Why are so many record stores still closing?

I used to own a store too. I hate it that I have to agree with you. Clearly vinyl is all that is floating the stores and I'm not really sure how well that's going if you look at the net, unless you are a high profile destination location like Amoeba, etc. My local store here seems pretty busy but, and I am not exaggerating, they have hundreds and hundreds of unsold record store day inventory going back a few years and continue to bring is stuff...this has to be paid for immediately, full boat. Most of it is on sale for 75% off and it's still sitting. I can think of a couple titles off the top of my head they have a huge stack of and I know it will never sell through at any price. I bought a Maverick's album brand new so cheap that I got it as a back up to the copy I already had, just because it was killing me to see one of my favorite albums in the world sitting at $8 sealed. It isn't possible they are making this up on the full price sales. They let it slip out a few months ago how much they grossed at a recent record store day sale (only credit card sales...but most people don't pay any other way). I don't feel right saying the amount; locals will know what store I'm talking about. But it was under $10,000. I would even bother. If they even brought in ten grand, the gross profit would be, on a grand day, $3000.00 on any new product sold, which presumably on RSD it would be. That doesn't include that they give 20% off everything on that day (I don't think this applies to RSD product....geez, I hope not). Or defective product they put back out at a discount, probably seeing it come back over and over again as they can't return them. This is a really bad business to be in...if they are in it, it isn't for the money. I try very hard not to return things, and to buy everything I can from them. But there in runs the problem: I find I'm buying most new product from Amazon now because so darn much of it is defective and returning it to Amazon is so simple. God bless them, they tell me they still prefer I buy it from them but I just can't do that to them, so I only buy a token amount of new but all the used I possibly can.

 

I think the larger stores will hang on, but they absolutely have to handle inventory levels critically well. My local store holds a 20% off sale one day every month. I think that's absurd. I asked a guy I know that works there why people don't just put stuff behind the counter and pick it up the first Sat of every month. His reply? You guessed it...they do! I mean, really?? There aren't that many people like me who value their time to the extend that they are unwilling to go back for a stack of records at 20% off. Me, I would rather avoid crowds and support my store at full profit, so I don't bother but 'cmon, there are very few that would feel that way. You can't compete with the internet, so stop trying to do that with pricing, charge what you need to, but make sure the good stuff is in stock (don't even try telling me that you can order it on line...man that pisses me off....like we can't?....I'm here becasue I'm willing to pay more, plus tax, to have it now) and price it where you need to be to make a profit to pay your overhead. And appreciate my business and help me if I ask. My store does. I don't know how on earth they make it but I sure hope they soldier on.

 

with the Vinyl section encroaching on the CD section in many stores (the CD section has shrunk by almost 50% at Amoeba Hollywood California), one wonders if storage space-strapped shop owners recent made the unwise decision to scrap/landfill the Compact Discs that used to take up the largest pace in their shops?

 

I only sense that its hard to get the "good stuff" in stock because its nearly impossible to find - and then you have to compete with fans who search Ebay/Amazon/Discogs and scoop it up online before those who browse the store can find it.

I will give a bit of credit to Amoeba Hollywood for this: they often carry a few choice titles in their CD racks that they DON"T list on their webpage. This makes it exciting to consider browsing their store.

As a huge fan of the band The Church - I can vouch that I've seen copies of the somewhat-rare Heyday and Remote Luxury compact discs priced anywhere between $8.99 and $17.99 - while on Amazon they'll typically be priced at $20 or higher.

 

Amoeba in Hollywood is not even in my top 10 record stores in LA.

 

Where does Amoeba hide the used vinyl copies of Led Zep, Sabbath, Neil Young, Bowie, etc.? I see virtually all reissues at the store. Unless you’re referring to CDs? If it’s a secret bin and you’d rather not say I understand .

 

That is an EXCELLENT question. I wish I had an answer. By rights this store should have gone out of business many years ago. I have no idea how the owner keeps the doors open. I will say this for him - he does keep a lot of new releases in stock, and maybe he sells a lot of them when they first hit the shelves, but...the old bird is so inept at storing his inventory, most of the new releases wind up warped or damaged in some way and he winds up discounting them a few weeks later! It's a mad house!

He also buys and sells lots of used CDs, DVDs, etc., but I doubt that's keeping him in business. Every two years or so, there's an article in the local papers with a sob story about how he's being forced to close the store because his landlord is increasing his rent. Then somehow like a phoenix he manages to rise from the ashes and stay open.

Love,
Billy

 

I'd be interested in learning about some of your favorites - so long as you wouldn't be "giving away the Treasure Map" so to speak, lol!

( I live in San Diego, so I'm lucky if I can travel to Los Angeles and browse shops more than 1-2 times per year.

 

That's great and I hope they continue to do so.
Sadly it's not the case down here where an iconic Classical (& Jazz) music store recently closed after almost 100 years in business - and they owned the building. It's prime real estate and no doubt can be put to "better" use. There just wasn't enough demand for physical stock and for Classical/Jazz even less so.
http://www.thomasmusic.net.au

 

What is the good stuff though? Many people have a different idea of what the good stuff is. A small store can't just order albums every week and wait for it to sell. There's literally dozens of titles that come out every single week. Who is to know what will sell and what will not. A small business does not... absolutely DOES NOT... have that kind of money to just throw at the fan. The real problem with record stores dying is that it's too much money to buy NEW stock when the distributors do not allow returns. Even RSD is a major issue. Stores buy stuff just hoping it will sell. If it doesn't and it's not online that day... chances are the value drops very fast and that store winds up selling it for under cost. The record companies need to start taking the fall IMO. If their titles aren't selling, the stores should be able to send them back.

 

That generally describes most record stores in CA (maybe half have listening stations though).

 

I go to a lot of record stores and I've never seen that done successfully. Black Gold closed. What stores are you referring to?

 

i rarely my local stores empty handed. i visit them every week and find great new arrivals in the used bin. it pays to have a city literally surrounded by suburbia.

 

Not sure if it's a coincidence or not, but there are two Black Gold locations here - one in Brooklyn and they just opened another spot inside a flea market in Manhattan. Both sell records and coffee/pastries.

Love,
Billy

 

Sure, feel free to visit any of these when you’re in town:

1. Freakbeat - Sherman Oaks
2. Atomic - Burbank
3. Mono Records - Glendale
4. Record Recycler - Torrance
5. Permanent (2 locations) - Highland Park
6. Gimme Gimme - Highland Park
7. The Last Book Store - Downtown LA
8. Rockaway - Silver Lake

Avoid: Record Parlour in Hollywood, ridiculously overpriced

 

Huh, I was told they closed (the Brooklyn one). Is it different owners now, maybe?

 

Unfortunately, for many industries, the market has dictated that the Market is obsolete.

 

Most small, private stores close after the owner has sold his personal collection in the store just to keep it open with 'new' used stock. He now has no store and no personal collection. Consignment stock is the only solution I can see in keeping a store competitive. An independent store should also have everything in stock listed on at least two of the online record sales sites as well as an active personal and consignment Ebay effort. Each store should be engaged in those three points of sale - walk-in, on-line and auction. Consignment is also a significant % of sale without owning or hunting for the record. This is a lot of work, and I believe that the numbers will eventually drive the owner out of the walk-in store-front and into his home to focus on on-line sales. Lease costs, employee costs, insurance and utilities just eat the profits up.

Rule #1: Do not turn your hobby into your business for you will lose both.

 

The problem for most small businesses(not just record stores) is the overhead costs they have in leasing store space. For the most part, the deck is stacked against you from day one. You have to sell a lot of records to keep those doors open and for those who sell their stock, they have to keep finding a good source to keep the inventory interesting. A local shop near here is a good shop, but they have challenges in finding good records in decent condition. Vinyl enthusiasts have pretty much cleared out many stores that had good selection, and they cannot find merchandise to replace it. It's not and endless supply like it use to be. New records are pricy and many folks complain that they are not the same as the originals so record stores have a lot of challenges on the horizon. I fell sorry for them.

For me personally, I am going back to CD's. There is a good supply of those at cheap prices and I like to take a chance on stuff I have never heard before. At .50 cent to a dollar each, there is little risk in doing that.

 

Or, do what Bob at Freakbeat Records in LA has done for many years: pay fairly for collections both large and small, price stock insightfully and fairly, and maintain a very friendly vibe in the store.

 

That is what I would do if younger and starting a collection. It is why I started collecting records in 1983. I have never followed the crowd, and it has served me well in this hobby. I had a choice in 1983 to collect vinyl or cd's - vinyl won because nobody wanted it. Everyone thought that I was a fool.

 

Yeah it's almost ALL reissues for these guys but I see some used copies in there. Though quite honestly when I do, if I don't pick them up, they're gone before I leave the store. Any decent used is gone immediately. And it's not a lot of it. I buy a decent amount of new vinyl and used CDs, which is why I rate them highly.

As far as this L.A. list...

1. Freakbeat - Sherman Oaks
2. Atomic - Burbank
3. Mono Records - Glendale
4. Record Recycler - Torrance
5. Permanent (2 locations) - Highland Park
6. Gimme Gimme - Highland Park
7. The Last Book Store - Downtown LA
8. Rockaway - Silver Lake

...I agree with most of these, except I haven't been to Record Recycler and Mono is extremely hit-or-miss for me, but it has extremely fair and sometimes surprisingly good prices.

Freakbeat is extremely good, as is Atomic. Their prices are really great on used stock. The Last Bookstore used to be a lot worse, maybe they changed managers? The last couple times I popped in their prices were shockingly solid.

Rockaway is arguably the best in town for quality control with their used vinyl (along with Atomic.)

I'd maybe only add CD Trader, though I almost never go there unless I happen to be out that way.

I went to Record Parlour once and it's another record store that looks the part but yeah it's terribly overpriced. Never going back.

 

It all started when Madonna began wearing underwear.

 

Maybe nobody wanted vinyl by the late 80s or early 90s, but CDs had only been introduced in 1983, were expensive, and nobody knew they would be a success. I got my first record player in 1983. I knew nobody who had CDs. In fact, I never knew they existed.

 

I was speaking to my friend at the weekend Italian Guy who manages coffee shops and he said its all about the customer service and told me even hip coffee shops in competition with him are closing due to poor customer service and lack of staff training. I would imagine a record shop operating solo would be finding it difficult unless the building is owned. A collective type arrangement with micro stores within a larger unit selling records and cd then coffee shop and diner and cool clothes and sneakers etc in an area with high footfall could be very popular.