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Following on from some of the sales-related threads recently i was wondering how the boom in internet record shops effects the scene.
When u buy from and internet based shop are you more picky about what you buy? maybe because you can see exactly how much you are spending in your 'shopping basket'? do you still look for the things you know? do you even listen to MORE stuff because of it?
Internet record shops are cheaper to manage than normal recordshops, because there is less costs for personel and all that shit. SO yo can buy the records for a lower price. Meaning people want to listen and maybe buy more.
Online record stores are great sometimes for getting stuff that you can't find in your local shop. They are probably cheaper to run due to lack of overheads and are a bonus if you don't live in a major town or city.
However when I started buying records I got to know the staff at my local shop in Brum which helped a lot. They know my tastes, slip me a few promos every now and then and don't get narked if I spend a morning going through the Techno rack and only buy a few pieces of vinyl.
I prefer the interaction with shop staff but the downside is that at times I've spent a bloody fortune, after all they are salespeople. Don't regret it though.
i buy better record on net simply because local shops for local people here dont have music i m into generally.
If find I listen to more records through the internet , cause I can listen to as many as I want without a large cue of folk standing behind me, cursing me. I sometimes find aswell that I can be put off by a record cover(stupid I know) and in a shop won't bother to pick it up cause I have so many to go through. On the net I only have the names and if I don't know them I listen anyway.
It is a shame for the folk who set up shops and stuff , but there are still enough folk buying from them , if they get a good personal service. I just find that my local shops either try and sell you their shit stuff , pretending it's brilliant or they only buy in the "WILL SELL EASILY" records , like the Primate stuff.
Generally I only tend to buy records from the internet stores if I know exactly what I am looking for - I usually read reviews and check out which tunes I would most probably like and buy 'em or it may be a "classic" I've been after for some time. I've not been let down yet - I excitely await the delivery from the postman and then jack them up real loud.
A lot of people say that the internet shops are cheaper cos of less overheads. Well, the tunes I buy from the internet seem to be the same price as ones in my local shop, or maybe even more expensive cos they are "genuine US import" and then you have to pay some more for P & P! Seems to me that people are reducing running costs but increasing their profit margins at the same time - business is business I suppose but if they cost the same then I will go to a local proper shop and have a lot more fun.
This is it see - internet is meant to make life easier but I find it takes away the fun and human interaction. I love (when i have a few spare hours-v rare nowadays) going to a record shop pulling out half the techno tunes and giving them a thorough listen - I enjoy that. As someone also said if you get to know the guys at the record store they can usually point you in the right direction or suggest something different. I also love checking out the obscure stuff that I have never heard before. I would rather go out, get a change of scene than sit at the computer for another 2/3 hours.
The artwork/presentation does also help sell a record to me. Ultimately the music is the deciding factor but I like a good visual connection as well.
Hmm, rant over.
:)
In answer to the original question I think that internet record shops are slowly killing off the independant underground records stores - ease of use I suppose and time etc.
Big shame.
I must make a concerted effort to read & answer the question in hand infuture and not go off on one...doh. :?
Equally, some of the small independant underground stores are becoming some of the best internet record shops.Quote:
Originally Posted by miasma man
this is true.
i've got an account at web-records, and whenever i see that some of my favorite labels has a new release ill buy them and im getting all the new releases of labels i cant buy here in shops...
when i go to a local record shop ill do the same but then for the more known labels..
the internet stores themselves need to get thier payments back to the distributors a bit more regular from what i hear.
otherwise they'll **** it for the rest of us.
personally i find listening to tunes on a website a right ****in bore
digital = listening to tunes on a wbsite through a 56 k modem (which incidentaly i'm back to now)
analogue = going to the record shop meeting your mates talking about music having coffe etc.
This is a great topic to bring up actually and something that's been on my mind recently. Buying over the internet is too clinical as far as I'm concerned (I know that's the appeal for some though), record shops are really suffering as a result. A healthy medium of using the two is cool sure, what pisses me off though is people who now use shops as a last resort, zero respect for that.
It depends on your situation though. If I had to depend on my local record shop I'd be buggered. Their Three Step Death Skiffle section is better stocked than the techno secction. (And it's staffed by miserable wankers to boot).
If I go down to London, the first thing on my mind is getting into Kinetec and Trakheadz, which actually do have mahooosive techno sections, knowledgable and friendly staff and cups of tea etc.... It's often financially crippling, but such a unaccustomed delight compared to my local store...
In the interim I have to make do with mail order. It's the only way.
True enough, just think it's kinda crap to only use your local record shop if all else fails, record shops still do stock most of what people are looking for! depends who your record shop is i guess. Something here has got me thinking, do internet shops get records quicker than shops these days? Is this this perhaps something they would demand from distributors?Quote:
Originally Posted by Analbumcover
Good point - if this were the case then it could be said the market was possibly being monopolised ?
I don't know, just guessing i spose?
There are no decent record shops within 40 miles of where I live. Eh, wait. There are no record shops at all within 40 miles of here.
My nearest store is 23rd Precinct in Glasgow which whilst a good record store is a bit lacking in the stuff I'm looking for (sorry Will :? )
Internet record stores are an absolute godsend for me. I can listen to hundreds of tunes, if I want, and the hard bit comes when I try to whittle my selection down to something affordable.
If I order them midweek there here by the weekend so I don't have to spend my weekend on a treck to Glasgow. I just fire the decks up and blast the neighbours. 8)
Internet record shops are amazing. now I never have to leave my house! how more lazy can we all get :lol:
Aren't alot of internet shops also regular local shops as well? And maybe the internet doesn't have to be the death of some shops, but, instead, another aspect of business that must be included in order to survive and/or succeed. While some of us may not chose to go in person to our local store to buy their vinyl, we could still go to our local store through the net, but that is only possible provided they have manifest this side of the record-selling business. If you shop on-line, why wouldn't you shop at your local stores internet site? If they have one, but still you shop elsewhere on the net, then why is that? Perhaps, your local shop doesn't have the records you want, but then, thats the biz, and they better get the records you want. And if the local shop has on-line access, and the records you want, and still you don't buy from them (and they probably have the advantage to speak with you in person sometime) then they need to re-evaluate their business strategies. All in all, I think given the ability to sell on-line, internet-ready local shops now have access to a larger share of the market. So the internet could be be an essential ingredient in the success of local stores that are quick to adapt, and the demise of local stores that onced-owned the market, but fail to change with times.Quote:
Something here has got me thinking, do internet shops get records quicker than shops these days? Is this this perhaps something they would demand from distributors?
Having said all this, I'm not in business and quite possibly haven't a clue what I'm talking about. :D
For a shop to change with the times now (Online sales) you need extra money or possibly extra staff, not easy to do when business ain't good.Quote:
Originally Posted by Orange
I myself can only comment from a DJ's point of veiw,and to me i can only see online stores as being a good thing,as was mentioned before,the record stores here in new zealand dont stock bugger all of what im into at the moment,and the internet has provided me with the best source of shopping..Im getting tunes out here in New Zealand the same week that they are released in the UK.
And also surely those who are producers must agree that it can only be a good thing as it helps to get your tunes out to the countrys that are a little behind,and in the dark..More airtime worldwide has to be a good thing doesnt it.
I do however still brose record stores whenever i get the chance,as you never no what treats you might come accross.
But for some sort of comparison in the last four weeks
Number of tunes bought online: 24
tunes brought from a shop: 2
So as you can see the strike rate of finding something you like online compared to something in the store is much higher....here in NZ anyway
It just makes everything much more available.
I could say that without online shopping my record collection would be looking pretty sad,%50 of everything i own has been bought online.
Theres probablly only another 2 maybe 3 people here in new zealand that are playing similar stuff to myself,and no stores are stocking the harder edge stuff...so without online shopping there would be bugger all banging techno out here,i would have to start playing handbag house :cry:
all and all...for djs online shoppin is sweet :wink:
I myself can only comment from a DJ's point of veiw,and to me i can only see online stores as being a good thing,as was mentioned before,the record stores here in new zealand dont stock bugger all of what im into at the moment,and the internet has provided me with the best source of shopping..Im getting tunes out here in New Zealand the same week that they are released in the UK.
And also surely those who are producers must agree that it can only be a good thing as it helps to get your tunes out to the countrys that are a little behind,and in the dark..More airtime worldwide has to be a good thing doesnt it.
I do however still brose record stores whenever i get the chance,as you never no what treats you might come accross.
But for some sort of comparison in the last four weeks
Number of tunes bought online: 24
tunes brought from a shop: 2
So as you can see the strike rate of finding something you like online compared to something in the store is much higher....here in NZ anyway
It just makes everything much more available.
I could say that without online shopping my record collection would be looking pretty sad,%50 of everything i own has been bought online.
Theres probablly only another 2 maybe 3 people here in new zealand that are playing similar stuff to myself,and no stores are stocking the harder edge stuff...so without online shopping there would be bugger all banging techno out here,i would have to start playing handbag house :cry:
all and all...for djs online shoppin is sweet :wink:
oopps
as for the impact that they have on the market,surely the distributor has more impact..as i geuss the distributor is the one that decides to make the records available to online stores or not.
Any impact in this regard is only gonna be pushing for more copys anyhow huh?
Maybe a win win situation..whereas the more sources selling your tunes the more demand there is(maybe),and the more worldwide playtime your tunes shall recieve.
blah blah ba ba black sheep
As far as I'm aware, they get them the same time... it's just that a lot of online shops are now advertising their promo copy and taking pre-sales from that (so when you put it in your shopping basket, you don't actually get it shipped till day of release :( )Quote:
do internet shops get records quicker than shops these days?
Sorry Davie I have to totally disagree with you mate.Quote:
Originally Posted by daviec
When was the last time you where in 23rd?. (This is not a dig so don't get offended)
We stock all sorts of Hard Techno ranging from Rush, Liebing, Burkkat, Klein, Wilson, Liefhebber and shit loads more (as well as the more commercial end (Prime Stuff) )
I knnow you haven't been in, it must at least 9 - 12 months or even more.
we get loads of new Techno (UK & European) in every week. So please don't tar us with the same brush.
I take pride in doing the buying for Techno. But Obvisiously I'll be baised.
Will...
Pleas
I'll also reply to this topic when I have enough time to guys.
I'm going out tonight and need to get ready sharpish.
Have a good weekend guys
Will :)
have too agree wi tiddlypeep, 23rd has kept me more than satisfied, they keep me up to date with the techno, when clearly there isnt anyone else in scotland who have the ability to get tunes that 23rd do in... ive been gettin tunes out of there a while now, and they are gettin there promo stuff etc at the same time as above the sky and the likes....Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiddlypeep
biggest advantage for me in the the internet shops;
you can find really really anything!, every record that exist is on a particulary website so anything old also, yeah the internet is really an invention!
Sorry mate. I'll need to look harder next time. I have been in, but after a quick glance round I could only find a small hard techno section. That was early July.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiddlypeep
But to be fair it still means the nearest store to me is an hour and a half travel, so online stores are still going to get most of my business. I can't afford to spend 3 hours of a Saturday travelling and maybe not get what I was looking for.
Next time I'm in Glasgow anyway I'll pop in for a look.
cheers,
Davie.
You need to check it mate. We have totally revamped out Techno section so there is massive amounts in.
Davie I respect you greatly mate as a very good friend & great DJ.
Will :)
Cheers for that bundle of tunes the day Will. If I'd had more cash I could have spent a fortune. Just blasting out Brainshaker - System Stabil as I type. 8)
I'll make sure and pop in whenever I'm up Glasgow way, and bring more cash next time. :D