Lets Trade Bootlegs

I haven't been trading much lately,
but every now and then I'll do a trade.
Either way, please enjoy this
site as an informational resource.

A MUSIC LOVER'S GOLDMINE OF LIVE, UNOFFICIAL, UNRELEASED,
OR OTHERWISE RARE MUSIC RECORDINGS

DON'T HAVE ANY BOOTLEGS TO TRADE? BUY ME A NEW DVD,
A PS2 GAME, OR SOMETHING ELSE FROM THIS LIST OF
OTHER THINGS YOU CAN TRADE WITH.

ATTENTION TAPERS:
Do you record shows yourself when you attend them?
I myself have not done so, but if you do, you may find the following web site useful....
http://www.sonicstudios.com/pa_x.htm
It seems to have lots of technical information (way above my head!) about
microphones, and to be a source for buying high quality equipment.

The term 'bootleg' brings to mind 'illegal copies' of this thing or that, and tends to raise eyebrows. Still it's the best word I know to describe the type of CD's which I trade CD-R copies of. The word can be used in more than one way, so I want to explain exactly what I mean.

A 'bootleg' - such as you will find on this site - is simply "an 'unofficial' recording of a band, or remix of a band's music, which was not released through, and not available for purchase from, normal channels of music distribution". In most cases these are live recordings, made either by someone attending the concert with a recording device, or by a crew member working the soundboard. In other cases these are studio recordings of demos or rehearsals. In still other cases these are unofficial remixes of songs. Some bands and artists are aware of the distribution and trading of this music and consent to it, and others are not and do not.

In short, these 'bootlegs' are 'unofficial'. They are NOT copies of officially released CD's.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys collecting music bootlegs or has any interest in learning more about them! This is an extremely detailed and comprehensive "inside view" of the methods, actions, thought processes of the people behind most of the bootlegs made for the first several years of this phenomenon's history. I couldn't put it down.

"CD-R" means "Recordable CD"...a blank CD that you can record on. As you probably know, these days if you have the right equipment (All you need is a plain old home computer with a CD writer, otherwise known as a "CD burner") you can buy blank CDs and make your own compilations, or make copies of any other CD, just like you've been able to do for several years with cassette tapes. When you make a copy of a CD onto a blank CD-R, the copy is usually completely identical in sound quality to the original. And in theory, a thousand generations later the music still sounds like the original CD (Although occassionally you can have problems, causing pops or skips etc.) So copying music on CD-R is far superior to using cassettes (which lose a great deal of quality with each "generation" ..i.e. copy of a copy), and it has quickly become the preferred format for trading music.

You might have also seen the term "CD-RW". A "CD-RW" is basically the same as a CD-R, but it's a "Re-writable CD", meaning it can be erased and re-written, over and over again, whereas a CD-R can only be used once. Sounds great, right? But unfortunately it's not practical to use CD-RW discs for music, since they won't play in most normal CD players. They're pretty much just used for storing data, such as computer programs, digital photos, documents etc.

To the best of my knowledge, trading CD-R copies of this type of bootleg recordings is not illegal, and I engage myself in this hobby under this understanding. Before I started trading I searched the internet for information regarding the legality of this practice, and found almost nothing. What I did find was an organization called "Gray Zone" (http://www.grayzone.com/) which does investigative legal work for the entertainment industry on issues of music piracy and bootlegging. I figured, if anyone would know about this, they would. So I emailed them to ask whether this sort of 'trading' bootlegs on CD-R is illegal. In response, they told me in essence that they did "not know of any specific laws that cover trading of unauthorized music". They suggested that I contact the Recording Industry Association of America (http://www.riaa.com/), which I did - I asked the same question through the form emailer on their site - but they never responded. From reading the information on both these sites, I gathered that the concern seems to be only about people or organizations that "produce, distribute and SELL bootlegs for money". I found no mention of trading on either of these sites, so my conclusion is that trading is either not illegal, or is at least something no one seems to be concerned about.

Just recently I was further reassured about the legality of CD-R bootleg trading when I read the September 14, 2001 issue of the magazine "Entertainment Weekly" (View cover / Read article). In a small section of a larger article about Bob Dylan, under the heading "The Best Bootlegs", the magazine noted that selling bootlegs would be illegal, but actually suggested readers in search of Bob Dylan bootlegs should visit www.bobsboots.com, a CD-R bootleg trading web site, to "hook up with someone who might make you a copy". If it was illegal, I'm certain that a hugely popular mainstream magazine like Entertainment Weekly would not risk endorsing it. However, being a person of limited means, I have not hired a lawyer to research it any further, I freely admit. So if you have information along these lines, I would appreciate your sharing it with me.

I do realize that these types of recordings are sometimes sold for money by others, but I do not, and will not accept money for them. I only trade. If any of the music artists represented in my collection, or anyone with copyrights to their music, or any of their descendants or business associates are offended by what I am doing, or feel that it violates their legal rights, I will, upon request, with proof of their identity or position, be glad to remove the music of the artist in question from my list, and cease trading that artist's music.

I trade music only because I collect it. It's fun, and I enjoy it, and I do not seek to make money from it, or certainly less hurt anyone - financially or otherwise. It is my firm conviction that trading unofficial recordings does not hurt the bands in question, or their record companies, but benefits everyone. Since this music is not officially released or available to purchase, no one is losing money through 'lost sales' as they would, say, if I were trading music which is available in stores. Additionally, through the spreading of this music, fans (who in most cases have purchased all the 'officially' released music of their favorite artist) are able to continually add more variety to the recordings they have to listen to, thereby sustaining interest in the band longer, which in turn inspires them to continue buying the official releases, attending concerts, buying t-shirts etc. Everyone benefits.

Incidentally, if you spot something on this site which you know is available as an officially released CD, let me know so I can remove it from my list. I do not knowingly trade copies of CD's which can be purchased legally through official stores and dealers.

I used to post a huge list here of all the email addresses of everyone I successfully traded with, but recently someone convinced me that this was a bad idea. Many people don't want their email address posted in a public place, or anywhere on the internet for that matter, because they end up getting spammed. As well-meaning as my intentions were, in this regard the list could have been doing some of you more bad than good. So I've removed the list, as a courtesy to all of you. My apologies to any of you who did not feel this way, but I've chosen to discontinue the list.

TapeTrader.com - A wonderful resource which let's you easily find a trader who has the bands you want, from among the approximately 19,000 other traders listed, and lets them find you. Don't let the name scare you - they don't just trade cassette tapes, but also in many cases CD-R, Minidisc, D.A.T. etc. TapeTrader.com is my #1 resource for finding traders who have what I want.

Your favorite internet search engine - This is my second favorite method. Use Google, Yahoo, Altavista, or any search engine, and search using the words "Bootleg", "Trading", and whatever the name of your favorite band is. This will find you what you want 99 percent of the time, if you're patient enough to sift through all the other junk that comes up along with it.

There are also some web sites that maintain lists of people who trade specific bands. For example, some of my favorites...

The Beatleg Project / Bootleg Zone - This is a fantastic site for people looking to trade Beatles, Cheap Trick, Rolling Stones, Doors, Springsteen, Nirvana, and about 6 other bands which they specialize in. The site lists individual bootlegs each on their own page, with cover art, track lists, lots of details, and spots for people to rate the bootleg, list your name/email if you have it, or are looking to obtain it, and lots more! A first class site!

The Van Halen Trade Site - Help for Newbies! An all Van Halen site with tons of info about VH, VH bootlegs, and trading, including lots of tips on how to find people to trade with. An excellent resource!

There are also things called "WebRings". To be honest, I've never successfully subscribed to or participated in a web ring, and honestly don't know anything about them (If you are knowledgable about them, perhaps you'd be willing to give me a quick lesson), but here are a few that I know of...

Almost every CD-R trading website has a "Bad Traders" section like this, which lists the names, email addresses, and any other pertinent information about people who have ripped off that praticular trader. I've been very lucky, until recently. Most of the people I've dealt with have sent the CDs they promised, on time, in good condition, and were helpful in resolving problems when expectations were not met initially. But unfortunately, not everyone out there is honest. Some people are just out for themselves, and as soon as they get their CDs from you they pull a disappearing act. When this happens you get very angry, naturally, and you want to seek revenge. Some traders do just that, and try to really be vindictive and get back at the person that screwed them over. But my intention through this list is not necessarily to 'black list' these people from trading (Some of them might have some good stuff! .. Plus .. they might normally be good traders). What I suggest is, copy this information (And my URL, in case you need to refer back to it) and save it somewhere. Then, if you ever run across these people and are considering trading with them, MAKE SURE THEY MAIL FIRST, AND YOU RECIEVE THE DISCS, BEFORE YOU MAIL TO THEM. Even if you're the one approaching them for a trade, insist that they mail first (If they ask why, tell them they're on this list, and let them come to me and make things right with me if they want to get off the list!!) That protects you. Then, if all goes well, in future trades with that person, perhaps you will feel you can trust each other.

There is a guy named Robert Huete
Email: depechemodeviolator@excite.com or DepecheModeCa@aol.com
Website: http://www.angelfire.com/80s/smashingmode
I sent him 9 Depeche Mode CDs by Priority Mail back on 10-2-01. He agreed to send me a couple of videos of Depeche Mode live, but never did. His last email to me was 10-10-01, saying that he'd sent the videos, but after that he has not responded to any of my emails. If I ever get the videos, he will be removed from this list.

There is a guy named Brad Blackburn who calls himself, interestingly enough,"The Jerk"
Email address: the_cdr_jerk@hotmail.com -or- cdr@knightstown.net
Website: http://www.geocities.com/swingbelly1 -or- http://the_cdr_jerk.tripod.com
He's from Rushville, Indiana. This guy didn't take me for any CDs (We agreed that he'd mail first, and he never did), but he wasted my time and dropped out of our trade with no explanation and no word whatsoever, leaving me sitting on the discs I'd burned for him, and waiting in vain for a reply to my several emails. The last time I heard from him was 11-1-01. If he ever contacts me and completes our trade, he'll be removed from this list. -- UPDATE -- I have recieved emails from other people who saw this, and said they've been screwed by this guy too. I am told there are several postings about him in the Google message boards. He moves around and changes his email and web site. Basically everyone says the same thing .. he never sends the discs, and he stops replying to your emails. Brad .. if you're reading this .. prove us all wrong dude. But in the mean time folks, if you trade with him, make sure you insist that he mails first.

There is a guy named Trung Nguyen from Houston, Texas
Email: "NGHIA NGUYEN" <max432@hotmail.com>
This guy got me for 8 discs. We worked out a trade and he seemed like a nice guy so I told him we could mail at the same time (mistake). I sent him the discs in October 2002. As of January 19, 2003 I have still not received the discs he promised me, and he has refused to reply to my last 4 emails. If I ever get the discs, he will be removed from this list. In the mean time, he gets the thumbs down from me. Be wary of him if he emails you.

The following warning is courtesy of joesmithnin@yahoo.com:

There are two very bad traders that I don't want
trading again. Please spread the word.
These two traders are DONNY DUFFY and JULIA DONALDSON - partners in online fraud....
donny: dduffy2@standrews-de.org
julz: fever88@excite.com
websites
donny: http://www.tapetrader.com/GneccoReznor,
http://db.etree.org/dduffy
julia: db.etree.org/nesting
EbayID for the both of them: murderbonkers
OTHERS
donny's tapetrader username: Gnecco Reznor
donny's db-etree ID: dduffy
julia's db-etree ID: nesting

Donny and Julia aren't the same person, but I did a
bit of poking about google searching and found a posh cunts school's site
and found info on the both of them. These two nobs are
smart enouph to use their real names.

Donny ripped traders Glen and Kousuke off 20 cdrs
each. Shit that would have cost Glen and Kousuke a lot.
Trades that large cost a lot. Donny tried unsuccessfully
to rip me off twice. And I found Julia myself and I gave her some stuff on
a lend basis and when trader mate Alex from the states
contacts me telling me someone's offering him the same
dvd on ebay, well caught them fucking red handed. But
a month ago I sent the bootlegs to Julia and only
today I found out about the link.

They act all nice and shit in emails, pose as good
generous traders. This fooled me with Julz.

This is the first time I've been ripped off and boy am
I pissed.
PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD, I DON'T WANT THESE SHIESTERS
TRADING (ripping people off) AGAIN.

Links to most of the artwork (images that you can print to make jewel case inserts, CD labels etc.) for the bootlegs in my collection are on this site. But you may have some bootlegs already, for which you have no cover artwork. The following sites may be of some help to you. Many of them also have track lists. If you know of any others like them, please let me know.

PLEASE NOTE: If you have a lot of cover art, let's trade collections! Click here for details.

Van Halen Bootlegs - A trader who has high quality artwork for all his Van Halen bootlegs

The Beatleg Project - A great site for finding traders and artwork, for mostly Beatles bootlegs, but a few other bands too

Geetarz.org - GREAT art site!! for John lennon, beatles, stones, neil young, pink floyd

The Big StockBroker - Links to artwork pages for Beatles, Bob Dylan, Rolling Stones, Springsteen, David Bowie, and some others

If you're not fluent in Photoshop (my favorite program) and don't have a CD cover-making program, and you just want some simple jewel case inserts, visit http://www.papercdcase.com/. It's a neat web site that lets you make jewel case inserts by just filling in the blanks, and then you can print it right off the web page when it's done!

I am told that 'commercial grade' media is higher quality than 'consumer grade' media (which you would find on the shelf of your local store).
For commercial-grade blank CDR media, check out:

American Digital
This place seems to have the best deals going. Their prices are very low and they have a great selection. If you know of a web site that is cheaper than these guys, and have a comparable selection, let me know.

C4 Component
These guys have the lowest prices but not quite as good of a selection.

CDR Outlet
Great prices and selection. Just slightly higher priced than American Digital.

NOTE: Have you ever wondered how long your CD's will last?
I know most of us were told they would last a lifetime. That's the bunk all the CD makers fed us in the beginning, and perhaps even they believe it at the time. But it's not true. Here's a very informative article on the subject ...http://www.boycott-riaa.com/article/11955

See something you like and wondering 'what next'? Email me. I usually trade for other bootlegs (copies of unofficial recordings) on CD-R (recordable CD's) on a 1-for-1 basis. Give me a list of your collection, and I'll pick out the CD's that I'm interested in, or you tell me what you're interested in from my list, and then we'll go from there.

If you're new to this and don't have any bootlegs yet to trade (or none that I'm interested in), check out my list of OTHER STUFF YOU CAN TRADE WITH. For example, there's a list of DVDs that I want. You can buy me a new DVD from that list, and I'll trade you some bootlegs for it (The number of CDs varies .. I suggest people just make me an offer).

If you have some bootlegs (which I'm interested in, that is) but don't own a CD burner, you have another option too, if you're a trusting soul. You can mail them to me and I will copy them for myself and mail them back to you, along with an equal number of discs that you want from my collection. I promise to take good care of them, and send them back promptly, and securely packaged.

If you have bootlegs to trade, but there's nothing on my list that interests you, I have several other things to trade with. Please visit... "Other Items For Trade"

And if this is our first time trading, you must mail first (and I must receive the discs), then I mail to you. Yes, this requires trust on your part, but it is standard practice among traders, and the only way I can guarantee I won't be taken advantage of. If you have a web-site listing your collection, and someone comes to you asking for a trade, this will then become your right to have them mail to you first.

Track lists for much of my collection are posted on this web site. Just click the link that says "track list", or "cover art". If there is cover art I have usually not gone through the trouble of re-typing the track list, since you can get the tracks from the cover art.

To me, cover art is a fairly important part of trading (but not an indispensible part). I have artwork for a large percentage of the bootlegs in my collection. That is, jpg images of the front and back jewel case inserts, and sometimes the folding inserts and CD labels too. Sometimes this is 'original' artwork (created by whoever first released or made the bootleg), and sometimes it is 'home-made' artwork (created by myself, or another trader). Usually it is good quality, but in some cases it is poor. Some of the art that I have is available for you to download (watch for the "cover art" links), so I will expect you to grab whatever art you want right from here. In some cases I've indicated that the art is "available upon request", meaning if you ask me I will email it to you, or include it on a disc when we trade. Therefore, when we trade, please direct me to a website where I can download the art from (for the discs you are sending me), or email me the images, or put them on a separate CD-R for me.

When emailing art, please, attach each image to a separate email (They can be somewhat large files if they are high quality). And send me an email first to let me know that you'll be sending the art through email, so I'll know that it's safe to open the attachements.

By trading artwork images, as opposed to actual printed artwork, we can print it ourselves on the kind of paper we prefer, and trim it ourselves etc. Plus, afterward, we have the images with which to do future trades, without having to re-scan the artwork, or re-print it etc.

I don't actually print cover art for people and mail it, although you are free to do that for me. I'll let you choose extra CD's in exchange for the printed cover art. Generally the ratio is, I'll give you 1 CD for every 3 sets of cover art you print for me.

When scanning cover art, please scan them at 300 dpi (dots per inch). The result will be a good quality, high-resolution image that will print nicely. If you scan at a lower resolution, the small text will usually be grainy and fuzzy when you print it. You do not have to size the scans or crop them for me .. I can do that, and in fact, I prefer to do that myself (But if you want to, or it's already been done, don't worry about it). Please scan not just the front and back, but also the folding front inserts and CD labels (if applicable). If you don't have high-resolution artwork, or any artwork at all, a trade will probably still not be out of the question - just let me know up front. But good artwork is DEFINITELY preferable.

Also, as you browse through my list, if you happen to notice that I do not have artwork for a certain bootleg, and you have it, please email it to me. I would very much appreciate this gesture. And, remember, I do sometimes trade entire cover art collections, if you'd be interested in doing that. Click here for more details.

For most of my discs, or at least many of them, I have attempted to rate their general quality. Most traders do this, but there are lots of different ways people do it. Some traders rate the discs 1-10. Some traders rate them with A-F, sometimes including + or - symbols etc. Some people are very specific, others are very general. In my case, I'm somewhere in between. My ratings system has no specific rules, except that I try to be as honest as possible. I describe their quality in words. For example, I may say "Fantastic sound quality", or I may say "Sound quality is disgracefully horrendous". I do not have a concrete system for this, I just describe the disc with whatever words seem appropriate. I use "Good" or "Great" or "Fair" several times, so obviously there can be a wide range of possible levels of quality in any one of those words, but I do my best. The thing is, I have no technical music or sound knowledge. You must realize, I am a layman. I don't understand the terminology of "Mhz" or "Sound spectrum" or shit like that, and my ear is not perfect. So take what I say with a grain of salt. I am sure that many recordings that I think are wonderful, someone else might be highly critical of. Likewise, I've often gotten recordings from people that said they were "A+++" and gotten a headache from listening to them because they sounded like such crap to me.

Nevertheless, with all that said, here are some common words I use, and a general idea of what I mean (Although the idea is, the words are supposed to mean what they say)...

"POOR" / "VERY POOR" / "HORRIBLE" / "HORRENDOUS" etc. - The disc is barely listenable. Probably it has lots of noise or distortion. You can probably make out some of the music and words, but only if you are really familiar with them. You'll probably get a headache listening to the disc, unless you turn the volume down lower than normal. These discs are of value only to the collector who wants to obtain everything they can from a particular artist, just so they can say they have it. You don't want to listen to these discs for enjoyment.

"FAIR" / "FAIRLY GOOD" / "REASONABLY GOOD" / "PRETTY GOOD" / "O.K." etc. - The disc is listenable, but not much more can be said about it. It probably has some noise, hiss, or distortion, but still the instruments and vocals are pretty clear. Maybe the tones are not perfect. Maybe the overall sound is too bassy or too tinny, or muffled-sounding etc., but if you like the band you probably will enjoy listening, for the sake of listening. These discs are not just for collectors.

"GOOD" / "VERY GOOD" / "SUPER GOOD" / "GREAT" etc. - The disc is very listenable, but not album-quality. It is above average. There may be some noise, skips, hiss, or distortion, but the instruments and vocals are very clear, and to me the tones seem very natural.

"EXCELLENT" / "AWESOME" / "FANTASTIC" / "WONDERFUL" / "TERRIFIC" etc. - The disc is as close to album-quality as a bootleg can get, in my opinion. To me, it sounds good enough to be played on the radio, or officially released.

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1. I DO NOT guarantee that any of these discs are free of imperfections, including but not limited to, pops, clicks, skips, abrupt track transitions, TAO track transitions, gaps of any length between tracks, tape hiss, static or other mysterious noises, excessive audience noise such as talking or clapping, discs that do not match their track list or artwork exactly, shows with missing songs, tracks which cut off parts of songs, begin in the middle of a song or end prematurely etc., even if these things are not noted on my list.

2. I DO NOT guarantee that you will agree with my assessment of the sound quality of any of my discs.

3. I DO NOT guarantee that every so-called "imperfection" is mentioned or described in my list.

1. I DO guarantee that every imperfection or peculiarity of any significance of which I am personally aware, has been noted explicitly in my list. Also, any imperfections brought to my attention, or noticed by myself, are immediately noted on my list, in a continual effort to maintain the highest possible level of disclosure.

2. I DO guarantee that the discs I send you will be fundamentally equal in quality to my copies of those discs, with or without any imperfections.

3. I DO guarantee that the discs I send you will arrive. In other words, if they are lost in the mail I will re-burn them and send them again. After 30 days has elapsed from the mailing date for U.S. trades, or 90 days for international trades, if you notify me you have still not recieved the discs I will re-burn them and get them in the mail within 7 days. By trading with me, you agree to reciprocate and honor this exact same policy for the discs you are sending me, whether you read these rules prior to our trade or not. A warning to any who might attempt to lie about recieving the discs: I almost always pay extra to obtain DELIVERY CONFIRMATION. Perhaps you should too, if you don't fully trust me.

If you find that a disc has a problem which was not mentioned on my list, email me and tell me precisely what the problem is and exactly where on the disc it can be found (so I don't have to listen to the whole CD to find it). I'll check my copy, and if it looks like you got a bad burn (the defect occurred in the process of making your copy), I'll make you a replacement copy. But if my original turns out to have the same problem you describe, then our trade should be accepted as final. Please don't ask for a replacement or substitute - with one exception - In such a case, if both our copies have the same problem, then when we do another trade, you can choose an extra disc, to be mailed with your other choices.

The fact is, many of these bootlegs have not been listened to in a while, have only been casually or partially listened to, or have yet to be listened to at all. I do so much trading that it's hard to keep up. I expect that the majority of them are without big imperfections, but this is certainly not true of all of them.

Ultimately if we trade, I'd prefer that you agree to accept all discs 'as is', even if you find that you disagree with my assessment of their quality, and even if there turns out to be imperfections which were not mentioned in my list. I am willing to give you the same courtesy, if we can agree to it beforehand.

None of us does trading for profit. Remember? So every disc doesn't have to sound good enough for the radio. We do this because it's fun, we love rare music, and this is the best way on earth to accumulate tons of rare music fast and cheap. Every now and then we all end up with discs that sound worse than we'd hoped, but this goes with the territory. Every time two people trade music on CDR they both get a hell of a bargain, several times more value than what they invested, even if there's an occassional bad disc in the lot! Part of being a good trader is understanding this, and not burdening a trading partner with complaints and demands for replacement discs after a trade is completed (Packing and shipping are the biggest expenses in trading, so we all hate to have to send replacements after a trade is completed). If we each got the discs we asked for, in a timely manner, packaged securely, and we treated each other honestly, then it was a fair trade, even if a disc here & there turns out to have imperfections. Just let me, or the other person you're trading with know about the imperfections, so we can note them on our list for future potential traders to be aware of.

Please keep in mind that a bootleg is a bootleg, after all .. it is not an official recording, and therefore it is, by its very nature, imperfect.

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I don't mail jewel cases (they tend to crack during shipping, and they're cheap to buy anyway),

ALWAYS package the discs in a padded envelope, or at least put some padding around the discs (For small numbers of discs it is also acceptable to ship them without padding if they are in a special cardboard CD mailer...from my experience these are quite safe). Pleeeeease ... NEVER put two discs on top of one another, unprotected, in a single sleeve!!! .. put them in individual sleeves, or plastic bags, or at least put paper between them. If you lay them directly on top of one another they can (and sometimes do) melt or 'fuse' together during the shipping process, which of course ruins the discs entirely. Yes, I have actually had this happen before (Click to see), TWICE now - I was not one that did it .. I received them from other people this way!

Within the U.S., you can use regular "First Class" mail, or "Priority Mail", but NEVER USE 'Media Mail'!!! I usually ship by 'First Class' unless we agree to something different. Please NEVER use 'Media Mail' (The US Postal Service recently changed their policy about the delivery of Media Mail packages, to intentionally deliver it slowly to discourage people from using Media Mail, because they make no money from it. It arrives at the destination post office quickly, but they intentionally hold it there, very often for as long as 1 to 2 months! I have experienced this several times recently, and finally stopped using Media Mail.) At least use First Class Mail.

If you want me to use Priority Mail we must discuss it before hand and both agree. There are some benefits. It's much faster than (First Class) regular mail (The discs arrive generally within 3-4 days), and it only costs about $3.95. Plus for an extra 40 cents you can get delivery confirmation (if you want to be sure I got the package). But don't just send the package to me by Priority Mail and automatically expect me to do the same. I will almost always use First Class Mail, unless we have mutually agreed beforehand to use something different.

Internationally ALWAYS use AirMail (or something faster, if you want), but NEVER use "Surface Mail" because it is WAY TOO SLOW! (Something that takes a week by AirMail takes about a month by Surface Mail)

Remember that YOU MUST MAIL FIRST (if you contacted me for the trade) if it's our first time trading with each other. If I came to you, I will mail first. And if we've traded before, from that point on we will always mail at the same time.

Also, please note that I only make one visit to the post office each week (which day it is, can vary), so your package may not be shipped the exact same day that I recieved the one you sent, but it will be shipped sometime that week.

It is important to most traders that live bootlegs are recorded without delays or gaps between the songs (No gap of actual silence .. only the normal smooth noise of the audience). I am no exception. Please copy all bootlegs (or at least the live ones) using DAO (Disc-at-Once) if possible (If this option is not clearly visible on your computer, look in the CD burner program's "settings" or "preferences", but it is usually obvious).

DAO means that the laser will record the entire CD exactly as it is, in one sweep, without stopping. If you do not use DAO, then there will be a pause between tracks. Even if you select "0 seconds" for the gap between tracks, if you did not select DAO then there will still be a gap, for a fraction of second, which is audible and for most traders, unacceptable. For studio or otherwise 'non-live' bootlegs, include the 1 or 2-second delay between tracks, like you normally would hear on any non-live CD. In such cases it does not matter if DAO or TAO is used.

I reserve the right to use any brand of disc that I may have on hand, including but not limited to, Fuji, PNY, Imation, Memorex, Maxell, TDK, or Verbatim, unless you specifically tell me prior to trading that you will not accept a certain brand name. I'll usually work with you if you tell me up front.

Some traders will only use the highest quality CDR's when trading. If you are one of these people, that is fine with me. I usually have some real good discs I can use on hand, or I can go pick some up. But personally I have had excellent success with lots of cheaper discs as well. The important thing to me is this ... YOU MUST TELL ME UP FRONT IF YOU EXPECT ME TO AVOID CERTAIN BRAND NAMES, OR IF YOU WANT TO USE VERY HIGH QUALITY DISCS.

1. Please, do not write on the discs, and do not put tape or any other kind of label on the discs. I want to be able to mark them myself, in my own handwriting. But this is not just an issue of preference. If you write on a disc with anything other than a marker that is specifically designed for use with CD-R's, over time the chemicals in the ink can (allegedly) seep through the surface of the disc and corrupt the data. Using tape, some say, will have the same result over time. So please, just write the name of the artist and bootleg on a piece of paper and slip it in with the CD, or write on the paper CD sleeve/cover (...Always... do this before putting the CD inside the sleeve).

2. Please reply to all my emails promptly. If you don't have time to address certain details at that time, that's fine. But reply ASAP so I know you got the email, and tell me when I can expect your full response. This is common courtesy, yet many people still hold onto an email for weeks or even months before replying, and that can be very annoying. If you're away on vacation when I email you, tell me when you get back (I'll forgive you).

3. If you came to me, my rules govern our trade, which means everything on this page (neglect to read them at your own risk) But if I came to you, these rules are out the window, and are replaced by your rules (as posted on your site), plus or minus anything we mutually agree upon through email.

4. Disclose your full 'real' name and address before we trade. Mine: Ted Whitten, 990 E. River Rd., Apt. #220, Tucson, AZ 85718, USA.

4. Both parties agree to re-burn and re-send, if the package we send is lost in the mail (See full rules for more about this).

6. Pack EVERY CD in its own sleeve or plastic baggie (Never stack even 2 discs together), and use plenty of padding around them.

7. Don't write on the discs. Write on the CD sleeve, or on a small piece of paper enclosed with each disc. If you have actual CD labels, that's fine too.

9. Mutual full disclosure, meaning ... tell me in advance (if it's not already on your site) every detail you know about the discs I request...primarily whether any of them have gaps between tracks, errors, skips, or other defects.

10. I don't guarantee flawless discs. I only guarantee certain things - basically that your copy will be the same as my copy (Click for more details).

11. Send me cover art, if you have it, and every detail about a disc that is known.

12. Email me your actual name and address before we trade. Mine: Ted Whitten, 990 E. River Rd., Apt. #220, Tucson, AZ 85718, USA.

Printable Family Tree Diagrams - From my brother's new family tree / family networking site WikiTree.com.