Just a quick observation....was wondering in general who's buying nowadays. At one time you'd find collectors rushing to buy that 'elusive' Detroit rarity....or label completists....etc

Do we see a trend now for DJ's to be the main players in the 'buying scene' ..to get that next dancefloor filler...or to buy an already proven dancefloor filler

Are we at a stage now where collectors have 'collected up' and stopped ??

 

nope still doing both if not more now than years ago ,new releases don't help either 

As a cutting edge DJ myself , I have to collect to keep up with the changes and trends which are vital to the northern  soul scene. 

Fantasy over now back to work.

Always on the eye for new releases, from new artists and whatever pops up. More in shops and live sales than online now 

 

There used to be a big market for semi knowns and cheaper collectors records.

Now it only seems to be big collectors items or the latest thing a DJ needs for his set.

I'm still chipping away at collecting things I like.

32 minutes ago, Solidsoul said:

There used to be a big market for semi knowns and cheaper collectors records.

Now it only seems to be big collectors items or the latest thing a DJ needs for his set.

I'm still chipping away at collecting things I like.

What’s makes you think there isn’t a big market for semi knows and cheaper records? 

I'd class myself as a collector though very much in the basement where prices are concerned, on average around four a month. Constant tug of war between brain, heart and wallet, if the heart won more often I'd be on a diet of beans on toast. Going off my wins to losses ratio on ebay I'd say there's still a lot of collectors out there buying at under forty quid. 

  I buy a mix of predominantly lesser known tunes, things I've always liked, new releases and the odd Reissue where I'm  never going to afford or want to pay the price for an original. 

34 minutes ago, Jnixon said:

What’s makes you think there isn’t a big market for semi knows and cheaper records? 

Because looking at Discogs, Soul Source sales, eBay, lists etc, a lot of things do not sell like they used to.

Edited July 19, 20222 yr by Solidsoul

55 minutes ago, Solidsoul said:

Because looking at Discogs, Soul Source sales, eBay, lists etc, a lot of things do not sell like they used to.

There’s probably a case for saying people are fed up with paying all the ludicrous fees which are attached these days

Its certainly reduced my purchases on discogs. Having said that it has made me put more effort into finding and buying records which has led me to value purchases more

1 hour ago, Jnixon said:

What’s makes you think there isn’t a big market for semi knows and cheaper records? 

I'd back this up too:

We have a physical shop and have a few Shweppes crates of soul 45s with a deck for customers to listen. Most of the tunes that are not top 500 style or tried and tested oldies have notes on the sleeve, so that people don't have to sample music that they're not into eg Crossover/group harmony/blue eyed/garage dancer/beat ballad/Detroit/Philly/Mecca/Wigan spins etc etc.

It feels as though fewer and fewer folk are prepared to spend time listening to/buying sounds that they are less familiar with, whereas we can sell copies of The Flirtations on Deram day in and day out during the summer season.

I'm not sure why this is and I'm all ears as far as any theories go!

Meanwhile, given the terrible (from UK perspective) exchange rate with the States, I'm sorely tempted to cut down on the number of originals and expand the Kent/Outta Site/Expansion re-releases as that market seems to be a lot steadier.

 

1 hour ago, Solidsoul said:

Because looking at Discogs, Soul Source sales, eBay, lists etc, a lot of things do not sell like they used to.

I think a lot of that is simply down to taste and buyer education. 

13 minutes ago, Godzilla said:

I'd back this up too:

We have a physical shop and have a few Shweppes crates of soul 45s with a deck for customers to listen. Most of the tunes that are not top 500 style or tried and tested oldies have notes on the sleeve, so that people don't have to sample music that they're not into eg Crossover/group harmony/blue eyed/garage dancer/beat ballad/Detroit/Philly/Mecca/Wigan spins etc etc.

It feels as though fewer and fewer folk are prepared to spend time listening to/buying sounds that they are less familiar with, whereas we can sell copies of The Flirtations on Deram day in and day out during the summer season.

I'm not sure why this is and I'm all ears as far as any theories go!

Meanwhile, given the terrible (from UK perspective) exchange rate with the States, I'm sorely tempted to cut down on the number of originals and expand the Kent/Outta Site/Expansion re-releases as that market seems to be a lot steadier.

 

Why not do it.

Whats the point in having loads of space taken up by non selling items - it's retail suicide. 

36 minutes ago, Jnixon said:

I think a lot of that is simply down to taste and buyer education. 

Why not do it.

Whats the point in having loads of space taken up by non selling items - it's retail suicide. 

I commented that it had slowed - not stopped.

Thanks for the advice on how to run my shop though!

25 minutes ago, Godzilla said:

I commented that it had slowed - not stopped.

Thanks for the advice on how to run my shop though!

You're welcome. 

1 hour ago, Godzilla said:

I commented that it had slowed - not stopped.

Thanks for the advice on how to run my shop though!

I just think buyers like to feel they've got a bargain whether known or unknown ?

And as to exchange rate paying for postage from USA yesterday PayPal rate was $1.13 to £1 !

19 hours ago, Modernsoulsucks said:

I just think buyers like to feel they've got a bargain whether known or unknown ?

And as to exchange rate paying for postage from USA yesterday PayPal rate was $1.13 to £1 !

I wouldn't argue with that Rod.

When I used to get over to Manchester more often and it was still on Tib Street, I loved to get in Beatin Rhythm early, grab boxes of 45s and listen to tons of stuff that I didn't know. Always came away with a big bag of records, some that turned out to be bargains and some that subsequently I discovered I could have got cheaper - but rarely all from the same place, so factoring in postage I was still happy.

There was a lot of that evident when we first opened the shop, but over the last few years I've seen it reduce a bit - the exception of course being straight after lockdown ended when everyone seemed to have money to burn...

I was actually wondering if the general sense of gloom regarding the economy was having an impact lately - coupled with the increasing sense I get that more and more people purchasing soul records these days seem to see them as an investment that must increase in value, leading to buyers playing it a lot safer and sticking to known sounds...

Edited July 20, 20222 yr by Godzilla

I've never bought a 45 as a long term investment though obviously bought many cheaper to turnaround and sell at a profit as all of us have done.

I would have thought UK sellers today perhaps have more of an advantage than previously, what with exchange rate, cost of postage, 20% VAT and US sellers expecting UK prices and often more. Albeit if you source your sales off eBay or Discogs UK sellers will have no option but to increase price to take into account rising costs.

I have to agree with Solidsoul though in that I see loads of decent cheaper end records unsold on various sites just because they're overpriced. I noticed that a lot when I did those 2 cheap lists recently. I couldn't believe when comparing prices what sellers expected to get for some of them.

6 minutes ago, Modernsoulsucks said:

I've never bought a 45 as a long term investment though obviously bought many cheaper to turnaround and sell at a profit as all of us have done.

I would have thought UK sellers today perhaps have more of an advantage than previously, what with exchange rate, cost of postage, 20% VAT and US sellers expecting UK prices and often more. Albeit if you source your sales off eBay or Discogs UK sellers will have no option but to increase price to take into account rising costs.

I have to agree with Solidsoul though in that I see loads of decent cheaper end records unsold on various sites just because they're overpriced. I noticed that a lot when I did those 2 cheap lists recently. I couldn't believe when comparing prices what sellers expected to get for some of them.

Absolutely. Probably shoudn't go down this path again, but too many folk see that one off auction/discogs/ebay price as the new standard.

My point, perhaps not made as clearly as it could have been, is that there seems to have been a general decrease in the interest in lesser known records. I should make a sign saying "No, sorry, we haven't got Bob Sinclar - Tribute" to save time answering...😆

 

 

5 hours ago, Godzilla said:

I commented that it had slowed - not stopped.

Thanks for the advice on how to run my shop though!

 

3 hours ago, Godzilla said:

Absolutely. Probably shoudn't go down this path again, but too many folk see that one off auction/discogs/ebay price as the new standard.

My point, perhaps not made as clearly as it could have been, is that there seems to have been a general decrease in the interest in lesser known records. I should make a sign saying "No, sorry, we haven't got Bob Sinclar - Tribute" to save time answering...😆

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Godzilla said:

Absolutely. Probably shoudn't go down this path again, but too many folk see that one off auction/discogs/ebay price as the new standard.

My point, perhaps not made as clearly as it could have been, is that there seems to have been a general decrease in the interest in lesser known records. I should make a sign saying "No, sorry, we haven't got Bob Sinclar - Tribute" to save time answering...😆

 

 

5 hours ago, Jnixon said:

You're welcome. 

😂👍

It’s not just DJ’s and collectors who are buying, dealers are also doing the business. Some of the biggest bids on eBay have been placed by high profile UK dealers. Minor dealers, or more accurately, collector-dealers, are buying low to middle price-range records to sell on for a profit.

A few sizeable collections have been sold off recently so there are plenty of expensive tunes available to please both collectors and DJ’s.

As a collector, collecting never stops - the DJing thing for me is and always has been secondary and I’ve never and never will buy for the dance floor. 

I never bother will well known and out of my price range records .Prefer trawling through ones I haven’t heard before and can afford, although I did stretch my max spend for my birthday as the record I was after had stayed at the same price for three years and it was a birthday ending in a zero (now worthwhile celebrating).

I also buy new releases if I like them and find them before they sell out. They all get regularly played and I’ve yet to sell a record although the pile we don’t mention under the table gets slightly larger each year....

Love the sentiment that collectors never stop collecting. I spend far too much time duel screening record lists and You Tube and am always on the look out for that 'never heard before' tune.  Audio posted in the Soul Media folder is another brilliant way to come across unknown bargain priced records. In recent times heads up in particular to Steve Scotney and Chris Anderton for contributing to my ever increasing collection and ever declining bank balance!   

Edited July 25, 20222 yr by Keamus

Haha - definitely multi screen and multi device multitasking going on most of the time 

Always collected when I did DJ it was a labour of love, buying for trends is bloody stupid particularly when it has the soul content of an amoeba 🦠. Gonna be a lot of disappointed DJs when records go out of vogue but happy collectors who collect for passion ! 
Buying big records to fill floors has become the norm and it saddens me because this scene used to be all about innovation , now it’s money money money ! 

On 19/07/2022 at 13:56, Modernsoulsucks said:

I have to agree with Solidsoul though in that I see loads of decent cheaper end records unsold on various sites just because they're overpriced. I noticed that a lot when I did those 2 cheap lists recently. I couldn't believe when comparing prices what sellers expected to get for some of them.

Nora Lee - You must believe me / westwood @ £450 currently on this website, need we say more...

On 24/07/2022 at 11:44, girdwoodinc said:

As a collector, collecting never stops - the DJing thing for me is and always has been secondary and I’ve never and never will buy for the dance floor. 

Agree 100%. As much as I enjoy DJing, buying a record that I wouldn’t want to hear at home makes no sense. Enough records out there — of all kinds of tempos — that sound fantastic both at home and out.

Edited July 25, 20222 yr by Ladymidnight