audioexchange

Over the past few months I have visited a good few record shops in London, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm (unfortunately Andra Jazz was closed for vacation), Gothenburg and Lisbon. These days there appears to be two types of record shops (aside from nostalgia shops that have a few “vinyls”), those that sell new records and those that sell used ones – some do both. At this stage there are practically no new records that I want – except for new releases (which I can buy at home or from Amazon) or expensive imports (usually US – Analogue Productions, Impex etc) – which are rarely stocked. That leaves me perusing second hand record shops.

To quote myself: (2019) “ have been in dozens of used record shops across Europe and, everywhere you go, it the same stuff: crappy 1970s and 1980s Italian pressings of classic records in weird jackets on thin vinyl. Anything remotely decent is up, on the wall, at staggeringly elevated prices. This, for me, is the ongoing problem of used record stores: as soon as any new high quality stock arrives it is cherry picked by the staff, regulars, lucky browsers etc. such that most of what fills the crates is fairly ordinary. Yes, you might pick up a much wanted replacement of “Nightflight to Venus” for €1, but forget about finding a first or second pressing of an American jazz classic. Indeed, my own experience is that even a first UK or German pressing can be very very expensive.”

In every city there were a handful of extremely well run stores, where there was no escaping the place without dropping €100. However, many of the record shops that I visited are owned by extremely nice people who don’t really seem to know their market. Most of the stock of your average second hand record shop is low quality or uninteresting. A decade or two ago, record shops could be really choosy about what LPs they bought – estates were being liquidated and old records in good shape could be bought cheaply. I believe that the stock of these shops has deteriorated a lot since then – due to the boom in vinyl sales, possibly due to more rapid turnover of higher quality product. A lot of dross remains. It is painful to go digging through crates and crates of second rate reissues or damaged albums looking for good record. So can I give record shop owners some advice:

1. If you are selling a record for >€10 please put it in a plastic dust jacket. Treat the album with the same amount of respect that the purchaser would do. These dust jackets cost cents – and they make the album cover look as if it is in better condition than it is.
2. If you are selling a record for more than €20 please clean it, and have you ultrasonic or vacuum cleaning machine displayed prominently in the shop. Once cleaned – put the record in a nice new inner sleeve (they cost pennies)
3. Catalogue the records properly. There must be times during the week when record shops are not busy – that time could be easily spent actually cataloguing the records on sale and cleaning the good ones.
4. How difficult is it to put a little sticker on the cover with “US second pressing, media NM, sleeve VG+” or equivalent? So that folks don’t have to spend valuable time excitedly picking up albums in pristine sleeves only to discover that they are scratched to pieces on the inside.
5. If you have very high quality and collectable stock – please put a “collectable” bin in front of the cash register (beside the “new in” bin) so that keen collectors don’t have to spend hours crate digging.
6. If you are a cash only business – there seems to be a lot – please have change available. I recently proffered €20 for a €15 album – the retailer did not have change – so he went off to another store and came back with it. Then once paid – no bag – neither plastic nor paper. So I spent the next hour holding a NM sleeve in a sweaty hand with sunscreen dripping down my arm, looking for something, anything, to protect the album (which wouldn’t have been an issue if the seller had followed item 1 above) – eventually using a FNAC magazine as a temporary record sleeve.
7. Engage with your customer – if a customer spends more than 10 minutes digging around your crates, they are likely interested and valuable customers (i.e. they may spend real money). Rather than ignoring them – it does no harm to enquire if they were looking for anything specific. Even if you don’t have it, you can always guide them to equivalent product that you do have.
8. Mind your prices. It takes approximately 3 seconds to look up the price of an equivalent product on Discogs (and it is just as quick to order it). When I am in a record shop and am considering a relatively expensive item – I figure that the Discogs price is about right (the 6% commission that they charge is offset by the shipping costs). If I buy multiple records, I expect a discount. Generally retailers who list on Discogs do a better job of cataloguing and grading their records.
9. Don’t forget digital – there is a hidden market out there for SACDs, DVD-A, BluRay audio and of course music videos – and collectors are willing to pay fairly high prices (as they are for “unofficial” recordings). CDs will be back in a big way – soon – but collectables need to be properly catalogued. These days tourists – who a lot of modern record shops cater for – are travelling with only hand luggage and don’t have room for a bunch of albums. I always return home with more CDs than records.
10. Think about your niche – are you a dance record, indie record, jazz, soul etc. shop? If so, how to you source your stock? I am always on the look out for quality Japanese imports, but it is strange how few record shops seem to stock them. Also, don’t forget that your customers are also a good source for stock. One of our local bookstores buys back books for store credit (at reasonable rates). By providing generous store credit – remembering that trade ins often avoid the VAT (sales tax) conundrum, you lock your customer into a virtuous cycle of visiting your shop. It is likely, 12 years or so into the “vinyl revolution” that there are a lot of vinyl/music enthusiasts with multiple copies of much sought after records – that they would happily trade in their surplus if they didn’t feel ripped off (I have often witnessed people wandering in off the street trying to sell records to used record stores – being treated with distain and then offered laughable sums for their treasured collection – I, for one, don’t wish to be treated this way).
11. Whether or not you sell new or used records or CDs – curate the material (this is the playlist generation after all). Have a stand with “Staff Recommendations” or “Albums of the Year” or “5 Star Reviews” or “Rolling Stone 100 greatest albums” or whatever. This is a very effective way of promoting product – you can stick a little description of the record beneath it. If you think about looking for a couple of novels to read on your vacation – how do you find good ones? Simple – Amazon reviews or staff recommendations or prominent positioning in a shop.
    Often it is hard to know where to start in a record shop when you don’t have much time (I often have a quick browse through the bargain bin or the “new in” bin). Hence well curated display stands for “collectables” (usually left over RSD stock) or of acts “Coming to town” (live) attract a fair amount of attention. There is nothing more off-putting than rows upon rows of records listed A to Z. Also – have an “independent record store exclusives” rack (these are the, usually overpriced, coloured vinyl versions that they don’t sell on Amazon). Finally, think practically about how you catalogue records: for example – some buyers are particularly fond of certain record labels – so have an ECM or Blue Note or Rough Trade or Creation section. This significantly enhances impulse buying. I have often thought that shops should have a “Greatest Hits” section for artist specific compilations – these suck in casual browsers particularly during the holiday periods (most shops that sell new records do display, prominently, “DSOM”, “Rumours”, “Back to Black”, various Springsteen and Bowie albums etc. because that is what sells).
12. Stay open in the evenings. People who buy records – particularly outside tourist season – work during the day and sometimes find themselves in town in the evening with time to kill and money in their pockets.
13. It seems to me that a small number of artists in any given market represent a large proportion of sales – Pink Floyd, Beyonce, Harry Stiles, Rolling Stones, Ed Sheeran, Adele etc. Hence, it makes sense to tap the market for add ons – if Styles has a new album out there should be a large display containing vinyl, CDs, DVDs, Blu Rays, picture discs, books and other memorabilia, T-shirts, bootlegs, some One Direction material etc. Even less dramatic releases such as the Blue Note Classic Record series – should be displayed together so that, when you go to pick up a Grant Green or Herbie Hancock record, you might be tempted to buy that George Braith or Howard Wilkerson album. Even simple side by side comparisons like “If you like this album” -> you’ll love this!” works a treat. Remember, when a potential customer enters your record shop, they are usually LOOKING for something to buy. If they leave 30 mins later with their hands empty, you have failed miserably. Tower Records used to be very effective at using these techniques.
14. Please don’t fill up your “Jazz” section with DOL, Waxtime, JazzWax and other public domain recordings on vinyl. Put them in a separate (2 for €35) section.
15. Finally, give recurrent buyers a discount, they appreciate it and usually spend more.

~ by Pat Neligan on August 25, 2022.

Posted in records shops, Vinyl
Tags: new and used vinyl, new vinyl, record shopping, record shops, used vinyl, vinyl record stores, vinyl records, vinyl retail, vinyl shops, vinyl stores