ILV clubhouse

i have a store etiquette question: (and i know how y'all feel about reissues but these are important to me for sentimental reasons so just disregard that -- this is more of a question about special orders than anything else)

i wanted my store to order some import reissues for me because (1) i wanted them to handle the shipping hassle and (2) tbh i thought it would be a more pleasant experience to have a human hand my records over to me rather than waiting for mr postman. the two dudes i talked with didn't know about the release, so i gave them the info and my deets. twice.

the last time i gave them my name/# was over two weeks ago. no one has called me. am i expecting too much from them or do you think it's reasonable to expect a person to call about a special order i have inquired about more than once?

(note: i gave up on waiting for them and just ordered the records myself --i'm not worried about that anymore, but i have residual bad feelings toward the store and i just want to know if i'm being petty or if this store just kinda sucks.)

i dont think you're being petty, but otoh, record store dudes can be pretty flakey in general and i wouldn't take it as a personal affront. they would probably flake out on anyone. in fact, as an attractive lady, you probably have a better-than-average chance of having your order filled.

yeah i mean, i'm not taking it personally like they deliberately are trying to deprive ME of my order or anything -- i just wondered if that was flakey behavior by industry standards. to me, it's pretty flakey. also i was clearly very serious/excited about it. whatever. i won't hold it against them or defame the business or kvetch to a manager. if they call me to tell me that my order has been placed/has arrived, i'll remind the guy that he told me that i "wasn't the only person interested in these records." they'll sell!

did they absolutely positively say they would order them for you and that they would call you when your order came in?

because "giving them the info" is unclear.

No -- they didn't know anything about the release at all and said they would call me when they knew more about it. And then no one ever called me.

It wasn't in their database, so they took my info and said they would call me.

by "giving them the info" i mean the label and details about the records being reissued

yeah, that's what i figured. they promptly forgot about it as soon as you left the store. you would have to say: can you order this for me? and they say yes or no and if they say yes you would probably still have to follow up. i know the type.

i know i hardly ever offer to buy stuff online for people. old stuff. i don't know why. its simple enough to do in most cases. i did get someone the first holly near album a week or two ago off of ebay. and the day after it showed up i got two copies of it in the store.

you are probably better off ordering stuff yourself though, sad to say. it ain't the old days.

i feel like i could make money ordering turntable needles/cartridges but i don't want to. i got enough to do.

i also hate buying new stuff online. so i know that feeling. i have called feeding tube a couple of times and asked ted to order me new pysch reissues. just felt like the thing to do. i could have done it myself.

we went across the street to the olde tyme department store to buy vacuum bags for a vacuum cleaner THAT THEY SELL. they were out. weeks went by. my carpet got dirtier. i ordered them on amazon and they came two days later. the store called me, like, a month later to say they had them. they should have just gone on amazon.

i guess i just thought it was kind of funny that i went through the store in order to have contact with a human and make it easier, but unfortunately that has meant three somewhat arduous phone calls spelling things in german and a trip across town to talk to someone in person and still yielded me (so far) 0 records.

yeah i guess it's not the old days anymore. oh well. i'm probably going to hug the mailman if i happen to be home when he delivers my package.

people tell me about how much trouble they have gone to and how many stores they have gone to to get a needle or a turntable or whatever and i always just tell them to buy one online. just get it over with. you know?

hey guys guess what?
i got a couple part time jobs!
i don't wanna make a big deal out of it,but i am really glad to be working again.
starting the 9th you'll find me at the record grouch in greenpoint on wednesdays.

other days of the week, schedule TBD, i will be working at craft beer & local cheese emporium "Eastern District" also in greenpoint.

awesome news, congrats! I actually have not been to Record Grouch yet, now I have a reason.

Great news, Record Grouch is a great name for a store.

that guy who owns that beer & cheese place came in my store. i think. there may be multiple beer & cheese emporiums. actually he might have come in with Matt K.

i really wish i had thought of record grouch now.

you could have such great t-shirts.

woah. i gotta hang out in the clubhouse more. so many things to catch up on.

ian, congrats on the gigs. will trade 78s for beer and cheese.:)

jacob, you should check out my buddy jason's mixes... dude has the deepest radio station comp collection i have ever seen. shit is intense. check these spots out for mixes and other stuff:
http://spaceprize.blogspot.com/
http://lamaraba.blogspot.com/

as for the special ordering discussion, it is definitely weak of them to not get back to you in any way but there are a LOT of considerations/questions that make this kinda stuff hard (especially if it's not a sole proprietor situation and the clerk needs somebody above him to do something to make it happen):

1. is any US distro importing the titles? if not, the store will likely be in the same situation as an individual and they might not be able to get the records any cheaper than you can yourself, especially if the label or distro across the pond doesn't have any other stuff of interest to the store.
2. cash flow. after paying rent/other bills the 1st of the month, a small shop might have to wait weeks before they feel comfortable placing an order with any distributor and they have to prioritize bigger distros with more stuff they want first... it's a lot easier/safer to plunk down $100 cash on some used records you know you can make $400-$500 on than it is to drop $100 on some new stuff that you <i>might</i> squeeze $150 out of 6 months from now when the final LP from the order finally sells.

none of which is to say that those guys are probably not that good at their jobs (and might not be paid enough to care about being good at their jobs) but i know that i never tell people that i definitely CAN get something for you, there's too many factors involved. but i do try my best to let people know one way or another as soon as possible...

xpost 2 scott -- makes total sense. dude who runs the shop is Chris, who is buddies with Kr3fting, Willie Lane, all those dudes. Used to be play in double leopards.

hey congrats ian. i sometimes browse at record grouch.

yeah he came in with matt and willie. seemed like a nice guy.

he is v nice. he and helen go way back. think i'm gonna be happy workin for him and his wife. they're super nice folks.

Someone buy this record this record $1.99
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Gary-Farr-Addressed-To-The-Censors-Of-Love-/300975877379?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item46138f6d03

such a great record.

or these all with $1.99 buy it now!
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ian-Mathews-Self-Titled-/300975877587?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item46138f6dd3
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Corbett-Hirsh-Gatefold-PROMO-/300975877071?pt=Music_on_Vinyl&hash=item46138f6bcf

that corbett/hirsh sold for a little money for like a minute. same with the gary farr. now nobody wants them. so sad.

Here's what I wrote about that Gary Farr record awhile ago, it's really good, thanks scott for recommending it a few years ago.
Gary Farr was a committed man. He sang with a committed voice and created a densely lyrical world. 'Addressed to The Censors of Love' was released in 1973 and recorded at Muscle Shoals with Jerry Wexler. After two previous albums of folk rock, this is where he sang like everything depended on it. Gary Farr's father was a boxer and I think he had a little of his father's fight in him. The music is blue eyed soul folk rock, sort of. I really can't describe it well enough. There's a bit of Dylan in Gary's delivery, but it's more a confrontation with Dylan than just mimicking. On 'White Bird' 'Rhythm King' and 'Cetain Lady' he croons and is in love as much as anybody, he can be beautifully sad. When he rocks, like on 'Breakfast Boo-Ga-Loo' or 'Faith What a Face' it's like poetry meeting pub rock. This record might confuse you on first listen as it did me, but keep listening, it will surprise you.

those records are all good. would buy them if i didn't have em!

Hey Ian did you get to listen to Danny Guglielmi's Adventures In Sound?

i haven't yet! but i will do it!

my friend mike is closing his shop. best dude ever and his store was awesome. the only place on that island i wanted to be.

http://mvgazette.com/news/2013/10/02/aboveground-records-will-close?k=vg524c91a2535a8&r=1

I'm sure this has been covered somewhere here on ilm, but I can't find it. Have you guys had any success repairing a scratch in a record? I have a few records with one spot on each that hangs up.

there's always the sandpaper guy. he swears by it.

http://www.instructables.com/id/Bring-Ruined-Records-Back-to-Life/

I saw that, but using sandpaper, have you tried it?

no. i haven't.

I'm really bummed out guys. A record was offered up for sale, a record that's my #1 lounge want, and I've been looking for it for more than 9 years. I missed the last time it sold in 2006. Anyway I was the first person to ask for the record and I was so happy, words fail to explain just how happy I was to finally have this record. I had asked him to hold the record and after an hour passed, I was about to pay when I got a message from the seller that he had received other offers on the record to out buy my hold on it and he now wants to put it on ebay. I keep hearing a stupid sad trombone in head.

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I had even posted that I wanted this record a few weeks ago, but I got no replies. Maybe I should've have done that. Really turned off to spend much time on that website now.

that is super fucked, especially given how generously you sell/give away shit there

got one of my turntables fixed after years of it annoying me (used to be manageable and if you just fiddled with it it worked fine, but lately got worse). no more short in the RCA. no more hum. thanks for the recommendation of MTZ ian.

Has anyone else seen LPs for sale at Whole Foods? It seems like an eye-rollingly bad move to get some hipster cachet, but maybe any instance of vinyl in the public eye is good. The store near me has about 4 bins and a stand-up display rack worth, and consists of classic re-issues and current releases, and a sign there indicates a few other stores in the LA area carries it.

we covered that on the vinyl in the news thread.

Ah, I'm new to ILV.

wait, jacob, this was on waxidermy? NAME NAMES AND WE'LL KILL HIM.

Ha! I sent him a message late last night about how sad I was and he made good with a nice and sincere apology. We're working out a trade or cash.

There is a youtube video where this guy shows like eight different ways to repair scratches and other imperfections in records. I was in awe at how thorough he is. When I get my Internet hooked up I'll find it and post it here.