Vinyl Me Please (store, exclusives, swaps, etc)

[TCell]

Said it before and I'll say it again. For international guilables (such as @Selaws and myself) the Herbie box is actually a good box at a good price. This lot, however, would still be an insane price if I was having them delivered to a country shack somewhere on Mars

Obviously RTI is a better pressing plant than GZ, and I wished they pressed the Herbie box there, but to compare...

Herbie Box (which includes 2 of the best jazz albums of all time)...8 Records for $289 (after member discount).

Jazz Dispensary Bundle (none of which are essential)...5 Records for $230 (after member discount).

No wonder they are recommending you get high to listen to those jazz dispensary albums: Jazz Joints: Pairing Cannabis Strains with VMP x Jazz Dispensary Records

 

[gregathon]

Obviously RTI is a better pressing plant than GZ, and I wished they pressed the Herbie box there, but to compare...

Herbie Box (which includes 2 of the best jazz albums of all time)...8 Records for $289 (after member discount).

Jazz Dispensary Bundle (none of which are essential)...5 Records for $230 (after member discount).

No wonder they are recommending you get high to listen to those jazz dispensary albums: Jazz Joints: Pairing Cannabis Strains with VMP x Jazz Dispensary Records

"Pairs well with oregano because you don't have any money left."

 

[Mather]

"Pairs well with oregano because you don't have any money left."

Legit lol'd at this.

 

[Rahawk2]

On the flip side grabbed 9 BN-80 albums in the Target 3 for 2 sale for like 120 bucks. All in lowly pedestrian black though.

Edit 3 for 2. 2 for 3 would more likely be a VMP sale

 

[JonnyH]

No wonder they are recommending you get high to listen to those jazz dispensary albums: Jazz Joints: Pairing Cannabis Strains with VMP x Jazz Dispensary Records

I'm there right now and even i know its a terrible price.

 

[displayname]

I don't think I've gotten a single VMP exclusive since pre-COVID, and they are making it very easy to continue that trend. I haven't been impressed with the selections or the pricing. I'm getting to the point where I might not even open the emails.
A ton of hifi companies have been able to cash in with people sitting at home with their stereos. But VMP is is pricing gouging at the wrong time.

As much as I'd love to say it's going to bite them, I'm not sure it will. They just keep selling out of stuff, even at these insane prices.

 

[Rowan]

I mean, for context, the latest BBE J Jazz release is like 40 dollars, it's a double 45 and the pressings I have from the others in the series are imacculate. No way are that lot worth 10 dollars a shot more. Its balls out madness from VMP to be honest.

 

[MMJ]

That Norman Feels is on LITA for $22 in standard black for anyone who doesn’t care about color variants.

If anyone finds any info on the Kool and the Gang pressing and whether it’s available elsewhere in standard black let me know! I’ve given up on finding an original pressing for this one!

You can get the Kool and the Gang right from RealMusic for $18. Color is listed as "creamy"

Kool and the Gang Kool and the Gang LP

The 1970 debut album from Kool and the Gang scored a couple of hits with 'The Gangs Back Again' and the title cut, but more importantly, it heralded the arrival of what was to become a juggernaut on the R&B scene. This all-instrumental record is years away from the commercial successes of...

shop.realgonemusic.com

 

[yukbon]

The Herbie boxset seems more reasonable now...

This is known as "Damning with faint praise"

 

[Mather]

You can get the Kool and the Gang right from RealMusic for $18. Color is listed as "creamy"

Kool and the Gang Kool and the Gang LP

The 1970 debut album from Kool and the Gang scored a couple of hits with 'The Gangs Back Again' and the title cut, but more importantly, it heralded the arrival of what was to become a juggernaut on the R&B scene. This all-instrumental record is years away from the commercial successes of...

shop.realgonemusic.com

So it's a 250% mark up for "Chocolate Buttermilk" colored vinyl instead of "Creamy".

Cool.

 

[duke86fan]

It's actually cheaper to buy all 5 individually then the bundle

The 10 bucks is for a hat

 

[Crabbers]

So it's a 250% mark up for "Chocolate Buttermilk" colored vinyl instead of "Creamy".

Cool.

Well...it is chocolate buttermilk cacao is expensive these days

 

[Rahawk2]

Nice find, might grab at 18, All of my other Kool and the Gang albums I got for under a buck,

 

[Ponman2003]

I don't think I've gotten a single VMP exclusive since pre-COVID,

Damn, I've gotten 20 exclusives since then :/ I've been pretty happy with all of them except 'What Kinda Music' was too expensive. FOMO got me there.

On the other hand, the only one I'd give a 10 to so far is 'Catching a Wave'. The rest are 7s or 8s.

Title	Cost
Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - What Kinda Music	$40​
Cowboy Bebop OST	$40​
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor	$34​
Art Blakey - Just Coolin	$29​
Oliver Nelson - Skull Session	$29​
Big Bill Broonzy - The Midnight Special	$29​
Bright Eyes - Down in the Weeds	$29​
Chet Baker Trio - Mr. B	$28​
Rexx Life Raj - Father Figure 3	$27​
Idles - Ultra Mono	$27​
Jonathan Richman - I, Jonathan	$27​
Various - Afro Peruvian Classics	$27​
Al Green - Gets Next to You	$27​
Los Amigos Invisibles - Arepa 3000	$26​
Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most	$25​
Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders	$25​
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo	$23​
James Booker - Classified	$23​
Steve & Teresa - Catching a Wave	$23​
Anjimile - Giver Taker	$21​

 

[MMJ]

You can get the Kool and the Gang right from RealMusic for $18. Color is listed as "creamy"

Kool and the Gang Kool and the Gang LP

The 1970 debut album from Kool and the Gang scored a couple of hits with 'The Gangs Back Again' and the title cut, but more importantly, it heralded the arrival of what was to become a juggernaut on the R&B scene. This all-instrumental record is years away from the commercial successes of...

shop.realgonemusic.com

If anyone is interested, I also noticed that RealGone has the Merry Clayton LP that VMP sold an exclusive of a couple years back. The color is pretty much the same too if that's your thing. Great album - definitely recommend it.

Merry Clayton Gimme Shelter LP

As the Academy Award-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom made abundantly clear, Merry Clayton is one of the greatest and most distinguished female backup singers in rock and soul history, having sung with everybody from Bobby Darin to Ray Charles to Joe Cocker to Linda Ronstadt to Neil...

shop.realgonemusic.com

 

[displayname]

Damn, I've gotten 20 exclusives since then :/ I've been pretty happy with all of them except 'What Kinda Music' was too expensive. FOMO got me there.

On the other hand, the only one I'd give a 10 to so far is 'Catching a Wave'. The rest are 7s or 8s.

Title	Cost
Tom Misch & Yussef Dayes - What Kinda Music	$40​
Cowboy Bebop OST	$40​
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor	$34​
Art Blakey - Just Coolin	$29​
Oliver Nelson - Skull Session	$29​
Big Bill Broonzy - The Midnight Special	$29​
Bright Eyes - Down in the Weeds	$29​
Chet Baker Trio - Mr. B	$28​
Rexx Life Raj - Father Figure 3	$27​
Idles - Ultra Mono	$27​
Jonathan Richman - I, Jonathan	$27​
Various - Afro Peruvian Classics	$27​
Al Green - Gets Next to You	$27​
Los Amigos Invisibles - Arepa 3000	$26​
Dashboard Confessional - The Places You Have Come to Fear the Most	$25​
Mary Lattimore - Silver Ladders	$25​
Freddie Gibbs & The Alchemist - Alfredo	$23​
James Booker - Classified	$23​
Steve & Teresa - Catching a Wave	$23​
Anjimile - Giver Taker	$21​

We actually had some others ordered, but we ended up cancelling most of them before they even shipped.

I used to defend VMP because even if they were slightly higher priced, they had free shipping, no tax, and usually an extra feature or two. But then I started watching the indie exclusive variants or other options coming out. It was becoming pretty consistent that the indie variants were similar (solid color, just different color), I would receive them on release day (not a month or more later), and for less (because VMP keeps creeping up prices AND now charges tax).

It just became a hard sale for me. And that's before I factor in the long history of defects. I've only had to deal with one major defect from a local record store, and they gladly accepted a return without complication. True, I don't have to leave my house for issues with VMP, but I do have to send in pictures, videos, and wait a month. And forget getting your actual money back. VMP is terrible about issuing refunds.

I'm still getting the ROTM because it still makes sense being lock into the old pricing. We might do one more year, but then I think we'll be forced into the higher prices. At that point, I'll probably be done.

 

[CCKrone]

If anyone is interested, I also noticed that RealGone has the Merry Clayton LP that VMP sold an exclusive of a couple years back. The color is pretty much the same too if that's your thing. Great album - definitely recommend it.

Merry Clayton Gimme Shelter LP

As the Academy Award-winning documentary 20 Feet from Stardom made abundantly clear, Merry Clayton is one of the greatest and most distinguished female backup singers in rock and soul history, having sung with everybody from Bobby Darin to Ray Charles to Joe Cocker to Linda Ronstadt to Neil...

shop.realgonemusic.com

For you fellow Canuckistanians, the Merry Clayton LP is on Amazon for $47

 

[duke86fan]

at least its 5 bucks off if you are a member


230 bucks for all 5 records instead of 260 (why didn't they just call this what it is and make it an anthology of weed records)

 

[TCell]

The high price on these VMP x Jazz Dispensary titles has me thinking, what would have been a fair price?

Kevin Gray AAA remastered
RTI pressed
Tip-on Jackets
Colour vinyl
Ltd to 1000

Tone Poets seem to be the benchmark as they are KG remastered, RTI pressed, quality jackets and are $35. That seems reasonable, based on the dozen or so I've bought, but Tone Poets are also standard black vinyl and theoretically unlimited.

Hard to put a price on them being limited to 1000, as we don't know if these are getting a general black reissue and VMP just has a variant as is the case with many of their exclusives?

How much do we value coloured vinyl? An extra $5/record?

If these had been $40 for members would any of us care?
(I'm not considering the bundle, because it makes zero sense unless you love touques.)

 

[RHANDMJ]

None of these have a black vinyl or other pressing solicited from record stores in the immediate future, so they may well be true exclusives.
I am guessing that these were planned to be an Anthology, hence the beanie, that was scrapped.