Good used vinyl/CD stores in Washington D.C.?

it is sad how i have fewer and fewer stores to buy vinyl..i used to have a circuit but a lot of them have gone under.... very depressing as i need a lot of fresh used vinyl to keep me going....and buying stuff on ebay is just not the same on many levels....

 

My wife is going to a baby shower in Olney, MD next Saturday. I wasn't going to go along, but I will now to try and check out both Joe's and Orpheus. Does anyone know of any good places to eat in Arlington?

 

My very favorite restaurant in all the land is very close by. It's called Tandoori Nights and it's Indian cuisine. I was encouraged to try it a few years ago and fell deeply in love.

Ed

 

Great Pizza at Faccia Luna on Wilson Blvd. near Orpheus

 

Seems that Rick will be keeping busy after he closes. The old webpage has a link to a new online shopping site, though he's not taking internet orders at this time:

"Welcome to Orpheus' experimental foray into cyber shopping. Initially we will be listing items primarily to pique the interest of our local regulars while trying to garner some new customers as well. We hope to start listing daily specials of one sort or another soon. Later we will begin to morph into a real functioning web store complete with a shopping cart for those of you in the hinterlands."

http://www.orpheusrecords.com/shop/home.php

 

Went to Orpheus yesterday saturday afternoon..never seen so many people! There must have been like 40 people in there.

 

Hmm...Looks like he has changed his mind about the web finally.

 

Yeah, finally. I was just in there this evening at around 8pm (the second time in the last two weeks). His girlfriend (I think that's who it was) stayed on the computer the entire time I was in there. There are a ton of records left in that store. I don't know how he's going to get rid of them all. According to him, he's got 'til March 31 but there's a slight chance that he might be able to stay for an additional month. I hope he'll stick around as long as possible.

There also beginning to build around him. There were several abandoned stores a few doors down that there's going to turn into a CVS. Thankfully, it hasn't affected the parking. It's not great to begin with and I'm glad it hasn't gotten worse as a result of this.

Ed

 

We were probably there at the same time! They were playing Steve Earle and then Nanci Griffith and the g'friend sang every single note.
We really should have gotten those SHF T-Shirts!
Cheers-
Norm/t5

 

I was wearing a grey suit. I remember hearing a song with lyrics like "we're all immigrants" or something like that. I spent most of my time in the R&B section. You don't, by chance, have an earring, do you?

Ed

 

Yeah, it really isn't. There's something so cool about hunting for that album, finding it, bringing it up to the register, and leaving with it. That experience is largely eroding and it's a real shame.

Ed

 

That's me!

N/t5

 

Last time I was in there (a couple weeks ago), Rick told me it was becoming painfully obvious that he wouldn't be able to sell them individually through the store front like he has been trying to, and that he would probably have to take an offer from some liquidator or other store or reseller to get rid of them finally. I suspect he is pulling out the most valuable items to list on the web. He expressed regret to me that some people are eventually going to get stupendous underpriced deals on some sealed albums, which are probably the most valuable asset. The way he conducted his business in the past, most of those weren't even out in the bins - you had to ask for particular titles. Most don't even have price tags to this day. Strange, kind of backwards way to run a business if you ask me. But he is sort of iconoclastic and has his own ideas about how to do things - not necessarily the conventional way.

 

I'll be darned. I walked right behind you at one point. We really do need those shirts...LOL!

Ed

 

The first few times I came in there, I ended up leaving with nothing but "sealed" records. I was amazed by how many he had. I never understood why he had this area that you couldn't get to chocked full of "sealed" records. Very odd way of doing things. Someone came in earlier in the day and bought a bunch of things off the wall behind the register. What's awful is that the guy didn't even know what he was buying. He just figured it had value so he took it. I'm sure we'll see it on eBay very soon if it isn't up already.

I really don't know how he's going to get rid of all that vinyl. He's been doing well with the sale - no question - but he just has so much stuff. He really needs as much time as he can get and, even with another month, he still won't get rid of it all. There really aren't any dealers around these parts anymore (save for Joe's). He's really in a tough spot.

Ed

 

He explained to me that there were some safety regulations that prevented customers from going back there, and that he felt he could do better selling records by putting the more "reasonably" priced used items up front. He said his goal was to keep at least one copy of every title in the front bins, and that mostly in the back he has extra copies of what is up front. I don't quite believe that, so every time I've found something I want, I ask him for a better copy or sealed copy of same. Sometimes I ask for specific titles I don't see in the bins. He goes in the back and inevitably, at least half the time, he can fulfill my request. I told him I have never had the discipline to construct a "want list" but I may work on doing just that in the next month or so, before he and his amazing stock of albums disappears forever. People have complained about his prices, but I have found quite a number of mint or sealed first edition copies of things there that I see go for much more money on eBay. He has moved some of the sealed stock up front in recent weeks, and I've found a couple of dozen albums this year there that I wanted.

It took quite awhile after he first moved to the Arlington location to get his stock unpacked and put on shelves in the back. The discs sat in cardboard boxes. He slowly got them shelved, and I suppose he couldn't afford to hire much in the way of help to do it. He was going to have a music book section, too, if you can believe it, but that is another one of his plans that never came to fruition. So used books that he has bought over the years are still in boxes.

 

Yeah, I've heard him say that. I need to follow your lead and do the "want list" thing too. Didn't know about "safety regulations" though. I've always wondered why he even had a back area. Why not just open the whole thing up. He could put more bins back there for records. It just seems a waste of space. He also appears to be paying for making that call when he moved to Arlington. Maybe not the best idea...

He has to be able to get ahead, at least a little - hence the markup. I have noticed that some sealed things have moved up. I purchased a Teena Marie "Lady Tee" (sealed, of course) last night that was only given a price sticker at the end of last month. Hopefully, he keeps movin' 'em out.

I remember that. At the end of his tenure in DC, he was really cramped and, as such, much of his stock sat in boxes even then. Remember that his store got cut in half at the end of his run there. When he got to Arlington, he could finally stretch out again. He didn't have help for a couple of reasons. First, no one would stay. Second, if they did, he couldn't afford to pay them. He wasn't doing enough business to pay anyone else. Every once in a while, I'd see another guy (usually during the day) but I avoided him 'cause he wasn't very nice. If I saw him in there, I'd drive away and come back later when he was gone.

Ed

 

I saw ya and the forum t-shirt never would have gone with that cool suit.


Listen fellas: I'm going to Florida tomorrow to visit my folks and chill out (actually warm up) a bit. I'll be back Sunday. I definitely plan on going back to Orpheus at least a couple of more times between the time I get back and the time Rick closes up shop.

Anyone want to schedule another meeting of the DC Chapter around a visit to Orpheus and perhaps some pizza and beer at Faccia Luna? Maybe one Saturday or Sunday afternoon? I could even do a week night since I work in nearby McLean.

It's been too long...

Talk amongst yourselfs. I'll be checking in from Mom's laptop.
Poolside of course

Peace-
N/t5

 

Have fun in the sun. See ya when you get back.

 

I'll hold you to that then Ben
Time again for the DC Crew to reconvene!
Cheers-
N/t5

 

I'd be up for it. Let me know when!

 

This is unbelieveably upsetting to me. I'm just now learning about Orpheus closing...so sad.

Orpheus has been a trusty friend to me since I moved to VA a few years ago. I don't have a massive library yet, so I can always find more than enough to buy there. Ironically, I made a new year's resolution to not go in for a few months so I could save up some money. It sounds like I need to get back there ASAP.

FWIW, I've had several great conversations with Rick and the other guy who works on Sundays. They've been willing to look out for records for me and search through stock in the back when something I mentioned wasn't out in the front stacks.

I'll really miss Orpheus, and will definitely be buying as much as possible before it's closed.

 

The boys are back!

N/t5

 

I think I can speak for all of us who've posted in this thread when I say "we know how you feel". For my part, I've been visiting Orpheus for almost 15 years. I'm so used to it being near me (in DC or in Arlington) that I don't know how I'm gonna react when it's gone. My only alternative, as far as I know, is the 'net. There really isn't anything left. Gosh, I remember when they were so plentiful that you could spend a day "making the rounds". Actually, you almost couldn't. It took longer than that to hit 'em all. My, how things have changed...

Ed

 

yeah..the days of the "rounds" have ended...........