Franz & Josef Records, Berlin
MR_ZIMMS
210 Posts
While touring with the lovely Caro Emerald I visited a few recordshops in Berlin yesterday and this is what happened :
Him (the seller in the shop): "What are you looking for?" me : "Everything" him : "I don't believe you, you won't find what you're looking for in here" me : "how do you know that? I'm just in the store for 2 minutes & you don't even know me" he : "I know guys like you, you're a collector & I don't like collectors" me : "So you don't like me to spend my money here?" him : "I repeat because you don't understand, I hate collectors so you better leave and never get back. Guys like you are timewasters" me "I'm amazed, Huh? What?" him "Yes Timewasters, that's what guys like you are" me : "Sorry, So sorry to have spoiled your precious time" him "You don't have to sorry" me : "yes, please, soooo sorry, bye bye"
Him (the seller in the shop): "What are you looking for?" me : "Everything" him : "I don't believe you, you won't find what you're looking for in here" me : "how do you know that? I'm just in the store for 2 minutes & you don't even know me" he : "I know guys like you, you're a collector & I don't like collectors" me : "So you don't like me to spend my money here?" him : "I repeat because you don't understand, I hate collectors so you better leave and never get back. Guys like you are timewasters" me "I'm amazed, Huh? What?" him "Yes Timewasters, that's what guys like you are" me : "Sorry, So sorry to have spoiled your precious time" him "You don't have to sorry" me : "yes, please, soooo sorry, bye bye"
Comments
http://i.qype.co.uk/place/529569-Schallplatten-Franz-u-Josef-Berlin
Quote:
"5 reviews of Schallplatten Franz u. Josef in English
frauke-anke (13-10-2012)
Der Besitzer dieses Ladens sollte sich ernsthaft in Therapie begeben. Der hat nicht mehr alle Tassen im Schrank. Neurotisches, misanthropisches Arschloch.
Die Sammlung ist ok. Teilweise arg ??berteuert. Bei den 5??? Scheiben, die drau??en stehen, lassen sich teilweise gute Sachen finden.
Aber generell denke ich, dass man diesen Shop meiden sollte. Diese arge Unfreundlichkeit ist kein sch??nes Erlebnis.
Zudem kann man die Platte selbst nicht anh??ren. Absolutes Controlfreak-Gehabe. Furchtbar.
Ausweichen kann man zum Shop Richtung Eberswalder auf der anderen Stra??enseite. Netter kleine Laden. Ist zwar teilweise auch etwas ??berteuert, aber absolut im Rahmen (Wir sprechen hier von 3 bis 7 ??? ??ber discogs-Preise).
L1N (05-06-2012)
Incredibly rude and arrogant, the worst kind of record shop snobbery. He has a sign saying "When the last club/bar/record shop in Prenzlauer Berg has closed down, it will be the kind of provincial backwater you moved to Berlin to escape", but as far as I'm concerned, this place should be the first to go. Avoid.
louisscully (28-06-2011)
Owner is a psycho. I (carefully) took two 12"s out of their sleeves to check the condition of each before (carefully) putting them back. I then found him in my face screaming "STOP IT STOP IT", having run outside to where I was, fuming with me. I was a little shocked & said nothing for about a a minute, then I went in to see what his problem was, asking calmly could I not check the condition of records before buying them. He just kept screaming "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT".
Avoid!
Absolute weirdo!
friendlyandfair (05-02-2011)
I was at the shop today. Saw two records that I wanted to buy. Put one back because I needed to get more cash out from machine. BUT wanted to first buy one of the two. The owner said my girlfriend and I were only wasting his time and could not understand why we came to shop without more money. So we could not buy the record we wanted and we were thrown out! Best example of the worst type of record shop snobbery!! Avoid at all costs!
Jareth (15-01-2011)
By far and away the worst record store in Berlin. The vinyl in 99% rubbish, wildly overpriced and the owner is so obnoxious that he personally insults customers in the shop. He was called an asshole to his face by two different people in both English and German in the space of five minutes! It's a wonder he survives, let alone the shop. Avoid like syphilis."
Of course because they're all idiots, you can also get steals when they get in new stock that has not already been cherrypicked by ebay sellers. I once bought an EX copy of the Mathar 45 for 7 Euro which had been priced by the owner of the largest and least terrible store in the city which should illustrate just how clueless these people are. You run a 2nd hand record shop in Berlin and don't even know about Dave Pike?
Get citizenship or a bogus studying deal, marry a Kraut or somehow else get to move your stock into the country as part of a private move so you can declare it your private collection and avoid all duties. Then proceed to make a killing in one of the most fun (and low rent) cities around.
More at 11...
I've been to this shop and found some ok stuff. VG Neu records for 75eu I will pass though.
That was generally my record shopping experience in berlin - one or two halfway decent shops but many, many either crammed to the gills with reissues, or prices that even if they were in dollars would be way more than my shop or any other in the states. Let alone the exchange rate.
Anyhow, I will be back in August and look forward to visiting that amazing Italian joint you sent me to...
The concept of selling records at higher prices in other parts of the world is not totally new even to Berlin. I haven??t been for a while, but i.e. this ???Record store" (http://www.soulstrut.com/index.php/city_guide/indepth/the_record_store1/) used to regularly receive more or less common records from the US and sold them to happy customers.
Went into a certain notorious record store here in Berlin two days ago. It has a bad rep for having a psychopathic owner, but I'd been a couple of times before with no problems and nice LPs brought home, I was in the area waiting for friends, so I figured I'd go in and have a browse. After about ten minutes of checking out a couple of boxes on the floor the owner approaches me, gets in my face and we have the following conversation:
Owner (in English): What are you looking for?
Me: Huh?
O (we switch to German): What are you doing?
M: I'm looking for records?
O: No you are not.
M: ?
O: You are doing nothing but looking and looking. There is nothing in here for you, everything is shit and too expensive.
He then takes the couple of LPs I've taken out of the bin and shoves them back. Then he asks me to leave.
The problem with this store is that there can be some really good stuff in the bins, and priced ok for Berlin standards. But, really, you just don't want to deal with this guys menstrual cycle!
i'm down with opening a store in berlin. looking for new job opportunities
it would be great to get a proper store together. berlin doesn't really have any good stores.