Why are so many record stores still closing?

I think it's just because people are lazy and prefer buy online ... like me

 

I don't know of many used record stores that sell super rare stuff in the store anymore. That stuff usually goes right on to ebay or discogs. And besides, what are the chances of having a used record store these days and having someone come in offering to sell their mint copy of Rising Storm or an ad-back Introducing The Beatles or a Robert Johnson 78? Ain't gonna happen

 

True.

 

Yes, but MAN, there's some real liability there.

 

I'm curious as to how many record stores also sell turntables?

 

The one I worked at did, but...again, not selling enough to really amount to anything substantial - a lot of people came in, demoed the equipment they're interested in, then went online to comparison shop...even though we gave 10% off LPs for a year if you bought a TT from us.

 

There's no more than 10% on the retail markup from wholesale.

Pennies.

On.

The.

Dollar.

If a new CD retails for $11.99, and you gotta pay 8.79 + shipping...

 

It seems people really don't care if brick and mortar dies....
Very short sighted.

 

Doesn't that sum up the human race in general?

jeff

 

It is - the only thing about the Internet is amazon allows LP returns.

Thank God I'm :

1 - able to clean/vinyl flat/respindle most issues

2 - if not, I've cultivated enough relationship with the 3 locals that I've not had any issues with returns.

Otherwise, there's something to be said for having someone who looks out for stuff they know you want or will like, or hold stuff for you...or just plain old perusing and looking for something new or finding something you forgot about or just a random impulse buy...

 

Yes.

 

Only certain sects of it.

(Back off man, I'm a Geographer. )

 

In the 80's and 90's I bought well over a thousand LP's from one particular local record store.
The owner was smart enough to buy all the inventory he could get his hands on in those decades when people dumped their collections.
He bought good clean albums for 25 cents a piece ( typical stuff ...Foreigner - Heart) and paid maybe a $2 - $3 if you had Zep - Sabbath in VG+ or better condition.
Behind his storefront he had a warehouse with what he estimated was near a million LP's.
I used to walk into his store and hand him a list, he would go back into his warehouse and come back with a few different pressings of each album I requested to choose from... All in Excellent to Mint - condition.
I got everything I could get my little greedy paws on.
But I also had a limited budget....unfortunately.

Flash to today and all that vintage inventory he had has been sold.
And now if I go to that same store it is likely that I will leave without a single purchase.

 

It's worth trying in the store for a little while if you have the clientele. Paypal/Discogs/Ebay fees on $1k+ records aren't nothing.

Amoeba SF has a Leaf Hound LP on the wall (almost the ceiling, ha).

 

It's usually low quality tables also, bought by people new to equipment. Returns are pretty common.

 

The Record Centre in Ottawa, mentioned above, have a fantastic selection of refurbished vintage turntables.

 

Well I stand corrected if you saw a Leaf Hound lp on the wall But I usually don't see many top shelf gems displayed in any Boston area used record stores but then again I don't check them out all that often. Some record stores have rare stuff but don;t display it. My buddy went to a store last year and asked if they had any early Pink Floyd. The guy went and pulled out a stone mint Floyd stereo Piper for him (original label but 2nd issue with File Under on back cover, still super rare)

 

Sure; when I tell them an 'entry level table' starts at $300, they **** their dresses.

I'm like, 'that's NEVER been a bad price for a decent TT'...

 

Oh forget about it. Most people buying their first TT are looking at $50-100 units.

 

I guess it depends on where you live. Where I live, the question is "why are so many record stores opening?". Three in the past 6 months (that I know of). More on the way. The market is a little saturated here.

 

Most new stores open with a lot of fanfare and all the great rare stuff (you know. The stuff that takes a lifetime to collect) at fair prices to attract business and establish a presence. Within 3 weeks, that stuff's gone and they're just another store selling Pat Benetar, Chicago, and Styx records. Or a $20 copy of an 80's Rush album.

A LOT of people will pay $6 for a cup of coffee but very few people will spend $5 on an Eagles On The Border record.

I'd consider a clean Linda Ronstadt record "worth" $5. But they don't sell. Move that $5 record to the $3 bin and it still sits. People won't buy what they don't want. People will see that $5 record and think they would pay $3. Only to see it the $3 bin and leave without it. 95% of collections are like that. 95% of stores are like that.

For new reissues, how do you sell a Billy Joel reissue by Friday music for $32.99 when the $3 bin is littered with mint original copies of the same record? Likewise, used cd's in this area, are worth $1-5. To sell just about any new cd bought from a one-stop, the price can't really be less than 17.99 to justify the effort. Customers won't pay it. Amazon doesn't buy from a one-stop nor do they have to turn a profit or pay taxes.

I don't know what it's like in other states, but in Illinois, businesses pay a corporate rate for all their utilities. So whatever you pay for your services at home, double it. Customers prefer not to get frostbite when they shop. You know that $5 Linda Ronstadt record that nobody wants for $3? You gotta sell 80 of those in January just to run the furnace. They can't shop in the dark. How many people in the neighborhood need to buy a complete Pat Benetar collection every month to help you keeps the lights on?

 

The greedy major record companies/conglomerates are killing the small record store too. Seeing some money to be made against streaming/illegal downloading through the vinyl resurgence; they are pressing special coloured/collectors vinyl editions and selling a lot of them through their own online stores. The little man gets frozen out again with kids wanting the special fancy edition at about the same price as the standard black vinyl left languishing on the shelves of the brick and mortar stores. Instead of supporting them and looking to get a long term gain in the vinyl revival they are out to make a quick buck and maximise instant profit which will kill off record stores yet again.

 

Definitely a tough business. You have to be able to get desirable, used product on a regular basis and that isn't easy. Agreed that Linda Ronstadt and Billy Joel albums aren't going to cut it.

 

Yup. There's a lot more competition out there for everybody, consumers and record store owners trying to source product. There also seems to be an increase of record brokers out there too, buying up collections to sell to stores or directly to consumers and some just hoard the records. Based on the conversations I've had with record store owners, the changes have happened rather quickly as well.

 

I'm pretty good pals with a record store owner in my area. He is having a more difficult time finding good clean used vinyl (especially in the last 2 years). People are hanging on to their treasures or asking a premium price these days.