Why are so many record stores still closing?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by radickeyfan, Jul 15, 2016.

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  1. radickeyfan

    radickeyfan Forum Resident Thread Starter

    just hit a long time favorite store , in PA, found out they are closing in a couple of weeks, asked why?

    they stated they need more then RSD , the holidays , and a few other big periods to survive and pay rent , salaries , etc

    for every boom period , there are just too much dead periods to justify staying open

    also the distributors/labels not being able to keep up with the new vinyl pressings is a major problem
     
    krlpuretone likes this.
  2. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    I blame the Inter-Tubes.
     
    Mickey2, scobb, Fullbug and 11 others like this.
  3. Runicen

    Runicen Forum Resident

    Shrinking profit margins and the increasing regulations when it comes to maintaining employees certainly aren't helping anything.

    Sad to say, but the locals can't keep up with companies like Amazon. Are you going to drive out of your way to spend $5+ more on that record or are you going to buy it at a heavy discount from Amazon.com without having to leave your home?

    And yes, I've wrestled with the whole, "But I want to buy local" thing too. Having integrity on this one is just a pricey problem - and well beyond an inconvenience fee.
     
  4. Rock66

    Rock66 Forum Resident

    Well the inter-tubes is part of it. So is Amazon and a few of the other mail order operations. Brick and Mortar stores are closing in all segments. Since an internet/catalog operation can store stock in a central location they don't need to keep as much stock as they would if they had a bunch of stores. I miss going to the record store and getting what I want immediately, but you gotta make money, or at least break even.
     
  5. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana

    I do my best, and I really don't mind paying the inflated prices, but it is impossible to get everything you want that way.
     
    melstapler, Comet01, blackg and 4 others like this.
  6. Thievius

    Thievius Blue Oyster Cult-ist

    Location:
    Syracuse, NY
    In a word, online retailers.

    Ok, in two words.
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2016
  7. Arkay_East

    Arkay_East Forum Resident

    Location:
    ATX
    Ours are booming thank goodness. My favorite shop just signed a deal to buy a building. I think it largely depends on your metro area. We are supporting 5 shops (at least) comfortably.

    I'd say I mail order at most 2-3 x per year. I realize this is not the situation for a lot of people.

    Edit: Anyone been to Josie Records in Dallas? Jeeeezus that placed is packed. The collections they buy are insane. They just posted a vintage Hawkwind collection hitting the floor that was like 30 pieces.
     
    Last edited: Jul 15, 2016
    joshm2286, deredordica, ToddH and 7 others like this.
  8. Wombat Reynolds

    Wombat Reynolds Jimmy Page stole all my best riffs.

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA, USA
    all the reasons listed above, but, the primary one has to be, online retailers.... especially iTunes which allow you buy it, just a single song if you want to, and have it immediately, and never leave your house. Convenience to the zillionth degree.

    And no snarky record store employees smirking at you if you want to buy something tre' uncool.
     
  9. Schoolmaster Bones

    Schoolmaster Bones Poe's Lawyer

    Location:
    ‎The Midwest
    That's one store. What are the "so many stores" you mention in the thread title?
     
    melstapler, jay.dee and Gramps Tom like this.
  10. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    These are low margin stores that often are forced to move if the landlord raises the rent. Even back in the day record stores came and went. But yes the production bottleneck is playing havoc with the non majors schedules.
     
  11. bmoregnr

    bmoregnr Forum Rezident

    Location:
    1060 W. Addison
  12. mwheelerk

    mwheelerk Sorry, I can't talk now, I'm listening to music...

    Location:
    Gilbert Arizona
    While we recently lost a couple of FYE stores (in terms of my interests not a big loss) I am happy that a new Zia Superstore (the 5th in the Phoenix area) opens today.
     
  13. ElevatorSkyMovie

    ElevatorSkyMovie Senior Member

    Location:
    Oklahoma
    Because they aren't making enough money?
     
  14. Vorlon

    Vorlon Forum Resident

    Location:
    Norway
    Look at it from another angle on this globe. Norway...we are only 4.5 million placed along a horribly long coastline. Things are expensive to transport (they state). There is no shops left, only online crap with online delays and online lies. I hate it. I even hate the word "online", because often it is more like "offline".
     
  15. Dynamic Ranger

    Dynamic Ranger Forum Resident

    Location:
    Old Town, Maine
    Because to today's generation, physical albums (be it LP, cassette, or CD) are "obsolete and uncool." They'd rather download the top 40 singles onto their smartphones, terrible sound quality and all, and be done with it.
    But me? I say to hell with today's generation, I could care less what is "tight n' right." A worn out record still beats an MP3 on any damn day. I'll keep listening to music the way it was intended to be heard, and I'll keep buying!:righton:
     
  16. Laibach

    Laibach Forum Resident

    The real question is: why are so many record stores still in business?

    Given the current state of affairs we have to admire these people for their endurance and resilience it's a real triumph for the "brick and mortar" to stay competitive and profitable in these times.
     
  17. Sarah S. The Hendrix Nut

    Sarah S. The Hendrix Nut Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Indiana
    I don't mind paying a little extra for the instant gratification of getting that album in hands, but the local places around here don't have much selection anymore.
    I was in a used book/movie/music store last week and their cd selection almost non existent. Another customer actually said something about it.
    The employee's response was that everybody's hanging onto their cds and they can't get anything into the store.
    The cd shelves are mostly bare and what they have is completely out of order M artists in H row and vice versa.
    I will say that if they are charging more for used than I can get it new, I'm going to pass.
     
  18. Tanx

    Tanx Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington, DC
    I remember reading the threads on RSD (what else to do while standing in line at 6 a.m.?), and Texas, Chicago, and some parts of California seemed to be the most active areas, at least that day. The Texas people were saying "I'm at store X now, then I'll hit Y and Z later." Amazing.
     
  19. Arkay_East

    Arkay_East Forum Resident

    Location:
    ATX
    Yeah it's nice. I very very rarely need to use the Internet and almost always get my records for less than they are sold on Amazon. I am very thankful.
     
    joshm2286 likes this.
  20. The Jazz Record Mart in Chicago, for one. But surely you knew that?
     
  21. Guitarded

    Guitarded Forum Resident

    Location:
    Montana
    The other thing that doesn't help is Brick and Mortar stores pricing their LPs as though they were posting Buy it Now listings on eBay.

    I have a local shop that has gone to extreme overpricing as a rule. Overgrading, too.
    Shopping there has become completely pointless and a waste of time.

    Fortunately, their competition doesn't pull this ****.
     
    joshm2286 likes this.
  22. Roland Stone

    Roland Stone Offending Member

    When Best Buy, Target and WalMart can barely offer music, you know the category's almost dead, at least as a brick-and-mortar item.
     
  23. Rfreeman

    Rfreeman Senior Member

    Location:
    Lawrenceville, NJ
    Because they are still open
     
  24. whisper3978

    whisper3978 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Apex, NC
    More than a handful of stores I've spoken with have said that the switch to Friday release dates has absolutely backfired and hurt the industry and record stores even more.
     
  25. zen

    zen Senior Member

    Money spent elsewhere: Rent and food prices goin' up, up, up...
     
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