Difficult used record/CD store owners

Wow, I've never had an experience like any of these in a record store here!

Maybe I just don't know where the bad stores are....

 

The Internet has taken the fun out of record-CD collecting. You rarely find gems in used stores now. All the good stuff immediately goes on EBay for over-inflated prices. The last score I managed happened a couple of years ago when I found a MFSL gold version of Alan Parsons' Tales of Mystery for $9.99 Cdn. Those days are pretty much over.

 

There was a store in Saugatuck, MI (gone for about 3 years now) that I used to like. The owner was a nice guy but once he moved his store into a location that was mostly filled with tourists I think he got tired of people pawing through his records (decent selection but slightly high on price). The last time I was there he had up a sign saying you needed to put down a $5 deposit just to look at the LP's! He was closed less than a year later.

 

The last time I went to Bill's I was talking to him about an autographed picture of Jeff Buckley. I I mentioned that wasn't he was a short guy, and Bill said "Oh yes but very beautiful" After that I left and have never gone back.

 

After reading all of these posts, it goes to show that many of these owners have (or had at one time) a love for music. However, that does not make them good business people.

Very few can just do it out of love for music. At some point if you are going to be financially successful, you have to run it like a business. Every record store needs to do some business on eBay and provide some sort of mail order business to stay profitable. The ones who are not interested in that seem to be the ones going out of business.

 

So.. did you pick up the lamp in the end?

FWIW, it sounds more Fawlty Towers to me, but...

 

Having just bought a table, my girlfriend and I went to NYC to check out some used vinyl stores. The selection in the racks was pretty disappointing... and when we left I gave her this big speech on the train about the effect eBay has on shopping for used records. She didn't care. But I definitely noticed.

 

I was too and will now pass.

 

Is this North Shore Sound you are talking about?

I've mentioned this in other threads before and should mention it here. Coming from someone that works in Manhattan - there isn't much good record (LP) shopping here. Most stores have everything way over priced and there are few bargains to be had. Not worth the trip if that is the primary reason you are coming into the city. There are a number of places in NJ on your way here where you'd fare much better. If you are shopping for CDs only, you might fare much better as there is always a plethora of promo/rare/indie stuff floating around.

 

As is typical (I've found) when shopping in stores in very high rent districts and trendy neighborhoods, the prices are usually inflated in order to pay the rent. The exceptions are Amoeba and the mega stores which have the volume and traffic.

 

A technique I use is to act as if you are going to buy the CDs (assuming you really want them) and as the clerk is disassembling the carriers one by one, go ahead and inspect the CDs before handing over any cash. But if you simply say ask them to open them all up ahead of time for inspection then you may be SOL. Always act like you intend to buy.

 

It just seems like the common records - those old Foreigner and REO Speedwagon LPs - that fetch $1 or $2 in NJ go for $5-$10 or more in NYC while the more valuable stuff seems to be in line with their true value I guess. The WFMU record show here in NYC can get that way sometimes too. You'll see one dealer with blowing out records cheap, likely an out of town dealer, while a dealer across the aisle is pimping Elton John's Greatest Hits for $15, likely a guy from the city or one with an inflated ego.

 

There are two shops I visit when I get back home. Both of them are within 1hr 1/2 drive from my home. The one that is north seems to be an unknown place. Almost everytime I go there nobody comes in and I will be in there 4 or 5 hours. Everything on the floor is priced and generally priced to move, $3.00-$4.00 an LP and sometimes there are treasures to be found (Quad Dark Side for $6.00) The guy is about 2 years younger than Moses, a bit cranky but if you are a smart mouth back to him he seems to like you better. Last year he said I could go upstairs and see his new LP purchase, about 10,000 LPs, many of which were collectable, original jazz stuff, these weren't priced. I had to come back the next week to see what he priced them at. I wasn't upset. Hey, he let me have a look at stuff I couldn't afford anyway and he is just too old to price it quickly. I think he doesn't want the stuff on the floor because some of it might be very expensive. I guess he just lets regular customers go upstairs. It's okay because the non-regular people will never know.
The other shop, which is south, is a small place that is only open from noon to 6:00 on Saturdays. Nothing is priced. I will make a stack and he will pull out the price guide. The first time he did this I thought "oh crap". But he was very reasonable. Most things were $5.00 or less. If I pointed out a small scuff he would say "okay $3.00". I think he just doesn't have the time to price stuff since he is only open once a week. It seems I am blessed to find such places.
Some of these stories are too sad People are just too greedy or lazy or stupid.

 

A good retailer of used merchandise knows that the best way to get repeat customers is have them walk away with something they want every time they go in.

An antique dealer I know has a motto: "This is NOT a museum, it's a store."

Maybe we need to do a thread on GOOD record/CD stores.

 

This is a good point but antique stores are rarer than used record/CD stores these days. Though it is nice when you find any seller who hasn't priced everything according to Amazon or eBay.

I visit several used CD stores in my area. In one case the guy is as nice as can be. There is no stock that is unpriced or laying around so there are literally no chance to spot something rare for a bargain. The owner keeps items out of view until he's researched every detail. I noticed that CDs I trade in don't make to the shelves for about 3 weeks or more. Of course he also has a CD buffing/cleaning machine right out in the open. What frustrates me about the buffing is that the CDs are sold as if they were in top condition. Only his shelves of old stock are priced below $7.99. Most decent, average used CDs are $8.99 - regardless of the original list price.

So I figured this is the normal nice guy dealer who will stay in business. The rest of them have to be miserable.

 

I was just in a used store today - there were no prices on the discs. I asked the shopkeeper what the prices were and he said that some were £3, some were £5, some were £7 etc.. When I offered a fair price on some CDs I had dug out he shook his head saying they were all new and charged me his top prices for them. Most of them were editions that had been out of print at least 10 years! Needless to say I left without buying the discs - I will be surprised if the same discs are not still there gathering dust next time I pop in in a year or so. I won't be that surprised to find the shop gone by then.......

 

You should have reminded him you could download them for free. Maybe he would have given you a better price.

 

I will be passing on the Record Man also, you are in Modesto, there are a few used vinyl shops there, are they any good?

 

Been there, done that, not going back.

 

In 1990 I was in a Manhattan store and it had a very cool David Bowie t-shirt on display. It looked like it was a promotional shirt for the Sound and Vision tour, but I wanted to check if there was anything printed on the back, so I touched it and tried to turn it. A kid in his early 20's yelled from across the store: "Don't touch the shirts, please!!!" I was really embarrassed and maybe he was right, I shouldn't be touching the items on display, but still I was interested in buying it so I said: "I just want to see what's printed on the back!" He answered something like "there's nothing, just the sound and vision tour logo", meaning "it's no big deal" (in other words, it was just what made the difference for me). From that moment on, I realized he wanted me out of the store ASAP, but still I asked if they had the shirt on my size. They didn't. Could he check whether the one on display was my size? "We don't take those ones down." So I left.

There are quite a few rare record stores in my home town in Brazil, but I never saw any box of unmarked items. However, there was a time when most stores would sale tapes from the records they had. Since they were used records, this practice was usually tolerated. But one thing that annoyed me was when a record was "only for taping". This was very common in the late 80's/early 90's. "This record is too rare, I can't sell it. It's only for taping."

 

I went to a place called Harmony Music on Mt. Pleasant Rd. here in Toronto...(seasoned collectors will know of this place...)
I have been going there since 2002. Not once by one of the owners (he since has sold a portion to a new partner...more on him in a sec...) have I ever been taxed on any product...(I think because I always went for the older editions, they were happy to have it go out the door....)
So...one day....during a day off...I plan to go up (not in my neighbourhood this store...) to do some trades because they had a few discs I wanted and had seen when I had purchased $30 worth two days before (on the Sunday...it is now Wednesday...) So...up I go with some trade....and the place is closed...(with a message saying be back at 3:30..gone to the Doctors...) so I meander around and check other stores out...finally coming back there at 3:15....I wait...buddy gets back...I show him what I wish to trade....He lowballs me an insulting rate, and I ask him how he's broken down the payment....he just says that he came up with that number and if I want to get more take it to ebay....I say "no that's ok....I'd rather trade for something I want than keep something I don't..." I pick about $120 worth of stuff that $35 worth of trade will cover and the rest I will pay cash for....
He then tally's up everything and puts the tax on it....I ask him if this figure is including tax on a trade and he replies "We are an Ontarian company"...and I reply that his partner didn't charge me anything the two days before....
(now whether you agree with this is immaterial...just check out what this guy does next....)
He then says quite sarcastically...."then you should pay the tax from Sunday" to which I actually am attempting a compliment (cause I thought my shutdown on this no-tax request was actually rather glib and I kinda like that!) by saying. "That's good!" He then tells me to take my cd's and get out of the store never to return for I am banned....I say to him "Look I'm sorry if I've offended you...I certainly didn't mean to..." to which he is telling me to leave..."but I have shopped here for five years" (and me and the fiancee have dumped A LOT OF MONEY here!) He replies..."had shopped"...and with that he tells me to leave....I repeat that I am sorry and that I didn't understand why I was being punished for this and left...completely humiliated and feeling dejected....I had nightmares about this that evening and woke up with the image of this man unfairly throwing me out..(trust me I am very polite at a store....always...)
Anyway...beware of this jerk because it is obvious he has a LOT of issues....I am probably leaving out some key points but you get the idea....I haven't been that humiliated...and forced to apologize for something I didn't do wrong...Heck I would have payed the tax....he shut me down....he called it an argument but there was no more discussion on it and he threw me out....

I have worked in retail and have had to politely state that we charged tax and if it had happened that they hadn't, to either come back when the owner was present, or (when I was a co-owner myself of a used CD store...) to come back to see my partner with whom he had the arrangement....

It all could have been so avoided...

Now I just want to burn his store down and call CRIA and rat on all the bootlegs this store is selling....

But...I will be better than that....I will just let you guys know that this store is run by a mean-spirited person and that it's inconsistant in customer treatment...and more importantly...that customers can be regarded with contempt...

Rant over! (thank goodness!)

 

I gave up on used shops years ago. I now get my record/CD hunting thrills at estate sales and flea markets. Screw the shops! They deserve to go out of business!

 

Whether it's at a store, a record show, or a rummage sale: No price tag = no thanks.

 

Usually in fact 99% of the time I have no problem with the owners,managers or help in used music stores-I rather enjoy interacting with weird,eccentric cantankerous people. I'm in no hurry and I listen to their stories,complaints,trials and tribulations and commiserate with them and often get my hands on things their other patrons never even see and for prices they'd never get. Guess that may be because I am OLD,GRUMPY,CANTANKEROUS AND ECCENTRIC myself!

 

If this had happened to me, I wouldn't think twice about reporting him for the bootlegs.

Derek