A question for all youse guys about CDs

[Д.Д.]

8 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

I would buy Nessa downloads. A good example of how international shipping rate increases have restricted my access to US releases in recent years.

Well, specifically Nessa releases are easily available in Europe through local amazons: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Generation-Hal-Russell/dp/B00KPI1H7C/ . 

Edited August 29, 2020 by Д.Д.

[mjazzg]

27 minutes ago, Д.Д. said:

Well, specifically Nessa releases are easily available in Europe through local amazons: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Generation-Hal-Russell/dp/B00KPI1H7C/ . 

I try not to use Amazon. Prefer to support retailers that pay their taxes and respect their employees. I realise I'm in a minority and open to accusations of 'wokeness' or similar but I'm happy with that.

And, that's a great album

Edited August 29, 2020 by mjazzg

[Dan Gould]

Allen for what I imagine the breadth and relative rarity of your CDs I think there would be demand even in this age.

I am hard copy all the way, even when downloads are purchased they get burned for listening (and I do that only if CDs are non-existent or outrageously pricey). 

[mjazzg]

1 minute ago, Dan Gould said:

Allen for what I imagine the breadth and relative rarity of your CDs I think there would be demand even in this age.

Yes, this.  I'm surprised how much some rarer CDs do sell for.  Worth running a few against discogs listings for an idea of their current value.

[porcy62]

12 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Yes, this.  I'm surprised how much some rarer CDs do sell for.  Worth running a few against discogs listings for an idea of their current value.

I sell stuff on discogs, mostly CDs, only few rare CDs fetch some money, most are in the 4/6 € range. Considering packaging cost, discogs and paypal fees, selling CDs on discogs is a waste of time. I do it because at the moment I am unemployed, so I have too much spare time.

Edit: but yes, I am selling them, there are people out there still buying CD.

Edited August 29, 2020 by porcy62

[Rooster_Ties]

3 minutes ago, mjazzg said:

Yes, this.  I'm surprised how much some rarer CDs do sell for.  Worth running a few against discogs listings for an idea of their current value.

I would take Discogs listing prices with a grain of salt. Or at least for more obscure titles, best to also check Discog’s actual sales history (with hi, low, and median actual-sales-data).

Sometimes recent eBay sales data is also helpful, but (unfortunately only limited to the last 3 months, unless you’re a seller, and then maybe you get a little more data - is it 6 months?).

Amazon 3rd-party sellers’ listings sometimes help too, but also suffer from the lack of “real world” listing pricing data, same as if you only look at Discogs offerings (without looking at actual sales). Fortunately that actual sales data is available w/ Discogs.

[porcy62]

3 minutes ago, Rooster_Ties said:

I would take Discogs listing prices with a grain of salt. Or at least for more obscure titles, best to also check Discog’s actual sales history (with hi, low, and median actual-sales-data).

Sometimes recent eBay sales data is also helpful, but (unfortunately only limited to the last 3 months, unless you’re a seller, and then maybe you get a little more data - is it 6 months?).

Amazon 3rd-party sellers’ listings sometimes help too, but also suffer from the lack of “real world” listing pricing data, same as if you only look at Discogs offerings (without looking at actual sales). Fortunately that actual sales data is available w/ Discogs.

Absolutely agree. I tend to price CDs a little bit lower then median price.

[mjazzg]

I wasn't suggesting that Discogs was the holy grail just that Allen might get an idea of his CD's value by looking there. I assumed he was clever enough to work out to look at the Sales History and to factor in the 'pie in the sky' pricers.

A recent example has been Maria Schneider CDs, not seemingly many on the secondhand market (presumably original buyers still like them) and those that are selling are at £10+ which isn't a bad price at all. As with anything, it will depend on what titles he's trying to shift.

[Pim]

I still buy cd’s and vinyl. I also sell some stuff trough Discogs. It really depends what you sell, what you get. I sold cd’s for 30 euros, mostly the more rare Japanese editions. But really, most cd’s are worth somewhere between the 5 and 10 euros, especially the more common stuff from Blue Note, Verve, OJC etc. The really more older jazz from the ‘30’s and so really not seem to be in demand. 
In most cases, the Median Discogs price is quite a good guideline. The marketplaces really are not.

[Jim Duckworth]

14 hours ago, lipi said:

 I'm interested in most things pre-1940, and I still buy CDs, simply because a lot of stuff has not made it to download (let alone streaming) yet.

 

I too listen to an awful lot of pre-1940's music and find it woefully underrepresented on streaming patforms and this has kept me in the cd business.  Much of what I listen to is physically present in my cd collection but has been re-contextualized via playlists.  

[Rooster_Ties]

A LOT of the music I’m most interested in - at last jazz - is really a lot more obscure. Small labels, non-US artists (Japanese, European), and I love really well-curated various artist CD’s of African and Ethiopian music. And some obscure Scandinavian jazz (beyond ECM).

I would venture a guess that less than 50% of my non-pop/non-rock CD purchases are of music that I couldn’t stream, even if I tried.

CD is definitely the way to go for me.

[colinmce]

I buy CDs all the time; it's by far my preferred mode of listening to jazz. Due to space constraints, I've had to recently jettison all my non-jazz CDs, so all other music gets purchased on vinyl. I hate downloads. I'm also always looking to fill in gaps, so I'd happily take a look at the list.

[John Tapscott]

I definitely prefer CD's to downloads. The vast majority of my CD's are still in boxes from a recent move, which is why I haven't been posting much lately. It may take 6 months to get them all on shelves. But it also gives me a chance to rediscover some I haven't heard for a while. I think it's a shame that new vehicles have jettisoned CD players.   

[mjzee]

I buy CDs and downloads, occasionally used LPs, also occasionally used CDs.  If you sell used CDs, don't overlook Amazon.

[porcy62]

8 minutes ago, mjzee said:

 If you sell used CDs, don't overlook Amazon.

As far I know Amazon fee is even higher then Discogs.

[colinmce]

7 minutes ago, porcy62 said:

As far I know Amazon fee is even higher then Discogs.

Amazon is also a terrible deal for buyers because they will not combine shipping on multiple orders from the same Marketplace seller, so you're paying $4 extra per CD. Trash.

[felser]

And Amazon is not for small sellers, really nasty terms as far as fees and length of listing.  I sold one CD on there, said "never again".  Have not tried selling on Discogs, haven't had the time.  I go through seasons where I sell on ebay, when time permits, and do OK there, but haven't sold on there in six months.  I find available time to be the biggest barrier to selling CD's and vinyl.  Suspect it will be a good retirement activity for me if I ever actually get to retire.

[ejp626]

7 minutes ago, felser said:

And Amazon is not for small sellers, really nasty terms as far as fees and length of listing.  I sold one CD on there, said "never again".  Have not tried selling on Discogs, haven't had the time.  I go through seasons where I sell on ebay, when time permits, and do OK there, but haven't sold on there in six months.  I find available time to be the biggest barrier to selling CD's and vinyl.  Suspect it will be a good retirement activity for me if I ever actually get to retire.

I'm sure it's gotten worse.  I thought Amazon wasn't that terrible 10-15 years ago, but like everything (Paypal, etc.) the fees for the small sellers have gotten much, much worse.  Then the postal rates started increasing, but Amazon didn't (at that time) allow any increase in what they reimbursed for shipping.  Then I moved to Canada, where the postal rates are basically insane (and there is no media rate equivalent), so I just stopped listing items.  It simply isn't worth it any more.

[T.D.]

13 minutes ago, ejp626 said:

I'm sure it's gotten worse.  I thought Amazon wasn't that terrible 10-15 years ago, but like everything (Paypal, etc.) the fees for the small sellers have gotten much, much worse.  Then the postal rates started increasing, but Amazon didn't (at that time) allow any increase in what they reimbursed for shipping.  Then I moved to Canada, where the postal rates are basically insane (and there is no media rate equivalent), so I just stopped listing items.  It simply isn't worth it any more.

I sold a lot on Amazon 10-15 years ago, but stopped because my selling slowed down and it became too much of a PITA. Then the terms started getting much worse. I stopped paying attention and wouldn't even consider it now.

[porcy62]

I started with discogs because I archived my collection on it, admittely not the greatest archival tool, but it's ok for me. Then I discovered I had dozens of dupes and hundreds of records and cds I didn't listen to in decades and will not listen anymore, so I started to sell that is definitely easy once your collection is on discogs. I sold audiophile vinyls for good money, CDs is another story.

[Tom in RI]

Another cd, lp, almost no download user here. However, most of the cd’s I’m picking up are $1.99 at Savers, with 30% off on Tuesdays (senior discount, shocking I know).

Even though I am just another guy here, I look around my basement and ask who am I kidding, I have more than I will realistically listen to. Still, Allen, if you list I will peruse with interest and probably buy some.

[felser]

When I have listed CD's for sale here, members have made it well worth my time, plus it's a joy to interact with others on the exchanges (unlike ebay, etc.).

[Daniel A]

I promise you that I am not trolling now, but I've got a question to all of you who prefer CDs to digital formats which are not based on plastic discs: do you prefer them only because of the packaging (booklets, liner notes) or also out of a feeling of "safety" for owning "physical" copies (or for any other reason)?

The reason for my question is the sometimes stated, sometimes implied, argument that CDs are a safer way to keep music than as files stored in another manner. But the fact is that hard drives, clouds and compact discs are only different ways of storing the same digital files. There are many safe ways to store digital data, and most often they are based on redundancy. CDs can get scratched, they can "rot", be stolen, lost or burn. A file storage solution based on multiple copies in different locations (as in local drive plus cloud) would probably be much safer. Ask a bank how they store critical data (it will not be as discs or printouts). 🙂 

I appreciate physical product myself; these days primarily enjoyed in the form of LPs. But the "safety" argument has long seemed flawed to me. But feel free to put me straight. 😄

Edited August 29, 2020 by Daniel A

[T.D.]

10 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I promise you that I am not trolling now, but I've got a question to all of you who prefer CDs to digital formats which are not based on plastic discs: do you prefer them only because of the packaging (booklets, liner notes) or also out of a feeling of "safety" for owning "physical" copies (or for any other reason)?

The reason for my question is the sometimes stated, sometimes implied, argument that CDs are a safer way to keep music than as files stored in another manner. But the fact is that hard drives, clouds and compact discs are only different ways of storing the same digital files. There are many safe ways to store digital data, and most often they are based on redundancy. CDs can get scratched, they can "rot", be stolen, lost or burn. A file storage solution based on multiple copies in different locations (as in local drive plus cloud) would probably be much safer. Ask a bank how they store critical data (it will not be as discs or printouts). 🙂 

I appreciate physical product myself; these days primarily enjoyed in the form of LPs. But the "safety" argument has long seemed flawed to me. But feel free to put me straight. 😄

For me it's purely inertia. I have a decent sound system based on CDs (gave up on vinyl about 20 years ago and no longer have a turntable).

Going to downloads would involve purchasing a hard drive (or maybe 2 incl. backup), researching software (maybe purchasing, depending on research), purchasing a suitable DAC to play the files through my sound system, and then ripping/cataloguing my CDs. I'm some combination of too lazy / cheap to do all this.

I hear you on "safety". I occasionally drop and scratch CDs, long ago gave up on lending them out because of damage, and have had discs rot.

[porcy62]

15 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

I promise you that I am not trolling now, but I've got a question to all of you who prefer CDs to digital formats which are not based on plastic discs: do you prefer them only because of the packaging (booklets, liner notes) or also out of a feeling of "safety" for owning "physical" copies (or for any other reason)?

The reason for my question is the sometimes stated, sometimes implied, argument that CDs are a safer way to keep music than as files stored in another manner. But the fact is that hard drives, clouds and compact discs are only different ways of storing the same digital files. There are many safe ways to store digital data, and most often they are based on redundancy. CDs can get scratched, they can "rot", be stolen, lost or burn. A file storage solution based on multiple copies in different locations (as in local drive plus cloud) would probably be much safer. Ask a bank how they store critical data (it will not be as discs or printouts). 🙂 

I appreciate physical product myself; these days primarily enjoyed in the form of LPs. But the "safety" argument has long seemed flawed to me. But feel free to put me straight. 😄

Life is transient, so is my music collection, I just love playing old records with a turntable.