Buying New or Used:

[Guest Chaney]

Upon the recommendation of Late, I recently ordered copies of Franz Koglmann's Make Believe and An Affair With Strauss, with both having been purchased from FORCED EXPOSURE at a cost of $15 each.

I then found myself purusing ( ) eBay when I noted that, with some patience, I might have been able to get both titles for a total of $15.

For a second I had the thought that I might cancel my order and go the eBay route but quickly decided to put my money into the artist's pocket rather than into the hands of an eBay seller.

Question is: where do you draw the line? When do you buy new and when do you buy used? When do you trade? When do you go without?

Feel any guilt when you buy used?

[Jim Alfredson]

This is an interesting topic and one of the things you never hear the record industry speak of... whenever they talk about declining sales they blame file-sharing. But what about used CD sales?

I personally look for all my CD purchases at the used store first, then eBay, and then I buy new. I only buy new off the bat if it's something I must have immediately or it's something I know won't be in the stores or I can't find it on eBay.

It just saves money and it's a perfectly legal alternative to insanely high CD prices.

[Jazzmoose]

I feel no guilt whatsoever when buying used CDs, and frankly, don't understand the issue. If the artist and the original purchaser weren't able to make the connection, I don't see what's wrong with letting someone else step up and take a shot. That said, I don't buy used that often, and I'm damned picky when I do. I don't care if the jewel case is crap, but inserts and the disc have to be near perfect for me to pick up a used disc in a store. So usually, I buy new.

[connoisseur series500]

I look for it used.

Then I buy it new if I can't find a used copy.

Rationale? Collectors try to save money as best as they can, because there's always MORE to buy. I wouldn't have a very good collection, nor would I have been even motivated to develop one if I had to purchase everything new.

Used cds or books are as good as new copies in terms of quality. We can't say the same for used furniture or used appliance or used automobile.

Cds and books and other collectible items lend themselves nicely to secondhand sales.

[vibes]

It's extremely rare that I would buy a used copy of an in print title. I'm pretty uptight about this, for some reason...It might be because I feel more comfortable knowing that I'm the only person that ever touched the CD. Since most of my CD's get made into mp3's as soon as I buy them, they generally remain in immaculate condition, which makes me feel better.

[connoisseur series500]

It's extremely rare that I would buy a used copy of an in print title.

Oh yes, the in print v.s. oop issue. Forgot about that one.

I don't buy much in print stuff, but when I do, I usually buy new as with new sets of BN Conns or RVGS and the like.

Most of my purchases are imports or out of print stuff.

[Peter Johnson]

I'm not just saying this because of our host and other board members, but...

I buy used whenever I can, except new releases which I must have (and are frequently marked down or can be preordered).

Except...

When I can buy a CD directly from an artist; or when I can buy an independent release directly from the label. Then, I will do so, and am picky about not buying such things used.

But...

If an artist refers me to Amazon or Tower, I will look for the CD used.

Unless...

The artist refers me to an independent seller (CD Baby, for example), in which case I will buy from the independent seller!

WHEW!

Super-conditional, but it works for me!

[Tim McG]

Personally, I frequent Streetlight Records in San Francisco and buy used CDs exclusively when I'm there.

My feeling is, don't charge $18-20 bucks a CD and I'll buy new.

Guilt free and without remorse.

[Brad]

New or used, it doesn't matter to me. A good part of my collection comes from ebay so that's a valuable source. I don't understand the idea of not wanting a disc that someone's touched before. You put a new jewel case on it, with a protective sleeve and it looks like new. No one could tell the difference. If it's new, I'll probably buy it in the store or line. If it's not so new or somebody mentions it, I'll probably look at ebay first and then check elsewhere.

Since we have a variety of sources available to us, I say use them all.

[Tim McG]

New or used, it doesn't matter to me.  A good part of my collection comes from ebay so that's a valuable source.  I don't understand the idea of not wanting a disc that someone's touched before.  You put a new jewel case on it, with a protective sleeve and it looks like new.  No one could tell the difference.  If it's new, I'll probably buy it in the store or line.  If it's not so new or somebody mentions it, I'll probably look at ebay first and then check elsewhere.

Since we have a variety of sources available to us, I say use them all.

I agree.

There is a World Wide Web out there for a very good reason.

Ya do watcha gotta do.

Edited February 26, 2004 by GoodSpeak

[connoisseur series500]

New or used, it doesn't matter to me. A good part of my collection comes from ebay so that's a valuable source. I don't understand the idea of not wanting a disc that someone's touched before. You put a new jewel case on it, with a protective sleeve and it looks like new. No one could tell the difference. If it's new, I'll probably buy it in the store or line. If it's not so new or somebody mentions it, I'll probably look at ebay first and then check elsewhere.

Since we have a variety of sources available to us, I say use them all.

Brad only buys from Grey.

[BERIGAN]

I bought sparingly new and a few used cds til I started at Borders in 1995, then with 30 bucks a month "book" credit, and the ability to run up a $300 tab, and 25% off all the time,(40% off one day a year!) I bought a fair number of cds the next 4 years! Now, something new I have to have(I have gotten much more patient, I can wait for a great deal!) I get as cheap as possible at Tower when they have 25% off sale, or from www.deepdiscountcd.com . Ebay can be scary, I will forget to do a search for several weeks, then I find someone selling tons of early jazz dirt cheap...and then.....

[rockefeller center]

I prefer stealing discs from Amazon (via internet with a masked IP address).

[Claude]

I always look for used CDs when it comes to getting full price albums, because I have psychological difficulties when having to pay more than 15 Euro for a disc (the price of new CDs is 18-20 Euro here).

I don't have regular access to second hand stores (there is none in my city), but I have automatic Ebay searches running constantly, and when I can get a CD for $13 (including shipping from the US) I feel less guilty for my high music expenditures

Edited February 26, 2004 by Claude

[couw]

I prefer stealing discs from Amazon (via internet with a masked IP address).

hey weren't you gonna trade me a copy of that money jungle disk?

[rockefeller center]

I prefer stealing discs from Amazon (via internet with a masked IP address).

hey weren't you gonna trade me a copy of that money jungle disk?

So you want to take it outside.

Let's be serious for a moment. Can someone explain to me what this Aric E./Money Jungle episode was all about? This seems to be a true classic.

[Guest Chaney]

Let's be serious for a moment. Can someone explain to me what this Aric E./Money Jungle episode was all about? This seems to be a true classic.

Ancient history best left buried.

[TedR]

Who benefits from the sale of cutouts? Just excess inventory that a label needs to be rid of? Does the artist receive anything? If it wasn't for cutout prices on albums in the 70's I would never have been exposed to so many great musicians (such as on Blue Note, Prestige, and Milestone twofers for $2.99).

[Eric]

I have become addicted to buying used through Amazon. Having said that, I will buy new if it is a "must have" (NOW) or if I want to directly contribute to the artist. I keep a bunch of clean jewel cases and sticker remover on hand to make the used CDs look good as new.

Eric

[Chrome]

I'm also curious about clubs like BMG ... do the artists get full royalties on CDs sold through these kind of outlets?

I split my buying pretty evenly between BMG, new and used.

And I can relate a little to the "immaculate collection" approach, at least when it comes to books. My rule there is that if I am buying new, I'll only buy a super clean copy. If I'm paying for something used/remaindered, I figure I can sacrifice on the condition of the book.

Despite the $$$ I spend on CDs, I still can't get my arms around the idea of them as "collectible" in the way I do for books.

[RDK]

Who benefits from the sale of cutouts? Just excess inventory that a label needs to be rid of? Does the artist receive anything? If it wasn't for cutout prices on albums in the 70's I would never have been exposed to so many great musicians (such as on Blue Note, Prestige, and Milestone twofers for $2.99).

Couldn't agree more!

As a starving college student in the early 80s, it was the used and cutout LPs that really got me going on what's turned out to be a 25-year love affair with jazz.

[Jazzmoose]

Peter, you throw in a lot of conditions, but I can relate. I'd be more likely to buy new even if I found a CD used if I knew someone involved in it, whether from Jim, Randy and Joe's end, or from Chuck's end. So maybe I'm being a bit hypocritical. If so, I guess I'm human...

[marcoliv]

new cd´s are very expensive here as regular cds costs from 21.66 till 26.33 USD.

that's why i do my purchases from online stores in the US but i can't have them shipped directly to me. paying 100% of taxes is really uncomfortable...

jazz used cd´s are available only at 2 places here in Rio so i usually get there stuff that it´s not on my priority list but it helps me a lot with unfamiliar stuff and saves money of course.

ebay is another great way for me to get cd´s but i use this only for OOP's or not-to-miss oportunities.

organissimo is being a very helpful place too

you guys living in the US are very lucky on this side!!!

Marcus Oliveira

[Guest Chaney]

A follow up question - and playing devil's advocate: What's the difference between buying a used CD and obtaining a copy (CD-R)? As neither option puts money in the artist's pocket, why even bother buying used? Let's all just burn copies for one another.

[street singer]

A follow up question - and playing devil's advocate: What's the difference between buying a used CD and obtaining a copy (CD-R)? As neither option puts money in the artist's pocket, why even bother buying used? Let's all just burn copies for one another.

Well, the obvious difference here being that if you buy a used CD, you're still getting "the real thing", but at half the cost (or less). A CD-R is just a CD-R...a copy. You still get the music, ofcourse, but...it's just not the same.