Minimal Wave Records

Having read the -Big problem with user ‘scientronic’- post and its many replies, all the while knowing that I too have had problems in the past with Monsieur Bauwens (and others of his kind), reminded me of how many shady people there are in the record collecting hobby. Unfortunately, the minimal wave genre is not immune to this problem, not by a long shot.

Sadly, this type of crooked dealing happens much more frequently than it should, especially if you’re buying, selling, or trading records all the time. Over time, certain patterns of behavior begin to emerge, usually to the point where a particular trait, especially an undesirable one, becomes identifiable. With this in mind, I made a list of what I observe to be the (unlucky) 13 most common types of malignant individual to be found in the hobby, as well as their behavioral characteristics. The overwhelming majority of the bad deals that go down are made by people who fit into one (or several) of the categorical types listed below.

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. The Shark: does a number of fair deals before setting you up for a big fall
2. The Flip-Flop: does one lousy deal, then follows it up with a good one, and so on, and so on… just to keep stringing you along and make you believe you are making out okay
3. The Hit-and-Run: unknown person who shows up out of nowhere, rips off as many people on first deals as they can, and then disappears once word gets around of their thievery
4. The Amnesiac: conveniently “forgets” to mention some essential flaw(s) in the item(s) you are getting, and will most likely get “foggy” when they are called out on their actions
5. The Loosey-Goosey: consistently overgrades their items, or doesn’t grade them at all, since most of their stuff is in much less than mint condition
6. The Tortoise: demands instant payment, then takes weeks to send out your stuff (this works in reverse as well — people who take forever to pay, then want their stuff sent right away)
7. The Guilty Conscience: in trades, claims to have sent your stuff, but actually doesn’t mail your parcel until theirs is received first (hmm… I wonder why???)
8. The Seesaw: negotiates endlessly, hoping that you will get so exhausted that you will eventually agree to what still amounts to an uneven deal
9. The Conservationist: regardless of the value, always mails out stuff in flimsy and/or inadequate packaging (usually recycled or homemade)
10. The Stacker: in trades, assigns higher than usual values to their own stuff, and lower than usual values to yours (very common, unfortunately)
11. The Calculator: makes a completely outrageous initial proposition and then scales it back little by little in hopes that a deal that’s still uneven will seem okay when compared to the initial one
12. The Common Flake: asks you to hold stuff for them, and then changes their mind, or just disappears altogether (common indeed)
13. The Time Bomb: waits for perfectly even transaction to be done, then claims to have somehow been shorted or wronged, in hopes of retroactively coming out ahead in the deal, or the beginning the next one in their favor

Sadly, this list can never really be complete. Feel free to suggest additions.

Hahaha, I think I’ve been subjected to people in most of those categories!

Worse, I think I know people who would fit neatly into almost every description…

Still, not much that can be done about these matters I suppose, except to keep your own part of the deal - and not to send irreplaceable items to people you don’t know and trust.

And also, of course, the different haggling techniques you mention shouldn’t be seen as the work of “crooks and charlatans” - if you get what you agreed on, it’s only your own fault if you agree on a deal then regret it. I know this because I made some horrid mistakes in the past… blush… :D

Anyway, a fun read. Thanks for posting!

lol

Haha!

Well what about:

The Professional: He has dozens of records on offer and sometimes even has a convincing looking shopping front. You might even do some pleasant bussiness with him and never know, because selling & trading is part of the disguise. For while you are doing bussiness with him, he is hunting and waiting for any unsuspecting and careless victim and will strike at any moment where he sees an opportunity. Postal strikes, unsecured mail, having your order send to your working adress…. Then your package mysteriously disappears never to arrive. You’ll try and contact him and he will politely send you an answer back along the lines that he really feels sorry for you, but it isn’t his fault, you should have chosen secured mail etc. etc. and better luck next time. This may go on for a while, but in the end this predator always wins because the victim gets tired from the long fruitless mailing sessions and associated ever increasing stress levels and sleepless nights.