Go LaLa For Used-CD Venture

[renton007]

Thanks for the clairification.I thought the Karma would be based on how quickly you ship, the condition of your cd and the inclusion of art work.  
 I guess I'll be in the red for awhile as I have most of my collection marked as "Keep It". I feel slightly penalized for lack of activity though.

[kosmo vinyl]

i understand the fustration, although lala does have to put some safeguards into prevent abuse, i.e. people getting cds without actually sending them out
 
 ultimately lala wasn't setup to be a used cd store but a swapping service, and that maybe the biggest hurdle they need to overcome as more and more sign on.  i haven't yet reached the point of boomeranging  cds yet and found a bunch of really cheap cds to trade at the monkey mall sam goody store closing sale which were snapped up.

[kosmo vinyl]

Here's an interesting tidbit.... if your out going deficient is high than you get a higher priority on whats on your want list.  with that said, i could ship any number of mainstream "indie" titles instantly but it appears that getting a like minded replacement isn't so instantaneous.  i.e. one would think getting the new Robert Pollard or Ted Leo would be easy given the demand for Bloc Party or Death Cab for Cutie.  i suppose i could send out one of those coveted CDs and see how fast I could get Jenny Watson back as an experiment.

[Herr Professor Doktor Doom]

I still like the informal trading idea.

[renton007]

Out of 74 "Received" trades I had 10 unfulfilled.   What's about the other LaLa'ers?  Do you have the similar numbers or are mine high?

[nkotb]

In 200 received CDs, I think I've only had 2 not ever arrive and maybe one or two more that were unplayable.  And I generally get all of the artwork too, which is a nice touch.

[kosmo vinyl]

out of 249 CDs gotten i've had problems with four non-arrivals, 1 broken in transit and 1 truly unplayable disc.  I had one arrive after the 21 day limit and gotten three blatant promos...  since going artwork only July i've had no problems with the conditions of my trades and get the tray card sent most of the time.  
 
 it would appear that people who have the artwork to send keep better care of their CDs vs those that stuff them in binders.  it's also a trend that the more popular the CD is the more likely it's going to arrived banged up, mistreated by those with cd visors in their cars, etc...

[redsock]

Wait, are sending promos considered bad form? I have a bunch of CDs, both bought and given to me, that were promos. As long as they are the real deal why can't i send them?

[nkotb]

Those are the rules:
 
 Lala does not allow the trade of Promotional CDs, and requests that members do not ship them. If you receive a Promotional Disc, please mark the trade as "Wrong CD" and we will re-add the disc to your Want List.
 
 For more information about 'Promotional CDs' please read our Trading Policies.
 
 Posted by redsock:
 

Wait, are sending promos considered bad form? I have a bunch of CDs, both bought and given to me, that were promos. As long as they are the real deal why can't i send them?

[redsock]

Lala does not allow the trade of Promotional CDs, and requests that members do not ship them. If you receive a Promotional Disc, please mark the trade as "Wrong CD" and we will re-add the disc to your Want List.
 
 What about the real deal, that was sent as a promo, with the barcode crossed out? Same disc, same art etc... but actually was a promo. That is stupid.

[nkotb]

I always took it to mean promotional versions of CDs, not so much CDs sent out to be promotional copies.  You know the ones: they have promotional stamped on them or have different artwork, etc.  I would guess that a hole punch through the UPC or having it crossed out would be fine, but then again, I don't really care if promotional copies come my way.
 
 

redsock sez:
 What about the real deal, that was sent as a promo, with the barcode crossed out? Same disc, same art etc... but actually was a promo. That is stupid.

[kosmo vinyl]

cd with barcode punched out are not considered promos... whats specifically not allowed are those cds that have promo language stamped on the booklet or printed on the cd, a practice which apparently has been discontinued.  beyond promos anything that says advance release is no good.

[Jaguar]

I suspect that it's more a cover their ass legal thing as promotional copies are free, meant to be free, and no one can (or is supposed to) profit from them other than those who own the right to them and even that's by way of just getting the music heard for the sake of hoping to create future sales. I don't even think that music stores are supposed to sell them though I see them all the time. Maybe one of those things that just isn't enforced all that strongly or could be some loop hole I'm not familiar with like a royalty or tax thing paid to compensate. There are promos on eBay all the time too but that might too be overlooked. Don't know the details.
 
 Holes and barcodes crossed out are usually cut outs. Merchandise that has been discounted and can't be (or shouldn't be) sold or resold at top list price dollar. There are probably rules about those too that I'm not fully aware of but they aren't promos per se though the band or lable may use an actual for sale copy and mark it as such.