Vinyl buyers&Producers alike. I need help. (Stop-MushiMushi)

[rattletrap]

My name is Jacob, i have been buying Dubstep/140/Reggae vinyl for the last 6 years or so. As my taste developed, i discovered more and more artists and vinyls i had missed out on when they were released... Then i found Discogs.

As we all know you can bag a bargain on Discogs, but most of the time, as with all second hand markets, the prices can get a tad inflated. Heads up to the 'collectors''. These, as far as i am concerned, are the signs of a healthy scene.... Then i found MushiMushi.

For those of you unaware of this guy. He once owned 3 record stores in and around Nottingham. Nowadays he works from home. But still boasts listings on Discogs of 40,000+, spanning a wide range of Genre's. Back in the day, he was just another record dealer...But these days, he is a spectacle of the vinyl industry.

Why you ask?

With Midnight Request Line up for sale on ebay for £500, and Burial's Untrue EP on Discogs for £1500.. Need i say anymore? His average price of vinyl stands at around £50. Even for new releases.

I for one have noticed his prices increase steadily as the second hand market becomes more prominent for Dubstep. This, you may think, is normal behavior. But that's not all, he will buy other, cheaper vinyls from Discogs, and then re-list them, at his highly inflated prices. He also buys new vinyl in bulk (10 or more). waits for them to sell out in the Shops, and then list them, again... at his highly inflated prices. A good example of this is LionCharge001, he recently posted 5 of these rarities for £55 a piece.

Today I had a 30 minute phone call with the guy, i took a modest approach at trying to explain how i feel he is killing the industry.. and the only reason for his actions he could come up with was;

''Its my business model, you gotta make money, that's just life.''

A few more quotes;

''I support the producer's more than the common man, because i buy 7 vinyl's, when you buy 1''
After already stating that ''10+ vinyls in a collection is excessive''

When asked why he recently listed Burials EP for £1500;
''It's original pressing mate, you cant get that anymore, you obviously can't read''

''Vinyl is a luxury item''

He told me that of the 40,000 or so listed vinyls he currently has for sale on Discogs, he has another half a million in back stock.

At £50 a vinyl, that means he will be at least £25,000,000 in the pocket. Is it really fair that he monopolizes the market and pushes the common man to the back of the room? I can't afford these prices, so I'm making a stand. In my opinion, this man has no idea what he is even doing. All he thinks about is the money, and how he can make more.

What do you think? And more importantly, what are we going to do about this?

Any questions on my views, or my talk with the infamous money grabbing bastard, i will be happy to answer,

Thanks for your time, Jacob Price, a fellow vinyl collector and DJ.

N.B.
On the topic of vinyl price inflation, i want to shout out a big thanks to Tempa, for staying true to their customers, and keeping the price of their vinyl releases the same for as long as i can remember! £5.99 for life!

[wub]

''I support the producer's more than the common man, because i buy 7 vinyl's, when you buy 1''

Valid point, IMO.

Not like the producers are seeing any of that resale money from eBay/Discogs.

[Marcus]

I would never buy off this guy, seriously milking the market with unreal prices but people keep on buying it from them so their prices will stay this way, a big screw you to vinylvendor too.

[LouDub]

Fair play on ringing him up this seller along with vinyl vendor piss me off so much. It's not even that they're just exploiting the fact that people will pay for records that aren't getting repressed which I can understand more,they're actually trying to con you into thnking a records rarer than it is in most cases.

On dsf people know to steer clear of them. It's up to the labels really to repress this stuff, I dont think a boycott will work as they will get by alright off the odd sale. If discogs banned them would be sick, they're seriously fucking up vinyl for people like me who came to it late and I've only had money to get involved since I have student loan.

[rattletrap]

Not like the producers are seeing any of that resale money from eBay/Discogs.

I think you're missing my point.

The producers make money from the sale through distribution, not through individual sales on websites and shops. This makes his point mostly invalid... Sure it shows support... but the fan base is there already... The records will sell one by one easy enough.

Fair play on ringing him up this seller along with vinyl vendor piss me off so much.

a big screw you to vinylvendor too.

Can't believe i forgot VinylVendour in all this... He is equally as much of a problem! Thanks for the support guys.

I Agree that In my opinion, it has surpassed the option of a Boycott. He has almost everything in my Wishlist. This guy is monopolizing the market. He buy's other Discogs seller's vinyls, and re-lists them as his own.

[wub]

I Agree that In my opinion, it has surpassed the option of a Boycott. He has almost everything in my Wishlist. This guy is monopolizing the market. He buy's other Discogs seller's vinyls, and re-lists them as his own.

Is the issue with capitalism in general?

[150Grams]

I hear you.
The man is definetely a tnuc.

[garethom]

Meh, it's the guy's hustle. As with everything we buy, if you think it's too expensive, don't buy from that vendor. The high prices piss me off, but such is capitalism. If you take issue with this, there's millions of other items and sellers you'll have issue with. As much as we all like to exaggerate at times, this guy isn't killing any industry.

[m8son666]

lol who cares, this isn't destroying the industry. If it's a discontinued record it's not going to affect the artist whether someone buys a second hand one for £10 or £10,000.

''Its my business model, you gotta make money, that's just life.''

I don't see what's wrong with this, I am sure you could do your job for less than you do.

[wub]

Only poor people complain about capitalism.

[m8son666]

Yeah ha, just jealousy imo.

[CreamLord]

Don't agree with the guy but it doesn't really phase me cause I just don't buy from him. £500 for midnight request line is kinda waste though

[baddis98]

it's not killing the industry but it's a shame when other fans miss out on a limited pressing because some stnuc are buying 10 records. it really is a bitch move.

[Moens]

It sucks to see these high prices for certain records (even if they are rare) but it's a part of the game i think.. Just don't buy from them and you won't support them!

[prisoner]

welcome to two years ago.

[test_recordings]

Funny how you're bitching about capitalism because you want what it has produced....

I welcome the day vinyl shops get their own mini press and a license for each track to cut. No problems with the size of the run that way, no waste etc

Jealousy be a sin too, you know

[rorz9992]

Hate this tnuc but no-one is forcing you to buy from him. If everyone boycotted him he would have to find a new hustle. Some people are fiends for the black crack tho

[wub]

Funny how you're bitching about capitalism because you want what it has produced...

Hate this tnuc but no-one is forcing you to buy from him.

If someone was charging £100 for a bag of peanut M&Ms, I wouldn't start lecturing him on fair pricing. I'd just buy them from another shop.

[nakedlunch]

His prices are stupid, but if someone is prepared to pay them, well then they are stupid also. If I sell on Discogs , and he's the only seller, I undercut him by 50%, his stupid prices help me sell vinyl.

He told me that of the 40,000 or so listed vinyls he currently has for sale on Discogs, he has another half a million in back stock.

At £50 a vinyl, that means he will be at least £25,000,000 in the pocket.

If he sells them , and with less and less people buying vinyl it's a far more likely scenario that he will be stuck with 40,000 records than 25,000,000 quid.

[jrkhnds]

The only thing that really pisses me off about them is how they re-list their entire catalogue every other day, leaving me to crawl through their shit prices again and again.