Home ›
Site Links
Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Categories
In this Discussion
Who's Online (4)
- DaveFred 1:47AM
- Nicholas_23 1:47AM
- rjj45 1:47AM
- traw 1:47AM
Please review the site Rules, Terms of Service, and Privacy Policy at your convenience. Rules, TOS, Privacy
Get familiar with the reaction system: Introducing the Reaction System
Why Are LP Prices So High?
This might just apply to us in Oz, but prices for 'normal' LPs (i.e. not 'audiophile' pressings etc) are through the roof.
Yesterday in a store I saw Sgt Pepper for $71 (one LP); Are You Experienced (2LP) $90, Dark Side of the Moon, $65 and Nevermind, $60.
Somehow, the Hendrix Estate managed to make two LPs out of that album, with one side having a measly three - yes, three songs; and they weren't even any of the longer tracks like Third Stone from the Sun! The "LP" side wasn't even 10 minutes.
I thought side six of The Concert for Bangladesh at about 14 minutes and side four of Blonde on Blonde at 12 were mean.
Geoff
Comments
I N F L A T I O N.
No more need be said lest we break the board rules further.
Point taken, will say no more
Thanks
Geoff
LOL, saw LP and did not think records or vinyl.
InDIYana Event Website
I think anything by the Beatles or Floyd are very sought after. It's following the vintage hifi trend. I also think it depends on location. Prices are are not too crazy at the record shops around here, at least for most used stuff. Some of the special pressings and rare ones are out of my range, but I see that as a niche market for serious collectors only.
Supply and demand - in this case demand. Vinyl sales surpassed CDs in 2022. Inflation" only to the extent that every change in prices is called inflation by the general public.
In light of the fact that some entities can move these for far less than the prices in the OP (AU$ vs. US$ notwithstanding), the answer is certainly G R E E D. The renewed interest in physical media, particularly vinyl, allows that to happen.
Willing buyer meets willing seller...
Makes me glad I'm not invested in vinyl.
Just stream your music at the breakfast table with a big bowl of Rice Krispies Cereal... jk vinyl spinners
Still less pricy than reel-to-reel, 'to the moon, Alice'
Reel to reel albums were about $400 last I checked.
What about the technical aspects of short LP sides?
I haven't checked the groove spacing on newer records, but the groove on Concert for Bangladesh and Blonde on Blonde's short sides is cut very wide compared with the others so that it fills the space.
They certainly don't sound as good as the other sides, either - perhaps the stylus bounces around?
At the other extreme, I had a recording of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on an RCA 'Victrola' LP which crammed the first three movements on one side (about 32 minutes) so that the fourth movement could be played without interruption. The short side sounded good, the first, very thin.
Geoff
I’m in the Quad Cities right now- stopped at a record store in the trendy part of town. They have a ton of new vinyl and 180g rereleases. Prices are a bit higher than in Cedar Rapids, where it’s mostly used LPs.
Oh - and I came down here to buy a vintage Thorens turntable.
If they are pressed over in NA the freight cost can add too. It seems most stuff is pressed alot thicker nowadays too compared to the old paper thin stuff. Which adds to shipping weight.
True, shipping costs from the US to Oz are now prohibitive, even for small items like CDs and crossover parts.
Geoff