What does it take to open a record store?
phongone
1,652 Posts
I guess this is directed to Johnny P and other like-minded individuals. What does it take to open a rec shop? How much inventory of your own vinyl did you put in? These are somewhat naive questions I know, but just curious. Not that I plan to open one, I just have fantasies of being a record store owner, a la High Fidelity.
Comments
I never owned a record store, but I like to crush people's fantasies.
I'm already bitter, so I guess I would be a good record store dude
With out those two thing, you can't even begin to contemplate funding, opening stock, location, hawt gurls to work the cash...
The bad: 12+ hour days, 7 days a week, 365, no days off (that's when you're working for yourself no matter what you do). Abuse from everyone from your elders ("they still buy records?") to your peers ("man I would never pay $25 for this when I could get it for $13 on ebay, no record is worth more than $10, plus I found that for $1 back in like 98 yo. People still buy records?"), you bust your ass looking through garbage collections, elbowing dudes at record conventions, paying more than anyone else just so you can get a crack at the hot titles, and for your trouble dudes front on the prices or the pieces and you end up selling the shit on eBay anyway.
I love what I do but there are easier ways to sell records and much easier ways to make money. I'll hopefully always own the record shop but business-wise I'm looking towards greater opportunities as well. God willing this year I'll be taking my brand to new places that will enhance everyone's experience, mine and the customers'.
These have been my thoughts:
With a boutique shop you need really good supply and reputation. You need to be able to purchase rare records at a high rate and sell them for even more. Not always do you stumble upon a collection of "dead stock gold" but I get the impression that many collectors, customers, and dealers sell their records to these boutique stores because they pay well and have the customers that will want those records.
With a regular shop you are going to need stock "for the masses". You need your zep, floyd, young, joni, sabbath, etc for days in nice shape. You move enough of that stuff for a fair price and you will do alright. However, with these shops its all location[/b] since not many non-record dudes are going to go out of their way to buy your CNSY records.
Also, if you do open a store, do one thing. Please keep your rare records in the shop for at least 2 weeks before flipping them on eBay. I do realize that shops need to sell on eBay sometimes to stay alive, but you never know what local customers want those records and are willing to pay. It really, really annoys me when shop owners put shit on eBay before giving us a chance.
I doubt I will ever open a record store in my city because I fear the drying supply.
Good Records presents: 'Gripped' brand condoms...
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Of course, the rare snobs will scoff at a bin full of Zeppelin and Ramones LPs but the regular joes will not feel like flipping through 100 $40-100 rare soul LPs.
Basically you need volume like a motherfucker.
Use 'em in your mailings!
I like the "got it" dudes who think the worthless skated copy they have at home of a record on your wall entitles them to announce to the whole store that they've "got it" and to scoff at the price.
Along with a surly attitude, disdain for people and body odor. Nothing worse then heading into an empty record store and being given the evil eye by the clerk. Sorry, didn't mean to turn this into a I-hate-record-stores thread.
I think Cool Chris said it best, "I take into account things like 'mint as fuck' and 'in the shrink'."
Record collectors are secluded loners. They will thow more cash than usually if the clerk is hot. This is a vain effort to impress the clerk with their A. Cash and B. Vicarious efforts to be cool via their music selections. Neither will succeed, but they will make you rich in the process. Plus, they will come back often and by crap just to get one more look before going home to stain the sheets.
It's a scientific fact!
Storefront with large sign that simply states you buy used records.
Ads in all the local papers, Greensheets, etc. stating that you buy used records.
No stock for sale in store, no walk in customers.
Back room with computer, hot teen-age girl entering titles on ebay and you're the one man record cleaning/grading/shipping dept.
Similarly, what about the "record snob" dudes who come in, dont buy shit, but try to test the owner's knowledge of raer vinyl?
pretty good, but usually they have dollarbin skated stock in the front
"see? everythings a dollar"...
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The shit people say to you as they're *not* paying you makes the eBay morons look positively friendly in comparison.
"Do you have any, like, dirrty jazz funk? I'm looking for stuff by this group ________."
Not knowing said group, I quickly google the name and find a myspace page of a bunch of guys in a loft in Bushwick who look like my younger sister. They don't even have *a* CD let alone vinyl.
What do you even say to someone like that? "Yeah sorry we don't carry that here."
The requests for "funky Brazilian psych", "jazzy funky no-wave disco", "Turkish breaks", "early Axelrod-sounding symphonic experiments"... they just keep coming. I blame the internet.
As a sociological study, there's gotta be some worth to taking a note of people who walk in and simply DO NOT GET what it is I do here. I don't know how a shop full of vinyl LPs, in clearly marked sections like "jazz", "disco/dance 12"s", "soul, funk, R&B" etc could be confusing but I constantly have to explain what kind of shop it is to clueless people.
If you are considering working for yourself, define how much you want to be paid per hour, and then consider whether this kind of interaction is worthwhile... lol.
fixed for you. Although "turkish breaks" seems like a dope genre. Please to post some examples.
But yeah, ya gotta have the raer and ya gotta have the clean ass copies of Tom Petty...volume volume volume. Most customers come in looking for clean copies of Dylan and Zep and the like...somedays these people are your best customers, folks buying 20 copies of $8 meat and potatoes classic rock records..for the most part the chin scratcher collectro who has been scrutinizing that $100 Blue Note on the wall for the last 2 Frickin' months is the bane of your exisistence...
Do people still buy Rufus Thomas fridge magnets?
1) TWEAKED transexual going through the soul section at alarming speed and sniffling the whole time. told me she had been in here last year when she was a man. I reluctantly let her use my bathroom and she did buy two records (a Carol Dougla and a Marlena Shaw).
2) smelly homeless dude I had to physically throw out of the shop Saturday. He offered to show me his ass on the way out.
3) mom and 13-14 year old son having a fight in the shop because mom wouldn't buy him an Enimem record. she did buy him a Mary J. Blige though.
4) hot brunette looking for Kate Bush records. said she'd be back.
5) Japanese store buyer dropping $1000 (in crisp hundreds) yesterday for soul and jazz LP's.
6) Two Japanese buyers who came last week. They only spent about $80 each and wanted discounts. I let one use the toilet and he clogged it up and was TERRIBLY embarassed.
7) Two seperate visits today from flea market vendors giving me first crack at some pretty good records. One of the guys was visiting for the first time. I've spent years developing these relationships.
8) Friends from all over. Nitekrawler and Birdman are both here now as is Ian Svenonius from the Make-Up.
let me know when they get so frequent that its time to sell.
I blame Waxpoetics.
I pulled some of these from a blog, or maybe even RHKTD a while back. I can't get with a lot of the singing, but I will post up my faves tonight.