civiclx

I'm talking about cds but it can be about other items as well. I started to do a little collecting as a hobby and right now I refuse to buy anything that has been used. I wouldn't even want to buy a cd that has never been opened but belonged to someone else. I would just prefer it sat on a store rack or in a warehouse somewhere for its entire life.

Is anyone else like that? Also, have any of you guys heard of eil.com?

atlantamoi

I'd say at least half my collection is used. It's not worth the couple of grand to have perfection.

brokenhanger

One of the indies around me sells all used CDs for $5 [or less if they sit around forever], and they're really good at making sure that the discs are of good quality or of helping you out if a bad one slips through. They used to do the $5 on Saturdays only, so my friends and I made it a weekly thing to go and spend hours looking through everything - now that it's every day, I know if I have a need for something, I can go there and probably find it.

I have no problem with used stuff, as long as it's in good condition. So I'm a bit hesitant about purchasing used over the internet, though I've done my fair share of that and only gotten burned a few times. Depending on what you're collecting, you probably will have to go used at some point. [I do a lot of UK single collecting, so if you've gotta go back even a few years you're probably going to be buying second hand.]

EIL.com is good if you need something RIGHT NOW as they're really good at keeping even relatively rare stuff in stock, but they charge an arm and a leg for it. I've only bought from them three times I think - back in 2002 when I couldn't track down the Elbow 'Coming Second' promo 12" anywhere else [and I paid dearly for it], and earlier this year when they had free shipping sales for the Underworld 'Crocodile' and 'Beautiful Burnout' 12" sets. They bought out MapRecords.co.uk - their main competitor - about 6 or 7 years ago, and cornered that market. In general, though, too expensive to be really worth it most of the time, but sometimes they'll have that item you can't find anywhere else.

reverie

I used to never buy used, but over the years I came to see used stuff isn't as bad as I was worried about. I'm a bit anal about my stuff being in good shape, so I resisted awhile. But as long as it's in good condition, or something very hard, I have no problem these days.

rw2516

Only if it's OOP and it's all I can find. Or maybe if it's one of those imports in the $30-40 for a single disc.

Hixx

Used is where it's at, you can always look at the disc before you buy it, and if you have a decent player it will play through any light scratches.

islandclaws

Hell yea. I'm a totally OCD collector as well, but if I find something I want used and it's in great condition, why not buy it? Why pay $16 for a new CD when you can get the same one used for less than half sometimes?

Shamus McAnally

When I first started, it was all about the old stuff I missed, so there was virtually no option BUT used.

That lent itself to some great trips, going "CD hunting", rummaging through bins of stuff to find those "hidden gems". It'd turn into all day hunting and a stop at fast food, to most of the day hunting, but lunch with a pizza and beer or burger and beer.

Haven't gone in awhile, but it was great. And I found some great CDs that happened to already be once (or more) owned. But, if you're not overly worried about conditions of the CD and packaging or are willing to deal with light scratches or replacing jewel cases, it's an incredible (and much cheaper) way to add new stuff to your collection.

macnorton

Depends on what I am buying...CD's yes, vinyl no. 9 and half times out of 10 a CD can be fixed (or re-ripped and re-burned). Vinyl isn't so easy. However if the vinyl is clean I will certainly buy it used, but I prefer new.

Rocketdog2000

Depends for me, too.

Most of the time, I'd prefer to have something new over used. However, if it's say out of print and used is the only way I can get it, than I'm not about to turn it down just for that reason. Also, if it's something that I can get extremely cheap used, than I'll go that route, too. It's often really more about what/who it is I'm purchasing and the circumstance of the moment than anything else.

I still prefer that the used stuff I do buy to be in the best possible condition. But as long as the disc is clean of scuffs and scratches, and the inserts are in good shape (not faded, tarnished or torn), if the outside jewel case is not so good, I can always replace that easily enough, myself.

Case in point, just last week while perusing one of the local music stores used sections, I came across a disc I'd been looking for, for some time. It was a Japanese copy (the only country it was released in on CD, too) of a title that's been out of print a number of years. I've seen it fetch upwards of $40 used on e-bay many times before, but here was one for only $7. Now the jewel case it was in had seen better days, but the CD and inserts were practically mint. So of course, I bought it.

With vinyl, most of the stuff I'd want is out of print anyway, and used is pretty much the only way you can go with that.

milo bloom

I'm not a hardcore collector, but I do like to pick up things that pique my interest, but don't have a ton of money to dedicate to doing that, so I buy used. And like my used DVDs, I give the disc a look and if it's not in pretty good shape, I pass.

Isn't the Charles Gerhardt conducted performance of The Empire Strikes Back kinda rare? Cause I paid about $7 for a used copy a few years ago and I'm glad I did every time I spin it up.

civiclx

well buying used is great for saving money but I just can't bring myself to buying OPP right now. (other peoples property
I'm not planning on doing any hardcore collecting so I can probably afford to shell out some dough for a few cds and then call it quits.

I'm looking alot at eil.com because they have such a broad selection but their prices are frightening. I did save about $45 the other day on an import. They have a Japanese version of Natalie Imbruglia's Left of the Middle on amazon for $51.99 but I got it through importcds for about $6!!!

JAA

My position exactly. I want perfection . . . and it can be found in the used market.

cdollaz

I'm not a collector, I'm a listener. As such, I try to acquire as much music, for as little money as I can. That means a lot of used and traded cds.

Travis McClain

Dude, I grew up with my mom raising my brother and me by herself. Used in my world meant "affordable." Half my G.I. Joe vehicles (if not more) came from yard sales. Growing up, it never occured to me to look down on used items. If you're going to be a collector of nearly anything, you're going to have to make a decision at some point: If you only buy new items, you automatically exclude from your collection anything that was released before you became a collector. You might think now, "There's only a few things I want," but that list will expand as you go. You'll discover new artists, or other works by the ones you're already into; whatever.

If you're looking to amass a collection for investment purposes, then, yeah, factory sealed without holes/punch-outs/cutouts, etc. is the way to go. I don't think I've heard of a CD collection put together for investment, though. Vinyl, yes; CD, no. I've got a CD library that currently numbers around 400, but that's only because over the years I've traded in or sold 400 other CD's over the years. One of my favorite artists is Waylon Jennings, and let me tell you that even with several of his albums having been remastered and issued on CD in the last 10 years, I've got a few that I could only find used; one is even (gasp!) a cutout. My CD player and my ears, though, have no idea there's a difference.

edclem

I have in the neighborhood of 1100 cds at this point. I'd guess about 1/3 or so of them were bought used.

Basically, my theory is this: If the band's signed to a major record label, I have no problems looking for it used. If they're on an indie label and/or a smaller band, then I try to buy new.

dvduser6

I think my collection is somewhere around 900+ CDs. Now that I have a house and family, I try to buy used items whenever possible. In addition, I am always going through my existing CDs and movies and pulling out random items to sell or trade. I have kept a running spreadsheet for about the last six years on every CD and DVD purchase I make as well as what I sell so I always know how I balance out.

uncle-frank

90% of my collection is used. i just make sure its in good condition b4 i buy it, that goes for cds, dvds & games

mickey65

About 85% of my stuff is used. I'm not anal or picky - as long it plays, I'm fine.

zombeaner

I have 700-800 CDs and sets, I would wager that well over half were used when I bought them, and all are used now, so I don't really see the difference.

big whoppa

I'm not a collector per se. If there's something I like, I'll get it. I used to be strictly new but after giving places like ebay and half.com a try with used CDs, I don't mind if there is a big price difference between old and new. Although it tends to bug me if the upc is punched out or CD case is damaged.

Dan

I absolutely buy used CDs if necessary. I stopped caring about the condition of packaging a couple years ago. To me, it's just about having the content. So, with that said, if the CD itself is scratched to the point where I can't make a copy, I'll probably pass on it.

Same goes for vinyl. I buy it so I can listen to it.

UAIOE

I'm not a "collector", but I'll buy used as long as it allows me to hear the music.

JOE29

Of course I'll buy used cd's or DVD's. A lot of the time they are much cheaper. As long as they play fine there isn't any problem with me.