koogles

Here's what Sam left for me today, in response to my post: "HAHA - You better talk to your butt buddy PJ about high pricing - I learned it from him. Friction is being sold AT MARKET VALUE just like the others....and all are doing quite well thanks.....Let's see $550 for an original or $50 for a re-issue. Hmmmm.....at least the band gets a nice cut." In this typically assinine piece of Sam's twisted logic, he admits to high pricing and then goes on to claim Friction is being sold at MARKET value. Well, Sam... market value for a re-issue is around $14-18, not $50. Surrender's being sold at Metal Mayhem for $18, AOR Heaven for $20. THAT's market value. Some fools never learn!

If you go to www.retrospectrecords.com, you will find a great deal on his CDs. Just $49.99 for the Friction CD. Wow! Finally a reissue label that puts music ahead of greed, pricing CDs within the reach of everyday consumers. Wait till Wounded Bird sees these deals!!! They won't be able to compete!!

Recordjnky: You say that Metalmaniac (Mark) doesn't know you so he shouldn't call you his "friend"... by the same token, you don't know me, so you have no right implying that I'm jealous, bitter or snidy. I'm none of the above... why would I be jealous of a foul-mouthed opportunist who is holding collectors ransom with his dubiously licensed reissues on a label that, for all intents and purposes, is simply trying to legitimize his well-documented bootlegging operation? Plus I see your brother is back selling porn on eBay. I'm sure when Sammy "reissues" Christian rock indies like Monomakh s/t or Stryken's "First Strike" , the CCM guys will be happy to know they're listed on eBay right along side such gay porn favorites as "Taking it in the Veg-ass 6: Sammy Does San Quenton" (after the RIAA shuts him down!!)

Not as much as you love your eBay aliases, KANDY ANDY!!

Bitter comments? I simply mentioned BOOTLEGS and SKETCHY REISSUES and you got all up in a tizzy. Hmmm... if the boots, er, shoes fit....

Recently listed a great batch of CDs on eBay including mega-rare gems like ALYZE- Playin' With Desire (ORIGINAL 1992 Desire Records pressing... not to be confused with, or compared to, the 2005 Retrospect edition) THE TAKE- New Language (This is a phenomenal piece of 80s AOR, with all the melodic punch of Surrender, FM, Aviator, Heartland and Hybrid Ice. Brilliant production. Don't let the "Thought Industry" style Dali cover scare you away... this rare indie from 1992 has nothing to do with prog metal and everything to do with melodic keyboard-driven AOR with soaring vocals!) MACH- Lock, Stock & MACH! (Absolutely the rarest of the rare. First-time ever on eBay, this Michigan 1990 (!) indie rocks like New Tattoo, old VH or a better version of Tora Tora!) HERAZZ- Boogeyman (If decadent, shout-it-out loud gang vocals are your musical forte, don't be scared of this indie "Boogeyman"! Like a mix of Mad Margritt, Ratt and Steelheart! Dyin' to be crank up loud!) LAPOINTE- Tie You Up (Breath-taking indie AOR from Canada's Lapointe... perfect for anyone looking to catch a Kevin Chalfant/Tim Feehan/Eddie Schwartz style melodic buzz.) THIN DISGUISE- Self-Titled (This US-indie is the closest I've heard to vintage (mid-80s) Great White! You won't believe the vocalist's similarity to Jack Russell! And the band rocks like XYZ or Warrant throughout.... phenomenal!) plus other rare indie treasures include: JESTER- It's Time (Gemini/Queensryche style) CHROME HALO- s/t (still sealed) CUBIC FEET- Across the River (Westcoast style AOR) HYPYR- Baked Not Fried SIDE WALK- s/t (Excellent indie AOR a la Work Force or Ya Ya) SAGE- Cacophony (Michigan band's follow-up to the hair-swingin' Stick it to Ya) MARK EDWARDS- Just Having Touched (AC-style AOR) PERIL- Faces Still Unknown (indie deadringers for Ozzy!) JIMMY RYSER- Manana Mentality (rare '94 indie follow-up to his self-titled '91 AOR gem) As well, I've got a plethora of major label rarities including: MELVIN JAMES- The Passenger (elusive 1987 AOR featuring "Why Won't You Stay") AUTOGRAPH- Loud n Clear (1987 also) RICK CUA- Wear Your Colors (huge sounding '86 CCM AOR treasure a la Shout, "On Fire"/"This Means War"-era Petra) CRYSTAL ROXX- Pass the Buck (Satisfying Bon Jovi clones) RATT- Out of the Cellar (ORIGINAL 1984 Target pressing from W. Germany) and many many more. As always, no reserves, no high shipping, no high starting prices and- best of all- no BOOTS or SKETCHY RE-ISSUES. Have a look: http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQfgtpZ1QQfrppZ2...sZendangeredcds THANKS!! koogles

I have the REAL Alyze "Playin for Desire" for sale right now... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...AMESE%3AIT&rd=1

If you had Russian connections and could print up CDs for pennies a piece in Russia, why would you turn around and press them for many times that much in Irvine, California? Makes no sense. Does Tommy Hilfiger shut down its Singapore sweat shops to hire American workers at American minimum wage? I don't buy that. I think you just opened your Rand-McNally road atlas and picked the first city you saw. And another thing I don't like. JLP acting as Sam's "press secretary". Is Sam THAT jet-lagged from his flight back from Russia that he can't pull up a highchair next to his laptop and post for himself like a big boy? Man up, Sammy. Less JLP, more from the source please. I'm willing to buy into the theory of a legitimate label. The trusty "Al Bundy" label doing those Streets reissues a few years back told me that if I see a label on the disc, it's gotta be legit, right? But I can't believe that any label owner who claims he is about the fans and the music, then turns around and plays the demand-over-supply card as blatantly as selling exclusively on eBay is about anything less than greed/opportunism/sniffing my wallet.

Well, if the bands are aware of the reissues and are getting paid royalties for their work, I don't have a problem with this re-issue. At least now Sam is making it clear that the CD for sale is a re-issue. It's a step in the right direction. Of course, true collectors will still know the value of an original over a reprint.

Probably the rarest CDs in my collection are 1. Simon Says- ... Spin This 2. Know Illusion- Back on the Streets 3. Rick Springfield- Beautiful Feelings 4. Frank Stallone- s/t 5. Winter's Reign- The Beginning Runners up: Angel-Sinful Axe- Living on the Edge JAP Con Funk Shun- Electric Lady Flyweil- s/t French Kiss- s/t KK Wilde- Rock-n-Roll New Tattoo- No Bones About It Marilyn Martin- s/t Platinum Blonde- Standing on the Edge Zahalan Refugee- Burning From the Inside Out The Tubes- Young and Rich Keith Urban- s/t (1991 Australian press.) Billy Squier- Signs of Life Peter Wolf- Lights Out John Waite- Mask of Smiles JAP

Mullethead!! Congrats, man! I hope you're excited. My baby is due on September 21 and can't wait!! Koogles and Mullethead... the next generation! LOL

Apparently, I too clean house and carry an ample girth. Before I get back to my dusting and powdered donuts, I just thought I'd add some more to the dubious replacement list. Danger Danger- Ted Poley/Paul Laine (The Ted years rocked!!) Asia- John Wetton/John Payne (As much as I like the albums with Payne, hearing the collaboration known as Wetton/Downes takes me right back to the beloved 1982-1990 era and it just sounds (for the first time in 15 years) like true Asia again!) Judas Priest- Halford/Ripper (The new album reinforced in me who's belongs at the front of JP.) Toto- Joseph Williams/Jean Michael Byron (Exit a classy Westcoast singer, enter a fruitcake. This was a bad move for Toto, because it made them sound like bloody Terrence Trent D'Arby. Good thing it lasted for only 4 songs.) Did I mention fruitcake? mmmm... my overweight housewife radar has zeroed in on some fruitcake and once I put this vacuum down, I'll be on it like Jacko on a boy scout. Later koogles

Hey thanks for the vote of confidence, Mike. And Dave- I'm sure you'll find some of the flame wars on these sites far less mature than the playground squabbles you run into at school! LOL. As for Relay, hey- if you want to block me, go ahead. I won't prevent you from acting like the Soup Nazi from Seinfield if that's what gets you off. All I'm sayin is you could have had a bid on that Allies CD by now from an eBayer who pays for what he wins. I haven't had a negative feedback in 2 and a half years, how much more reliable do you want?? Positives? I got over 2500 of the damn things, they just keep pouring in every day. Maybe it's time to rethink your policies, Relay, and let a couple eBayers who are solid, trustworthy (and oh did I mention we have some money to throw around?) bid on your CDs. I'm sure zacharyamelie will back me up, the hard rock market is too small nowadays to hand-pick your bidders and then expect decent sales at the end of the day. More bidders=better sales, it's that simple.

Well, Relay, if you are truly the gentlemen you say you are, why didn't you give me the common courtesy of a reply email? Still not sure why you are reducing your chances of higher auction end prices by blocking the bids of a 99.8% positive feedback eBayer who's into AOR and hard rock.

Ok, Relay... I see your point. But I emailed you TWICE as to why I was disallowed from bidding on your auctions and never got a reply. Are you filtering out Canadian emails as well? I would have expected some professional courtesy at least. And I really don't think everybody in Canada would object to paying the much-detested GST. It's not like it's new to us, nor is it something we don't already encounter in our everyday retail experiences.

Adboimel... that was NOT a jab at you or 95% of your fellow countrymen who are exceptional. Just a few bad apples over the years.... like the guy who screwed my buddy PJ over for $3K.

Not to say all traders from this country are bad (by any means), but by FAR, the country that given me and my buddies the most grief.... BRAZIL!!!!!

Keira Knightly Diane Lane Kate Hudson Selma Hayek

From Merriam-Webster Online dictionary: asshole: a stupid, incompetent, or detestable person

At least Sam seems to be taking this well, and not getting upset or defensive. Take, for instance, this email he just sent me. "KISS MY MOTHERFUCKING ASS AND SUCK MY DICK You guys talk so much shit - YOU WILL NEVER take a Gold Power Seller down. T-Bonehead , Mulletfaggot and anyone else who tried to defy VegasCDs power can swallow my fucking jizz for being such ignorant white trash pricks. HAHAHAHAHAAH - I am so fucking happy , I WILL NEVER BE STOPPED , especially by YOU MOTHERFUCKING LOWLIFE HOMOs OVER AT HH. POST THAT BITCH and watch the positive feedbacks continue to flow in my account. I CONTINUE TO BE EBAY's #1 SELLER OF HARD ROCK AND METAL KISS MY FUCKING ASS YOU PUNKS - YOUR SHIT GETS OLD WOOOOOFUCKINGHOOOOOOOO Post THAT"

Well, eBay must have done their homework. I'm sure they compared IP addresses, registration info, Paypal data, etc. They wouldn't have kicked him off eBay if they didn't have just cause. But it doesn't take CSI's David Caruso to figure out Vegascds and Streetsofmetal were one in the same. The location, templates, wording etc. he used for both IDs were virtually identical. If Sam wanted to get around the system, he sure didn't do a very good job throwing eBay off his scent.

Now he's in some hot water. Two suspensions in the space of a week. Trying to use a secondary ID while your main identity is under suspension= big no-no in the eBay world. At the rate he's going, I think Sam better get fitted for a headset because "Got metal?" is going to turn into "Do you want to up-size that to a combo for just 99 cents?"

I'd rather spend $100 on 5 or 6 great CDs than for one mega-rare indie that will simply give me bragging rights until the damn thing gets bootlegged, reissued or both. Having said that, there is something neat about having a CD that you know you won't be able to find 10 copies of at your local used CD shop.

Agreed with T-BONE as well. And Recordjnky, Sam could be the most tenacious guy in the world but if he violates eBay policy, his ass is grass. That's the reality. If eBay knows that he is selling under a different name and violating his suspension, it's all over for VEGASCDS. Sure, nothing saying he can't start selling under a different name, but for a guy who is always waving his positive feedback numbers around, I can't imagine he would want that.

A ballsy move on Sam's part. Ebay will suspend a seller INDEFINITELY for using another ID while their principle one is suspended. They send you out an email stating that you CANNOT sell under a different ID. When I was suspended back several years ago (didn't pay the bills), I got this warning and took it very seriously. Would hate for eBay's "#1 seller of metal and hard rock" to go down in a cloud of disrepute and shame, now wouldn't we?