The great British vinyl rip off.
Posted by: jonni on 08 January 2003
Lets cut striaght to the point.Vinyl prices in Britian have gone up and up over recent years.You can pay £16-£18 quid for some new releases in HMV and Virgin.Why is this so when in FNAC(French record store like Virgin) in France I recently bought U2,Stone roses , Chemicals brothers and more for £10 each!Brand new .Cd's cost the same in France so why is vinyl so much cheaper?
Are we being ripped off by the record stores who know there a niche market for vinyl .
If you live near the south cost of Britian you may find it cheaper to travel to france (Lille or Paris) than buy your reords in Britian, you could even try ordering from there(if you speak some french)I have done this in the past.
Posted on: 08 January 2003 by Kevin-W
Jonni,
I agree with you about the exorbitant prices charged for vinyl - it's seen as a "niche" or "premium" format these days so record companies and shops charge the earth for it!
However, the quality of pressings these days is generally much better than it was in the 1970s and 80s.
The secret is to bypass the big multiples and find a good independent retailer. Disque, which is in Islington, close to where I work, is aa fantastic shop - they do loads of vinyl and do excellent "2LPs for £20" or "3LPs for £20" deals. I end up spending about £80 to £100 there a month!!!
In Newport, you havve an excellent dealer called Diverse Vinyl (10 Charles Street) - I buy quite a lot of LPs from them by mail order. The website's
www.diversevinyl.comHope this helps
Kevin
Posted on: 08 January 2003 by Simon Jenkins
It's not just new vinyl that's a rip off in the UK, second hand stuff is as well.
Here in Holland I very often find that I can buy second hand records for the same amount of Guilders as it would be in pounds in the UK. So bearing in mind that before the euro came in 1 pound got you between 3 and 3.5 guilder, you can see the price difference.
Having said that, new vinyl is not much cheaper than the UK, averaging about 18 to 20 euros per LP, so about 14 pounds.
Simon
Posted on: 08 January 2003 by jonni
Diverse Vinyl is an excellent store.Its like being a kid in a sweet shop walking in there.They do charge a little more than usuall but in that case I dont mind as they are a specialist retailer that stock all ( they have an enormus stock of vinyl that you won't believe untill you go there, its like being in the 60's or 70's)vinyl releases so have a different set of expenses to cover.
But Virgin and HMV only sell the maitream stuff like FNAc in France, so why the price difference?
Posted on: 09 January 2003 by Peter Stockwell
Why vinyl prices so high in the UK ? Because it's popular, it's true that there has been something of a vinyl renaissance in France too, but nowhere near what it is in the UK. Most people still think it's obsolete.
It's what the market will bear that guides prices. If you want vinyl prices to decline, stop buying it.
Peter
Posted on: 09 January 2003 by David Stewart
This site,
CDZone is worth keeping an eye on. They have quite a wide range of vinyl including imports and do regular special offers, which can be a good deal. They were recently offering the double LP of Lambchop 'Is a Woman' for £9.50.
Simply Vinyl also do regular monthly sales and special offers, although some people don't rate them very highly. I bought Bob Marley 'Catch a Fire' from Simply and its fine though, so I've got no complaints.
I think some of the high prices are because a lot of new LPs are pressed in Audiophile Grade (180gm) vinyl
David
"Opinions are like belly-buttons, everybody's got one" Posted on: 09 January 2003 by Peter Stockwell
quote:
Originally posted by J. A. Toon:
quote:
It's what the market will bear that guides prices. If you want vinyl prices to decline, stop buying it
The problem with that theory is that even if everyone did stop buying vinyl, consequently no new vinyl would be pressed!
John.
My tongue was firmly in cheek.
Peter
