try to understand there's a world out of soulstrut. My point since the beginning is the people who are buying records are not all diggers, most of people don't have time (or simply don't want) to spend time for searching records on the net or anywhere else. People who have REAL JOBS you know? These people understand how hard it is nowadays to supply shops with good records..
What's your point with the newbies/profit thing? We're a sort of elite, I'm a big money player and all the others are newbies that don't have the intelligence to understand secret squirrel is a trap?
This is you who just insulting people dude..
I don't lie to people, you can listen MP3s, you like or you don't like the music, you know if you want or don't want to spend 100 euros for THAT secret squirrel.. and normal people are clever (or patient) enough to wait for another occasion if they want to grab it for cheaper, ask to fellow collectors if they know that sound etc..
And please stop with the profit bullshit.
No more drama.. This is not foods, drugs, guns or medics, you CAN RESIST, you DON'T HAVE TO BUY RECORDS, people who buy records have enough money to put the price they want for it, and no dealers (including myself) get rich with records anyway.
"veteran" record heads will be able to use better instincts with secret squirrel sales and usually wont play. but i know theres some that ive really wanted to know about and ive posted a couple that seasoned heads have asked me about. without using secret squirrel tactics, you are divulging information to everyone, whether they buy a record from you or not...and thats not a bad thing, but sometimes discretion is advised (like when a friend puts you onto somthing or someone you know used it)
when i was traveling, i was feasting off raj's auctions. he'd sell brains song for $80 and id write the next 5 bidders, "i got a minty copy for $40. holler!" Then id go to the nearest thrift store and dig up a copy. I was a happy parasite!
mo majid used to have a lot of squirrel auctions. he had one brazilian joint which was banging...but it was $100. he wouldnt even tell me what it is cause he's gay like that, so i didnt bid. do i have it in my crates now, 4 years later? nope. i shoulda bought the shit and sold a couple records myself to make up the difference. i wouldnt have been stressing that money at all. might be a brazilian common. but i aint never been there, so it aint common to me.
PS : Now you know rob...that's a problem in France, we don't analyze shit under the racial radar since we refuse the "community" system so cherished in USA and UK. I live half of the year in US, so i'm used to it now. Everything is racial in this Life...Everything.
haha i see that record EVERYWHERE, i remember that auction and wanting to do exactly that
Typical ignorance from you.
OH SHIT. I Forget that my Japaneses fella got that vibe. And THAT doe. My bad...It was dicriminatory from my behalf. So let's say white kids and japanese kids. Or show me the way. How many people would aunction over those records? Brooklyn, where ya at? Bel-Air where ya at?? And please only use a few lines as i hate to read half a page since it don't really matter anyway...