Do some retailers hang on to ltd 12"s to sell later on

[nitrous_mcbread]

I just got an alert saying there are FOURTEEN copies of WAR002 on sale - all from the same seller. And I've seen similar shit going on in the past with Plasticman and Benga limited runs too. Made me think - if you were sitting at Boomkat or Redeye and you took delivery of, I dunno, 50 copies of something which you KNEW would be selling for big bucks a couple of months later, would you put your more-money hat on and hang on to half of them?

[seckle]

I just got an alert saying there are FOURTEEN copies of WAR002 on sale - all from the same seller. And I've seen similar shit going on in the past with Plasticman and Benga limited runs too. Made me think - if you were sitting at Boomkat or Redeye and you took delivery of, I dunno, 50 copies of something which you KNEW would be selling for big bucks a couple of months later, would you put your more-money hat on and hang on to half of them?

i don't think its actively done. i remember a situation back when dmz 002 came out. this scene was still very tiny and wasn't moving the amount of vinyl that it is today. at that time one retailer i know, kept a lot of it in their backroom.

one day the same retailer had 4 copies of dmz002 for $5.99 each on the rack. this was right around the time that dmz 005/006 was out and dmz was selling big. there wasn't anything shady about that incident. it was just a case of older stock that didn't all sell at that time, being found in the stock room.

all that said, i'd say if you saw more than 10 copies at any one store, you'd have right to be suspicious.

[struggle]

there used to be a certain record store in dallas, texas that was said to be guilty of this kind of scandalous behavior.

[pacomari]

"I'll do what I can to help ya'll, but the game is out there... It's either play, or get played."

Suck it up.

[chamclowder]

My boyfriend has bought up like 5 of every DMZ since 005. His ebay feedback is looking like a whose who. I don't think I've ever heard him play any DMZ outside of maybe Anti War Dub and Ancient Memories.

Honestly, if someone has the money to invest in something like that and wants to make some money off of it, more power to them. I don't see anyone calling out record shops for making a profit, nor should we from individual collectors.

[nitrous_mcbread]

I'm surprised record stores don't do it more often, actually. Could there be some law which stops 'em? And at the end of the day, who's going to know? Maybe it's a myth the WAR series was limited to 500 copies. There are really eighty thousand sitting in a warehouse in Leeds waiting to go on ebay to keep some fat cat in pies and gak.

[chamclowder]

I'm surprised record stores don't do it more often, actually. Could there be some law which stops 'em? And at the end of the day, who's going to know? Maybe it's a myth the WAR series was limited to 500 copies. There are really eighty thousand sitting in a warehouse in Leeds waiting to go on ebay to keep some fat cat in pies and gak.

No, there can't be a law that stops it. Why should there be one, honestly... if you bought a car, would you want the government to stop you from being able to re-sell that car?

Say you bought a Geo Metro(50 Miles per gallon+) in 1992 or something and now your 200 dollar car is worth 2500 or 3 grand because of the current Oil situation... should you be able to collect fair market value for your car?

What determines fair market value?

The market, of course. So yea... if you have enough money to buy up copies of a tune, tough shit for anyone who doesn't. Should have been reloading red eye over and over, eh?

[nitrous_mcbread]

I did. All in all I have 2 copies of WAR001 and three of all the others.

[olly]

I did. All in all I have 2 copies of WAR001 and three of all the others.

this pisses me off cos it means people like me who missed out on WAR001 arent missing out to people who are playing it alot and enjoying it every time they hear it. its to people who have a spare copy they dont play, but bought in case they can make some money out of it. fuck sake. why not just buy the one copy to play/enjoy/frame and leave the others to people who would appreciate having two amazing tunes on vinyl? whats with people trying to make money off a record they didnt produce/press/have anything to do with?

[chamclowder]

I did. All in all I have 2 copies of WAR001 and three of all the others.

this pisses me off cos it means people like me who missed out on WAR001 arent missing out to people who are playing it alot and enjoying it every time they hear it. its to people who have a spare copy they dont play, but bought in case they can make some money out of it. fuck sake. why not just buy the one copy to play/enjoy/frame and leave the others to people who would appreciate having two amazing tunes on vinyl? whats with people trying to make money off a record they didnt produce/press/have anything to do with?

I don't know how long you've been playing records, but why not PM Loefah on Myspace and ask him how playable his old DMZ records are... they aren't. If you play them out, reload them, play them out, reload them.. they get worn out.

People have been buying doubles of tunes for legitimate reasons for years.

And if you missed out, YOU missed out. Nobody MISSED YOU OUT. You did it yourself. And also, you assume that with 10 extra copies out there, you'd have gotten one. You and every other person, pal.

In case you didn't notice, they gain value over time... it's called investing. You spent thousands of dollars buying tunes and you made a smart investment, meaning you can sell that record for 150 pound and buy 10 new records... in the end, you'll get it and pay more for it or not. In the end, it's not going to collect dust. It will be played and it will be sold eventually.

I recommend you learn to click faster.

[nitrous_mcbread]

If you play them out, reload them, play them out, reload them.. they get worn out..

Amen, sister.

oLLY, I dunno if you play at parties/clubs but unless you have a huge perspex screen up in front of your kit like some wanker superstar DJ, you're always gonna get some idiot dropping hotrocks and beer all over your tunes. So if there are tunes you KNOW you're not gonna find again without forking out the equivalent of Namibia's gross national product... well, I'm in for a double or a triple.

[chamclowder]

So if there are tunes you KNOW you're not gonna find again without forking out the equivalent of Namibia's gross national product... well, I'm in for a double or a triple.

I think what my friend Nitrous here is saying, is that if we don't buy up 3 copies at a time, we'll one day end up in your position. And then we would be sad, and not laughing at you like we currently are.

I kid, but only slightly. Everyone who DJ's has missed out on tunes they would kill for. My boyfriend is currently buying up whole catalogues of old tunes at great cost to himself. He paid like 130 dollars for a promo the other day.

To be honest, he wasn't so much pissed at the guy selling it to him as he was at himself--for not being smart enough or fast enough to buy it.

My advice is to keep refreshing the page when you know your tune is going on sale. Otherwise, I suggest you do what everyone else does when they miss out and use your high speed connection to "obtain" a copy through whatever means necessary(legitimately, of course!)

[the wiggle baron]

lol, no one would buy multiple copies of every record in the WAR series for anything other than to sell on they're awful.

[nitrous_mcbread]

The question is... do I snap up another (relatively cheap) copy of WAR002 from the seller on ebay when it's going for twice that on discogs? It's probably the one I play the most of them all, and one of my copies is almost dead as it is. Umm.... ahhh.....

[olly]

i suppose i could have been clearer. when people buy a tune twice in case their copy snaps/wears out/whatever, theres nothing wrong with this. wish i'd done the same with many tunes, its when people buy extra copys just to sell for extortionate prices that the problem arrises. i guess we could just have different opinions on whats acceptable

@ clamchowder, obviously i realise that it was ME that somehow missed it (cant remember the exact reasons behind it) and i dont expect that i would have picked up one of the spare copys, i was merely making a point that its annoying to think how many copys are sitting in a crate waiting for the highest offer.
also, i understand the concept of items gaining value over time, thanks for clearing it up though. I personally dont see buying tunes as an investment because i cant see myself selling them. ok, hun?[/b][/i]

[olly]

The question is... do I snap up another (relatively cheap) copy of WAR002 from the seller on ebay when it's going for twice that on discogs? It's probably the one I play the most of them all, and one of my copies is almost dead as it is. Umm.... ahhh.....

ooor, u could swap 001 for 002 with me

[rev]

I have recently started a second collection of dubstep tunes, containing the twelves that I can't live without.

Because I know I am gonna play them out a lot, and I feel better knowing that if the record someday got a scratch, I wouldn't have to replace it, with one, priced five or ten times the normal price.

[stanton]

I would have thought that the deal that shops have with their distros would mean that they've got to put stock out as long as it's there?

[chamclowder]

i suppose i could have been clearer. when people buy a tune twice in case their copy snaps/wears out/whatever, theres nothing wrong with this. wish i'd done the same with many tunes, its when people buy extra copys just to sell for extortionate prices that the problem arrises. i guess we could just have different opinions on whats acceptable

@ clamchowder, obviously i realise that it was ME that somehow missed it (cant remember the exact reasons behind it) and i dont expect that i would have picked up one of the spare copys, i was merely making a point that its annoying to think how many copys are sitting in a crate waiting for the highest offer.
also, i understand the concept of items gaining value over time, thanks for clearing it up though. I personally dont see buying tunes as an investment because i cant see myself selling them. ok, hun?[/b][/i]

Why doesn't Mala repress all the OLD DMZ back catalogue... I recall everyone agreeing that it was a good policy... why?

Probably because they are sitting on a copy of Ancient Memories that they don't play and they could use 80 pound?

Just checking. Anyway, sometimes the person to blame(after yourself) is the label/producer for deciding to not repress it and keep it rare. Don't blame me for trying to improve my financial standing in the world or live more comfortably...

If my man wasn't flipping his old doubles, he probably couldn't afford to buy all the tunes he wants now. So in a way, it's a good thing. A lot of today's producers wouldn't be selling that extra copy to him.

I reckon you aren't going to hear the label, the distro or the producers complaining that one guy bought all 500 of their 1st and only press, so long as they made the money. In fact, it will make it even more valuable.

You can do the same thing.. nobody is stopping you.

[the wiggle baron]

nobody is stopping you.

Nah I believe its common courtesy that is.
And as for the whole DMZ point you just made...