Taking the mickey

[bigbill]

Is it just me, or are some shops/people starting to take the pi$$ with 2nd hand records?

Examples in my local Oxfam shop - all with tatty covers:-

best of Abba - £8
Neil Diamond - can't remember the title - £12
Pink Floyd - DSOTM - £11

and loads more like this. A motley mix of tatty unloved LPs all at a tenner or more. Now I know I'm a grumpy old man, and tend to the cynical view anyway,but not long ago the charity shops couldn't give these things away. Who's paying these prices?

Steve

[Clive]

They seem to stick for quite a long time. These are ebay prices or more. Charity shops get their records for free, to charge top whack seems a little greedy, I wonder if they'd make more money if they charged 2/3rd these silly prices.

[Allen]

Yeah, I think someone at Oxfam has decided to put the mint 'book' price on all secondhand records, regardless of condition.

Best to hit the smaller charity shops. Yesterday I scored an orig. orange label RCA copy of Volunteers - Jefferson Airplane = Mothers - Over-nite Sensation = Kate and Anna McGarrigle's 1st album and a copy of Colin Newman (of Wire)'s - German only release, "Dinosaurs Megalosaurus" (which is ultra-rare and goes for about £75) and all for just £2 in one of the local charity shops.

[andrew ivimey]

I have found that Charity shops have a 'friend' who regularly comes round and advises on the price of l.p.s (He probably has the pick of the crop too, I wonder) The peeps in the charity shop, usually, wouldn't know a priceless l.p. from Val Doonican's greatest hits so it isn't their fault.

OTOH, charity shops exist to raise dosh for people hugely worse off than you or I and I hope they raise plenty. Silly prices of course means l.p.s don't sell but I have no idea how to tell charity shops this.

Oxfam seem the most together on organising L.P. sales and e.g. the Winchester branch has for a long time a quality and worthwhile record shop round the corner from the ordinary Oxfam. I thought prices were reasonable and the L.P.s well looked after and presented. Power to their elbow!

It is to be hoped that if a charity shop puts on silly prices they will eventually realise their error and do something about it. Generally though, bargains, in every walk of life, are ever harder to find.

[Allen]

Originally Posted by andrew ivimey

OTOH, charity shops exist to raise dosh for people hugely worse off than you or I and I hope they raise plenty.

Needless to say if I e-bay that Colin Newman album I'll donate most of the profits to the charity shop, (nothing to do with the lady who works there being quite saucy, pure altruism!)