Rough Trade New York moving to ?

Discussion in 'Music, Movie and Hardware Store Guide' started by Mazzy, Jan 19, 2021.

  1. Technocentral

    Technocentral Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    Hoping to head back to NYC in April, so the consensus is this is just tiny now and not worth visiting?
     
  2. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    Wasn't worth visiting when it was in Brooklyn, honestly. It was a big unimpressive store then and now it's a small unimpressive store.
     
    Collapsed Lung and Technocentral like this.
  3. mrkrinkle

    mrkrinkle so long and thanks for all the fish

    Location:
    USA
    It was a fun store. People were cool, selection was solid, and it was a good venue for live shows. Sad to see it go.
     
  4. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    No issues with the people and I admittedly never saw a show there, but I never found anything there that I couldn't get somewhere else. It was never worth the hassle of getting to. It was more fun to do the Greenpoint circuit, eat some Polish food and go home.
     
    Collapsed Lung likes this.
  5. mrkrinkle

    mrkrinkle so long and thanks for all the fish

    Location:
    USA
    I don't think they were looking to have a super esoteric or rare inventory, but they did have a very good selection and supported indie artists, and the space was great--I haven't seen a record store that large since Tower closed (though of course that was much bigger, but that was also the 90s). I mean, I agree that it was kind of run of the mill in a lot of ways, but given the rarity of record stores and overall commercial shift in NYC, it was cool that a space like that even existed amid all the Starbucks.
     
  6. btstu

    btstu Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I noticed they have a much better used selection now than when they first opened in Rockefeller, but the prices are just ridiculous!

    I was flipping through yesterday and a lot of them would be high on Discogs... like US Smiths pressings for $100+? I think they had a pink Björk - Post for $200??? :sigh:
     
  7. mrkrinkle

    mrkrinkle so long and thanks for all the fish

    Location:
    USA
    That sounds kinda insane. But also NYC, so not entirely surprising. I wonder if tourists are dropping some serious cash on vinyl.
     
  8. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    Ridiculous prices. They'd be out of business in any city with rip city prices.
     

  9. Yikes! They are probably not long for NYC. If I remember they opened and closed twice in San Fran during the 80s. They seem to misunderstand US cities and rentals. They would be better off in Rochester, Toledo, Ithaca, etc., and building a strong US mail order/ on line presence that happens to have a location you can visit. If they need to be in a larger city, Phila, Baltimore, Providence, etc., would be more affordable with the needed logistics, population, infrastructure.
     
    McLover likes this.
  10. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    The rent must be killer, I can't figure out how they survive. New product profit margins are really low and used inventory gets old and stale after a few weeks.
     
  11. motionoftheocean

    motionoftheocean Senior Member

    Location:
    Circus Maximus
    Their pricing was bad when they first opened in Brooklyn and they relaxed that a bit after a while. Stopped going there several years back because they were a nothing-special option unless I was already in the neighborhood. Haven't been to the new location but my wife described it as a hole in the wall.
     
    zphage likes this.
  12. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    Hole in the wall, more expensive than online, midtown, ummmmm somebody is proppin'it up. Battling the 42nd Street mayhem in 1979 to get to Downstairs Records in the subway arcade at 6th n 42nd sounds better.
     
  13. mrkrinkle

    mrkrinkle so long and thanks for all the fish

    Location:
    USA
    Midtown location automatically makes it suspect.
     
  14. Aggie87

    Aggie87 Gig 'Em!

    Location:
    Carefree, AZ
    I visited the Manhattan shop last time I was in the city. No great shakes at all, and nothing about it inspired me to want to go back. I actually found more of musical interest in a shop called Bookoff, on 45th, which is primarily a used DVD & toy store. And I'm not sure that's a store I'd go back to very often for that matter either.
     
  15. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    NYC needs a consignment record shop, it would be amazing.
     
  16. jjhunsecker

    jjhunsecker Senior Member

    Location:
    New York city
    My son and his young friends like to do thrift shopping for clothes. Go into these places, and buy something they come across if they like it or find it interesting

    All the places mentioned here are like thrift shopping for music...you go in and HOPE you come across something you might want or maybe heard of somewhere.
    Going into a store and finding the exact music you want is almost impossible now in NYC
     
  17. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    We must be interested in very different kinds of music, because I've never left the Jazz Record Center, Stranded, or Generation without a stuffed-full canvas tote of LPs.
     
  18. Collapsed Lung

    Collapsed Lung Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York, NY
    Not sure why this thread is being revived. I think we've been over this in more than enough detail in the many, many messages above, but in case you missed the multiple posts: The super store model -- which stocks everything so you can find exactly what you want -- is dead. Streaming and online retail has rendered it irrelevant and obsolete. I'm not saying that's good or bad, it just is, and has been for quite a while.

    To me, shopping for music is about discovery, serendipity, and opportunity. It's fun. It's not like shopping for groceries. If there is a specific thing I really want, I'll order it directly from the artist or label or from a great specialty retailer like DustyGroove, Jigsaw-Records, or Wayside.

    Your son and his friends sound way more fun than you: I congratulate you on raising a cool kid!
     
    Danby Delight likes this.
  19. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    Stocking everything stores are dead. Non returns are the big reason. I'm trying to figure out how Twist & Shout in Denver survives with thousands and thousands of non return new product.
     
  20. NettleBed

    NettleBed Forum Transient

    Location:
    new york city
    Well, they did get in at a time of record-low commercial midtown rents. We'll see if they're still there in 5 years, though.

    Admittedly, they did fill a gap in midtown Manhattan; notably, no longer any traditional record stores (the kind that focus on new releases). There are several in Manhattan that *have* new releases, but their focus is on used records. The idea of having a more convenient location for office workers and tourists to buy records (that they can get online for cheaper) seems somewhat dated to me, but I guess we'll see.
     
    Collapsed Lung likes this.
  21. Chee

    Chee Forum Resident

    Location:
    Denver
    Backend rent increases take out lots of stores everywhere.
     
  22. jjhunsecker

    jjhunsecker Senior Member

    Location:
    New York city
    Maybe. maybe not...
    Have you said "I want "America Eats its Young" or "Chester and Lester" or "Babylon by Bus" today " and was able to walk into one of these places and be almost certain you would find it ? We USED to have that here in NYC,,,and someplaces still do. About 4 years ago I found a great music and video store in the Inner Harbor area on a trip to Baltimore. Hopefully, it's still around
     
  23. jjhunsecker

    jjhunsecker Senior Member

    Location:
    New York city
    Just because something is "dead" (at least here in NYC) doesn't mean we can't miss it....

    I personally am not into "thrifting". If I need a grey cashmire sweater, I pretty much like knowing I could go to Macy's or Saks to get one.
    And I hate streaming, but that's just me. I'm not saying others shuldn't love it

    And you mean to tell me that you never ran to the record store on day one to get the new release from your favorite artist immediately ? Now THAT was fun !
     
  24. Collapsed Lung

    Collapsed Lung Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I did that. In 1996. It was fun.
     
  25. Danby Delight

    Danby Delight Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston
    You know that we can still do that, right? It's on Fridays now is all.

    The thing is, other than new releases, I don't think I've ever walked into a record store in search of one particular album. It's not in my nature.

    Also, the store in Baltimore is almost certainly Sound Garden, and yes, it's still there.
     
    Last edited: Feb 18, 2022
    Collapsed Lung likes this.

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