Is Digging Dead?
Hollafame
844 Posts
So, admittedly I have been on some kind of hiatus from 'diggin' over the last year or so. No particular reason, really...just life getting in the way.But, popping back into some record shops, flea markets, etc. over the last couple months has been a little disconcerting because it seems like you can't cop a record for less than $15 dollars anymore! My feeling is that the big digging "fad" in the late 90s/early 00s coupled with eBay/popsike has really inflated the value of a lot of records.I know there have always been record boutiques that cater to those not particularly willing to get dusty and have some dollars to spend...but does anyone else get the feeling that even your average record spot is trying to cash in on even moderately 'rare' titles?Next weekend is a local record swap, so I'm hoping to prove myself wrong...but I am feeling more and more that 'diggin' is becoming a rich man's game.I'm positive a lot of you will think I'm way off base here, but I'd be interested to get the perspective of some of the dudes in here that have been at it pre-eBay and pre-Dusty Fingers, etc.I suppose at some point you really can't get away from the economics of it...we are talking about a finite resource. Is demand really that high to justify some of these prices?? 
Comments
No...but I did grab this....
DIGGING AIN'T DEAD
...IT LIVES ON IN MY STORAGE
Look at hip hop. The prices for 12 inches in the 90's early 2000's were pretty crazy. Now that shit has pretty much gone in shitter. Cept for really rare shit. But I know dudes were getting 50-100 bucks on stuff you'd be lucky to get $10 bucks now a dayz.
I guess it all comes down to if you're a collectro or ur looking to make money.
Now give me the $15 and get out of my face.
Boutique-digging killed Digging.
Honestly though, it all depends on what you're looking for & where. Records that are common to you are hard to find to others in other parts of the world.
Craigslist for me is where it's at.
No fleamarket or thrift has ever been that good to me in the last 5 years.
Especially with 2 kids and much less time to get out there.
I still "come up" with heat on the regular. Then again, I'm more selective these days given my high volume of stacks.
Peace,
Big Stacks from Kakalak
you noticed that a lot of record stores have been going out of business? you want them to give records away for free or something?? if you had a crate of records in your house and you saw that those records were fetching $20-$30 on ebay, would you sell them at a yardsale for $1 each?? why should record stores? i have appreciation for stores that are aware of ebaypopsike prices and price 10-20% lower in their store. but i do want them to stay open.
anyway, i waste enough of my time digging through dollar bins and come up on hundred dollar joints on a regular enough basis where i keep doing it. inflated prices on the internet is some silly shit to cry over too...cause you can put in some work just like the record store dudes and find shit to sell on ebay just like them. it all works out allright. i'm probably finding more shit to keep and flip than i was when i started digging pre-interwebs
sounds to me like youre being lazy
Srsly.
b/w
Please to enroll thineslef in Digging 101?
Yes. persistence is the key. you can't just drop by the goodwill once a month and expect to come up with crazy shit. apply yourself!
http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/clt/1720641500.html
I have the following collection of vinyl disks for sale
Single albums $10
Complete set $250
101 Strings- A night in the tropics
101 Strings- A night serenade in the quiet hours
101 strings- Award winning scores from the silver screen
101 Strings- Concerto under the stars
101 strings- Exodus and other great movie themes
101 Strings- In a symphony for lovers
101 Strings- Play hit American waltzes
101 Strings- Play the world?s great standards (slight scratch)
101 Strings- Rhapsody an evening of enchantment? under the stars (slight scratch)
101 Strings- Rivieras on a Mediterranean cruise (slight scratch)
101 Strings- The soul of Spain volume II (slight scratch)
1812 Overture- Warsaw concerto? Hamberg Philharmonic Orchestra (record blistering)
Alfred Apaka- Blue Hawaiian moonlight (scratched)
Alfred Apaka- The best of? with the Hawaiian village serenaders (2- album set)
Alice Fredlund serenaders- Twilight at Halekulani (slight scratch)
Arthur Fiedler Boston pops- Good music to have fun with (slight scratch)
Beethoven?s fifth symphony- the victory symphony
Belafonte returns to Carnegie Hall (2 album set)
Carpenters- Close to You
Frank Schubert- Ninth symphony ?the great? in C major
George Gershwin?s Porgy and Bess- Rhapsody in blue
Glenn Miller- Memories
Holiday sing along with Mitch Miller
Jackie Gleason- The gentle touch
John Dunbar- Most requested Scottish and sacred songs
John Philip- Sousa marches
Kings of Dixieland volume three
Kings of Dixieland volume two (scratched)
Kostelanetz conducts broadway (Columbia bonus record) (slight scratch)
Living strings- Play music in the night
Lyn Larson at the Wurlitzer Organ- Remembering the sound of San Sylmar
Moods in music- music for relaxation the Melachrino strings and orchestra
Moroni- A musical based upon the lives of Mormon and Moroni in the book of Mormon
Music treasures of the World- Offenbach? Rimsky? Korsakov (2- album set)
Party sing along with Mitch Miller
Pertinent percussion cha cha?s
Pop stereo samplers Everest records
Rex Koury- At the mighty Wurlitzer
Sentimental sing along with Mitch Miller
Stars for a summer night- 22 brilliant performers (2 album set) (slight scratch)
Thanks for the memories- Unforgettable, Stardust, Hollywood hit parade, Remember how great (4- album box set)
Tribute to Tommy Dorsey
Thanks for looking
Call or Text Mike
Here's part of a box of libraries I bought through Craigslist last year. 50 euros well spent.
buy! buy! buy! buy! buy!
miracles all over this bitch
I dig the Michel Gonet, a slept on library, IMO.
One of the small number that I keep for home listening.
I miss going out and buying records though.
Trolling craigslist for collections/records is not digging. If you're not turning up shit at thrift stores and flea markets, then digging is dead for you. Buying a collection off of craigslist is another thing altogether.
I bought my 2 year old girl a keyboard so she stays away from my equipment, which is all in the living room unfortunately.
I hope to move house later this year and have my own lab where I can hide away every now and then.
Oh, I do turn up stuff every now and then in the field but it's just that with less time on my hands finding stuff like this on Craigslist is a very pleasant alternative to the physical act of digging.
Finding record like these on Craigslist requires the same persistence as going to your favorite spots every week.
Sometimes I like to sit him on my lap and we play the piano together, but sometimes I like to play by myself and that just aint happening these days. It is fun watching him bang on the keys though.
And I can't blame him for wanting to touch all the knobs. He's a kid. And he just wants to be where I am, playing with whatever I'm playing with. That's why I wish I had a working laptop so I could just rip this shit to the laptop and listen to it on my own time.