(accidentally) Buying an album you already had? Embarrassment.

[Scion7]

You know your collection is totally out of hand when you can't remember what you have in  it!
I picked up a used CD in pristine condition of a Julliard Qt performance, only to find out when I was making  a spot for it in the rack that - surprise! - there it was. 

It's doubly embarrassing if the woman who is your sig other was a runner-up in a Hungarian beauty contest and takes delight in larfing at your mistake.  She thinks because she is beautiful anything she does is 'okay.'  Alright ... yes, it pretty much is . . . 

I'll just have to eat the haggis and choke it down for a day or two.

[Gurn Blanston]

  I've just been fooled once, when a rerelease with a different cover picture slipped in under my radar. I feel that's pretty good, given the number of disks I have. FOrtunately, my sig other doesn't know quite how many that is. I think....

[JBS]

I've done it a few times. Most absurd instance was buying this three separate times.
And then buying a box set which included it. (But I knew I was doing it then.)


Fortunately for me I have no SO.

ETA The fact I could buy it twice by mistake may indicate the quality of the performance, since I obviously forgot it twice over.

[Mirror Image]

It's not easy to avoid duplication, especially if there's a box set that you want which already has several performances you already own. But this is the norm with anyone that collects classical music I would imagine.

[some guy]

None of my friends or my sons have ever minded when I buy a copy of a CD I already have.

They all enjoy getting free CDs.

[T. D.]

I've only bought an exact duplicate once, and it was jazz, not classical. I was in a brick and mortar shop, saw several discs at attractive prices and grabbed them without thinking. One of them turned out to already be in the collection, which made me feel like a complete dumbass. I gave it away.
I've bought many box sets which duplicated individual holdings, but always consciously (even calculatedly) and never felt embarrassed about that. 

[Harry]

I have a huge pile of CD'S in that respect. I ordered without looking properly in my collection. Problem is to give them away, for no one wants to pay postage these days, so they probably end up in the bin.

[Handelian]

Oh yes I brought a whole set of Richter CDs on offer and when the6 came realised I had all but one of them already! 

[Florestan]

I have a huge pile of CD'S in that respect. I ordered without looking properly in my collection. Problem is to give them away, for no one wants to pay postage these days, so they probably end up in the bin.

A public or university library would be a better option, don't you think?

TD: I have duplicates but only because after buying something I then bought a big box where they were included. When it comes to my music library I have the memory of an elephant. 

[Harry]

A public or university library would be a better option, don't you think?

TD: I have duplicates but only because after buying something I then bought a big box where they were included. When it comes to my music library I have the memory of an elephant. 

I have to disappoint you, public or university libraries are not interested.  Believe me I have tried them all.

[Jo498]

I think I only did it once without realizing. My excuse is that one issue was a double set and on a different label. It was an early single disc with two Beethoven quartets played by the Artemis Q that were later issued in a Virgin twofer with two more quartets. Fortunately this was at a time (ca. 2007-8) when it was no problem to get a few Euros for such a disc on Ebay or some similar place (it was a buyer's market even than but not to such an extent as it is now).

[asin]B07C57ZVGX[/asin]

I bought quite a few recordings twice on purpose, either for different couplings or in box sets or for possible improvement by new (re)masterings. Sometimes a bit ridiculous. I had Franck's symphony with Maazel/RSO Berlin coupled with an organ piece, sold this when I got the DG originals coupled with Mendelssohn 5, then got rid of the originals disc when I got a Maazel box containing the Mendelssohn but not the Franck and finally bought another copy of the cheap (Musikfest/Resonance) disc with the organ piece coupling...

[Florestan]

I have to disappoint you, public or university libraries are not interested.  Believe me I have tried them all.

It's not you disappointing me, it's those libraries. I should have thought it's their mission to preserve and make available our cultural heritage.

But probably they don't have enough space and enough interested customers. Which brings us to the topic of education, of which libraries should take part full time. The circle is closed.

End of digression.

[71 dB]

I have listed all my CDs on my computer. It takes a few seconds to check I don't have a disc already.

It's doubly embarrassing if the woman who is your sig other was a runner-up in a Hungarian beauty contest and takes delight in larfing at your mistake.  She thinks because she is beautiful anything she does is 'okay.'  Alright ... yes, it pretty much is . . . 

The nerve of some people complaining about their beauty contest runner-up sig other larfing at them... 

[Scion7]

The nerve of some people complaining about their beauty contest runner-up sig other larfing at them... 

Yes, it's a hard life.   
Seriously, tho', you do have to take it in the warbles sometimes - the price of "arm trophy."  And the constant cracking from my American friends of "wick-TISH!  wick-TISH!"  Get bent, mates!!

[Pohjolas Daughter]

I have to disappoint you, public or university libraries are not interested.  Believe me I have tried them all.

My public library has an area where they put books, magazines, and CDs for sale (with the proceeds going to the library).  They used to have LPs.  At the moment (due to Covid), they have a cart out front with free items.  I should ask them about donations to their collection; like you, I don't believe that they want them.

I've only doubled-up on I think two CDs?  One was an opera one (due to yes, a different cover/packaging that threw me off) and recently purchasing a Stenhammar CD that I had already in a boxed set.  As that one was a buck, I grabbed it and took it home.

LPs:  I've doubled-up on a couple there.   

One thing that I've started doing:  Not too long ago, I acquired a smart phone.  In the "Notes" program, I started a musical wants list.  It's not currently in the greatest order (will work on that).  I have typed the name of the composer (or performer) of recordings that I either want and/or already own.  It's helpful! 

PD

[vandermolen]

Oh yes, this happens to me all the time. In fact, these days, I rarely buy a recording (CD or LP) that I don't already own. 

[T. D.]

Trivial point: I don't do "sonic upgrades", or purchasing remastered reissues of recordings I already own. But I wouldn't consider it "embarrassing".

[Gurn Blanston]

It's not easy to avoid duplication, especially if there's a box set that you want which already has several performances you already own. But this is the norm with anyone that collects classical music I would imagine.

Yeah, I don't count that though. For me, buying a single disk that I already had as a single disk is a bit of a frustration. Like 'damn, what a dumbass I am!'. But I have bought box sets knowing I already had 2 or 3 out of the 10 disks in the box. Usually it's still cheaper to duplicate than it is to buy the balance as singles! The Brautigam Haydn box on BIS was a case in point.

[Pohjolas Daughter]

Yeah, I don't count that though. For me, buying a single disk that I already had as a single disk is a bit of a frustration. Like 'damn, what a dumbass I am!'. But I have bought box sets knowing I already had 2 or 3 out of the 10 disks in the box. Usually it's still cheaper to duplicate than it is to buy the balance as singles! The Brautigam Haydn box on BIS was a case in point.

Yes, I had meant to mention that too (re boxsets and singles).  I know one friend who buys a TON of box sets (I kid you not!).  He then pulls out any singles that he has and donates them to charity [Wish that I lived near him as he has impeccable taste!].  I need to check on some of mine (though I don't have nearly as many sets as he has).  Probably the only ones that I wouldn't want to sell or donate are the handful of Hybrid SACDs that I own.

PD

p.s.  Here's a thought:  what about the sets that you own some of which have duplicates in the other box set(s)?     

[JBS]

I have a huge pile of CD'S in that respect. I ordered without looking properly in my collection. Problem is to give them away, for no one wants to pay postage these days, so they probably end up in the bin.

The few CDs I give away (and more than a few books)  go to a charity shop (Goodwill). Pre Covid I gave them to the public library, which sold them as part of its fundraising used book sales. I assume those will happen again once we actually reach post-Covid time.