does anyone else kinda hate their local record store?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by StAugustine, Jul 25, 2014.

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  1. StAugustine

    StAugustine Active Member Thread Starter

    My local record store pretty much has a monopoly on the market as its the only one in a town of 150000. Only thing is they kinda take advantage of it, steep prices for records is not uncommon and a solid selection at best. They're knowledgeable and helpful but 18 bucks for a Gabor Szabo greatests hits in VG+ condition us hardly fair.
     
  2. hidden1one

    hidden1one Forum Resident

    all the record stores near me overcharge for used records....and they can't grade them too well either
     
    EasterEverywhere likes this.
  3. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Not true, unless they dominate the internet as well. In other words, screw 'em!
     
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  4. StAugustine

    StAugustine Active Member Thread Starter

    Should have said local market, there's plenty of thrift shops and Craigslist posts but I find myself going through other avenues. I really like that local record store give and experience but they're just bad.
     
  5. Robin L

    Robin L Musical Omnivore

    Location:
    Fresno, California
    There's a surprising number of record stores in Fresno including one of Rasputin's better outlets. There's three LP stores on Olive in the Tower District, Freebird, Spinners and Tower District records. There's also a number of thrift stores that seem to get more than their fair share of playable LPs. I'm pretty happy with the current situation.
     
    LordThanos1969 and TLMusic like this.
  6. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Yeah, I dig what you're saying.
     
  7. Thurenity

    Thurenity Listening to some tunes

    I have several local record stores within close driving distance - maybe that keeps them all a little more honest, but for whatever the reason I'm pretty happy with them.
     
    TLMusic likes this.
  8. eelkiller

    eelkiller One of the great unwashed

    Location:
    Northern Ontario
    We don't have one to hate here.
     
    E.Baba, Planbee and eddiel like this.
  9. FastForward

    FastForward Forum Resident

    Just be happy you have a place to go, many do not and suffer the loss. I'd spend some time in that shop and make conversation with the owner, and listen to him- I guarantee you he has stuff to say. Even if you already know what he's talking about, just listen. If you talk to him every time you go in, pretty soon, he'll greet you when you walk in, and eventually, the discount will come. It never fails, at least not in my history. I've never asked for a discount, but get them regularly because they recognize me as a long-time customer, and not some once-a-year-drop-in who grabs the primo stuff and then asks for 50% off..it's pretty simple, if you think the price is wrong, don't buy it, but if you really take everything into consideration- if you buy on the net you can't examine it first, you never know if it's really what they say it is, you pay ridiculous shipping & handling fees, then you have to wait a week (or longer) to get it- then is a couple of bucks more worth it?
    I once had a shop owner take me aside and thank me for never asking for a discount. I didn't really know what to say to that, so I just said "I'm just happy to have a place like this to shop." Ever since that moment, the guy hasn't charged me sticker price on ANYTHING, even new releases. If you take the time to build a relationship with them, then it gets easier...
     
  10. Tim 2

    Tim 2 MORE MUSIC PLEASE

    Location:
    Alberta Canada
    What local record stores ?
     
  11. mwheelerk

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

    Location:
    Gilbert Arizona
    At the primary store I shop at (there are four locations in town) there use to be some really knowledgeable people you could ask questions of and have a conversation. Now the people seem quite inexperienced and their knowledge isn't very broad. I understand they may not know a lot about bands from 40 years ago but they have no knowledge or understanding its seems outside of very narrowly focused genres. They are decent enough people but just don't have a question because you are not getting an answer.
     
  12. rene smalldridge

    rene smalldridge Senior Member

    Location:
    manhattan,kansas
    You consider that a steep price for an original vinyl of that title in 2014?
    And you hate your local record store because of it?
    Guess you are in need of a time machine or something.
     
  13. hogger_reborn

    hogger_reborn Active Member

    Location:
    Madison, WI
    The Half-Price Books where I shop has cheap secondhand CD's. But it doesn't seem like they check to see that they're in good shape. I bought George Harrison "All Things Must Pass," and when I try to make a rip, the first track hangs forever on every drive I've ripped it on. It doesn't look to be scratched. EAC and dBpoweramp both choke on it.

    Furthermore, I tried to sell of my UMG copies of Exile and Sticky Fingers and they would only give me 25 cents for each one, both in excellent condition. I'm sure if they bought them, they'd turn around and resell them for $10 each.

    They also get these hippie people that will come in and sit down in the area where the LP's are at, the people sit there for hours and never move, so you can't look through them to see if you want anything.

    I think I'm going to take a look at this Mad City Music Exchange, but for the life of me I can't pinpoint exactly where they're at on Willy St in Madison.
     
  14. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    If it doesn't look scratched what are you expecting from HPB? Do you expect them to play test every disc they sell? Run it through EAC before they put it in the bins? :wtf:
     
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  15. hogger_reborn

    hogger_reborn Active Member

    Location:
    Madison, WI
    They need to have some way to test the quality.
     
  16. rene smalldridge

    rene smalldridge Senior Member

    Location:
    manhattan,kansas
    Perhaps your next purchase should be at Full Price Books and Records.
     
    NaturalD, Rhett and bekayne like this.
  17. curbach

    curbach Some guy on the internet

    Location:
    The ATX
    A few thoughts: 1) try burst mode in EAC for ripping problematic cds, 2) take advantage of HPB's liberal return policy if necessary, or 3) donate the money to cover expenses for hardware and man hours so HPB can guarantee the quality of every item before offering it sale and still turn a profit :laugh:
     
    quicksrt and Rhett like this.
  18. bekayne

    bekayne Senior Member

    A "sit-in"?
     
  19. TLMusic

    TLMusic Musician & record collector

    We have four records stores thriving here in Ann Arbor (population 114,000).

    I love them all. The selection is diverse, the people who run the stores are friendly, and bargains are still available to the savvy shopper.

    Like a couple people who posted above, I'm pretty happy with the current situation.
     
  20. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    I hate that the local record stores available to me aren't the best stores I've ever shopped at, but that's not really their fault. The closest store to me is a Book Nook that has for some reason chose to almost entirely eliminate their stock of rock music LP's in favor of, well, basically every other kind of music, but I gotta assume that is a reflection of the business they're doing. They have a TON of classical LP's and those are fun to sort through but I only occasionally find something that I really like in really good condition. Several years ago I bought a treasure trove of import Yes LP's at the same store for very little money but that kind of thing just doesn't appear anymore.
     
  21. Laibach

    Laibach Forum Resident

    Stores, local or not, rarely carry the titles I want to purchase, so I do nearly all of my purchases online. I compare the prices at different Amazon websites (UK vs. US for example) and order where the total cost is lower.
     
    Rhett likes this.
  22. Captain Coconut

    Captain Coconut Active Member

    The one closest to me will kick you out of the store if you take the records out of the plastic sleeve to look at the condition of the vinyl. Apparently you have to take their word on their grading. No thanks!
     
    LordThanos1969 and Robert C like this.
  23. thesisinbold

    thesisinbold Forum Resident

    Location:
    Camarillo, Ca, USA
  24. Bill Hart

    Bill Hart Forum Resident

    Location:
    Austin
    My local record store is the planet. I've gotten great stuff from Nowheresville, U.S., and from pretty much all over the world, but mainly UK, Germany and a few other places.
    When I'm in Austin, I'll hit Waterloo, since it's only a few blocks away, and always wind up buying some stuff from the used bins - nothing uber collectible, but some early white label asylums, I found an unboxed Decca mono of Through the Past Darkly with original liner and octo-cover, some pretty good old jazz records, etc. All of them around 8 bucks.
    But, for the more hard to get old pressings, its pretty much intraweb anyway.
     
  25. Raunchnroll

    Raunchnroll Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    18 bucks - in the bay area? Hows that price for a decent 45 year old record in the context of local rent, taxes, gas, parking?
    I think a clean copy of that LP (Impulse era Gabor Szabo is pretty popular) would go for about 12-18 here.
     
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