Welcome to the Skeptical Audiophile
Click here to see more letters from fans and detractors alike.
This one comes from a fellow who, judging by the number of exclamation marks he saw fit to use, seems more than a little upset with us.
WHERE DO YOU GET THESE PRICES.!!!!!!!! Talk about overcharging customers…..
I’ve been collecting vinyl for over 35 years… Have Never seen such ridiculous pricing…!!
Even from Elusive Disc.!!!
What a joke.!!!!
Yes, we readily admit it, we are quite a bit more expensive than Elusive Disc.
But their records don’t sound good.
Shouldn’t that count for something?
To be fair, some of them might, but nobody that works there could tell you which ones do and which ones don’t, not even if you put a gun to their head.
If you would like to write us a letter, about our pricing or anything else, you may use as many exclamation marks as you deem sufficient to express the outrage you’re feeling. The more the merrier! (We’ll just go with one here.)
People ask us: How can your records possibly be worth these prices?, and we think we have a good answer.
Further Reading
What a delightful letter to read! Tom, you failed to point out in your reply that he does not have to buy your records if he doesn’t want to. You also failed to point out that if he does buy a record, he can return it he doesn’t think it’s worth what he paid.
What you say about Elusive Disc is true. They have no idea how their records sound. Some of them in fact sound wonderful – they carry Impex, which never disappoint me. I’ve got the Impex pressing of Three Blind Mice playing right now. But, the point is, when you buy from them, or Chad, or MoFi, ERC, etc etc, you are taking a risk. You can’t email them and ask, “no but really, does it sound any good?” I’m nearly certain you can’t return a record – anywhere – because you don’t like the way it sounds, or because you don’t think it’s worth what you paid. Even brick and mortar record stores disappoint me in that regard – places where I’ve been shopping for years, and the guy still grumbles if I try to bring back a record.
Are your records worth it? Well, I keep buying them, and I only wish I could afford to buy more. And, your records are predominantly the ones I play anymore, so I guess yeah. Spins per dollar, your records are the best money spent in my collection.
Aaron,
Two points: if you like Three Blind Mice albums, try to track down the earlier pressings on regular weight Japanese vinyl. They should be quite a bit better sounding.
And secondly, spins per dollar is a great way to think about the cost of records!
Thanks for writing,
TP