Buying cd wholesale collections to expand your music

zybar · « **on:** 5 Nov 2006, 01:52 pm »

Has anybody been using Ebay or maybe Craigslist to make bulk cd purchases?

If so, what has been your experience?

Thanks in advance for your comments and thoughts.

George

playntheblues · « **Reply #1 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 03:48 pm »

I wonder if people are selling there CD's after they ripp them to there server. I was thinking about backing up my Hard Drives and selling about 350 CD's my self. hmmmmmmmmmm

zybar · « **Reply #2 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 03:51 pm »

Quote from: playntheblues on 5 Nov 2006, 03:48 pm

I wonder if people are selling there CD's after they ripp them to there server. I was thinking about backing up my Hard Drives and selling about 350 CD's my self. hmmmmmmmmmm

I am not looking to get rid of my physical cd's, but rather to enhance my collection. I did think about your idea, but I am not yet ready to dump all my media.

George

playntheblues · « **Reply #3 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 04:29 pm »

I hear ya. It would be a big decision for sure.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #4 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 05:48 pm »

Okay, I hate to be the stick-in-the-mud here, but it's illegal to rip all your CDs and then sell the originals. That's technically piracy. And even if that doesn't bother your, I think it's imprudent to get rid of the originals. What if your HD crashes? Even if you back 'em up onto a couple drives, what if it turns out that someday someone comes out with a better ripper/extractor than you used to rip yours?

Carlman · « **Reply #5 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 06:00 pm »

Quote from: Rob Babcock on 5 Nov 2006, 05:48 pm

....what if it turns out that someday someone comes out with a better ripper/extractor than you used to rip yours?

Then you'll run out and buy all the music you really care about again... on a better format, remastered... and more expensive (profitable)!
The label companies win again!

As to piracy, I think the label companies are the pirates. They actively solicit terrible music, record it poorly, and make huge profits. I doubt the artists are really hurting these days... Ripping cd's and selling at a huge loss doesn't seem like piracy to me.

Believe it or not, I agree with your comments, and they should be noted here. However, I feel strongly that the crimes record label commit go unpunished... and I think there are a lot of artists and 'entertainers' that make way too much money and are granted way too much power by the media... but that's me.

-C

playntheblues · « **Reply #6 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 06:05 pm »

YIKES

Guys we were just thinking out loud gees

Carlman · « **Reply #7 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 06:33 pm »

I might start a poll to remove this smiley...

I was just thinking out loud, too... geez, Mr. Sensitive....

Buying a bulk collection seems like a great idea as long as you have time to sort through it. I sold a friend's here on AC in like 10 seconds at about $3 per cd. He got a lot of great stuff, some junk, some OK stuff... you get a mixed bag. If I paid $200 and got 20 great cd's, I'd feel like I got a fair deal. Basically, I would've paid $10 per cd for the ones I really liked anyway.... and I likely ended up with some cd's I wouldn't have paid more than a buck for...

-C

mfsoa · « **Reply #8 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 06:38 pm »

Carl,
I heard a good one on NPR the other day, about how record companies are dealing with the royalties from digital music sales. Apparently they still deduct packaging/shipping/promotional/production etc. costs from the royalties, so the artists get little of the money owed to them. The story featured the "Gma got runover by a reindeer" guy and how little money he's gotten from the, well I forget how many downloads, but it was a bunch. Of course all of the promotion costs were made up for long ago and there were no packaging etc. costs. Quite the rip-off of the original artist.

I myself continue to buy "legit" CDs with the intent that the artist will benefit, but how much do they really get? I think the behavior of the record companies leads the the feeling that it's "OK" to rip them off, since they are sheisting thier own artists and consumers.

ZLS · « **Reply #9 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 06:47 pm »

See lala.com; it offers a medium for members to trade their CD's.

Carlman · « **Reply #10 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 06:57 pm »

Yeah, this hit a nerve with me today because I'm listening to my system critically after finally getting it setup right... which has taken years... and probably still has a bit left to go... And some of the recordings are just terrible.... like Coldplay... or the stuff my wife buys.. it's just terrible. I was thinking of the Usher's, Ricky Martin's, Britney Spears, etc. when I said the artists are likely doing well. However, the guy that wrote the Reindeer song is like most artists, starving I'm sure. The labels are pure evil in my opinion, right up there with pharmaceuticals. They have very good arguments for being so profitable and have lots of clever PR folks and lawyers that make what they do OK. But it doesn't change my opinion.

I think artists are starting to figure out how to make music... some very poorly, like David Gray.. He records his stuff on a standard Apple computer and doesn't really understand what the magic box does nor does he understand how to properly mix his music. But kudos for trying. Also, artists are only a few years from pressing their own music.. it's already downloadable for a fee, for free, and in various forms. So, as it gets easier for artists to record music, I hope it'll get easier for them to get paid to do it. And MAYBE just MAYBE a few will listen to people who know how to master a recording and make something that's a treat to hear on a good hi-fi.

Here's to pipe dreams!

-C

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #11 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 09:18 pm »

Well, I won't dispute the record companies are vultures. And I realize the artists probably get screwed. Still, if a product isn't worth what they're charging, that doesn't justify stealing it. And the artist presumably read the contract they signed- if they feel the company is breaching the agreement there are legal remedies. Don't get me wrong, someday the entire Big Music system we have is gonna go the way of the dodo, and no one will be happier to see it go than me.

I'm not accusing anyone here of piracy, and I'm not rabidly against copying. I guess it's a matter of scale- if you wanted a copy of a couple of your buddies CDs and he was willing to do it, while it might be illegal I wouldn't be the one to call the cops.

Sort of like driving 10 mph over the limit, we probably all do it.

gitarretyp · « **Reply #12 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 10:40 pm »

Quote from: Rob Babcock on 5 Nov 2006, 09:18 pm

Well, I won't dispute the record companies are vultures. And I realize the artists probably get screwed. Still, if a product isn't worth what they're charging, that doesn't justify stealing it. And the artist presumably read the contract they signed- if they feel the company is breaching the agreement there are legal remedies. Don't get me wrong, someday the entire Big Music system we have is gonna go the way of the dodo, and no one will be happier to see it go than me.

The artist may have read the contract, but they often don't really have a choice. It's either sign the contract (no bargaining unless you're already well known, which means little to no royalties from record and product sales and no rights to the recordings) or they don't get signed to a major label. Plus, if you're a poor or young artist, you might not be inclined to have a lawyer read the contract first (or the company could wave thousands of $$$ at you to persuade you to sign rapidly). After you've signed, it's difficult to wiggle out of the contract. Even if you manage, you'll end up with a bad reputation in the industry and be unable to sign to a different label --unless you're already successful or change your name to something unpronounceable. Even if you get lucky enough to earn royalties from your recordings, the industries are masters of tweaking numbers so that the album never breaks even, which means no profit for you.

Rob Babcock · « **Reply #13 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 10:50 pm »

I can't dispute that. I fear this will take us even further off topic, but my only point is that stealing is stealing and rationalizations are rationalizations. Certainly pirating music isn't up there with gassing Kurds or raping orphans on the list of high crimes against humanity, but ripping your whole collection and then reselling it is a crime. [Although I realize no one actually advocating doing that.]

playntheblues · « **Reply #14 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 11:05 pm »

I can't belief this all started because I said I had thought about selling my CD's because they are now on Hard Drive. I didn't go into the pros and cons which there are a lot more cons than pros etc. Now to take this and call it stealing is a far stretch. I have been a member here for about 4 or 5 years and only poke my head in once in a while and this is exactly why

On a previous post on this thread I said YIKES! trying to be funny and was accused of being sensitive. Guys this forum is for us to have fun, share ideas, learn and make some good friends that have the same interests as us. I belief Zybar was trying to find out about the ins and outs of buying Cd's on eBay. Lets have fun, share ideas, learn and make some friends, what do you say aa

MaxCast · « **Reply #15 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 11:16 pm »

I can't believe buying a CD for retail, ripping it then selling it for say...half is illegal.
It's almost like saying you buy the cd you keep it for life. What if I rip only like two songs??? Do I only get sued for a little bit?

I am against ripping a cd you don't own. I am against buying a cd and ripping copies for sale. But if I buy a cd I should be able to do what I want with it for personal use and even sell it at a loss if I so desire.

rajacat · « **Reply #16 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 11:29 pm »

I think that CD's are overpriced. Fifteen dollars is a lot to spend on a given cd that you may or may not like or really only are interested in a few tracks. It seems like $5 - $6 per cd would largely eliminate much of the pirating and help decrease the downloading to a great extent. LP vinyl product cost a lot more to manufacture so what happened? The big record companies took marginal difference, did not pass any of the savings to the consumer and lined their pockets. Perhaps most of profits of the large record companies are being used to pay a few prima donna artists and a bunch of overpaid executives and making it hard for new artists to get established.

Raja

Carlman · « **Reply #17 on:** 5 Nov 2006, 11:53 pm »

Quote from: playntheblues on 5 Nov 2006, 11:05 pm

I can't belief this all started .....
On a previous post on this thread I said YIKES! trying to be funny and was accused of being sensitive.

I don't see that 'all this started' but I do see that an interesting discussion unfolded. You can't control how people will respond to a post on any forum. Enjoy it...

Reading text on a page makes it tough to discern tone or intent. Since my attempts at humor were also taken incorrectly, I will refrain from attempting jocularity when replying to you.

-C

woodsyi · « **Reply #18 on:** 6 Nov 2006, 12:11 am »

I am a hoarder and I keep CD's that I like even after ripping them to a music server. To answer Zybar's original question, yes it's a good way to broaden your music library. I bought Carlman's friend's collection. I have also purchased 2 lots of collections (97 CD's) and (45 CD's) off Craig's list. There were some duplicates and some I just didn't care for but I am keeping about 60% of the lots. I put the rest up on Lala.com and I got some great classical and opera CD's for trade. It's great that I can trade a Britney Spears for a Renata Tibaldi.

As my collection increases, I am getting a little more selective on a lot that I am willing to buy but I am always looking for more. FYI, two lots I bought averaged $1.25 per CD and that's about the per CD price I look for in a volume purchase.

zybar · « **Reply #19 on:** 6 Nov 2006, 01:15 am »

Quote from: woodsyi on 6 Nov 2006, 12:11 am

I am a hoarder and I keep CD's that I like even after ripping them to a music server. To answer Zybar's original question, yes it's a good way to broaden your music library. I bought Carlman's friend's collection. I have also purchased 2 lots of collections (97 CD's) and (45 CD's) off Craig's list. There were some duplicates and some I just didn't care for but I am keeping about 60% of the lots. I put the rest up on Lala.com and I got some great classical and opera CD's for trade. It's great that I can trade a Britney Spears for a Renata Tibaldi. As my collection increases, I am getting a little more selective on a lot that I am willing to buy but I am always looking for more. FYI, two lots I bought averaged $1.25 per CD and that's about the per CD price I look for in a volume purchase.

Thanks Woodsyi.

Most of the collections I have been looking at average $1.00 or less per cd. Now that I know about lala.com, I might be more inclined to go the collection route knowing I can trade duplicates.

I know I can make money selling them, but I really don't have the time to do all that work on Ebay.

George