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

It sounds like they’re shifting all their focus on the specific segment of their customer base whose spending is unaffected by recessions. I wonder if a large amount of average customers have been cancelling their subs the last 3 months and this seems like the only path through.
 
swamp jazz box set said:
It sounds like they’re shifting all their focus on the specific segment of their customer base whose spending is unaffected by recessions. I wonder if a large amount of average customers have been cancelling their subs the last 3 months and this seems like the only path through.
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One wonders, but I am taken aback by the lack of any big announcements to ease the pain and provide the appearance of value. Like partnership with an in demand label or artist, that the next (several) ROTMs will be AAA or first time on vinyl/out of print titles, etc. Just something to give people a reason other than "F you, pay me"

Like, they could have easily done something similar with the QOTSA announcement. Or if the rumors of Stankonia are true, they could have sold themselves as having an audiophile edition of that classic. Things like basic marketing, even if it is lipstick on a pig or just buzzwords. I'm astounded that there's nothing - are the people in charge this bad at their job?

Wait, don't answer that question.
 
Jan said:
Cash-flow wiseitmight even work for vmp for now with lots of people going yearly keep a discounted price as long as possible. Gives them lots of cash right now. I wonder if new subscriber offers will pop up soon, because it will be hard to get new people in at the high prices.
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Problem will be A) does revenue from the increased year-long memberships truly make up the loss in 1, 3, 6 monthers B) it's basically stealing from Peter to pay Paul, and once the discount period is over, then what? And what do they do for cash flow 6 months from now when they have very little new cash flow with everyone on annual and they've overspent on some other terrible licensing deal.
GritNGlitter said:
People have been predicting the fall of VMP for a few years now. I won't be surprised if this is the end, but I won't be shocked if they're still making (dick) moves in 2022.
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At some point, investors typically like a return on their investment. If they can't get one, they'd at least like their money back.

There's a definitive end of the line for VMP, at some point, if they don't adjust course. We know they attempted raising capital through Kick Further. That tells me a bank wouldn't lend (or at least not at rates they could afford) to them or they couldn't get traditional investors on board. Big red flag for me.
MikeH said:
It’s really not hard to stay in communication with employees when you have a team of 20 people. If you don’t know the answer to something, just ask the person who would know. I’m always amazed at how poorly everyone in the company seems to communicate
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Out of the handful of CS reps I've interacted with as a customer, and based on the limited interaction I've had with others via socials (including Storf, Matt, etc; I don't think I'd ever hire them for a job at a real company. Communication is so critical in any business, and they all just seem so incredibly inept.

Maybe I'd hire Pauly, actually. Dude knows how to hold the company line and take on for the team, that's for sure. I feel really badly what he has to put himself through for the job.
2e7en said:
When you really think about it, it's a genius move on their part. Memberships will go down by probably 30%ish but they will keep the rest at a way higher price which ultimately means they will still make the same amount of money except now they have a lot less members to yell at them about all of their issues. And they still probably won't fix any of the issues at all.
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Typically, finding yourself in a situation where you have less customers is a bad thing. Likely to end up with inventory issues if they don't scale down, and losing scale will hurt on costs. Regardless of whether their revenue is flat, it is a dubious business "strategy", at best.
 
Btsvinylfarm said:
Problem will be A) does revenue from the increased year-long memberships truly make up the loss in 1, 3, 6 monthers B) it's basically stealing from Peter to pay Paul, and once the discount period is over, then what? And what do they do for cash flow 6 months from now when they have very little new cash flow with everyone on annual and they've overspent on some other terrible licensing deal.
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This seems to me to be a problem, too. If the only people who stay renew for a one-year, which (as a few people on here have stated) means that they will actually pay less per record than what they currently pay, how is that going to help cover VMP's rising costs? VMP may get a large influx of cash that they can use to dig themselves out of the hole for records that are already in the works, but they won't have that cash on hand when they need it to produce the records they've just promised the people who signed up for the discounted annual subscription offer. Somebody there is very selectively going through DIscogs and saying, "Look at what people will pay for these records. We can get new customers to sign up for $40+/month, no problem!" but I just don't see that happening. And if new customers don't sign up at something close to the full price, I don't see how VMP survives.

The promos they've run in recent months were short-sighted acts of desperation that may come back to bite them, not just in forgone revenue, but in hurting the perception of the value of their product. I really didn't think VMP was worth $30/month, but I signed up on two consecutive 3-month promotions where I paid $20/month or less, which only convinced me that $20-$25/month is what their service is actually worth. Now they're telling me it's worth twice that? Yeah. I don't think so. Maybe the occasional LP they put out is worth $40, but that's certainly not the average value of their records, at least not in my eyes. The $20-$25 seemed about right.
 
Alright I’ll do them allll

Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Kill the Moonlight
Gimme Fiction
Transference
Hot Thoughts
Girls Can Tell
Series of Sneaks
Telefono/Soft Effects
They Want My Soul

I think Transference is the one people need to revisit. It’s absolutely amazing and imo their sleeper masterpiece. I love the demo like style to it. Some songs seem like sketches but it really works in the records favor.
 
VinylGuy said:
How about another poll to see if the vmp threads should be merged? Now everyone's cancelled, there shouldn't be 4-5 vmp threads as other clubs only have one.
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Does it just alienate those who meet up on those threads tho ?
Unused threads simply drift off naturally, - I wouldn’t want to make the forum appear unwelcoming to anyone.
Plus this road has been well travelled.
 
NathanRicaud said:
Why, are you sad about me not wanting the VMP threads to merge and to instead, stay the way they are @Joe Mac? 🤔
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I made my point on this pretty clear the other day and have been pretty consistent with my position over the 15 months this forum has been in existence. I also feel that your determination to carry the hype machine on regardless is wearing a little thin.
 
grendel627 said:
This seems to me to be a problem, too. If the only people who stay renew for a one-year, which (as a few people on here have stated) means that they will actually pay less per record than what they currently pay, how is that going to help cover VMP's rising costs? VMP may get a large influx of cash that they can use to dig themselves out of the hole for records that are already in the works, but they won't have that cash on hand when they need it to produce the records they've just promised the people who signed up for the discounted annual subscription offer. Somebody there is very selectively going through DIscogs and saying, "Look at what people will pay for these records. We can get new customers to sign up for $40+/month, no problem!" but I just don't see that happening. And if new customers don't sign up at something close to the full price, I don't see how VMP survives.

The promos they've run in recent months were short-sighted acts of desperation that may come back to bite them, not just in forgone revenue, but in hurting the perception of the value of their product. I really didn't think VMP was worth $30/month, but I signed up on two consecutive 3-month promotions where I paid $20/month or less, which only convinced me that $20-$25/month is what their service is actually worth. Now they're telling me it's worth twice that? Yeah. I don't think so. Maybe the occasional LP they put out is worth $40, but that's certainly not the average value of their records, at least not in my eyes. The $20-$25 seemed about right.
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This is a very good point. The perception is their records aren’t worth a premium price point (the reality is the same as perception) because they haven’t been able to sell them at a discounted price either. They tried lowering prices to get out of shit, that didn’t work. Let’s try raising prices. Shit that didn’t work either. Next will be a sale where prices are the same as they were before the price rise. (They also did this recently with lots of old AOTMs) But that won’t work because so many customers will feel burned.

I only go high for a limited number of artists and will try something out if it’s a bargain. Most people would never take a punt on an Errol Garner or Caroline Rose for the current prices. They must also realise as an internet retailer that people can, you know, check prices and versions on the internet. If there’s something really really amazing people will pounce. But only for a one month sub. That leaves 11 months of old overpriced stuff filling up the warehouse with the Grateful Dead box
 
Joe Mac said:
I made my point on this pretty clear the other day and have been pretty consistent with my position over the 15 months this forum has been in existence. I also feel that your determination to carry the hype machine on regardless is wearing a little thin.
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They are just a store. One he spends tons of money on. So much so that he is stealing from his future self to finance them. But they are a store. No more. No less. And if they were to disappear the world would not stop turning. And people would still have records. And this forum could continue to evolve beyond the circumstances of its birth.
 
Murfocakes said:
This is a very good point. The perception is their records aren’t worth a premium price point (the reality is the same as perception) because they haven’t been able to sell them at a discounted price either. They tried lowering prices to get out of shit, that didn’t work. Let’s try raising prices. Shit that didn’t work either. Next will be a sale where prices are the same as they were before the price rise. (They also did this recently with lots of old AOTMs) But that won’t work because so many customers will feel burned.

I only go high for a limited number of artists and will try something out if it’s a bargain. Most people would never take a punt on an Errol Garner or Caroline Rose for the current prices. They must also realise as an internet retailer that people can, you know, check prices and versions on the internet. If there’s something really really amazing people will pounce. But only for a one month sub. That leaves 11 months of old overpriced stuff filling up the warehouse with the Grateful Dead box
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Yeah I mean if they were a mofi or AP subscription service the money they’re charging could be defended. I’d still not want every month at that price but it would at least make the months I did want justifiable. As it stands I need to have a combination of artist and pressing to go high.

I think, as I said on whichever of Thursday and Friday this came out in the wash, that I saw this as a crude attempt to reduce customer numbers and production/shipping costs without taking a revenue hit.
 
Murfocakes said:
They are just a store. One he spends tons of money on. So much so that he is stealing from his future self to finance them. But they are a store. No more. No less. And if they were to disappear the world would not stop turning. And people would still have records. And this forum could continue to evolve beyond the circumstances of its birth.
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It is just a store. I will never understand the position that people are outraged that one store has 4 threads that are frequently used and serve a functional utilitarian purpose. If people stop using them, they will drop to the bottom like any unused thread. Advocating for an authoritarian merging of those threads, which would make them less efficient, is a much less objective position. Why not let them be used or unused naturally like every other thread?

Are you saying that you think the fact that there are 4 (or any) threads among all of the threads here is having an actively negative impact on the growth of the forum? That is a very strange assertion to me if that's what you meant. Perhaps I am overanalyzing your use of could instead of would though.
 
Murfocakes said:
Someone mentioned the Michael Scott Paper company idea. And I think it was this, ineptitude, rather than Machiavellian scheming that has led to their downfall, and ironically contributed to their success.
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There’s a fair amount of incompetence in there, particularly in logistics and qc and I agree that they’re not competent enough to be truly Machiavellian. I think this issue is actually one of their other weaknesses, greed, I often get the impression that they get so myopic in trying to make money fast that they lose the run of themselves.
 
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