i hate record stores without prices

billbradleybillbradley You want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,885 Posts
edited April 2005 in Record Collecting
I hit a shop today that had loads of records that were not priced yet. Of course most of them were crap but I found some in there that I was interested in. When I took them to the counter the owner said he'd have to price the records then give me a call sometime tomorrow. He said "I won't pull a Bill's Records on you and just say $50 for every record." Of course I wasn't happy about having to wait but I didn't have a choice. Anyway...I'm just irritated that I spent a three and half hours pulling out some nice records only to leave with nothing.
«1

  Comments


  • meatyogremeatyogre 2,080 Posts
    Highly agree.... price it or get the fuck out the business

  • Sun_FortuneSun_Fortune 1,374 Posts
    So basically that guy is going to spend all night researching, find the highest price, or see if those records are blowing up and then see if you'll let him Donkey Punch you. that is definately a chump move for some things you said were not crazy raer or anything. Unless he gives you a great price, I personally would not support that store.
    What percentage of the recs were not priced?? 10?, 20?, 75?. I misread, and if its some new things he is being somewhat reasonable, but why not keep em in the back and price them before putting them out?
    Actually I'm torn.
    Are we talkin 10-20 dollarish records?

  • parsecparsec 5,087 Posts
    Sounds like bopstreet records. Oh let me dig and get dirty finding records for hours and then you can pull the priceguide out. Nice.

  • billbradleybillbradley You want BBQ sauce? Get the fuck out of my house. 2,885 Posts
    So basically that guy is going to spend all night researching, find the highest price, or see if those records are blowing up and then see if you'll let him Donkey Punch you. that is definately a chump move for some things you said were not crazy raer or anything. Unless he gives you a great price, I personally would not support that store.
    What percentage of the recs were not priced?? 10?, 20?, 75?. I misread, and if its some new things he is being somewhat reasonable, but why not keep em in the back and price them before putting them out?
    Actually I'm torn.
    Are we talkin 10-20 dollarish records?

    I'd say about 50% of the stock wasn't priced. I think he just looks at the overwhelming amount of work it is going to be to price those records and just doesn't do it hoping that someone like me will take the time to go through it all and pull out anything that is worth pricing. Of course I'm not going to buy anything when I see that he is pricing off ebay or similar. Most of the records I pulled out were in the $10-20 range with only a couple worth $40-60.

  • hcrinkhcrink 8,729 Posts
    Wow! I've never had a place have to take the records home overnight to price them. That's a bit weird.

  • KineticKinetic 3,739 Posts
    Highly agree.... price it or get the fuck out the business
    Qoute of the month.
    I feel the urge to print this up on a t-shirt and wear it next time I go digging.

  • Wow! I've never had a place have to take the records home overnight to price them. That's a bit weird.

    once i had a place tell me that the record pricer was out and i had to come back the next day, i was visiting from out of town so i just didn't get anything

  • hcrinkhcrink 8,729 Posts
    Wow! I've never had a place have to take the records home overnight to price them. That's a bit weird.

    once i had a place tell me that the record pricer was out and i had to come back the next day, i was visiting from out of town so i just didn't get anything

    That is just stupid! How do these places stay in business, one wonders?

  • Sun_FortuneSun_Fortune 1,374 Posts
    The worst thing would be if the owner didn't know those records and now some hip cool guy has hipped him to them (follow?). What was once a ten dollar record in his head, will now be a 20 dollar record the next time he gets it. Don't buy from him, if you can control yourself. But thats the game though, nothing's secret forever. Damnit I don't know what Im talking about. I am turning this comp off now.

  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts
    there's a spot I go to, actually one of my favorites, where none of the 45's are priced, and if the owner isn't there, you have to leave them and come back at some undetermined time in the future when he will have priced them...of course, what happens is you come back and if he's there that time, then he prices them, and if not, they're like, "sorry."
    Yeah, it sucks, but this guy kinda hooks it up, thinks anything James Brown or JB related is worthless, tends to think funk in general is worthless, and for some really strange reason thinks promos are worth less than regular 45's...example from last time, I got a minty 1967 Don Covay wlp on Atlantic, two-song promo with the B being a 45 only track, he priced it at $2...a relatively beat regular issue of Johnny Thunder's hit "Loop de Loop" on Diamond was $4, twice as much...a just-as-beat James Crawford "I'm Strung Out" JB production on Mercury he gave me for free...I was like the funny thing was the time he was in the back office pricing some LP's I had found beneath the bins (LP's in the bins are all priced, but there are unpriced records lying everywhere, mucho gold hidden within), and I wanted to add something so I knocked and came in, and "caught" him with my LP's and an open Price Guide, I mean, he seriously looked like when your Moms walked in on you watching some hoochie shit on MTV with one hand under the covers...the beauty of dudes who price records using guides can be summed up with this:

    the 2002 edition of a top (Goldmine?) selling Price Guide lists the Syl Johnson "Is It Because I'm Black" LP as being worth $27 in Mint condition, "Dresses Too Short" like $2 more. Any seller swearing by that guide would charge you $20 for a clean copy.


  • Isn't it an illegal buisiness practice?

    I hit a shop today that had loads of records that were not priced yet. Of course most of them were crap but I found some in there that I was interested in. When I took them to the counter the owner said he'd have to price the records then give me a call sometime tomorrow. He said "I won't pull a Bill's Records on you and just say $50 for every record." Of course I wasn't happy about having to wait but I didn't have a choice. Anyway...I'm just irritated that I spent a three and half hours pulling out some nice records only to leave with nothing.

  • Highly agree.... price it or get the fuck out the business

    Yeah, unpriced records at stores are my pet peeve. It's like they size you up before they tell you a price. It used to be my theory that the closer it was to the end of the month when rent was due for them, the more I'd have to pay. I tried to do all my unpriced Graveyard digs in the first two weeks of the month. Or what about shop owners who look that shit up on Ebay right in front of you. That makes me wanna break the record in two and slit their throats with the jagged vinyl. If I wanted a record off of Ebay I would of stayed home in my underwear and clicked "bid now" while scratching my balls with my free hand. There's a guy here who looks everything up on Gemm and prices it from other people's asking price... dumb asshole. Or how about stores with tons of stuff, all unpriced, and then they try to stick you up at the counter. My two experiences with that are Graveyard locally and Bananas in Florida. Get up off a motherfucking record and maybe you'd have less shit hanging around polluting your stores. The dude at Bananas told me they used the "internet value system" to price their records. Pure filth.

    On the other hand, here in Detroit at Peoples I've had nothing but good experiences with unpriced joints. Always a couple of bucks under what I had wanted to pay in the first place. I wish they were all like that.

    Deep beats and deep crates,
    SonicReducer
    (TEAMAARON)


  • 9 times out of 10 I'll walk right the fuck out of a place like that...

  • high_chigh_c 1,384 Posts
    Highly agree.... price it or get the fuck out the business






    At a place in Oklahoma where all records used to be $1, the record pricer now relies on "The Book." Yep, every record you find that isn't priced gets looked up in some 1991 collectable record price guide. I learned of his new business practices a while back when I brought a mint and unpriced Bongo Rock LP up to the counter to get quoted $100. I ended up paying $38 which is still outrageous, considering that I usually get out of there with a fat sack of quality records for way less than that.

    So now (and this is a bit devious but fuck it) I price all unmarked records. I just peel the tag of a Bobby Bare LP and don't leave anything to chance.

  • djrdjr 511 Posts
    9 times out of 10 I'll walk right the fuck out of a place like that...

    Big co-sign.


  • DubiousDubious 1,865 Posts
    So now (and this is a bit devious but fuck it) I price all unmarked records. I just peel the tag of a Bobby Bare LP and don't leave anything to chance.

    i hate to say it but that's how you gotta do it with some of these dicks.


  • high_chigh_c 1,384 Posts
    So now (and this is a bit devious but fuck it) I price all unmarked records. I just peel the tag of a Bobby Bare LP and don't leave anything to chance.

    i hate to say it but that's how you gotta do it with some of these dicks.


    Thanks for helping me justify my questionable morality.

    But that's the truth. Once after spending an hour or two in 100 degree warehouse, the owner (a dude whose name has been mentioned in this thread already) took all the records back to his shop to price them. I left empty handed and now, about a year later, still have not gotten these records.

  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    I'll let y'all in on a little observation: record stores with unpriced stock are pretty much where all the heat is. If the shopkeepers take the time to price (or god forbid - price & plastic bag) the records, forget about it.

    In unpriced shops I typically have to deal with tons of 'what do you know about this record', 'what is this worth to you', 'what is your offer', blah blah blah. That's where the comes in.

    I hit a spot the other day, mid month I figured the prices wouldn't be swayed too much by the need for rent money - damn if I didn't forget that April 15th is soon upon us. I still walked out with an OG Timeless Legend 'Synchronized' lp for $10 though...


  • knewjakknewjak 1,231 Posts
    The dude at Bananas told me they used the "internet value system" to price their records. Pure filth.








    I couldnt agree with you more. I really dont know anyone who has ever been to that store and has not walked away pissed. In my early early days of collecting I spent an entire day in that joint and came to the counter only with a few Kool Moe Dee 12"s. Dude looks at them and wanted at least $25 a piece for them. I told him I left my wallet in my car and never returned since. And I bet my life that those 12"s are still sitting there.



    -k





    ...but has anyone been to the store in west Michigan that charges $5 just to go through the record section?


  • RAJRAJ tenacious local 7,779 Posts
    Highly agree.... price it or get the fuck out the business


    On the other hand, here in Detroit at Peoples I've had nothing but good experiences with unpriced joints. Always a couple of bucks under what I had wanted to pay in the first place. I wish they were all like that.


    Yeah... those types of places rock. If you are getting in thousands of records / week, would you want to research and price everything? If you are understaffed like a lot of these shops are, It would take years.. Be glad these shops let stuff out on the floor rather than tuck them in the back to collect dust for a long time. Granted some places have asshole owners who let your fingers do the walking and gauge, but there are equally as many shops with unpriced heat waiting to go out the door at fair prices and even steals.

    It is frustrating though... like at the NYC flea markets. Some above decent stuff sitting there uncleaned that you think is a dollar or two... then you take them up to the dealer and he wants $25 a piece. C'mon it's a fucking flea market.

  • nrichnrich 932 Posts


    I hit a spot the other day, mid month I figured the prices wouldn't be swayed too much by the need for rent money - damn if I didn't forget that April 15th is soon upon us. I still walked out with an OG Timeless Legend 'Synchronized' lp for $10 though...






    Congrats, but how does this fiqure into the record stores without prices theory?



    you mean you'll win some loose some, because some things won't be in a price guide?

  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts

    I hit a spot the other day, mid month I figured the prices wouldn't be swayed too much by the need for rent money - damn if I didn't forget that April 15th is soon upon us. I still walked out with an OG Timeless Legend 'Synchronized' lp for $10 though...


    Congrats, but how does this fiqure into the record stores without prices theory?

    When I checked out I brought up a foot high stack of stuff, most store owners with unpriced stock are lazier than they are greedy so the dude gave up on trying to run everything through gemm & popsike after the first half dozen records...

    Also: I was looking for an opportunity to brag - so I took it!

    ---





  • It is frustrating though... like at the NYC flea markets. Some above decent stuff sitting there uncleaned that you think is a dollar or two... then you take them up to the dealer and he wants $25 a piece. C'mon it's a fucking flea market.



    I've found most antique dealers or estate sale managers the worst to deal with. Their mentality is just because it's old it's worth a lot of money. Antique dealers at fleas are the usually the ones with beat up $45 KISS Platinum records and $100 Barry Manilow picture discs. Sometimes you can catch them slipping, but a lot of times their pricing is not even in the ballpark, it's like way out in the cheap parking lot by the homeless guy selling peanuts.



    SONIC

  • I say fuck 'em. If they wanna play games, switch price tags on 'em.

  • SoulhawkSoulhawk 3,197 Posts
    I say fuck 'em. If they wanna play games, switch price tags on 'em.

    If you're gonna do this you may as well just steal the shit outright...

    ---

  • NateBizzoNateBizzo 2,328 Posts


    It is frustrating though... like at the NYC flea markets. Some above decent stuff sitting there uncleaned that you think is a dollar or two... then you take them up to the dealer and he wants $25 a piece. C'mon it's a fucking flea market.

    I've found most antique dealers or estate sale managers the worst to deal with. Their mentality is just because it's old it's worth a lot of money. Antique dealers at fleas are the usually the ones with beat up $45 KISS Platinum records and $100 Barry Manilow picture discs. Sometimes you can catch them slipping, but a lot of times their pricing is not even in the ballpark, it's like way out in the cheap parking lot by the homeless guy selling peanuts.

    SONIC


    I've had the opposite experience. I've had some of my best all-time scores ever at Antique stores; all on the $1-$2 dollar tip. I think it's probably a regional issue. In New England at least most antique joints and record stores are always underpriced.

  • EscalanteEscalante 197 Posts
    This is a double edged sword. Sometimes you get lucky, and sometimes you just end up dumbfounded. I used to love diggin' at Jim Russels in New Orleans, but I knew I would end up leaving half the records I dug up because of extrordanary(sp) prices. And sometimes they can spot beatmakers. Bring up a crap spoken word or Goodwill type find and they know you found a sample and want to charge you up the ass for it. Shit is amazing.

  • nrichnrich 932 Posts


    Also: I was looking for an opportunity to brag - so I took it!

    ---

    That is one hell of a deal though. So how does that lp sound? Good or just raer?

  • Highly agree.... price it or get the fuck out the business

    hmm, opposite opinion :

    Why don??t you get together a bunch of friends and pull out so much nonsense records for him to price that he gives up the thing ????
    If not this day than tomorrow,
    if not tomorrow than next week

    ...

    next month ?



    Seb

  • The_Hook_UpThe_Hook_Up 8,182 Posts
    I think Jerry's River Records is the WORST about this(Slocum bringing up a close second)...it is because all the dudes(John Manship, Josh, Egon, Cut, and loads of fools from Japan, Europe, etc) go to his place, he has 45 heat y'all. But he sizes you up when you go in there. If you are a dude and have a portable or you are diggin in the soul boxes for hours at a time he is going to look your shit up in the manship guide..fucker. While you are diggin he talks your ear off about shit like ,"I had 2 people from Belguim spend $2,000 on 5 records yesterday" Uh thats great Jerry...BUT dude is an old pervert(dude must be 70), so whatcha do is dig up a bunch of stuff you want, stash it..send in a hot girl, tell her where the stash is, have her take it to the counter and presto! suddenly those $75 45s are 3 bucks each! Fuck Jerry.
Sign In or Register to comment.