Record Stores

the people who buy the most never ask me anything though. i definitely cater to people who enjoy volume shopping. finicky people are not my fave customers. though i try to be nice to everyone.

what do you mean by finicky people?

Yeah I have def been swung by a store-scribbled label. Not to buy sth totally cold but maybe if I was kinda curious or on the fence already. Even stuff like ''beat but plays!'' has had an effect on me.

there are people who are very skittish and afraid of buying the wrong record and they have a very small list of things that they KNOW they absolutely want and everything else is viewed with suspicion and they often want a lot of convincing and reassurance. like. and this is 100% the opposite of what i am like but i try to be supportive. (i have a box of 45s for a buck a piece and recently a couple of people stood and listened to dozens of them on their phone. took them an hour or more. they spent five bucks. but at least they didn't make a horrible mistake and buy the wrong one dollar single. in my opinion, sometimes you need to hear the wrong records. or even bad records. but that's just me.)

i think I mostly listen to the wrong records

local store in my area always has something good for between $5-10. I've found enough stuff that I really like that I don't mind whiffing now and again. So I bought the wrong Deuter record, I'm sure I'll see the right one come through soon enough.

xxp it drives me insane when people pull that kinda close inspection shit on some dollar record I''m selling at a show. IT'S A DOLLAR. Stop looking for hairline marks!

yea otm. when most record stores sold used vinyl for $1-$5 i felt a lot better just buying things on whims and feelings.

otoh when the same and other places started selling used vinyl for $10-$40 i basically stopped buying vinyl

(obv there is plenty of used vinyl that is worth that amount, plenty of stuff id pay for, but vinyl markup has gotten pretty gross at many places ime)

it's anecdotal, but i have found that younger people who were not around for records when records were the thing are much more selective and less willing to take a chance on something they haven't heard/aren't sure of. they have very specific wants and they often want ONE gem as opposed to the gluttons of yore who just wanted to load up in order to fill the gaping void that the pizza wouldn't fill. the internet has helped refine their tastes to within an inch of their lives.

which is why i got rid of my listening station. to bug them.

haha!

and it's not really the picky part that bums me out. it's that a lot of these people don't even get any pleasure from looking at records. they just ask if i have the three things that they want that nobody ever has and then they leave. or they wander around looking at the shelves and NOT look at any of the records. sometimes for a while! it can be excruciating to watch sometimes.

the nice people who like to look make up for it though.

like this guy. look how happy!

https://scontent.fbos1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15350683_10154313968713802_6389846961233901928_n.jpg?oh=8d8c0b86ec67d383d519597ab643e2de&oe=58E952B2

right off the wall.

https://scontent.fbos1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/15401037_10154313706418802_529202199632177758_n.jpg?oh=0228723b1d38b9e59944d26e199786ec&oe=58E28CB2

(obv there is plenty of used vinyl that is worth that amount, plenty of stuff id pay for, but vinyl markup has gotten pretty gross at many places ime)

― marcos, Monday, December 19, 2016 3:53 PM (thirty-four minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Store I used to work at likes to price anything they don't normally get at blanket prices, just because they aren't the everyday 70s rock. It's the result of not being very good at seeking out interesting buys. Especially true when they put out newer indie records that have come in used. I like to point out to them when they are priced higher than the same copies they still have sitting in the new bins.

(Surprised to see that George Gerdes LP on the wall there, because it's currently visible here in my front room: I took a chance on it for £1 recently in an example of excellent record shopping behaviour IMO.)

(Keep meaning to mention its title, "Son of Obituary" on one of the horrible puns threads.)

i just like that record. it's not some rare thing or whatever. best cover!

I like it too - exactly the mix of good + slightly weird + great cover I want from a £1 dice buy

Here's why I was surprised - posted this on Twitter last week:

https://twitter.com/halfpintpress/status/806635754520801280

That looks great Tim – are you taking pre-orders yet?

Thanks - and not yet, I will do so when I find 0out whether I can persuade someone to do a little exhibition of the thing first (and if so coincide "publication" with that. If you want me to drop you a line ahead of publication then mail me on my ilx mail or at halfpintpress at gmail dot com.

Apols everyone else for spamming the thread up, will keep it to ILB if I can.

Thanks, I've followed you on the twitter so hopefully will hear from that in due course.

LP cover, second row down, second album in.

What is that one? I dimly remember having it... Girl on the cover, head shot. Didn't her boyf die in suspicious circ?

It's "Colors" by Claudine. I wouldn't know about her bf I'm afraid.

REDRUM! i found pictures of the old store i had with my pal lance in the 90s in philly. we sold clothes and books and videos and comix and magazines but i sold more records than anything else. that store kinda freaked some people out a little. it was very basement-y. and completely red inside. and we had black trash bags on the ceiling.

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/21192945_10156207637772137_4168535241986185944_n.jpg?oh=4e82a4cd1adfa5b6fcabc638344e8b03&oe=5A242613

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/21230953_10156207643142137_1012430721860737343_n.jpg?oh=587420ebd8e70067998fbcf08ad790e0&oe=5A53FB30

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/21232128_10156207643702137_9196441755436104735_n.jpg?oh=044d0a15fa1648bd286198e4a20a6571&oe=5A21BDFB

now i'm all normal...

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/21192451_1851257631854547_2935703198262718714_n.jpg?oh=835b3cd662d1d105282ef86dd51e6753&oe=5A1E6C49

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/21271337_1851257685187875_1866175346887371085_n.jpg?oh=742b2644d6f6ca1361b696112cffacb2&oe=5A605F61

both versions are awesome, thanks for sharing.

Cool stuff, Scott!

scott your place looks awesome. i wanna sit on those lime stripe chairs. old school philly store looks a little like my favorite spot in new brunswick

http://www.spinarecords.com/

my dollar dungeon is almost ready for invited guests. ilxors are allowed. you just have to say: "I'd like to play some D&D."

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/22519423_10156313784732137_286891511766496723_n.jpg?oh=9aeedc6df2ae243a205d0ee573f890fb&oe=5A693EA1

looks extremely fun

heaven is a multistory record store with endless floors

Anyone familiar with a record store called Burning Airlines that was somewhere in New Jersey a few decades ago (looks like it might still exists as a band t-shirt dealer)? I somehow got ahold of a thick catalog of theirs in Ohio in the mid-'80s that I was obsessed with. Typewritten and photocopied with thousands of punk/postpunk/new wave records, shirts, posters, buttons, etc. As a student at a school where a tie was part of the dress code I was particularly interested in the "skinny tie" section of the catalog and still regret not getting the Siouxsie and Ultravox ties that I had my eye on. Anyway just wondering if the store was as cool as I imagined it being at the time.

yep I remember Burning Airlines catalogs, I think they advertised in MRR back in the day. I ordered a few things for sure.

I was not aware that it was an actual brick-and-mortar store, though!

You know I guess it's possible that it wasn't -- just assumed it was an actual store at the time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20pU6MoJSBY

record store lolz

http://dangerousminds.net/comments/every_crate_diggers_nightmare_record_store_has_whipped_cream_and_other

my kid put me on the instagram!

https://scontent.fbed1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/23435252_10156385962822137_7648578309546049142_n.jpg?oh=faab304cd5eb8cd977b8ba8b9a52707b&oe=5A9CE8D4

https://www.instagram.com/johndoejrrecords/?hl=en

Nice to see King Crimson

Fantastic.

*drools*

scott do you ever sell on discogs/musicstack or anything?

my home away from home.

https://scontent.fbed1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/33049905_10215060059806797_7404161032869904384_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&oh=cab7f544faf2f4c6124d8f277fabdcb5&oe=5B87D1E5

beautiful

yeah, that looks lovely

my summer record store look...

https://scontent.fbed1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/33621335_10156899364217137_199183746916679680_n.jpg?_nc_cat=0&_nc_eui2=AeHjWVEHgYYy2sq9YO0THqDyDgymFQmDlt2MvJpT9TO8h1Lh4Rf6kUjE3k1xBeJXD_lSjFIEiqPhMZ3b3kMsI70X7iWPRzVK07S-ViCkQToAig&oh=70f10e9cc208fbd2246626235a3c5681&oe=5B8A3450

https://www.yuppiegadgets.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Gnome-Light-Blue.jpg

https://ktla.com/2019/06/25/amoeba-music-set-to-be-torn-down-replaced-with-complex-after-l-a-council-votes-to-approve-zoning-changes/

i haven't been in years but i spent a lot of hours there .

We only have ourselves to blame

it'll be opening in another spot in Hollywood somewhere but i'm sure they'll be gone for a few months at least while setting up.

Oh I didn’t know that! Have to make a point to get out there and check out the new digs when it’s done.