Lala.com Claims You Can Legally Trade CDs for $1

Lala.com is a legal, internet based music trading site. Once signed up Lala allows its members to trade unwanted CDs with one another for only $1 plus shipping. In theory, this sounded like a great service and I quickly signed up. However, after using Lala for a year, I'm not as impressed. Here's a review of my first year of Lala use.

First, let me describe how Lala works. Lala is different from most music sites online. It does not carry downloadable music. Its thing is the good ol' CD. But in fact, it really does not stock any music at all. Lala is simply a service, a service that allows members to list what CDs they have, what CDs they want, and then match up appropriate traders. Lala is your basic pool trading system. When you join, Lala asks you to search their enormous data base for the CDs you currently own and click the "have" button. This is actually a very easy task. Lala's search is very user friendly and its data base has millions of CDs logged. Also the "have" buttons are very easily used, and quick as they do not require a new page to load. Next, you do the same thing but this time search for CDs you want and click the "want" button. After doing this initial set up, Lala throws all of your "have" CDs into a trading pool along with all the other member's "have" CDs. It then searches the data base of "wants" and matches them to a CD in the pool. After your first CD finds a "want" match, Lala sends you a supply of protective plastic CD postal cases and postage paid envelopes. You simply address the CD and drop it in the mail. You are charged nothing to send a CD, but when you receive one, you are charged a $1 trading fee plus 25 cents shipping. All in all, you have just purchased a used CD for $1.25. Not bad!

Now, let's discuss the plusses and minuses of Lala. First, there are plenty of good points to Lala. The price is unbeatable. You simply cannot go to any used CD store and score a CD for $1.25. Also, you don't have to leave your home. It is very convenient. Lala also assures their members that their service is completely legal, just like your local used CD store. They even give a percentage of the trade to the artists. In addition, Lala's shipping cases and envelopes are extremely easy to use and very convenient. Finally, Lala's database has a wealth of indie, punk, and alternative titles that are sometimes difficult to find in traditional stores.

However, despite all the good points to its credit, Lala has some negatives as well. First, certain criteria, the specifics of which Lala keeps secret, determine which requester gets popular CDs first. Some users suggest length of membership, length of request, number of CDs in the pool, and number of CDs traded have an influence on who gets the requested CD out of the pool. In any event, I have not been happy with the frequency of CDs I receive. For the past 6 months or so, I have only received about two trades. In addition, I have requested CDs on my list since the day I signed up that have never found a match. However, when I look them up, there are always copies of them in the pool. On the flip side though, when I first joined I got matches out of the wazoo. I was so happy with the service and how quickly I got my new, cheap CDs. Something smells a bit fishy in the pool to me. From personal experience, I feel they place your requests at the front of the line when you first join to get you hooked, then your requests are replaced later by new members. Also, during this receiving drought, I am still receiving requests to send my CDs. So, my sent to received ratio is horribly lopsided. Unless I get some more trades soon, my cheap trading site will be making quite a bit of money off me. Lastly, I have a bit of an ethics problem with Lala. Despite the fact that they have all their ducks in a row to be a legal business, everyone knows that this site is basically a guise for pirated music. Being a musician myself, I totally abstain from pirating downloads. But it occurred to me that by supporting Lala, I'm supporting pirating in a different way. By reading the forums pages, I've discovered a vast majority of Lala users simply trade CDs, rip them onto their computers' hard drives, and then relist them to trade again. Who knows how many people have kept the music but then profited off the re-trade of each CD on Lala. I realize that Lala did not have these intentions, but it's still a bit shady to me.

All in all, Lala is a nice site and easily used. It seems the more CDs you have to offer the better your chances of receiving ones you want. So if you have a huge music data catalog and you'd like to get rid of some CDs it will probably work for you. However, if you only have a few CDs to get rid of, it may not be your best bet. Also, don't expect your trades to go as quickly and smoothly as they do in the beginning. The trading pool seems to dry up a bit after you've been a member for a while. And lastly, check your ethics at the door when using Lala. If you are one to file share and download pirated music, then you'll have no trouble with this service. However, if you are like me, Lala seems very similar to renting a DVD from Blockbuster, copying it, and then returning it. Although you haven't stolen or hurt the original copy, you still have gained a whole product at a fraction of the cost. That, in my humble opinion, is still known as stealing.