This is a strategic move to make MusicStack an even more dominant player in the online music marketplace space.
For Netsound's web site, the plan is to wind things down by August 1st, 2012 and then redirect all traffic and links to MusicStack.
For MusicStack, not too much will change other then it will just continue to get more awesome!
Going forward, I will be working close with Chris Smith of Netsounds in a strategic manner to ensure future products and features that are rolled out will be the best they can be. With the insight that Chris has gained over the last 14 years as co-owner of Netsounds (and also as a long time MusicStack seller) his input will be invaluable.
With the aggregation of the two companies buyers, traffic and great minds it will continue to propel MusicStack forward as a "big fish" music marketplace which will benefit all MusicStack buyers and sellers.
Originally Posted By Gary Shafer: Hope Dave didn't pay too much
I get one sale every 6 months on Netsounds if that with 10,000 items listed !
Gary,
Do you think it could have anything to do with economical downturn? I have also seen the value of certain records at Ebay auctions go for much cheaper than they would have per-se about less that three years ago.
Since you sell Metal, for example, Jag Panzer "Ample Destruction", just isn't selling for what it's valued at, which is anywhere from $50.00-$100.00. Nowadays, it seems as though people aren't as likely to part with their cash as easily to purchase such high dollar items. For example, just the other day, I saw a copy of Jag Panzer-Ample Destruction sell for like less than $25.00. How do i know this? Well, because I was the person that won it on Ebay!
The long & the short of it is Gary, this is something going everywhere right now in the world, and isn't just exclusive to you or any one given problem. I think it is multiple factors at play, including that of the economy.
Just switched over to Musicstack from Netsounds - very very smooth, Up and running in less than 20 mins including sign up and listings download. Very impressed.
well done Dave, hope you didn't pay too much for it. if not then its a win-win for both yourself (MS) and the new sellers as MS is a far better site than netsounds (speaking as a seller and software developer). it was only a matter of time before netsounds called it a day. i stuck with netsounds quite a long time, i don't know why though because sales on there were pants!
Hi Dan, Listed my stock on Gemm & Netsounds as well as our own site. Must say Musicstack is much easier and visually pleasing. Gemm got me 20% netsounds 5% and the rest from our site.
The benefit for the buyer in the acquisition is that they will have more than twice as much inventory from sellers to search through so they will have an easier time finding what they are looking for.
Also, with increased inventory and sellers on MusicStack (relative to Netsounds) there will be more options for buyers to compare prices.
The benefit for the buyer in the acquisition is that they will have more than twice as much inventory from sellers to search through so they will have an easier time finding what they are looking for.
Also, with increased inventory and sellers on MusicStack (relative to Netsounds) there will be more options for buyers to compare prices.
Dave
Hi Dave, thank you for making this a little more clearer to me. I have just couple of more questions regarding Netsounds........
Does this mean with Netsounds we will acquire more sellers on MusicStack, along with more vinyl buyer options? Is this what you mean by price comparison?
More sellers that only sold on Netsounds will come over and list on Musicstack. Let's just hope that they are not penny sellers that will drive the prices down on the records.
Originally Posted By Steve Orringer: More sellers that only sold on Netsounds will come over and list on Musicstack. Let's just hope that they are not penny sellers that will drive the prices down on the records.
@Steve:
It isn't just the sellers driving the prices of records down, so the blame can't be totally shifted to them. In my book, it has more to do with an economy that is, just face it, been on a downward trend for years now, regardless of whatever trends the news media will have you believe. When wages don't match the cost of living, then this causes the prices of everything to either go up or down, and in the case of vinyl records, I say costs are going down. The only people that are buying high dollar records are the ones with plentiful funds. However, if truth be told, even those people that do or don't have plentiful funds for vinyl records, are now winning records at auctions that were once upon a time $50-$100.00, and are now $20.00. Why? Because those people have a better chance at getting higher dollar records on auctions than purchasing them outright on GEMM.com or Music Stack. So, that is where your biggest competition would lie in my book; auctions!
Let's put it this way, even if I can afford to purchase a record for $100.00(which I can), does this mean that if I looked on Ebay and could win it for cheaper, that my chances are less slim to win it for the price I want?
Well, if truth be told, the market might just be more in my favor. In other words, this has become more of a buyers market that a sellers paradise, due to the economical downturn. It is also due to the fact of how much people are becoming more & more willing to pay. Did you ever consider that sellers are actually much more smarter to sell vinyl at more economical prices that will move faster in volume, as opposed to having a record priced at $100.00, sitting there for a year or less, in hopes it might sell?Frankly, I think it is much smarter to sell in volume at cheaper competitive prices than to have a whole lot of $200.00 vinyl that won't sell. For example, I have been watching one valuable record on MusicStack that has been sitting there for a year, hasn't moved an inch, and this wasn't something I would have heard of happening before a few years back. Besides, it is bad enough as it is that higher prices of shipping costs are being commanded more so nowadays than ever before.
In the end, you have a lot of sellers talking about how they just aren't selling as much vinyl nowadays as they would like to. So what is the solution? Lower your prices & sell in volume! Heck, a lot of brick & mortar shops are aware of this, so why can't online shops do it then? This just seems much more feasible from a business standpoint. Face it, the times have changed for selling vinyl, and you either have to evolve with the times, or as a seller you might be shut out.........
At times, I personally think that the internet is a blessing & curse, all at the same. It is a blessing because you can get your advertisement out there. The curse may be perhaps I feel that it is killing some brick & mortar shops, due to illegal downloading & other factors, which quite frankly is an experience the internet cannot replace. Besides, because of the internet, it is for this reason as to why I might see less & less adventurous titles being sold in brick & mortar shops, and why I am stuck having to hunt down obscure titles online with places like Music Stack. On the upside, due to auctions, I am actually able to score much more collectible titles for dirt cheap prices online! On the other hand, a brick & mortar shop is a much more interactive physical experience though, as opposed to the internet, which is just as synthetic as an MP3 player.
Originally Posted By Steve Orringer: More sellers that only sold on Netsounds will come over and list on Musicstack. Let's just hope that they are not penny sellers that will drive the prices down on the records.
From a buyers point of view it would be great if they were penny sellers... one tip, describe your item so the exact version is known and include photo(s) and matrix numbers where applicable (alot of sellers seem reluctant to do so). I will always pay more for a sure fire thing. I avoid generic ads without photos at all costs.
Originally Posted By Simon Baxter: More sellers that only sold on Netsounds will come over and list on Musicstack. Let's just hope that they are not penny sellers that will drive the prices down on the records.
From a buyers point of view it would be great if they were penny sellers... one tip, describe your item so the exact version is known and include photo(s) and matrix numbers where applicable (alot of sellers seem reluctant to do so). I will always pay more for a sure fire thing. I avoid generic ads without photos at all costs.
Simon, I could not agree with you more. Many times I have been reluctant to purchase from Musicstack sellers when they did not give enough information or post pictures. I would prefer to support the Musicstack sellers but I mostly find myself on eBay because those sellers will post ample pictures and give expanded descriptions.
Simon, I could not agree with you more. Many times I have been reluctant to purchase from Musicstack sellers when they did not give enough information or post pictures. I would prefer to support the Musicstack sellers but I mostly find myself on eBay because those sellers will post ample pictures and give expanded descriptions.
John
Good point John, and I also couldn't agree with both you & Simon more. Again, for me price has never really been an issue, but yes, taking out the time to better describe items more clearly definitely helps out a lot, regarding customer selling points.
I still say though that there are some records seemingly overpriced, and I think in this economy if you are wanting to sell more records in volume, lowering prices still isn't a bad concept either.
Great news. I had 2 attemps at setting up an account with Netsounds, and I hated their business model, charging you for every sale regardless of whether the customer paid or not for the item.
Needless to say, I quit them as quick as I setup, and never thought about them since.
All I can say is, great lets have that traffic, and lets do some more business.
The musicstack model is slick, and I have never seen a more efficient data upload tool than what Dave has.
Netsounds always had a slightly cheaper price for items listed on both websites from the same seller, especially uk sellers, this would indicate Netsounds charges less commission than what Musicstack does, so in this regards both the buyer & seller are worst off now by having to pay that bit more extra commission, the only benefit of this acquisition is Musicstack's profit margins
Hmm, interesting perspective Natty, and thank you for bringing this point to the forefront. If this ends up happening & the sellers have to start incorporating these extra fees into either their items or shipping fees that are already high in cost to begin with, then I might not be doing anymore business on MusicStack. I will just have to see how everything goes.
No offense to David Stack, but although he may be a music lover, I feel most things are looked at here from a business perspective, but has also went on record as stating that he doesn't really own any vinyl. Most people who have leisurely views about collecting music in general, might not look at collecting records the way we do. So, what this site is based around is primarily business ethic, and the focus I feel thematically is a lot less based around the love for music, but has the feel of more business than anything.
I don't have a problem with looking at things from a business perspective, however, I have always thought it to be great to do business on a website that isn't always corporate minded, but is also into doing what they do for the joys of music. This website is designed for both buyer & seller to be at their own devices when it comes to the vinyl trade. This can be both a good & bad thing at the same time, co-dependent upon who you might ask here. For example, my biggest pet peeve here is concerning refunds, and unless you go through Paypal to make a payment, you aren't really protected! And, that's just basically putting MusicStack in a nutshell!
Simon, I could not agree with you more. Many times I have been reluctant to purchase from Musicstack sellers when they did not give enough information or post pictures. I would prefer to support the Musicstack sellers but I mostly find myself on eBay because those sellers will post ample pictures and give expanded descriptions.
John
If I had a £1 for everytime someone comes into my shop (bricks & mortar) complaining about descriptions being inaccurate on E Bay I'd be a rich man.
All the dealers on Musicstack love vinyl, grade accurately and provide a far better service, plus this site is a much friendlier place so that's why I would ALWAYS buy here.
As for posting pictures well I for one don't have the time to add them and it would not be cost effective. It would have doubled my cost of listing, grading and physically putting them into order (over £7000 in wages).
If we don't make a profit then we would have to go and look for a real job.........
Quote from Steve Kelly:
If I had a £1 for everytime someone comes into my shop (bricks & mortar) complaining about descriptions being inaccurate on E Bay I'd be a rich man.
All the dealers on Musicstack love vinyl, grade accurately and provide a far better service, plus this site is a much friendlier place so that's why I would ALWAYS buy here.
As for posting pictures well I for one don't have the time to add them and it would not be cost effective. It would have doubled my cost of listing, grading and physically putting them into order (over £7000 in wages).
If we don't make a profit then we would have to go and look for a real job.........
Steve, I undertand your stance regarding photos - especially with the large inventory that you have. But I have been equally burned on MusicStack as well as eBay regarding inaccurate descriptions. I mentioned in another thread that it is important to find good, reliable sellers and stick with them.
My main issue with MusicStack sellers is the lack of comprehensive descriptions. For example, a while ago I was looking for a US pressing on Warner green label of a Van Morrison album. Very few MusicStack sellers mentioned which label their item had. Also, I have been burned by receiving record club issues that were not disclosed in the listing.
All in all, there is always risk involved when purchasing used records online and we just learn to take those risks and roll with the punches!
I am with you there John Bailes! It is for this reason that if I could make more purchases in person at my local brick & mortar shop, I would! The only reason I purchase records online is to save me gas & trouble of having to drive more than 2 hours to the closest, best well stocked record store, however, even then, record shops don't always have what you are looking for when it comes to rarities. You know why? Because the record shops save all their best, most expensive stuff & post it online with places like MusicStack, and refuse to sell to you over the counter! How do I know this? Well, because my record store for this reason won't even sell to me locally the stuff they post online! That is a fact, and no deals can be cut!
In other words, it is for this reason why you see a lot less of rare mint- albums around, as opposed to seeing a gazillion copies of America's "Horse With No Name" LP! Don't get me wrong, I do like America, but when I come to a record store looking for a variety of LP's, the last thing I want to see in a brick & mortar shop is 12 near mint copies of those when I can already get them on MusicStack, let alone anywhere else! LOL
Almost all local record shops I have encountered have been doing this practice over the years! Trust me John, I am with you when you say you would rather shop at a local brick & mortar shop, but until they start selling rarities again, we are pretty much cursed doing this kind of online shopping for our rare vinyl wants!
In the end, it all comes down to money for record shops these days, and the last thing they want to do is try to cut you a deal on a record, when they can sell to some rich codger with money to burn! Record stores have really changed these days, I swear! :--((
I hope this means the MusicStack site is going to get an overhaul. It is so 1990s and offputting from an online shopping experience. I don't care how many excuses sellers come up with here, the truth is that you have to attract customers...and I am more likely to buy from somewhere where I know what I am getting - and that includes visuals.
I enjoyed the cheaper sellers on Netsounds - quite the antithesis to some of the vastly overinflated (and sometimes absolutely ridiculous) prices seen on MusicStack.
I do hope this evolves into a suitable alternative to eBay, but much like GEMM it needs to drag itself into the 21st century and the realities of the modern online marketplace.
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