quoted 52 lines Date: Thu, 31 Oct 1996 16:34:08 -0800 (PST)
> Date: Thu, 31 Oct 1996 16:34:08 -0800 (PST)
> From: Miles Egan <cullen@aimnet.com>
> To: Thad Biggerstaff <leafflow@coop.crn.org>
> Cc: idm@hyperreal.com, ambient@hyperreal.com
> Subject: (amb) Re: (idm) more cd/vinyl for sale
> Sender: owner-ambient@hyperreal.com
>
> On Thu, 31 Oct 1996, Thad Biggerstaff wrote:
>
> >
> > Some additions, and alot of price reductions on what is left from
> > the last time round...
> > Please reply via private email to leafflow@coop.crn.org
> > Add $2 for shipping within USA.
> > Will bargain on large orders- make an offer!
> > Will consider trades- make offers!
>
> There seem to be two possibilities here:
>
> 1. You really do go through dozens of CDs a week personally and are so
> out-of-touch that you think $14 or more is a good price for a used
> domestic CD.
>
> 2. You scour used disks shops looking for disks you know are in demand You
> then sell them on private mailing lists to people who aren't lucky enough
> to live close to a good shop and don't realize that they can get all of
> this stuff for the same price, or maybe even less, new. If this is the
> case you are conducting a business on a private forum and you should take
> it elsewhere.
>
> A warning to anyone tempted to put $$ in the pocket of this gouger: all
> of this stuff can be had *NEW* for a dollar or two more or sometimes even
> a dollar or two less from any of a number of mail-order companies that
> aren't out to skin you because you live in the midwest. Just a few
> examples:
>
> http://www.cdworld.com
> http://www.cdnow.com
>
> Are both good sources for domestic disks of almost any stripe.
>
> http://www.modernmusic.com
> http://www.dropbeat.com
>
> both have a great selection of all kinds of imports.
>
> And Ear-Rational at http://www.xmission.com/~ear can get you almost anything
> although it might take a while. I'm not endorsing these companies over
> any others; I'm just pointing out that there are all kinds of options for
> people that have a hard time finding this stuff closer to home.
>
> Miles
Miles (and those concerned)-
All the above suggestions for other sources are quite legit, and are additional
good options for buying music through the internet. If this was all you were
saying id have no bone to pick with you. However, it is not. The bone will come
in a moment, but first allow me to defend my case to the public, since you have
deemed it necessary to force me to do so.
First off, I now am working at a retail music store which deals in both used
and new merchandise. Moreover, my position, alongside working as a salesperson,
is to buy inventory to add to the stores stock. This would explain why I have
axcess to the amount of music I do. It also should tell you that i am familiar
with the going price of used music, at least in the midwest.
Secondly, yes I do scour this and other stores for music both I and others
might be interested in. I fail to understand how this makes me a criminal, as
your tone would imply. I by no means am conducting a business on private
forums (though to my knowledge there are those who are and have been doing so,
such as E/R, Pyramid, Modern Music, Playing by Ear, etc. I fail to see how this
would be wrong, anyhow, as it is my understanding that this was within the
guidelines of the ambient/idm lists to begin with, the philosophy being that
more people on the lists are interested in being exposed to the potential to
purchase/trading of cds through the lists than not. For those who are not
interested, there is *always* the delete key...). But again, my intention is
not to be runing such a business, but rather to both expose myself and others
to the potential acquisition, whether through purchase or *trading*, of musics
we might be interested in, but otherwise would find more inconvient to search
for on our own.
This brings up a point your tirade completely fails to address- TRADING.
More often than not, people offer trades for the music I offer in these posts.
This is rarely if ever an option with the other alternatives you list ( I do
know that E/R sometimes trades, however...). Again, this should highlight
the fact that my primary intention is to both expose myself and others to music
we both may respectvely have interest in. I both buy and trade music that I
think I might have interest in, and then once the interest fades, i pass it on
to others.
This does not mean I do not at times make a small profit when people do choose
to purchase rather than trade (especially for items that are rare/that I went
to alot of trouble to find.) I hardly think that this is unreasonable- it is
common practice.
Finally, I should point out that when the store I work at's inventory
does not turn over in an acceptable amount of time, the store allows me to
offer this inventory alongside my normal used stuff I offer on the internet.
This means that when a price is "high", it is usually because it is *new*! Upon
reflection, I have failed to make this clear in the postings- from now on, I
will post when an item in my lists is new, to avoid such misunderstandings.
There have been a few occasional comments by others on the prices,
but when i have pointed out that the cds were new, or offered to trade instead,
an agreement has almost always been made. I should also point out that these
comments were made *privately* and in a much more civil way than your paranoid
attacks, Miles. I really am frustrated, even a bit angry, by your posting
such comments publically, especially since they were based on erroneous
assumptions that I thought we had cleared up months ago when we had a similar
private "confrontation". I suppose you enjoy patting yourself on the back,
looking out for everyones "best interests" and all. But really- once the facts
become apparent (and all you had to do was ask!) -calling me a "gouger" was
taking a bit too far- it is a shame that an ignorant "servant of the public" is
more often than not worse than none at all.
The bottom line is the same as it was with the last tirade you had with me-
if one does not like the prices, one is free to shop around elsewhere. From
where i live, the prices are quite reasonable (I noticed, Miles, that you live
in New York. To judge others in a different enviroment by the standards of your
own is both unfair and irresponsible...as i have already pointed out to you
privately!) *Most importantly*, however, im offering to trade alongside the
option to purchase. In your attack against me ("gouger"), you fail entirely to
address this. Your suggestions for other places to shop for music is valid- and
I by no means mean to block people from these options, and dont think i am!)
But to frame such suggestions within an unwarranted public attack against me
is something i just dont understand. Please take up some other cause
which you can pat yourself on the back for- hopefully a more legit one-
and try to keep the insults out of it!
my apologies to the list members for taking up this bandwidth over an issue
that has been discussed to death publicly (as well as privately) already-
but Miles left me with little choice.
-Thad