Hunters & Collectors

[falck]

No, not the band. [:)]

Please note that I’m new to this place so I hope I’m not trying to start a thread this forum already had years ago and that this section is the proper place for it.

I guess for everyone who followed the Seeing Red 7” story (e.g. in the Obscure 80s Central of this board), now it clearly shows that there are very different approaches to collecting.

Technically, what we have there is a small piece of vinyl with some nice music on it but which qualitywise comes nowhere near the classics like e.g. Das Kabinette’s “The Cabinet” or Experimental Product’s “Mannequin”, at least not in my book.

And an entire scene gets stirred up by it nonetheless. Why? Well, because it’s Rare. Spelled with a capital R.

To get the ball rolling, here’s my approach to collecting:

As you might have suspected, I am not one of the people who collect Rare. I collect Great. Great as in “great according to my very own taste”. Of course the two can match. Needless to say, I do own Rare records.

Furthermore, there’s limits to the money I will spend on a record (about Euro 60.-). Some might consider that crazy already, but of course other people will spend a lot more. Luckily, it’s a free world and the good news is it’s not ninja stars they are buying.

Now if you wanted to label me, I guess I’d call myself a “fun collector”. I truly enjoy doing flea markets, record fairs and bargain bins, and though I love my collection and I know how much time and effort went into it, well if you took it away from me, that wouldn’t be me the end of my human existence. [;)]

[fiftypercent]

Interesting post topic. Here's my approach.

I've been collecting music for about ten years seriously. What happened was I sold off all my CD collection before moving to the US, and stupidly assumed it was be easy to just go out and replace everything once I got there. I then discovered that "out-of-print" meant that a lot of things I had liked and enjoyed were going to be harder to find. At about the same time I discovered others on the internet who had kept hold of their collections and I was amazed at how much great music I had completely missed and never heard of.

What I started doing was frequenting Second Hand Music shops. I just love going to those places. Also, flea markets and thrift stores. If I found something unusual or that I knew to be hard to find, I would often get it with a view to posting it on eBay for a collector to enjoy. I very rarely spend more than ten dollars for a CD or four or five dollars for an album. I usually plan on spending $10-$20 and see what I can get. For me, often the looking is as enjoyable (if not more so) as actually making purchases

The most I have ever sold a CD for was Re-Flex for $104.00 and Secession for about $85.00. Sometimes, I sold stuff for amounts that were less than I knew it was worth, but that is the nature of an auction.

I have generally only ever held on to music that I really like. Sometimes, I have let go of things only later to kick myself that it was a lot rarer than I thought, for example the Quick CD I found for two bucks and then sold for $52.00 and have never been able to find again.

But, I have to keep a perspective. One, I have a family so I never spend more than a few dollars at one time unless I get a windfall or something. Two, I try to stop my collection from piling up all over the house. Three, I always try to share what I have found with others who might enjoy it. What's the point of owning a rare single if no-one else knows about it? I recently emailed my cousin (who was in the band Seeing Red) to tell him how proud I was that people were discovering and enjoying their music again. If I had kept it to myself that would never have happened.

Four, ultimately I am also aware that if there was a fire or something at my house then saving my records and CD's would be my last priority. So, I try not to get too attached. As long as the music can stay in your heart and head, it's all good.

http://mineforlife.blogspot.com