How satisfied are you with those big box purchases?

Started by DavidW, April 14, 2014, 06:10:17 AM

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Madiel

I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Jo498

As I said in the long post above, I usually don't get to listen to most of what's in my larger boxes for some reason. Even the moderate-sized singer anthologies I mentioned are not an exception.
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

The new erato

I often buy boxes because I am interested in only a small part of the contens, which are either unavailable in other formats, or because the economics make the box the better purchase. In such cases I have no qualms in leaving parts of the box unlistened to, though I often sample other parts of it and sometimes find myself positively surprised even though I don't need another Beethoven symphony (or whatever).

KevinP

Not very satisfied that on the Frederica von Stade 18-disc box set, so far not one disc is recognized by the metadata service provider and I have to input each disc myself.

I have a one-year sabbatical in NZ coming up and I'm trying to get as much ripped as I can.

Andante

Quote from: The new erato on December 04, 2016, 01:26:36 AM
I often buy boxes because I am interested in only a small part of the contens, which are either unavailable in other formats, or because the economics make the box the better purchase. In such cases I have no qualms in leaving parts of the box unlistened to, though I often sample other parts of it and sometimes find myself positively surprised even though I don't need another Beethoven symphony (or whatever).
Well its your money, but it doesn't make economic sense.
Andante always true to his word has kicked the Marijuana soaked bot with its addled brain in to touch.

The new erato

Quote from: Andante on December 05, 2016, 10:22:41 PM
Well its your money, but it doesn't make economic sense.
???
Buying 5 individual releases at 50 GBP intsed of getting them in a much larger box at 30 GNP doesn't make economic sense? Did you actuallw read what I wrote?

Madiel

#146
Quote from: The new erato on December 06, 2016, 12:31:24 AM
???
Buying 5 individual releases at 50 GBP intsed of getting them in a much larger box at 30 GNP doesn't make economic sense? Did you actuallw read what I wrote?

Personally, I did read what you wrote. I think the point is that it wouldn't make economic sense if what you wanted was only 1 of those individual releases.

It's not clear just how small "a small part" of the contents actually is, or how those contents might be spread around individual releases.

The question is, does it make "economic sense" to pursue material scattered across 5 releases when the stuff you want only adds up to enough for a single release. Maybe, if you want it badly enough. But to some of us that's poor value. I wouldn't buy something on that basis unless I thought the bits I wanted were incredibly valuable, sufficient to offset the fact that 80% of what I was buying wasn't of interest.

But here at GMG, the option of buying neither the 1 box nor the 5 discs just doesn't enter the equation often. The choice comes down to spending 50 pounds or 30 pounds. The third option of saving the 30 pounds to spend on something else with a better rate of return is discarded.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

North Star

Quote from: The new erato on December 04, 2016, 01:26:36 AM
I often buy boxes because I am interested in only a small part of the contens, which are either unavailable in other formats, or because the economics make the box the better purchase. In such cases I have no qualms in leaving parts of the box unlistened to, though I often sample other parts of it and sometimes find myself positively surprised even though I don't need another Beethoven symphony (or whatever).
Seems pretty clear to me that it makes sense in these cases.
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

Madiel

Quote from: North Star on December 06, 2016, 01:27:00 AM
Seems pretty clear to me that it makes sense in these cases.

It does so long as acquisition is an absolute requirement, yes.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

The new erato

Quote from: ørfeo on December 06, 2016, 01:22:07 AM
Personally, I did read what you wrote. I think the point is that it wouldn't make economic sense if what you wanted was only 1 of those individual releases.

It's not clear just how small "a small part" of the contents actually is, or how those contents might be spread around individual releases.

The question is, does it make "economic sense" to pursue material scattered across 5 releases when the stuff you want only adds up to enough for a single release. Maybe, if you want it badly enough. But to some of us that's poor value. I wouldn't buy something on that basis unless I thought the bits I wanted were incredibly valuable, sufficient to offset the fact that 80% of what I was buying wasn't of interest.

But here at GMG, the option of buying neither the 1 box nor the 5 discs just doesn't enter the equation often. The choice comes down to spending 50 pounds or 30 pounds. The third option of saving the 30 pounds to spend on something else with a better rate of return is discarded.
Well, most boxes these days contains complete discs that have been or are available singly. So if what I want is scattered over 5 discs, it still is 5 discs to purchase singly.....

Madiel

#150
Quote from: The new erato on December 06, 2016, 01:33:59 AM
Well, most boxes these days contains complete discs that have been or are available singly.

That is frequently the case, yes.

Quote
So if what I want is scattered over 5 discs, it still is 5 discs to purchase singly.....

If you are firm in your desire for it, yes. Personally, I would be unlikely to buy any of the 5 discs, either singly or in a box. Because it is poor value compared to 5 other discs full of genuinely interesting, different music or performances.

EDIT: Given that the total amount of music I might be interested in exceeds the total amount of music I'm likely to spend money on, the rate of return is an element of my purchasing decisions. You're focused on the "one" thing you want. Whereas I would look at all the different things I want, and one reason for dropping the priority of something is if it's only available coupled with a lot of stuff I don't want.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Madiel

To put it more simply: the suggestion that it doesn't make economic sense is because you're indicating you would happily spend 30 pounds to get 5-10 pounds worth of music you'd want, compared to some of us who would only spend 30 pounds to get 25-30 pounds worth of music that we want.

I wouldn't assert so definitively that it doesn't make economic sense. Whether it's worth spending 30 pounds depends on how badly you want that 5-10 pounds worth of music.
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

Jo498

Quote from: ørfeo on December 06, 2016, 01:22:07 AM
The question is, does it make "economic sense" to pursue material scattered across 5 releases when the stuff you want only adds up to enough for a single release. Maybe, if you want it badly enough. But to some of us that's poor value. I wouldn't buy something on that basis unless I thought the bits I wanted were incredibly valuable, sufficient to offset the fact that 80% of what I was buying wasn't of interest.

But here at GMG, the option of buying neither the 1 box nor the 5 discs just doesn't enter the equation often. The choice comes down to spending 50 pounds or 30 pounds. The third option of saving the 30 pounds to spend on something else with a better rate of return is discarded.
I think the option does enter into the equation. At least it does with me and my clumsy remarks above might not have made it clear but it is also one reason why I usally do not get big boxes anymore.
But people rarely post about what the *did not buy* so such decisions are not frequently discussed on the board. I rember that in the Fricsay thread Jens Laurson more or less agreed with me on my decision to skip the recent "complete" Fricsay boxes although this implies that there are a bunch of recordings I will probably never get to hear. I would have bought them if they were available at midprice separately but if I get the boxes I'd have to sell many discs I already have (and some of them I might want to keep either for couplings or for sentimental/collector's reasons).
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal

Andante

Quote from: The new erato on December 06, 2016, 12:31:24 AM
???
Buying 5 individual releases at 50 GBP intsed of getting them in a much larger box at 30 GNP doesn't make economic sense? Did you actuallw read what I wrote?

Yes I did read your post can I suggest that you read it again.
You made no mention of prices in your original post, which you are now using to justify your original statement so I will use prices to answer you.

Firstly, regarding your first post. What other format would you be looking for being as you are purchasing CDs

Secondly, If you purchase say a six CD box set at a sale price of $90 i.e.  $15 per CD when the original price was say $25 per individual CD and there are only 2 CDs that you really want out of the set you are spending money on stuff that you would not normally purchase surly you can see that. 
Andante always true to his word has kicked the Marijuana soaked bot with its addled brain in to touch.

Madiel

Quote from: Jo498 on December 06, 2016, 03:42:20 AM
But people rarely post about what the *did not buy* so such decisions are not frequently discussed on the board.

Good point!
I am now working on a discography of the works of Vagn Holmboe. Please visit and also contribute!

The new erato

Quote from: Andante on December 06, 2016, 11:01:29 AM
Yes I did read your post can I suggest that you read it again.
You made no mention of prices in your original post, which you are now using to justify your original statement so I will use prices to answer you.
Well if "because the economics make the box the better purchase" isn't understandable to you there is little I can do to help, except explain that economics in purchases means what you pay for what you get =price/CD you are interested in.

Andante

Quote from: The new erato on December 06, 2016, 11:21:00 AM
Well if "because the economics make the box the better purchase" isn't understandable to you there is little I can do to help, except explain that economics in purchases means what you pay for what you get =price/CD you are interested in.

"because the economics make the box the better purchase" How on earth do you arrive at that conclusion?
What you get is 2 CDs that you want but are paying for 4 that you don't
So you pay $90 instead of $50. This is why retailers have sales "to move slow moving stock" and you think it is a bargain
Andante always true to his word has kicked the Marijuana soaked bot with its addled brain in to touch.

North Star

#157
Quote from: Andante on December 06, 2016, 01:18:30 PM
"because the economics make the box the better purchase” How on earth do you arrive at that conclusion?
It's not a conclusion, it's a precondition. And your fictional scenarios where buying a box set are nonsensical as arguments against buying box sets when the economics make the box the better purchase.
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

Andante

@ North Star

I see no sense in paying for a boxed set if you are only interested in a small part of the contents and prepared to leave the rest of the set unlistened to, I have yet to see a boxed set of say 6 CDs that are cheaper than a single purchase of one or even two of the CDs. 
Andante always true to his word has kicked the Marijuana soaked bot with its addled brain in to touch.

Jo498

I think one can trust the GMG members to be able to do the little maths that is necessary.

With big boxes we are usually talking about 1-3 $/EUR per disc. Take the Hogwood Haydn. They put all of it (except for the BBC disc with 76/77) in one box for 50-60 EUR. This is about/less than 2 EUR/disc. And these are brand new. If you want to get the 10 3 disc boxes and the two singles separately you will often have to be content with used ones because they have long been oop. These older 3-disc boxes might be findable used around 10 EUR each volume sometimes but for other volumes one will have to pay 20-30 and always run the risk of getting a used copy in less than good shape. Let's say I want 4 of the 10 old boxes. Even if I am lucky and get them around 15 EUR each and thus end up at the same price as the new big box, I'd obviously get a much better deal if I get the big box for roughly the same money.

(And even better the combined one, the mixed Brüggen/Hogwood that is at 47 (less than 1.4 EUR/disc), so it is even cheaper and I am almost tempted but I have too much of it already).
Tout le malheur des hommes vient d'une seule chose, qui est de ne savoir pas demeurer en repos, dans une chambre.
- Blaise Pascal