md655321 Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 (edited) Anyone heard of this? Its basically a site that facilitates CD trading in the U.S. When you sign up, they send you 5 post paid evnelopes to mail your cds to other members. You list what you have and what you want. If you want something someone wants to trade, they send it to you, if you have something someone wants you send it to them. Pretty nice set up, and you are charged 1 buck plus .49 cent shipping for each CD you receive. Only problem is album artwork is not required, but it seems to be pretty standard to include it. I signed up because I had a few random cds i didnt want and i figured what the hell. My only concern was the possibility of not recieving any jazz cds. Well, in a couple days I have Blakey's Moanin, Movin Wes, and Hancock's Inventions and Dimensions on its way. Its probably a good way to get rid of your latest upgrade casualities (I have a stack of old Dylan's to get rid of.) They also claim to give "up to $.20 per cd to the artists." Not sure how thats done though. p.s. One caveat, right now you can only tell them you are 'interested' in joining, they will send you an invite to join within a couple days. Edited April 18, 2006 by md655321 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 rostasi posted a thread about lala.com back in March. I was curious about the mechanics of how trades work. You basically list what you have available for trade, and if someone wants one of your titles, you send it to them? What do you get in return? And when you want something that someone else is offering, what do you have to give in return to get it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
md655321 Posted April 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 (edited) The trades arent done on a person to person basis. You send your cd to some guy in Texas, and you might receive a cd from some guy in California. They keep it balanced, so you dont receive 100 cds and only send out 4. You have to send out to receive (+ or - 1) You just have to make sure you list enough wanted cds to get something back. Obviously if all you want is some obscure OOP disc you wont get it. My concern was that no jazz at all would be available, but its seems good so far. Their 'selection' is probably similar to yourmusic.com i would guess. Nothing groundbreaking, but basic Shorters and Herbie's and Miles' Also, it might not be a bad way to pick up crappy pop cds for the kids without spending too much. Edited April 18, 2006 by md655321 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted April 18, 2006 Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 Interesting. Is there a way to browse their "inventory", to help decide if I want to join or not? Or do you have to go through the sign up process and list your trade items in order to see what others have to offer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
md655321 Posted April 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2006 Even doing that you cant really see what people have to offer. You just list the cds you want, and if someone has one they send it to you. They send you an email telling you its on the way. You can see what other users have, but it seems alot of people list ALL of their cds, not just the ones they want to trade. Hopefully this will all change, apparently they are in 'beta' mode now and will change in July. Supposedly some features will be upgraded. It is kind of a bummer as it is, but like I said, I did it because i really had nothing to lose. If we could get more people on here to join though, im sure the whole place will be much better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
md655321 Posted April 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Well Ive gotten a bunch of shipments now. Blakey - Moanin Herbie - Inventions and Dimensions, Takin' Off Kenny Wheeler - Angel Song Wes - Movin Wes all with cd artwork Total price: 7.45 + some cds i didnt want anyways Again, I recommend it wholeheartedly. I am amazed at the speed of the whole thing. Usually takes only an hour or so after I agree to ship a cd for someone to agree to ship me one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdogus Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Well Ive gotten a bunch of shipments now. Blakey - Moanin Herbie - Inventions and Dimensions, Takin' Off Kenny Wheeler - Angel Song Wes - Movin Wes all with cd artwork Total price: 7.45 + some cds i didnt want anyways Again, I recommend it wholeheartedly. I am amazed at the speed of the whole thing. Usually takes only an hour or so after I agree to ship a cd for someone to agree to ship me one. For now, the web site seems to warn us off until July -at the moment, they require a request for info, or a current member to invite you to join? But Come July, they claim, things will be all together... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeBop Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 If you give them your e-mail address to 'keep in touch' (aka "I'm interested"), they'll send you an invite. I got mine in about a day. I'm not interested in the service, now that I've experienced it first-hand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
md655321 Posted April 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 I'm not interested in the service, now that I've experienced it first-hand. Why is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeBop Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 I'm not interested in the service, now that I've experienced it first-hand. Why is that? I only own (and hence would only be 'trading') legitimate, purchased, non-promo, non-cutout, non-record club, non-CD-R, royalty-paid, non-Andorran, mint condition CDs*. I've absolutely no assurance of receiving the same in return and I've no desire to 'foul' my collection with such rancid trash. * Exception rate < 0.1% Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
md655321 Posted April 26, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Interesting. So far I have only received 'legitimate, purchased, non-promo, non-cutout, non-record club, non-CD-R, royalty-paid, mint condition CDs' Not sure what 'non-andorran' means. I know sending CD-Rs is strictuly prohibited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 I haven't pursued this, only because it seems easier (and more fun) to trade right here on this board, and not have to pay a middleman for that pleasure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeBop Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 I haven't pursued this, only because it seems easier (and more fun) to trade right here on this board, and not have to pay a middleman for that pleasure... The cost is pretty reasonable. And, of course, the population with which to trade could be substantial. But you don't do business with any one, known person. It's a black box. I don't trade much, so I'm happy to do it among friends. Anyway, I checked into lala more as a phenomenon than as something that REALLY interested me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 How do they handle boxed sets? Up over and out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeBop Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Another 'wrinkle', from my experience, is that the items I looked at showed only one version. It wasn't possible to distinguish between, for example, an RVG and a non-RVG, or a Black Lion and a 1201 Music, or a domestic and an import. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
md655321 Posted April 27, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 27, 2006 How do they handle boxed sets? Up over and out. Unfortunately, only as seperate discs, each counting as a seperate trade. Sorta like netflix does with DVD rentals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeBop Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 Just received first (and last - it was a test) lala transaction. Received a poor condition, cutout. Another thing to consider: you won't receive a jewel case with your CD. This is a consideration if you are acquiring a Collectors Choice (white spine), Conn (clear spine) or 32 Jazz-type recording (liner notes incorporated into case). I suppose this is a fine service for people who don't care about physical possession of their music, people who want to burn and trade or others with what I consider low standards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
md655321 Posted May 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 Despite BeBop's substantial (and I would argue baseless) reservations, this service is proving its worth over time. While perfect cds bought form a store would be preferable, at 1.49 I think the service is fantastic, especially for those of us with a more modest budget. Yesterday I received a gorgeous Andrew Hill disc, 'But not Farewell' that is OOP. With liner notes and the tray card. Definitely WELL worth my money (especially compared to the 48 dollars its going for on ebay.) I have recieved a few discs without liner notes, but its still worth the risk for only a buck fifty. Most still come with atleast the cd booklet. I have recieved 11 cds now, 7 with booklet and liner, 9 with atleast the booklet. Total price: 16.39. as for the digipack problem, i just dont even request those cds. But more importantly, this Andrew Hill disc is fantastic. Osby, Robin Eubanks, Lonnic Blaxico supporting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggie87 Posted May 18, 2006 Report Share Posted May 18, 2006 You aren't factoring in the original cost of the discs you agree to send to someone else, in exchange for receiving your $1.49 discs, or the postage & packaging costs you are incurring. I agree with trades in principle, in order to exchange recordings you no longer want, for whatever reason, with someone else who has something you are interested in. But the things I trade come with jewel cases, booklets, and back inserts. I'd rather trade with the people on this board, and feel confident in what I am sending and receiving. I don't think I'd want to trade something in good shape for something that I have no idea of the condition, or what will even be included. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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