How the internet has changed collecting

[DJFANTAZIA]

As the title implies 'How the internet has changed collecting' : what are your experiences of sites like Discogs and the wider net for changing your collecting habits if you have been collecting for a while (before we had decent resources like these).

I remember when I started collecting old skool vinyl tunes in 2000 there was a lot of guess work and well known labels were a guide,.. e.g. buy discomagic / italian style etc (though no guarantee of a good tune),... but there's now so much help from youtube and record sites its easier right?

I just bought about 100 vinyl on discogs that I had never heard of, thanks to biskit and ilovepiano's lists on discogs(thanks guys),.. and I thought I had all the classics (cap and family, countess feroldi, sarasota hot remix (first press), economix ep (first press), the usual fodder etc).

This started me thinking about my collection. Some of it seems widely available (more than I thought, and some more rare). Not that I'm selling it, but the internet resources we have now,.. its a good thing right?

Discuss.

 

[dodgymix]

As the title implies 'How the internet has changed collecting' : what are your experiences of sites like Discogs and the wider net for changing your collecting habits if you have been collecting for a while (before we had decent resources like these).

I remember when I started collecting old skool vinyl tunes in 2000 there was a lot of guess work and well known labels were a guide,.. e.g. buy discomagic / italian style etc (though no guarantee of a good tune),... but there's now so much help from youtube and record sites its easier right?

I just bought about 100 vinyl on discogs that I had never heard of, thanks to biskit and ilovepiano's lists on discogs(thanks guys),.. and I thought I had all the classics (cap and family, countess feroldi, sarasota hot remix (first press), economix ep (first press), the usual fodder etc).

This started me thinking about my collection. Some of it seems widely available (more than I thought, and some more rare). Not that I'm selling it, but the internet resources we have now,.. its a good thing right?

Discuss.

I spent 15 years of hard graft buying tunes and paying through the nose for a lot of them as when you saw it you had to buy it (people like Steve Luigi new that so everything in demand had a serious price tag £20-25)
I also spend half days every weekend digging through crates of little known record shops where the owners had no idea what they were but bought em for 50p and sold em for a quid.
Also cxar boots and vinyl fairs etc etc.

total religion to get the collection i wanted with every tune I wanted.
In last 10-15 years ive picked up maybe a hundred "new" oldskool tunes. all have been unknowns id'd on youtube or tuneid etc.
Where historically I has the title engraved on my brain I now here the Tune / want it / search discogs / order

its Kind of taken the fun out of record digging although with kids / wifes its saves me so much hassle

Only problem i see it doesnt take hard graft to get a decent collection.. you just need your credit card



A bit like the youth of today really.. want everything easy and on a plate


We took doves and got our heads round em to be able to dance all night.

Now the kids take south American stimulants and strutt round like peacocks lol

 

[siman91]

I would buy from some Kent, Sussx and London shops mid/late 90's. By late 90's I knew a few record dealers well and used to listen before buying otherwise do people remember the catalogues that were issued by HTF and a good friend Housemaster Records, still got some with a load of old flyers. Other dealers soon followed their example.

I was into discogs from very early days however have had greatest success from eBay and local papers simply buying collections and selling on anything not wanted. Started buying collections late 90's when you could get them for a song.

Now in Aus, I have only bought a couple of records but once set back up Discogs will become my friend as collections of any use are not for sale here and people are not willing to negotiate like UK.

S

 

[DJFANTAZIA]

While prices have come down in general (which is good for all collectors) I agree that there's no longer the "digging through a record collection in a shop or car boot joy" when you come across a surprise gem. I kinda miss physically sifting through records.

On the plus side I have a lot less iffy stuff in my collection, that I bought thinking it was another tune!