Part 298: Why I Couldn’t Give You A Quote Over the Phone

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RECORD STORE TALES Part 298:
Why I Couldn’t Give You A Quote Over the Phone

 

We advertised that we paid cash or credit for used CDs.  A lot of customers used to call with the titles of their CDs, to get a quote over the phone for selling them.  “Hey, I have 30 CDs here to sell, if I read off the titles, can you tell me what you’ll pay me for them?”

The answer was no, for a number of good reasons.  For us, buying used CDs wasn’t a science.  We tried to create a system as best we could, but there were so many variables.  In addition, a lot of the process is subjective.  I’ll try to help you understand.

First and foremost – quality.  We were exceptionally picky about all discs that we bought.  If the disc was scuffed, we could buff certain scratches out.  (Not top scratches and pinholes though!  They are a whole other chapter to the story.)  A lot of customers would call and say, “My discs are all mint.”  Well, I found that for some, “mint” had a broad definition.  It could mean anything to brand-new to scratched like a hockey rink.  If a customer said “mint” you couldn’t go by that.  Likewise with “they all play fine.”  Until I look at it, I don’t know if it’s in a condition good enough to sell to my customers.  You probably have your own standards regarding CDs you want to keep in your collection.

But there’s more to quality than just the CD itself.  Is the front cover present?  How about the back?  A lot of customers discarded the back covers, in order to store their discs in those stupid travel wallets.  Bad idea, since those wallets scratch up CDs, sometimes beyond repair.  Not to mention, we wouldn’t take a CD missing its back cover.  Maybe the front cover is also water damaged – we couldn’t take a CD when the pages of the book were stuck together like a teenager’s Playboy mag.  That happened a lot more often then you might expect.

When it came down to the pricing of the CD, we had a lot of additional factors to consider.   How much do we sell it for?  How many copies do we have?  Do any of our other stores need a copy?  It is rare, or scarce to find used?  For example, Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon was not a rare CD, but it was hard to find copies used in good condition.  I’d be interested in paying more for Dark Side of the Moon than I would Van Halen’s Balance, even if we sold them both for the same price.

Let’s say you’re an annoying customer, and you called my store looking for a price quote.  Let’s say the person answering the phone forgot the rules, and gave you a quote over the phone.  Then when you actually come in to sell them, I’m working instead, not the person who gave you the price quote.  So imagine that scenario.

You come in and I start going through the discs.  Immediately, you’re pissed off that I’m passing on that scratched up Metallica CD that somebody quoted you $5 for.  The reason?  A hard-to-spot top scratch that cannot be fixed.  Or a missing back cover.  Or a deep scratch I can feel with my fingernail.  Or perhaps I could take it, but I need to have the scratches buffed out and I can only pay you $2-3.

Then next up, you have a Guess Who Greatest Hits.  When you called for your quote, I had none in stock.  Now I have two.  (It happens!)  So I can’t give you what the other person quoted, because now I have two copies and I don’t need it as badly.

Finally, let’s say you were quoted that you were going to get $3 for your Hanson CD.  The person you spoke to on the phone saw that we didn’t have any Hanson in stock.  However, I know that is an unusual happenstance and we always have tons of Hanson everywhere.  I might pay a buck where somebody else offered you $3, because I know better.  Them’s the breaks, right?

This doesn’t even account for other stupid things that can happen.  For example, a customer saying to you that he has Metallica Garage Days when he actually has Garage Inc.  Basically if you could think of a way information could be miscommunicated over the phone, it happened.

Customers seldom understood.  “I don’t want to come all the way down there unless I know I’m going to get good money for these discs.”  Unfortunately, coming down there was the only way.  No ifs, ands, buts, or exceptions.  People sucked sometimes.

29 comments

  1. Soooo glad I never had to deal with that stuff. I have sold tons of stuff to stores and never…ever gave them any shit about it. I figured, I don’t even want this anymore. If it was something with some value I would have gone the amazon route (or half.com before it got swallowed up into ebay or now ebay). If it was some crap like say Barry Manilow’s Greatest or Third Eye Blind I don’t even care. Gimme a damn nickel and I’ll be on my way. I just want the trade-in.

    :)I’ve spent enough time in customer service to know how not to be an asshole customer.

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    1. I think a lot of my bad experiences came from people who really, really needed the money…or were just naturally assholes. You had plenty of those guys in any job, guys who are “always right” about everything and love to argue.

      But there was a high desperation factor. I have seen grown men in tears selling me their stuff, because they hit absolute rock bottom and I couldn’t save them. It was hard.

      A lot of people perhaps think I didn’t take the job stress as well as I could have. The truth, I did take it as best I could — I’m naturally a feeling human being, some are not. This stuff can really bring you down a few notches and I felt there was an expectation that everybody was “the same” and has to put up with the same shit and deal with it exactly the same. But that’s not how human beings operate. We respond according to our own skills and personalities.

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  2. You get people like that everywhere. At the parking lot I used to work at in Atlantic City, we mainly parked buses. However, we took cars on the weekend evenings but cars had to be out by 8 the next morning to make room for the buses. They brought in more money. Some car drivers coming in at 7:45 on a Sunday morning would get a little miffed because our sign read open 24 hours. We were, just not for cars.

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  3. “Well, I found that for some, “mint” had a broad definition.” – you bet. I don’t know how many times I’ve bought a CD or record that’s been described as mint or very good + only to find it borders acceptable.

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    1. Packaging too. I’ve bought many a used CD without checking the bootlet. Entire pages have been ripped out. CD priced in “excellent” condition. Ugh.

      If everyone took care of their CDs the same, we’d have an easier time of it!

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      1. … yeah, there’s a whole bunch o’ things that make me wonder what folks do with their CDs. Nothing worse than spotting that sought after CD and finding that it’s either scratched or the booklet was used to wipe up or be a coaster for beer / coffee / soft drinks.

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        1. Beer and soft drinks were the worst!

          I wish I counted how many times I had to wash my hands immediately after handing somebody’s CDs, because they just felt disgusting.

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        2. … oooft! I know that feeling – I once bought a copy of Paul Westerberg’s Stereo / Mono album online (described as very good) and it literally went right in the bin. Utterly filthy (the second disc was sticky!). Seriously.

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        3. Yeah. Yuck just getting icky feelings thinking about it!

          Another mind-boggler: factory sealed CDs with magnetic security tags STUCK TO THE DISC ITSELF — PLAYING SIDE! (slaps head.)

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        5. It happened! I was flabbergasted.

          Almost as bad was when the security tag would be placed on the CD tray, under the CD. It would always mark the disc.

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        6. I’ve seen a fair few of those!

          No doubt some seriously genius tagging going on at some warehouses!

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        8. … you’re not alone – I reckon anyone buying a CD would be keen to pick one up minus the tag (either scratching the CD or on the CD itself). It’s the least you can ask for!

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        9. I have always felt that some of my customers were not the type that should be shopping at a used CD store. For example, maybe if you’re asking me to bag each CD individually, so I don’t scratch the case, maybe you should be buying new CDs, not used.

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  4. “HANSON” !!!!! eeeeeeeeek for only three bucks!! SOLD
    Our family business was shoes, and you wouldn’t believe how many women bought a pair for a Sat Nite party, then tried to return them for a full refund on Mon morning (all scuffed up). Everybody always thinks whatever they’re peddling is mint.

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    1. Damn. Yeah that pisses me off too.

      I just remembered one lady who bought a “Now 2” CD. It was so hacked. I let her return it only because I felt like, according to our rules, I had to. But I made her open the new CD, inspect it, and sign her receipt that it was in new condition and she could not return it.

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      1. Good policy. Opening in front of them shows “We have great customer service, but we ain’t chumps either”
        Way back in the simpler, naive days of vinyl, all it took was a hair dryer to get an exchange or refund.

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        1. Was that to warp the disc? “I bought it like this”?

          Yeah I learned that one from my boss. As much as I tell stories that are not complimentary, he was a smart guy, taught me a LOT and was NO CHUMP.

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        2. The record companies were really stingy with the vinyl by the mid 70’s on. The LPs were so thin, a LOT were warped. Record shops rarely disputed, and when I started at SAMS warehouse, I discovered he was shrink-wrapping and sending back out again!

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        3. We saw a lot of CDs that had obviously been re-sealed, in crap condition, probably sent back as defects. Whenever I saw something that wasn’t factory sealed I got suspicious.

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        4. That was my training in “The Vinyl Basement”, got really good at making it look like factory job. Got a story ’bout that, but you’ll have to wait for my post :P

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  5. “People sucked sometimes.”? Man, people suck most of the time. Present company and all fine readers of this blog excluded. I sound like a misanthrope when I say it, but you know it’s true.

    It would never occur to me to phone the store to ask for a quote. OF COURSE you need to see the discs before you can price them.

    Man, I’ve sold off a metric shit-ton of records over the years, almost always because either a) I needed the money or b) I realized I never played the thing or C) my listening tastes changed and I could turn all of this crap into potentially awesome.

    But I don’t understand getting mad over refusal of a disc. This store is in the business of buying good used stuff to re-sell. If your stuff is crap, why should they take it? Just because you walked in off the street? Well, I’m hapy for you that you have some way of getting into the store, but that doesn’t make it a cinch.

    Gah. People suck A LOT of the time. But if you’re cool about it and treat your things well, they’ll even buy back Jewel CDs from you.

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    1. Yeah it’s a lot of the time. It’s true. I mean, it grinds you down. It really does. You get stuff like, “Man up,” or “Don’t let it bother you,” or “Water off a duck’s back.” Those things don’t help.

      Yes, I understand the disappointment when I offer $2 on a dance mix CD that you bought for $24. It’s not my fault you overpaid for that CD. And unfortunately customers didn’t really like to be told that they overpaid for something.

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