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Purchasing  Bootlegs

Hi. Thanks for your interest in bobsboots.com, and for your request to purchase bootleg items from the site. 
Please forgive us for answering your request with this link page, but we get this same request every day. 
To help speed up the process of returning e-mail, we can no longer answer requests for purchase of boots
individually. If this page doesn't answer all of your questions, please feel free to e-mail us again.
Thanks!
CD Pinkerton

Temporary Notice:
Private collector eliminating some rare silver CDs - please email for items
and shipping/payment information"  Email: collectcd@optonline.net
Country: USA
(This is not a retailer, but a friend of bobsboots.com who is eliminating his private collection)
bobsboots.com stands behind this honest collector, and guarantees every transaction)

We are only chronologers of existing bootleg material of Bob Dylan. 
We neither condone nor condemn the practice of bootlegging, we merely document it.
We do not sell or trade the items on this site, however.
To learn more see our FAQ's  page. 
Be sure to visit our STORE, where we Do sell rare, official release Bob Dylan items.

Our 'Trader's Page'  is a section where people looking to trade tapes, CD-rs, etc., can meet one another.
 

Finding Material
For now, the best bet for finding material is to:
A) Check our 'Trader's Page' for tape or CDr trades.
B) Post the newsgroups. Our favorite is rec.music.dylan
Before asking a question there, see if it's been asked before. Click Here to do a search of RMD topics. When you get to the search page, click the "Search only in rec.music.dylan" radio button at the very top of the page. Type any word or phrase into the locator window, then click "Google Search".
C) If you have material to trade and/or are looking for something in particular, try the Edlis TBAP
D) Consider a tree. For more info, the best place to start is Dylantree.com.
E) You can also find many individual traders from their name links under the Collector's Corner at Bob Links
F) A good online retail source for rare and import CDs is Silver Disc.
Another is VVMO. To find the Dylan titles there, go to the search page. Scroll to the bottom, type Dylan, click on the CD only radio button (optional), and then click the search now button.
G) Finally, and most importantly, whether dealing with an individual or a group; be sure to use not only
proper internet etiquette, but follow the established rules of  the boot world as well. Read Posting  for details.

Tools:
David McMillan's Blood On The Tracks site is a good tool for traders looking for particular items. It documents known flaws in circulating recordings.
Bob Links
is indispensable for finding links to other Dylan sites, concert reviews, and/or dates.
A Note To New Collectors:
There is a great tutorial for new traders by Arthur Louie located Here
There are thousands of recordings of the man whose career spans over four decades.
Don't let the mind boggling amount of info intimidate you. 
The best way to start is to categorize and prioritize. Start collecting the area that most interests you first.
Some ways to categorize Bootleg Dylan recordings are:

Pre CBS material
1960's studio outtakes
1960's Live shows
Cover Songs
Country period
1970's studio outtakes
1970's Live shows
Rolling Thunder Material
1980's studio outtakes
1980's Live shows
Christian period
1990's studio outtakes
1990's Live shows
Never Ending Tour
2000's studio outtakes
2000's Live shows

Pick a category that most interests you, or come up with your own, such as 'Duets with other artists'.
The idea is to find where your immediate interests lie. Start by looking for material from that category.
Your collection will soon grow and expand. Remember, EVERYONE ... even Bob's Boots... started 
with ONE tape.


 

Posting to a newsgroup:
Return to 'Finding Material'

If you cannot set this newsgroup up on your system, we can attempt to do it for you. 
Click here to attempt to set up the RMD newsgroup
Before asking a question there, see if it's been asked before. Click Here to do a search of RMD topics. When you get to the search page, click the "Search only in rec.music.dylan" radio button at the very top of the page. Type any word or phrase into the locator window, then click "Google Search".
Remember proper etiquette when dealing with a newsgroup:
1) Spend some time there and lurk around before just blurting out your request.
2) It's better to find someone from the group who seems knowledgeable and contact them privately
then to post requests for everyone to see.
3) Don't use the term 'Bootleg' if/when dealing with a retailer. Use the terms 'Live', 'Rare', 'Import', etc.
4) Don't offer to purchase a tape or CDr. If the other party offers to sell, use your own judgment.
It is more proper and preferable, however, to offer trade. If you have nothing, state that you
are a 'Newbie' and have nothing to trade. There are those who will still want to help you.
5) In cases of purchase, be sure to follow the proper etiquette below.
Purchases
If you are looking for a vinyl collectible (LP album), you are dealing with an out of circulation collectible. 
It is acceptable to offer to purchase these items, though not advisable in a public forum. 
Feel free to use our price guide for an idea of an LP's value in US dollars.
Our grading scale might be helpful as well.
Glass mastered CDs are bought and sold as well, although sources are difficult to locate. 
There are legal reasons for this.
NEVER ask for a source, or reveal a source for CDs in a public arena, or from someone you don't know.
Agencies who police such transactions use common email addresses with proper names.
Therefore, use discretion with the person on the other end of the email.
Again, be fair to the artist and their Label. NEVER accept or trade counterfeit or pirated music tapes, CDs
CDr's, or MP3's of licensed material that is commercially available. 
There is a major difference in this type of material and the bootlegs  traded by fans.
This fair practice, of course, does not apply to commercial bootlegs. As they are not authorized, their claim of copyright is invalid. Some like to collect only commercial, silver CD boots. Some prefer only CD-r, while others seek tapes, MP3, or a combination of two or more. This is an individual preference that has been decided upon for many reasons. All are acceptable in the trading community, and none should be looked down upon by the trading community as being "Less Proper". All unauthorized recordings fall into the same category, whether commercially available or not. There are varying degrees of quality of sound, cost, availability, and convenience offered by the various formats, however. Many choose not to accept cassette tape, MP3, or even a particular brand name of the medium they collect. This is all for technical, and not moral reasons. 

Return to 'Finding Material'
 
 

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