Los Angeles area record stores

How do record stores in L.A. County pay those high rents cept in crappy areas?

 

It’s been a long time since I sold anything to them but they were always very fair.

 

Freakbeat pays a lot. I had the nugs to ask once and I got the nod up. Freakbeat is pretty fair in trade, don't know about cash, probably picky there.

 

The one LA area store I have never been to. But I have seen a friend's purchased stack 'o wax, and it looked to me to be a poor value deal for what he spent and the distant drive. Not encouraging.

 

I heard, but not confirmed that Rockaway is by appointment only now, and they expect you to lay down some bills for the privilege of visiting. I think they moved to online stores exclusively where they could demand more for each record.

 

Amoeba is not in DTLA, and the OP did not ask about DTLA at all either. But yes, traffic can be a nightmare in that area and many others now that I think about it.

 

Rhino Records, formerly in Claremont, has recently moved farther east to their new location in Montclair (lower rent).

 

I'm a bit of a grump, because I combed the LA bins and bought so many used records, traded some in for credit to buy nicer ones, grabbed audiophile, test pressings, box sets, colored vinyl, imports, picture discs, bootlegs, originals, and white label promos. And I did this for more than 20 years on a tight budget. So prices were pretty low. So I can rarely find anything in the record store bins that is nicer and unique enough, or low priced enough. I get bored, and or priced out.

So while I am a grump about today's used records, I at least have three walls four and five rows high of really cool stuff, things that are fun to look at as well as things to play and hear. The fun of the search is over for me. But I do grab good deals on ebay and Discogs. I've bought (I think) six albums in the last 6 months online, all arrived in M or MN condition as advertised, and got cool things to play and behold.

Oh, I am not driving further east for Rhino. Maybe if I was going out there anyway?

 

Yeah, good deals are few and far between in bricks & mortar stores. I found a cool record at Rhino yesterday (a 1968 Takoma sampler) but if you factor in the cost of gas, time, etc., I might have considered paying 2 or 3 times as much for that same record online.

 

Hi all, Can anyone weigh in on the "best" LA Basin store(s) with LP dollar bins, classical dollar bins? I'll be in Marina del Rey next week and willing to drive 20 mile radius from there (except for west). Or a bit further if really worth it. Or am I chasing windmills? Thanks!

 

Record Surplus has the “best” classical dollar bins. It’s on Santa Monica Blvd. a couple blocks west of Bundy.

 

Rockaway is by appointment now but there isn’t pressure to buy. As far as I’m aware they set it up so multiple people are given appointments at/near the same time so there’s at least a few people browsing. Wayne and Gary (the owners) are stand-up/decent guys.

 

Really, about the last point, I've seen and heard horror stories. But ok.

 

Probably from people who saw their very high end Beatles stuff on consignment with Perry Cox on eBay getting 5 times what they sold them for.

 

Curious...what kind of stories have you heard about Rockaway?

 

So people should be angry with Rockaway because items got high bids on eBay? How does Rockaway - or any store - have control over eBay bidders? The sellers could have just listed those items on eBay themselves, or consigned with Perry directly.

 

That's a shame. It used to be part of my weekly trifecta (Freakbeat, Atomic, Rockaway) and it was maybe the best spot to find great deals on UK Beatles LPs and OG Blue Notes. Amoeba was great too a decade ago, sometimes I think about the great titles I put down b/c I was broke at the time. Things change fast.

 

L.A. area is horrible now......you can cross off about everybody because of prices and selection. I just hit Freakbeat's online handle, good lord look at the stuff that doesn't hit the racks. Of course people could put their higher end stuff on eBay and/or consign with Cox.....you can't sell original snapshots of the Beatles for $125 for the pile and watch Cox get $40-$125 per shot on eBay, you do it. People should be mad at themselves for being fools selling to stores or dealers that just list them on eBay. You do it. Of course if you are needing quick cash.........

 

Well, without going into it in too much detail, I saw the employees all being total jerks to the customers (on more than one occasion), this was many years ago. I've always felt that bad attitudes come from the top and work their way down. Then knowing some former employees personally - I heard other stories that seemed to confirm. And I saw some other issues that are not important and worth spewing at this point.

But I did comb through 4,000 45s one night in the late 80s there, and pulled out a stack of 25 or 30 WLPs for $1.00 to $2.00 (amazing condition) each that some of which now are very nice and semi-pricey. Never found many great LPs there.

 

I have a friend that dumped his MFSL Mint test pressing collection at the trade-in counter after I told him to let me list them for him online. He wanted fast cash and cheated himself out of thousands of dollars. That was sad because he is still doing pretty horrible financially, and his car looks (to me) to be on its last year or two of service. I could have gotten him 8 to 10 grand even after I took a cut of the action. He got just hundreds instead, and it went to that month's bills.

I like Freakbeat and Record Surplus the best out of LA stores.

But as I have stated, I got spoiled by running to stores in LA every other day combing the bins from 1984 to 2004. Got so many cool things at decent prices that today's selection is just a drag to look at. Prices seem a ripoff too.

Oh, and the Pasadena Swapmeet was pretty amazing as well for decades there in the 80s and 90s.

I just have to accept that it's over for me and the fun hunt. If I want a record, I comb the online sites and hold out for that perfect copy and a fair price, and strike when I see it.

When I see folks list their stack of (used) wax they just picked up and how nice much of it is, I am really not impressed. It looks like stuff I would pass on, and the prices seem not so great. This includes the vinyl community videos on YT. The used records look boring to me, and expensive. My time came and went, and it's now about enjoying a nice collection. Let the younger crowd have their fun with VG+ copies of Don't Look Back, Tusk, Secret Life of Plants, Gaucho and Blue Moves at collector's prices.

 

Bob Say is still kickin' huh? Kind of surprised since he is over 70 and morbidly obese. Oh the stories I could tell about him and his buddy Tom G.

 

I used to like Rockaway until they started focusing on memorabilia, and got rid of most of the CDs. Their used CD prices were really good. But they'd rather sell a vintage Twisted Sister t-shirt now.

 

CD's have gone cheap everywhere especially on the net. Getting hosed at the counter at any store in L.A. was and still is the norm both buying and selling. Test pressing MFSL's, he got his clock cleaned for 10G easy if a large collection. Yea, the big guy behind the counter at Freakbeat must be 350 pounds.

 

Yeah Amoeba will give next to nothing for CDs but that doesn't stop them from putting them out for almost full retail price. They have used CDs that are $9.99 that you can get new on Amazon for around the same price. No wonder their CD sales are down. They try and price used CDs at the same prices they were selling for in the 90s.

 

Gaucho is a very good album.