Internet record shops & thier effect on the market

[Jimfish]

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?

[Ritzi Lee]

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.

[kebabman]

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.

[miromiric.]

i buy better record on net simply because local shops for local people here dont have music i m into generally.

[Angrymann]

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.

[miasma man]

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.

:)

[miasma man]

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. :?

[Patrick]

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.

Equally, some of the small independant underground stores are becoming some of the best internet record shops.

[Jimfish]

this is true.

[dcdn]

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..

[davethedrummer]

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

[davethedrummer]

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.

[Sunil]

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.

[Analbumcover]

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.

[Sunil]

It depends on your situation though. If I had to depend on my local record shop I'd be buggered.

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?

[miasma man]

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?

[daviec]

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)

[Kevin Gorman]

Internet record shops are amazing. now I never have to leave my house! how more lazy can we all get :lol:

[Orange]

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?

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.

Having said all this, I'm not in business and quite possibly haven't a clue what I'm talking about. :D

[Sunil]

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.

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.