advice for attending record shows?

To each their own strategy... the more shows you go to, the more you will figure out what to do to maximize the fun quotient. I do many of the things already mentioned and it's good advice. I'm on both sides of the tables these days so I have a unique perspective..

I get there early, and try to not have big bills in my wallet- dealers worry CONSTANTLY about running out of change. I've had to give $19 dollars worth of change on a $1 purchase as my first sale a bunch of times, and it sucks, Everybody goes to the ATM before they hit the show and are loaded with $20s. Don't be that guy, please!
I make a semi-quick survey of the entire show- walk around the entire venue- to see who is there and who isn't. over time, you figure out which dealers have the stuff you like, which ones are out of your price range, which ones have better quality, etc. Why waste time on the first table if you know Dealer X hooked you up last time? Hit him up first at that table in the back.
Bring a backpack or heavy duty bag to carry your stuff. too often I spent hours walking around with grocery store bags full of CDs and albums I had bought and it wore me down. Sometimes the car is parked a million miles away and taking them out is time-inefficient. Better yet, train your kids to be the runners to the car, lol.
Yes, there could be stinky people there. And there could be people who doused themselves in perfume or cologne too. Who cares? It's a show, we're human and not everyone is as socially conscious as you. If the smell bothers you, just walk away and go back when they leave.
If you have a want list, print it out, and hand it to dealers, include your email addy on it. If they don't have it there, they'll find it for you and shoot you an email. Dealers LOVE to find stuff for customers- because once we do, you are a customer for life. I don't know how many times that printed want list has saved a conversation in a loud, crowded show room where I couldn't hear myself burp let alone talk to the dealer asking for something. Nothing cooler than when the dealer reads your list and starts to walk over to a bin- you know you just hit paydirt.
Be nice. To everyone. All the time. Not everyone is an expert, not everyone knows how to behave at a show. Some people are so excited to be there, they just lose their mind. Just smile at them and remember how uncool you were once too.
Talk to your fellow show goers. You will make friends, you will hear amazing stories, you will find strength in the fact that others share this little obsession of yours, and it's not silly, it's not stupid, it's not for everyone. One day, that conversation you started may pay off in finding that holy grail.

As a dealer, if you want to negotiate with me, that's fine. Don't get mad if I decline your offer- it's my stuff and I can price it as I wish.
If I give you a good deal on something, don't expect the same deal every single time you come see me. Sometimes it's just not doable.
Don't ask me to find something for you if you have no intention of buying it. Asking me for the Cars second album just so you can show your son the cover is wasting my time.
Asking for a discount when I don't know you is not cool. Talk to me, tell me what you're thinking you can pay, and maybe we can work it out. But walking up to me and asking for 25% off is just rude.

Have fun. It's not serious, it's supposed to be fun.

 

JustVinyl's post summed it up pretty well. I will add be prepared to dig. Some dealers are very organized while others not at all. They will have boxes of LP's in no particular order or something might be filed under a different category from what you use.

 

There's a dealer at my local show that I always visit first. His cheapy bins usually have good stuff and I walk away with 4-5 items for under $15.00.

 

For the most part that's true. If you are only selling records in the two to five dollar range, do a half price sale at 1 p.m. and go down to a dollar at 4 o'clock. While most sellers consider the shows part of their way of making a living, others like to get out of the house and talk tunes. If they make a few hundred, great! If not, they still had a great time talking tunes. If you've had lp's in stock from 5 shows back, blow 'em out, take that money and save it for the next garage/estate sale to latch on to cool vinyl.

 

YES!!

If ya can bring $100 in ones, fives, and tens. ALSO--if you're really active in the hobby know the location of the show. If you see screaming deals in the afternoon and you are thinking "why didn't I bring more money" try to figure out where the nearest ATM machine is. If it's in one of bigger hotels (Marriott, etc.) some of them have machines IN the hotels. If it's at a community center, local rec hall, etc, then you'll have to find one. If you know where one is the day before the show is, that's one less thing to worry about.

 

If you're having a slow, boring day find someone selling White Albums and point out that the cover, the poster, the pictures, record one, record two and the inners are from different pressings and explain in intimate detail why it is so. Dealers love that sort of thing.

 

I've only been to one show and found it interesting that a bunch of people carried small battery operated turntables to sample the goods.

 

Price guide? Old School.

Use your phone, and check out these forums, discogs, etc. Most of the smart dealers do the same.

 

hummm if you need to look up the value then perhaps you shouldn't be at the shows...get moving and let someone else sift through pile! lol

sean

 

Really? I take it you know the price of every record and cd pressed? With so many pressings and variations of most any album, one often needs to check out prices. Don't take this the wrong way.

 

Do whatever floats your boat. I'll use a price guide because it's usually a lot quicker to get the basic info I need for older stuff.

 

Price guides are fine, but the problem arises when you find stuff that isn't in a printed price guide. Sometimes stuff isn't online either.
As an example, I came across a Godflesh disc on Grindcore records. (grindcore was a small label in Chicagoland) Never saw anything about it anywhere, and wasn't able to determine if it was legit, a pirate, part of distribution deal. Godflesh were on Earache at the time. I should have bought it as it seemed like a total odd bird.

 

I try and trust my knowledge ahead of time and buy based on that. If I am truly stumped on if something is a good deal or not, then I will whip out my phone, but it's rare

 

Glad you asked...I know the pressings, stampers, labels, and the artist/music. I have a general idea of what things are worth as I have been buying used vinyl for almost 40 years. I have price guides at home for reference and its fun to look up the value, but the value listed is very objective. Just my way of saying buy what you know and love, some people (thrifters) get hung up on the value. I am a collector so I am looking for different things. Also a lot of records are NOT listed anywhere and this can be a lot of fun (music wise) when coming across something you have never seen before.

records are fun!

sean


sean

 

I recently bought a copy of (Shiva Headband) original capitol label green bullseye and had to go back to a price guide from 1983 to find its value, the newer guides didn`t not have it listed.

sean

 

With all due respect, wouldn't a 32 year old price guide have a good possibility of no longer being accurate in a record's value? Records are like the stock market--they are always going up, down, etc over time

 

Very true, but seeing that copy of this LP has been re-issued since then, perhaps the guides no longer thought the original would be a valid entry as it didn`t sell well when released. It was worth something like $20 NM in 1983. Guides from the 90s and 2000`s did not list this Lp along with other LPs that seem to me rare/valuable but not common. The guides seem to cater to common records and common rare records. IMO. Considering how many millions/millions of LPs where released you can`t have everything listed. Thats why sites like this one are very valuable to collectors like me and like you.

sean

 

I don't take a price guide & I don't have a smartphone.
I go to shows generally knowing what I'm looking for & approximate value.
As for other things I may pick up, they are generally only a few bucks..
Sometimes I have a feeling that something is overpriced.

Darryl

 

Smart phones can come in handy. I used mine to check matrix details on this site a couple of times but that's a couple of times over many years of going to record shows so obviously I haven't had to use them that often. It helps if you know the details regarding the lps you are looking for.

For pricing I just go by feel for the most part but I do have a general idea with respect to certain items I'm hunting down. If I come across something I don't know too much about it, I may look it up, but if the price is right budget wise I wouldn't bother.

Everyone has a different strategy when it comes to these shows. Some people I've met along the way basically go for the low prices $5 crates, others are looking for some bigger collectibles and others for something else. At the last show one of the busiest areas was the large $5 crate room. It was busy for hours and hard to get a peak in. My friend and I left it right to the end as we wanted to spend our time looking for some harder to find items than what you would find in those crates. But right at the end I spent a few minutes have a quick flip and found a mint Petula Clark lp I was looking for so it was a few minutes well spent. I left before I bought more lps as I had already spent a lot of money

Eddie

 

I have one as well.He ALSO spends that extra money and uses polypropolene sleeves for albums that are priced $20 and up.The upper right hand corner of those lp covers wear down ,particularly 50's and 60' album covers.If you have a display board,those polypro sleeves make the lp's more attractive.(IMO). Yes,they cost a little more but they are worth it.

I also pay more and more attention to sellers who put cover/record grading on their price stickers.

 

There aren't too many shows around Boston but I saw one advertised for Dedham later this month. If anyone has been, is it worth the effort? It's not a convenient location for me otherwise.

 

If you opt to pay for early entry, it really is worth it only on the opening day, stuff will be pretty much picked through then.
If you don't see something, ask for it. A lot of vendors will keep pricier or "imported" stuff out in their vans.

 

Actually, you missed one in Burlington today. The next one there will be May 17. I haven't been to Dedham in years and can't comment.

 

I've had this bookmarked for awhile.

http://www.recordshowsofamerica.com/

Darryl