to dudes who have owned or do own record stores
djcoolhands
548 Posts
what are your feelings about having a physical store? advantages? disadvantages? how did it affect your lifestyle?i'm trying to figure out if it's for me.thanks. 
Comments
Austin needs more stores.
i'm trying hear from some dudes with wisdom though. plaese to impart it.
Add a Sushi & Fruit Smoothy component to your store and it will be on.
I had a store in the early 90's and it failed due to a bad location and just general lack of understanding of what I should have been doing. Was 19 at the time.
I also worked at Bill's for 2 years from 89-91.
Have thought about the same thing, trying it again in Dallas. Things I've asked myself:
1 - Would most of my clientele be people I already know? If yes, bad sign.
2 - Could a brick and mortar survive on it's own in Austin? Or Dallas for that matter? If no, then a website is important, but then, if you need a website to do it, why the brick and mortar? All of your sales are going towards paying rent when you could probably do the same on a website with 90% less overhead.
3 - Record people love records but don't like paying for them, so you're relying on selling the expensive stuff to tourists and internationals, which isn't a daily proposition. Or to intrigue the common person, you would need to find a niche CD market to compliment your vinyl sales.
4 - Or figure out a way to diversify. The thought I've had was also selling shoes as well as vinyl, tapping into the highly successful Dunk and SB market.
Austin is vastly different than Dallas, but with the same thought, these are considerations I've had to make.
not to take away from your idea, but in what ways would your store differentiate from other Austin record stores? I know An**nes is the most common store for intermediate diggers, and waterl** seems to have the cd game on lock (and even they are not doing that well).
how would yours differ from those, and would the difference warrant a physical store?
just a thought...as much as i would like to see another record store succeed, i would rather not like to add to the list of dead stores in the self proclaimed "music capital of the world"
Exactly. That's the 1 main benefit. If you can work the angle where you're paying more than Half Price and people know it, you're golden.
Pros:
#1 - the records come to you. People have more of a reason to come and trade with you, sell at wholesale rate, let you in their collection... you also see greater volume (of both good and bad records) and in turn you learn a lot that way.
#2 - the customers come to you. No ebay, no set sale lists, no record shows, no gemm... I occasionally auction on ebay but thankfully business is booming and I haven't had to in several months. I always would rather sell hand to hand but I have a healthy stack ready for auction if I need to do it. But good location + good promotion + good attitude + nice looking store = $$$.
#3 - owning a business is dope. you learn 1,000,000 things every day that can be applied to other business ventures, not just records...
#4 - visibility increases, as a private dealer I was just another schmuck elbowing for space at the fleas and shows and trying to get my auctions some visibility. Now people immediately know who I am and what I'm there for, that can have good and bad consequences though (see below). But my auctions get more notice and I can charge more for records in my shop than I could on set sale or at a show because of a reputation that took a lot less time to achieve with a store than if I was dealing privately.
#5 - dealing with people. Sure it can be a con too (crazies, weirdos, scheisty individuals) but I enjoy chopping it up with the customers, just generally the whole vibe in my shop is chill and it doesn't feel like work most of the time. Made some great friends in the process.
Cons....
#1 - OVERHEAD. My fixed overhead (which DOES NOT include buying records, just rent/salary/utilities/insurance/employees/loan payments) is between $6-7000 a month, when you include buying new records I am regularly spending at least $8k if not 10. You need to sell A LOT of goddamn records to make that back.
#2 - I am sitting here all day, which is fun and all that but I have VERY limited time to look for records. If records don't come into the shop any given week (which, given the comp in this city, does happen) or I don't score a collection then I am back to the old ways of dealers, fleas, shows, etc. Road trips are a MUST, but when you factor cost you gotta consider not only plane/car/motel/etc but also paying someone to sit in the shop while you're gone. It can be expensive and it makes it very important to make trips productive, both in terms of time and in terms of records.
#3 - visibility increases. dealers see you coming a mile away. Sure, they might have that "special stack" waiting for you OR they might ask double on everything what they'd ask of Timmy Digalot (or unknown private dealer) next to you. It sucks when longtime sources dry up on you, shut off their storage, or start charging top dollar because they know you're making money off them.
#4 - As with ANY business venture, it's a hell of a risk. I'll be in debt for a long time off this - but so far I am on target for profitability (according to my financial analysis that I did before I opened). There is no day job, no safety net - I know very few private dealers who *only* sell records for their income, but that's what I do. I'm very proud of what I've accomplished but it could vanish at any moment for any number of reasons. When you start, it'll take a while (for me, about 6 mos.) for the business to start running full steam and you better have enough $$$ in the bank or a back-up plan to bring in some loot.
ALL IN ALL I would not do it differently. I wish I had more time to travel (and dig), I wish I was a little more financially secure, but the shop is running well, the money and records are coming in, and the traveling thing will happen more as the money gets better and I can afford to put on more people. I get to sit in this beautiful shop all day, listen to great tunes, and run shit the way I see fit. I have learned more in the last 9 months about music than in the entire 15 years I was digging up until then. I am my own boss and the only person I answer to is the bank. There's a lot of pride and confidence that goes along with that. My friends and family say I seem happier than ever and I'm inclined to agree, although I'm also more stressed than ever. I feel like a walking army commercial, "FACE DOWN YOUR FEARS AND CONQUER THEM!" Every night you are going to toss and turn thinking about everything. You will then get up every morning and think, "how am I gonna make this work today?" But I feel very secure that after this, I can run another successful business in a different field and I don't think I'll ever go back to working for someone else.
Please feel free to ask more questions, I kinda feel like a guinea pig for a new generation of shops (ones that actually work!)
Austin isn't NYC though. Your walk-in traffic and tourist business would make Texas seem small. People go to NY to look for records.
Aikawa and Hido and Nick the Record come to Texas to look for records.
But rent wouldn't be nearly as much either.
1. Austin has just seen the opening of a new store (Backspin). Wether it is good or not i don't know, but they are a niche store, so you would already have competition.
2. This is not the age of the record store. Online is where the living is.
3. Opening a store is a wonderful dream. It is fun, and somewhat profitable. Be prepared to work MANY extra hours, for no real profit. Overall a ton of work for not that much money.
4. Great records absolutely do walk through the door. do they justify the rent, and do you actually sell them to local people?
I had a store...and it was great times. i would not change anything that I did. Dream come true. However, I am here selling on ebay and doing wholesale for a living. I think that most strutters that have opened stores have closed them, due to many different factors, but nontheless they did close them.
Successful dudes with stores? there is of course Mr. Johnny Paycheck, who would be a welcome addition to this conversation i'd think. Should shed some light on the current situation out there.
WHATEVER YOU DO.......NO PARTNERS!!!!!!!!!!! If you do this do it solo. This is the ONLY way in my humble opinion.
I've thought about this over the years and the idea I came up with would probably not work in Dallas but might very well be right for Austin.
I know the stores in Austin do alot of consignment with the locals which might help with this concept.....
A Record Co-Op that's divided into 4-5 spaces where each dealer can have their own space. They pay a 30%-40% commission on sold items instead of rent and you run the store, having first shot at all the walk-in vinyl that folks want to unload.
This way you get a break on the rent, have more varied and constantly turning over inventory. You get first shot at all the records the other vendors in the store have for sale AND you get the walk in vinyl.
I know in Minnesota and Washington they have similar set ups though I've never been to either.
The idea came to me while I was on a vinyl road trip and I went into an Antique Mall where the owner had the greatest scam going. He had 50 booths of other people's antiques with all the items priced. He would list his vendors item on ebay and start the bidding at the vendors asking price. If he sold the item for 10 times what the vendor was asking he pocketed the profit and paid the vendor his asking price. The only investment on the ebayer part was the listing fee which he lost if the item didn't sell. After a long conversation with him it was obvious he was making a KILLING.
I personally wouldn't go that route, as I would split the profit with the vendor, and still make some decent bucks.
If I lived in Austin I'd consider doing it and if I couldn't do it full time I'd definitely take one of the vendor spots.
P.S. Icon....what store did you have in the 90's???
Rent is probably less in Austin = lower prices = better local business.... but I don't know if that can sustain a shop. Also, NYC is home of the $$$$$$ spending superproducers... definitely a factor.
this is the genius idea that is supposedly catching on MIGHTILY in good old Japan. At this point, i would be totally down for doing this in T.O. Who's with me????????
Me and 2 other Bill's employees started a small store called Excel at Mckinney and Hall above where Breadwinners is now. More house music, hip hop, and disco related with random other pieces thrown in.
Didn't help either that a box of sawdust spontaneously combusted and nearly burnt the entire building down the week before we were to open.
That space now is probably 5 times what it was.
Depends, you know? I mean, in NYC there is a record store culture. Don't know so much about elsewhere. I can definitely sell records here that I can't sell at all online, also sell other records for more. That's the advantage.
TRUTH. OK, hours-to-dollars I made a lot more working for "THA MAN". BUT, I am the sole owner of a profitable business and while I get paid less per hour I have more money at my disposal than I ever did as a corporate employee. The line between my finances and my shop's is very blurred.... I am sitting on a lot more money right now than I ever have in my life. Worth the work? That's every individual's own decision to make.
I have a lot of local customers who spend money and buy big pieces. But that may vary.
THAT IS THE DOUBLE TRUTH, RUTH. I almost had a partner, a couple of dudes actually were working with me... if I had done that the shop would have gone out of business for a number of reasons, which do not need to be detailed because you should just NOT DO IT WITH PARTNERS and leave it at that.
Everyone thats posted has some great comments. I'd still have my spot if a couple of people didn't offer a good buyout price and a partner didn't have commitment issues.
But c'est La Vie...
Could talk on this for hours, but I'm out the door from work.
One thing..
AR*on, do you still do wholesale on pro*o shit?
NYC makes the difference me thinks. 3/4 of all the product we all look for comes from that area initially, so it walking through the door is much more of a reality than in other places. Again NYC is the home of the big spender, as you need gobs of cash to just live in Manhattan or even close by. Toronto has big spenders, just not many of them. No super producers dropping bread, unless they are from out of town. There is 1 big money store here in the city, and I know for a fact he spends a fortune getting the product he has. So even though he has some incredible product, how much is he really making if the mark up isn't that high?
I now make as much if not MORE than i did when i had a store AND was doing Ebay as well. Just then it was a much larger work load. That being said......sometimes i miss my store. It is a beautiful thing to share your vision of what a retail enviroment should look like with everyone else that walks in the door.
and everyone else.
i'm well aware of the differences of NYC/SF/LA and a town like austin for a store. the internet would have to be my friend for records i would expect to get $50 or more for.
here's a bit more in the way of specifics about my situation.
rent and utilities = $500
can't do better than that.
i'd be buying an established store that has existed already for a year and a half, so foot traffic is there already.
the guy wants $10,000 for his stock, bins, and counter... i think i can talk him down to 6 or 7
it seems like if i ever wanted to do this, which i do, this is the situation.
I think that's a great deal, depending on the look and condition. I paid 5 and a half for my bins & counter. Custom (to spec), well-built, and NO RECORDS IN THEM!
How's the stock?
Crossroads in Portland is the multi dealer spot you're thinking of in the NW. Tacoma had one for like 6 months but it fizzled out. Crossroads in its heyday of FWC and Craig Green was the best record store I've been to besides the specialty stores.
Sound On Sound?
i used to work at Shattered Music when it was located in los angeles (i'm talking back in 1998-99) and have recently found out that the owner [Bob AKA 'shattered bob'] relocated to austin a while back... and i wouldn't be at all surprised if it was him selling his location again... working for that guy was a trip... i wish i could chat him up... haven't seen him in over 7 years.
and while i've got you austin heads reading... how is his location there anyway? selection/prices/attitude/etc...
As long as the stock is at least decent, this is a good deal. the rent is killer!!!! Ask yourself a few questions....
1. WHY is this person selling it to you. The reason they give you is not always the reason they are really getting out. Stand around the store for a day, and see what kind of money is being made.
2. Do you like the theme of the store as it is? Customers will be loyal to it as long as they feel you haven't changed it all up too much.
3. Do you like the name of the shop as it is? Change again can throw off the clientel.
Really though...at that price (6-7000), you should be able to make a go of it. And all of us who commented in this thread get a %35 discount on anything we want right.
that is disguting nate. maybe if the goal was to make a record store CLEAN ENOUGH to eat sushi in you would be onto somethiing... most record stores i couldn't even drink a glass of milk in without hurling.
coolhands: were you next to lotusland at the november show in austin?? i remember talking to two dudes who were considering opening shop there.
IT ALL DEPENDS ON THE RENT. basically. you may be throwing money away vs generating it. in small towns rent can be nice, but you'll have to understand that most of your sales will be coming from used hip hop $5 and under- new releases that you don't make money on- used rock/soul/country/whatever under $10. of course being in Austin will bring you mad international clientele... so keep a section of heat off the shelves to keep them coming back. as long as you are doing slightly less than market those types will be happy.
and of course you have to do ebay....and gemm or musicstack.... just keep it interesting enough in the store for locals to be happy...heat on bay to keep yourself happy....heat in the back for the balla's and international diggers coming........
.....and of course clean enough to prepare california rolls.
one more thing: if there is a cute girl with minimal record knowledge working the counter your sales will be double that of your competitors.
second that. its still better than most (as of a couple years ago)
cool d, its always good to list the pros and cons of your particular situation on paper. sometimes this simple task points to an answer.
i'd also sit and make a list of what makes you love a record shop. maybe ask a couple non record-junkie friends to make lists for you too. i think catching bargains is always a big plus.
good luck. i'll come visit. i miss barton springs
NEVER add records on ebay when working the store. the definition of