Anybody still go to record shows?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by evillouie, Jun 12, 2017.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Bocajoe

    Bocajoe Forum Resident

    Yeah, that's the one over Thanksgiving weekend. It's a shadow of its former self. It has its mix of dealers who want $80 for early Rolling Stones albums and sellers who just need to blow out vinyl for a few dollars a disc. I go for the second type of seller!
     
    phillyal1 and zphage like this.
  2. lazydawg58

    lazydawg58 Know enough to know how much I don't know

    Location:
    Lillington NC
    How about the “pop Up” record sales at brew pubs, coffee shops etc.? There’s a huge reseller in Charlotte (Noble Records) and that is what he does, it appears very successfully. He doesn’t have a brick and mortar, just a regular rotation of these pop up venues, sells some online I think and also posts expensive vinyl on social media and takes offers.
     
  3. Very interesting premise, they should be mean and lean, with limited overhead.

    They frame themselves as almost a charity. I would assume they have to pay a fee or give a cut to wherever they appear.

    How is the stuff? Good quality? Not just $1 bin dreck?


    https://www.noblerecordstore.com
     
    lazydawg58 likes this.
  4. tmoore

    tmoore Forum Resident

    Location:
    Olney, MD
    There was a record show in DC this past weekend. It went from 11 to 4. Interestingly, entry fee was $5 to enter before noon, and $2 after. They obviously know the drill about "the early bird".

    I haven't gone to a record show for a long time.
    Circumstances in my life are now that it is difficult for me to go at the times they occur.
    Maybe in another 10 years.
     
    Celebrated Summer likes this.
  5. Celebrated Summer

    Celebrated Summer Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    The informal "sister show" to the Keystone Record Collectors is the Arbutus Record Show, which is held about 80 miles away in Maryland. Since no one has mentioned this show yet, I will.

    The Arbutus Record Show has been going on since 1995 in its current location, the Arbutus Fire Hall. It's a monthly show that draws 50-60 dealers each time it takes place. It's mostly album-oriented, but some dealers sell 45s, books, and even old CDs and VHS tapes. Admission is free.

    I agree with people on this thread who say that Discogs/eBay, etc. have reduced the amount of buried treasure at these kinds of shows. But I think that mostly pertains to collectible items. If you're fan of obscure artists who mean a lot to you, but few others, then this show might just have the goods.

    My best example comes from 2016, when I finally found a LP I'd been seeking for decades: Good For You, Too, the first solo album Toni Brown, the singer-songwriter-keyboardist from the '70s group Joy Of Cooking. It's never come out on CD, and while you can get the vinyl online, clean-sounding copies are hard to come by (I tried for years). I found a mint copy at the Arbutus Record Show for $2. It also had a cover that was in great shape and the original lyric sheet.
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2019
    wdiv, izgoblin and zphage like this.
  6. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Yes and no. Rarities you can easily ID online are mostly gone as mispriced gems.

    But stuff that's harder to ID such as obscure promos and other dusty corner items can still be found mispriced.
     
    Christian Hill likes this.
  7. JustGotPaid

    JustGotPaid Forum Resident

    So true! Always at least one dude who has B.O. and really needs a shower.
     

  8. Allentown is strong in Syrian, Middle Eastern food

    Local food: Yocco's Hot Dogs (Lee Iacocca's family)

    also don't forget you have Bethlehem and Emmaus meshed in there to your right and left, both very nice on their own

    Main shopping drag is Mac Arthur Rd (RT 145), it is a few miles from Double-decker,
    but accessible via making left in front of Double-decker and driving through Allentown's Center City.
     
    Lightworker likes this.
  9. lazydawg58

    lazydawg58 Know enough to know how much I don't know

    Location:
    Lillington NC
    In a large city like Charlotte I think it’s a heck of a business model, in small cities and towns probably not enough of a market. It definitely isn’t a charity, this guy does it as his business. I’m 100 miles from Charlotte so I haven’t been to any of his pop ups but know him from you tube and Instagram. He has a huge inventory, he bought out a record store in South Carolina recently and is always acquiring personal collections. From what I can tell he trades in lots of high dollar vinyl as well as the usual common classic rock that is always going to bring $5-25, and the $1-3 as well.
     
    zphage likes this.
  10. troggy

    troggy Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow

    Location:
    Benton, Illinois
    Agreed, I don't mind if non-alphabetized stock is off-putting for someone else. That just increases my odds of finding something by a little bit.
     
    lazydawg58 likes this.
  11. troggy

    troggy Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow

    Location:
    Benton, Illinois
    I know the guy you're talking about. He posts youtube videos and has a ton of great records.
     
    lazydawg58 likes this.
  12. Lightworker

    Lightworker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Deep Texas
    When heading to the Allentown Record Show, I sometimes make a 'side run' over to the Cigars International warehouse
    in Bethlehem. Friendly place to have a relaxed smoke and stock up on some good sticks at reasonable prices.

    Bethlehem, PA - Cigars International
     
  13. Yeah, CI serious operation, did some work for them, good guys

    You may want to check out: (since you are in Bethlehem)

    CDCenter

    Compact Disc Center
     
    Lightworker likes this.
  14. Lightworker

    Lightworker Forum Resident

    Location:
    Deep Texas
    Gracias amigo!
     
    zphage likes this.
  15. mBen989

    mBen989 Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, PA
    That reminds me; there are a few shows near me these next two months.

    February 24th: Syracuse, NY - Holiday Inn, 441 Electronics Parkway

    March 3rd: Wilkes Barre, PA - The Woodlands, 1073 Route 315

    March 17th: Binghamton. NY - Broome County Regional Market, 840 Upper Front Street

    April 14th: No. Utica, NY - Deerfield Fire Hall, 5476 Trenton Road

    May 4th; Ithaca. NY - The Space @ Greenstar, Court & Fulton Streets
    [​IMG]
     
  16. lazydawg58

    lazydawg58 Know enough to know how much I don't know

    Location:
    Lillington NC
    Sunday March 17th, Hampton Inn Raleigh, NC
     
    uzn007 likes this.
  17. uzn007

    uzn007 Watcher of the Skis

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    Is that worth going to, in your opinion? I live near Raleigh but I've never been to any of the local record shows.
     
  18. NickDanger

    NickDanger Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lancaster PA
    I'm old enough to remember when this show was in Columbia Pa in the local farmers market. Way before the internet and smart phones. I always found albums I was looking for at a fair price. I got to know several dealers who knew my tastes and would
    bring a bunch of albums for me to look through. I followed the show to Blue Ball, then to Catholic High School and then to the motel on Rt 30. I haven't been to the new location yet. With each move I was less and less successful in finding anything I was looking for or even anything to take a chance on. I was actually bored the last few shows I attended. The internet and Discogs has spoiled me for sure.
     
  19. nicotinecaffeine

    nicotinecaffeine Forum Resident

    Location:
    Walton, KY
    Never been to one. Wish I had 15-20 years ago. These days...no thanks. Even at ratty flea markets every vendor that has a small batch of "grandma records" believes he's selling gold and makes the supply and demand excuse. It's not SAP if it never sells.
     
  20. n.phelge

    n.phelge Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas
    Actual conversation at a record show 2 weeks ago:
    • Shopper pointing to a couple of copies of Led Zeppelin II for $15-$25: "Are any of these an RL?"
    • Dealer: "No"
    • Shopper: "I'm looking for an RL. Do they really sound better?"
    • Dealer: "Only if you are listening to it on headphones."
    I bit my tongue, paid for the $17 mono Beggars Banquet first press, and walked away.
     
  21. lazydawg58

    lazydawg58 Know enough to know how much I don't know

    Location:
    Lillington NC
    I enjoy going. There are a lot of sellers there, from the rare $60-100 first pressing sellers to the more you buy the cheaper the price $1-5 guys. I usually go home with a big stack of vinyl. The guy that puts it on is named Greg Neal and he is out of Charlotte. He has a circuit that includes stops in several Southeastern cities so the might have one somewhere in Virginia closer closer. Google his name and you can’t get a schedule. I think there’s a stop in Roanoke if that is closer.
     
    uzn007 likes this.
  22. Fifth-Chord

    Fifth-Chord VG+

    Location:
    Columbus, OH
    LOL hey, is there a thread of "things overheard/said during a record fair?" if not I'd like to start one. Sometimes I've unintentionally eavesdropped and I hear a lot of absurd things or really common over-discussed topics of which I was guilty of when I was a newbie. So I try to put on a bit of patience and a non-judgemental attitude during shows. If I heard that conversation I would be tempted to approach the digger a little later and say something like hey, I overheard you talking about the famous RL...my opinion differs greatly from the dealer and I could share what I know if you like... Common chatter always surfaces around the butcher cover or the RL LED II... I can't think of anymore right now but I know there's a lot.
     
  23. uzn007

    uzn007 Watcher of the Skis

    Location:
    Raleigh, N.C.
    Thanks. I'm right outside Raleigh, so maybe I'll see you there (if my wife lets me out, ha ha).
     
    lazydawg58 likes this.
  24. n.phelge

    n.phelge Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dallas
    I really wasn't shaming this shopper for not being knowledgeable, but at least have the initiative to look at the deadwax yourself instead of just walking up and basically asking, "Are any of these records worth a whole lot more than you are selling them for?"
     
    Fifth-Chord and uzn007 like this.
  25. lazydawg58

    lazydawg58 Know enough to know how much I don't know

    Location:
    Lillington NC
    They usually get tired of unpacking them and packing them back up over and again when no one will buy them and just donate them to a charity thrift. I’ve gotten several common 70s rock albums for .75 that had outrageous price stickers on them, like $30 for a Blood Sweat and Tears and $20 for best of Bachman Turner Overdrive. I imagine someone got all excited about how much people were paying for vinyl went out and over paid for a bunch of records tried to sell them at the flea market and finally realized what they had done, gave up and dumped them at the thrift.. almost all vinyl is really only worth 0-5 dollars if you are patient.:goodie:
     
    uzn007 likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine