Local Store Pricing Rant
drewnice
5,465 Posts
OK, we've talked about this in the past - I honestly never thought I'd have reason to complain, but my local store has officially caught the "relying on 'the book' and GEMM for pricing the majority of records" bug.
A $63 copy of "Comin' At Ya'?" Sorry, I used to get them there for $7 a few weeks ago.
What I'm thinking about trying to explain to them is that GEMM dealers are not necessarily pricing records "to sell." They're hoping some Buy It Now fiend will suck it up and empty his/her savings account because they can't find the $10 break record anywhere else... This is where RECISM comes in and f*cks it up for everyone else!
Have any of you actually had conversations with dealers at your local about how records are priced? I'm not trying to tell anyone how to make their money or run their business, but I do have a few suggestion in mind. And, I can't really complain, some things will still get a solid price and/or slip thru the cracks etc., but ya'll feel me? I'm not necessarily trying to get over on anyone - afterall, I want to support my local record stores. But, isn't it in the best interest of the (returning) customer and business to price reasonably?
How does your local run it?
A $63 copy of "Comin' At Ya'?" Sorry, I used to get them there for $7 a few weeks ago.
What I'm thinking about trying to explain to them is that GEMM dealers are not necessarily pricing records "to sell." They're hoping some Buy It Now fiend will suck it up and empty his/her savings account because they can't find the $10 break record anywhere else... This is where RECISM comes in and f*cks it up for everyone else!
Have any of you actually had conversations with dealers at your local about how records are priced? I'm not trying to tell anyone how to make their money or run their business, but I do have a few suggestion in mind. And, I can't really complain, some things will still get a solid price and/or slip thru the cracks etc., but ya'll feel me? I'm not necessarily trying to get over on anyone - afterall, I want to support my local record stores. But, isn't it in the best interest of the (returning) customer and business to price reasonably?
How does your local run it?
Comments
Buying/collecting records in US from the trashcan or dollar bins of horrible-shaped albums for under $1
and then cleaning every record and putting a 20 EURO+ sign on it.
If I have bought a record this day,
bought another copy next day it always had a raising in price of 50%.
How does me run it with this shop ?
I forget about it.
Eventually, peeps are gonna learn that no one here is buying these overpriced records and the price will eventually go back down.
Still tho, enough good records fall thru the cracks to keep me digging.
?
Collectively, the records of the shelves form the set of personal environments. An environment is a particular type of self gratification, or more generally an abomination of inherent conditions. Strictly speaking, it is more correct to say that an practice such as blind leading consists of one stable practice rather than that it has one stable source.
I do not understand this:
Thankfully, no...
This kind of pricing policy is killing walk-in business at local record stores - shoppers figure that they may as well just get that shit off ebay if they are gonna have to pay those prices anyway.
A couple places I frequent used to try that 'gemm priceguide' strategy - 6 months later they noticed they hadn't seen me & my big benjamins in a minute...
---
Have they changed policy since then? Or does it remain a case of "Well, now that we've got all of these 'expensive' records, we're just waiting on somebody to come in who wants all of them." ?
I think they basically realized that there were only a handful of regulars who were actually interested in buying out-of-the-ordinary records & that alienating them wasn't a good idea.
I had already cleared out almost anything good 45wise before they got hip to gemm & popsike so it was esp infuriating to be quoted a gemm price on some piece of shit I threw in the pile just to get my item total up.
this will go for $35 if anybody even bids on it. Mara/Gemm wants over $150 for it.
when they said that I havent sent a dime since.
You know, people gripe a lot about record store pricing but very few people try to negotiate (at least, with me). Or they have very poor tactics. I had a guy come in, pull out a $200 record, and say "would you take $100 for this?" hahahahaha! jokes! But seriously, when I price something, I assume that someone may wish to pay $5, $10 less or whatever. I get people in who are not happy with a price - but instead of trying to bargain they just put it back! So weird... like, if you want to pay $30, and it's $40, why not ask? Maybe it's been there for two months and I really want to move it. But I can't help ya if you don't ask.
"Somebody even found Michael Jackson "Thriller" album here! Can you believe that?"
what a guy.
I think people, me included, assume that stores price "as is." You can't walk into Best Buy and be like, "Hey, can you knock a few bucks off this DVD?" They will tell you to take your sorry ass elsewhere. I understand that there's a difference between that and the local mom & pop experience, which can at times be like a flea market with business hours and a credit card machine, but it's a good thing to keep in mind.
I always try to negotiate, and I like the part when all ends up in "Tell you what, $xxx for these 3 and this one goes for free". It makes me feel powerful, and more willing to come back to that store
I only do that type of shit at a place where I feel comfortable. Its to the point now (as im sure with many of you) that my places just automatically figure in the discount when i check out. I only ask when im buying a pricier record, such as a $75 record, I would say "You can go better on this right?" and he will usuall knock it down 10-15
But this dude also puts shit on Gemm for CRAZY prices. But in the physical store he has them marked at the correct and under price. He wants to sell the shit, but if he can move it on Gemm then great for him.
I always negotiate. Especially when you got $100 in 45s dudes are more than willing to cut you a break. It always blows me away when guys don't make an offer on a piece that I am selling. It's worth a try.
I know shops need to pay the bills, but they don't realize they're not going to get the deep cheese out of their local customers if they don't offer up some deeper records.
I'm not going to pay $20 for Dennis Coffey's Evolution, sorry. That Cleopatra Jones OST on ebay looks really nice though. *sigh*
I never do that. Shit is not the flea market with me. If you walk into a record store and shit has a price tag, I respect what they are asking and politely don't buy it. I don't want to risk getting on folk's bad side by trying such a manuvre. If you want to move... adjust the price.
yeah, I agree. I won't try to haggle in a shop. It seems rude.
But, like Docbeezy said, the places I used to buy from for years would always round down on my purchases. Perhaps because I was always polite & always spent money, and never hassled them on price?
I think I know the shop of which you speak - as much as I have love for them, I wish they would just price some records period. Having everything unpriced is very discouraging for the average customer.
cosign! the thing with the stores in my town is that most of them have to feed a family. so the pricing is sometimes absurd to say the least. but if you talk to the man and negotiate, things can turn out well! but still, 50 Euros for an Ocean Orchestra? Hell no, I straight tell them I'm a Dj, not a collector! But the funny thing is, most of the times the guy in one store (who has some raers on the wall) usually finds someone to sell that ish to...i just go for the under the radar stuff and things that i might never see again (I was tempted to spend 300Eurodollars for an Asiko once, but yeah, then you can do that on ebay as well)...but i try not to be bitter when people price their records high. Ask for a discount, if they're not into it, fine, i spend my money elsewhere...simple. But sometimes I really get angry though, especially if i know what someone paid for the record to resell it (e.g. public enemy 12", bought for one euro, sitting on the wall for 20. and it was even a uk pressing of Don't believe the hype)
It's worse though to see the heavy jawns that I request actually pop up and go straight to the internet. It makes me not want to roll through again on some "what's the point?" shit.