Shuga Records in Minnesota*

Anyone been to this store? I constantly find stuff on my wantlist on ebay and discogs that these guys have...problem is most of it is ridiculously priced...I'm talking 3-4x what the average close auction is. I mean, that's cool if you can convince people to pay more but damn. Anyway, just wondering if their new store has reasonable prices.

 

No comment.

 

I have never been in their store mainly due to some of the high prices on their website. Roadrunner is my favorite place to buy used vinyl in Minneapolis.

 

Right...I guess I should have reworded my question. I am thinking of doing some vinyl buying traveling next year so I am kinda planning out what geographic region would be best. That and I am cataloging my collection through discogs for insurance purposes and when looking at values they seem to always have the highest. Heck, I have found several in my collection that they want $100 and I would probably let them go at half that and be happy. The dude has 400,000 records so he knows how to obtain them.

 

I don't see how someone can keep taking in stock if they are asking so much for everything. I mean, you have to sell in order to make the cashflow thing positive. There is a store here in Dallas that's like that...bunch of amazing stuff but no prices and then you get to the counter and find out you could order two of them off ebay for that price. When I walk into a store and see good stuff all over, I know the prices are too high. Here in Austin most of the stores have superquick turnover because they are generally 10-20% below ebay. I wish more brick and mortar (and online stores) would start slashing their prices...you make more by moving that stuff instead of looking at it with that high price tag.

 

A way overpriced ebay store ($250 for a mint UK McCartney Venus & Mars? C'mon!) Descriptions are vague and 1 picture per item just don't cut it.

 

Never checked out the online inventory but the bricks & mortar location was a real letdown the one time I was there. The so-called collectables on the walls were ridiculously overpriced and the regular used inventory was bargain bin junk. There are much better used records stores in the Twin Cities.

Here's another vote for Roadrunner as the top shop.

 

Agreed, thus why I ignore them when they come up in ebay searches.

 

Well, what was really crazy is finding they had two 90's indie rock 7" from the band Schrasj for $60 a piece. This was a Houston band and I still see them sitting in dollar bins all around Texas. I have everything they have ever put out. What's funny is they have pictures on the sleeves where clearly the previous store had them for $1...and they are asking $60...haha. Even better is that they call it "Michigan Punk".

http://cgi.ebay.com/SCHRASJ-tower-lemon-song-7-mint-vinyl-FANTASTIC-/220623903024?pt=Music_on_Vinyl

http://cgi.ebay.com/SCHRASJ-fruit-electro-pastel-7-mint-vinyl-76-2-/220623905549?pt=Music_on_Vinyl

 

I made the mistake of ordering from their ebay store years ago...
There grading is random...seriously... I was told at the time the grading mistake was because they were so busy and didn't really have time to look close.

They are very overpriced and sell junk quality records...at least from my experience.

Rick

 

At least where I go (Seattle area, and where I live) there is not enough product to move.
The small shops I go to often, just aren't getting the records to sell..they could sell tons if people were giving them up..but their not.
Thus, you see outrageous prices on both "the good stuff" and the junk.

People are sitting on their stuff...


Rick

 

Same thing here. I would avoid buying from them again.

 

Got ripped off by them on ebay. They sent an extremely warped record. Sent it back but the Adam guy never acknowledged its return. Then after the dispute (which I lost), he put it back on ebay. A dishonest POS.

 

I tried once, poor grading, won't buy from them again.

 

Shuga Records are pretty much a running joke on any number of record forums. They are the go-to "gold standard" example whenever discussing the topic of online record stock inventories with completely ridiculous out-to-lunch prices.

 

I bought from them a few times maybe eight or ten years ago. They are overpriced and their grading cannot be trusted. I gave them a few chances to make things right, then gave up.

If you want an on-line dealer that has excellent prices AND accurate grading go to Craig Moerer. In my opnion one of the best kept secrets for buying vinyl on-line. And when they do rarely miss the mark on grading, they take care of you. I cannot count the many excellent deals I have got from them over the years.

 

I went into their store last year. They had recently moved to a less costly place on the north side of town. It's more like a used record store than a collectors' store; nothing special in the bins. They also had a stage for live performances and much old hi-fi gear haphazardly displayed on shelves.

They did have some nice 60s Zappa and Beatles pressings on the wall behind the counter. However, most of their business seemed to be out of the large warehouse at the back of the building. They had a couple of PCs out for customers to search their inventory (much like their web site). It was necessary to ask to see any records in which I was interested.

I would say that Shuga Records represents a common trend on the internet - the "premium price seller" who simply lists large quantities of records and waits for collectors who are willing to pay. Amazon Marketplace and eBay are full of them. They have a large enough inventory and low enough overhead that I'd bet that they make a pretty decent income.

Not to diminish anyone else' experience, I found them to be nice enough and familiar with music and records. I understand the risk of buying sight-unseen online. Because I came to the store, they did discount my purchase by about 30% from the internet price. It's not a store that I would return to for browsing. In contrast, I would suggest that Craig Moerer is a more dependable seller of this type.

 

There are probably half a dozen better places in the Twin Cities to buy records.

 

I was always amazed at their asking prices. I just ran across a listing for Jimi Hendrix - Cry of Love. The original US pressing is the one you'll find in 95% of the listings on eBay. You should be able to find a mint copy for $15.00 without too much trouble. Shuga only wants $125.00 (or best offer) for his.

ARTIST NAME: JIMI HENDRIX
TITLE NAME: THE CRY OF LOVE
FORMAT: LP
DISC CONDITION: mint -
COVER CONDITION: VG++
YEAR PRESSED: 1970
Catalog #: MS 2034
OTHER INFO:gate fold cover, stereo, REPRISE RECORDS. BROWN LABEL. RL (ROBERT BOB LUDWIG DEAD WAX STAMPER.) STERLING STAMPER. USA

The free market is is great. He is free to list his products for what he wants and we are free to find the humor in his prices.

 

I got burned. I bought a Stones 45, Street Fighting Man, from them that was graded in NM- condition. The record was more like VG to VG+.

Never again. I have yet to give them feedback. It won't be positive, if I do.

 

I bought two records from them on eBay.

Both were described NM and had higher than usual price tags. I was unpleasantly surprised when the items arrived.

The first record had NM vinyl, but the "NM" sleeve had ringwear and two non-removable stickers. I kept it because the pressing is rare, and I was happy with the vinyl.

The second record (also graded NM) was so off base (scratches, filthy) that I wrote them a message through eBay complaining about the condition. There was no response for several days. I then emailed the store directly and they promptly refunded my money, with an apology.


Mine were not the most awful experiences, but there are far more eBay sellers I would prefer to do business with.

 

Well, you'll all be happy to know that they debuted their store in Chicago today and it was EXACTLY like the description right here. One of the worst record stores I've ever been too. Mindblowing that they even sell a single thing

 

I don't get what motivates this guy to slap $400 price tags on totally random mediocre records. He had this one interesting looking LP by a Christian group called "Real Thing" listed as BIN $400. For years it was there and probably still is. Eventually I found this record at WFMU for $2. It's a nice record worth maybe $10 tops. He had this obscure Rhodesian political LP I wanted and again he had a $300 price tag on it. I would periodically put in best offers of $10, $15, $18, etc. Finally a copy came up for auction with a MB of $9.99. I was the only bidder and won. I sent Shuga-rare a link to the finished auction and thanked him for refusing my offers because in the end I got it for the correct price. His response was

 

It was funny yesterday when shopping there. 75 bucks for the first Ting Tings record, 59.99 for a fair condition copy of Led Zep IV, and $20 bucks for a Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water that was listed as NM but in reality was barely G. The 'collectable' wall had a Guns N Roses GNR Lies in VG condition for 60 bucks. Also the entire Moody Blues Catalog for the low low price of $13.99 each. These were just some of the inventory highlights. Needless to say I didn't buy a thing

 

Thanks for the tip! That's one new record shop in the Chicago area I won't be visiting anytime soon! At least Vintage Vinyl in Evanston sells excellent to near mint records......even if their prices are some of the highest I've seen in a record store. It sounds like Shuga is asking Vintage Vinyl prices for flea market condition records! Wonder how long that's gonna work for them?