Vintage Vinyl, N.J.’s premier record store, closing after 42 years

Maybe I am in the minority, but I did not think the used records or CDs were that great deals, compared to what I have seen in PA or DE. Plus the Rte 1 traffic merges were atrocious.

 

Rob just wants to retire, I guess. I remember going to his store in Irvington back in the 1980s. The vibe got more and more weird though a decade after he expanded the store in Fords. So I moved on and have since given my business to Revilla Grooves and Gear in Milltown.

 

Ive heard great things about Revilla and have ordered from their Discogs a few times. Gotta get up there one day

 

Darren Revilla's place is a true used record store. NO cds. I have found quite a few gems there. Highly recommended.

 

Terrible news. I used to go there with my sister and my girlfriend often in the 80's.....along with Cheap Thrills and Another Music in a Different Kitchen in New Brunswick. Worked in New Brunswick from 1997-2002 and would go once a week on my lunch hour.

 

Not true.....Princeton Record Exchange is awesome. Their used section is great as there is quite a bit of turnover from week to week and they stock new CDs as well. The staff is phenomenal as well; friendly, helpful, informative and a few have a great sense of humor. I stop in once a week and never come out empty handed.

 

Knowing that some people have been buying RSD titles from Vintage Vinyl, I thought this might be of interest. Like others, I've had orders canceled due to over-selling RSD titles, so FYI if anyone has any pending items/ orders in...

New Jersey's Best Record Store, Vintage Vinyl, is Shutting Down

 

Or simply a generation is aging out, there will be others to pick things up and continue...

 

great store! been going there for almost 40 years. They were always great with new CDs, especially imports like the Ace/Big Beat catalog - they would have at least one copy of every single thing that company released! and were always great in the 80s and 90s with garage rock comps. So many classic in-stores there over the years.

Their rent there is very high. And margins are very slim on new vinyl.

 

they weren't. I went there for new CDs and in-stores

 

I am more intrigued that he did not/could not sell the business. But it is not the kind of business you can do well, just thinking you'd like to own a record store. If you have generic tastes you will fail. You have to care about all the niches, you have to have your finger on the pulse of what is happening now, regardless how you feel. Most can't do that. That said the stock will be worth money to somebody, won't be surprised to see it at Prex!

 

Got the email this morning and am bummed, even though I am relocating out of state next year.

Moved to NJ in 2008 and quickly discovered Vintage Vinyl when looking for a place near my office in New Brunswick to go grab new releases. What was even better, they would put out new releases a day or 2 early often. Not sure if they were still doing that recently since I haven't worked near there in 8 years and only visit on weekends now.

The store is huge so the rent can't be very cheap. They certainly have the best selection of new vinyl in New Jersey as far as I'm concerned. The new CD selection was also very good, but often quite expensive compared to huge online retailers like ImportCDs and Amazon. The used vinyl has always been very overpriced. I think they strictly price based in Discogs completed sales and even charge more most times. The selection was always pretty decent though since stuff didn't move as quickly because of pricing. The used CDs have been the same stale selection of all the Aughts stuff that sold like crazy at the time and didn't age well with their audience.

The store does remind me of when I first moved to NJ though and I did see about 3 or 4 really cool in store shows there with meet and greets after.

A lot of the same employees haven been there for a while. It's a shame he couldn't sell the business to them or someone else. When these business just close the doors like this it seems like no succession plan was considered 5 or 10 years earlier.

I've been going to Jack's a lot more recently. It's a lot closer to where I live and work now and the first store I visited regulars when I moved here and lived 10 minutes away. The used CD selection has been really solid and priced very fairly lately. The new vinyl selection is okay but I find some random stuff in the new bins every now and then that is OOP but been sitting for a while just because it must not appeal to the regular customers. Used vinyl is pretty bland and I never have the time of day to dig through the bins just to find one okay album at an okay price. The vinyl in the crates by the counter is still mostly being priced at 2010 prices though and if you are there at the right time you can get some nice steals. I have gotten a lot of stuff for $6-10 that is easily going for $12-30 elsewhere.

I have been less enthused by Prex lately. I do usually end up picking up 10-20 CDs a visit for an average of $3 a pop. I don't really go there for new CDs or vinyl. Used vinyl has gotten a little too pricy and you honestly just have to get lucky like shopping at a thrift store. This probably applies to most stores these days, but their used selection is pretty bad even compared to maybe just 5 years ago. And 10 years ago, not even close. But when I do find something, it's usually no better deal than Discogs. But I guess people are paying up so they keep pricing up.

The Record Collector used to be a great place but prices are up and inventory quality has been down. It's also an hour from me so I don't really make an effort to visit.

 

I'm not sure if this is the correct forum or if this has been posted yet. I know there are a couple of VV alumni here at SHF.
But here is the bad news New Jerseyites!
Vintage Vinyl, N.J.’s premier record store, closing after 42 years

 

Vintage Vinyl, N.J.’s premier record store, closing after 42 years

 

Any of the SHF, VV alumni posted in here yet?
I know there is at least one member here from the closet sized, Irvington, milk crates and cardboard boxes on the floor days, in the late 1970s.

 

I’m surprised it lasted this long into the “free music all the time” age. I always thought that they would downsize the store at one point to its original size.

fond memories of vintage vinyl. through the height of vinyl, to the height of cassettes and then to CD’s and then back to vinyl being king again.

my brother took me there for the first time on my 13th bday in the mid 80’s. That day I bought my first Black Flag LP’s there (My War and Slip It In). Probably went there every other week since until I moved closer to philly in 2003. Still made regular trips up there.

I would suggest people head to Bordentown City to visit both Randy Now’s Man Cave and the Record Collector (both on Farnsworth Ave). Lenny who used to manage Vintage Vinyl works at the Man Cave and Randy just acquired a 30,000 LP collection that he has been stocking into the store weekly.

 

I've known Lenny over 30 years! Great guy.
And Randy is cool too!

Highly recommend them!

 

CD World had a store in Paramus too, on Rt. 17 South.

 

In Central NJ as well on Route 1......Lawrenceville/Princeton area.

 

Thanks Rob! You've turned me on to some Great Music through the years and had become a good Friend also....will sorely miss the Store especially now that i'm back in NJ .....after a brief Fla. try!!.......BRUUUUUUUCE!!!

 

Vintage Vinyl Records in Woodbridge NJ closing after 42 years

Owner Rob Roth said he's retiring because he's "old, tired and ready to retire." He said COVID-19 was not a physical reason to retire, but the pandemic did affect his decision in other ways.

"We’re not closing because of COVID, but it certainly had an effect on my thinking," Roth said. "My age is 65 and I’ve been doing this for 42 years and I’m tired. I have children who live out-of-state and a grandchild, and those are at the forefront of my mind."

Prior to Roth's announcement, he was in talks with someone about purchasing the store, but it fell through. Since his announcement, he's received several other inquiries, but he's unsure of how serious the inquiries are.

"If someone comes through, that’s fine and that would be great. But it hasn’t happened," he said.

Now, Roth is just trying to process the coming closure.
"It's very emotional," he said. "Since we just announced today it's going to be a bit before I process all of this."

 

Princeton was sold by owner Barry to his long time store manager, I am surprised something similar can not be worked out for VV.

 

Has anyone been there this week? I was curious how picked over the store is. 30% is nice but not earth shattering when you consider the sticker prices. I will probably wait it out for another price drop. He’s certainly not going to unload all of that inventory at the current sale. Maybe he’ll sell all the leftover stock to another local store or online seller.

 

The vast majority of desirable titles are gone.

 

Not all collectors find the same titles desirable. What sort of things are left?