things i didn't say at the record store

Age 13 I bought a used copy of Quadrophenia from Stereo Jack’s in Cambridge MA for $5 based exclusively on the fact that it looked great, came with that beguiling pull-out photo booklet, and was a double record which made it seem even more of a deal. I had never heard a note of The Who in my life. The punchline should be that I hated it but reader I fell in love with it, taped it, and listened to it on my Walkman all the time, even when my family hiked up Mt Washington.

xp tbh I usually feel bad about looking things up because I assume the shop staff will assume I'm just looking it up on Discogs to see if I can flip it, but that isn't what I'm doing!

I will look things up if it is something that looks intriguing, but I'm not familiar with it. When I got back into listening to vinyl a few years ago, I was taking risks on stacks and stacks of stuff. I got spatially overwhelmed by all the music that I didn't want to listen to. At that point, I realized that it was not my duty or obligation to be the Disco 12" Guardian of My Small Town or whatever. It's pretty rare for me now to haul records back to Goodwill or try to sell them to a local record store. When I bring a record back to the house, I'd prefer that it's for keeps.

I have a bunch of stuff floating around in my mental wantlist where it’s like “is this the album by wire train heard that I liked?” so I need to look up on internet to confirm #oldstonerlife

I definitely walk away to a corner while I do it, though, if I can’t get out of peoples way I don’t do it.

people I didn’t punch at the record store

I've definitely started looking up more and more things to see whether I like them or not. Have put in my years of taking a chance on things, I've literally got about 1200 unwanted records to start putting up on discogs and a large amount of those were bought because they looked interesting and turned out to be not my thing, and a good few of the others are duplicates that I accidently bought. Don't really care how the shop owner feels about it tbh, I always buy something in every place I go unless it really sucks, and if they've priced their records properly then they don't need to worry that I'm trying to make a buck out of them (i do buy to flip though sometimes, some people put the daftest things in the bargain bins just cos they've dismissed whole genres as being not worthy of their time - those are some of my favourite shops tbh)

someone years ago came in and asked me which albums would be best to buy...to sell. i wasn't that helpful.

haha! I pulled out a copy of this from a box on the floor the other day. old mono classical record? straight in the quid bin mate...

https://www.discogs.com/release/4143663-Brahms-Johanna-Martzy-And-The-Philharmonia-Orchestra-Conducted-By-Paul-Kletzki-Brahms-Violin-Concert

xp the ones in your store, because you bought them to sell

Yeah if you’re going to look up every record, why even go into a store??

( M just told me that someone commented on a paid FB ad of ours and asked about stereo gear. they weren't looking to buy. they just wanted information. another local store commented and told them to come to their store because they have lots of gear. M hid the other store's comment. the old me would have been pissed. just seems like poor etiquette to tell someone to come to your store on an advertisement for someone else's store! but i'm in the back room listening to deep tech from argentina. live and let live! for the record: we don't sell stereo stuff. but i don't think that matters here. this other store is new and i don't know the owners well. just met them in passing. i went in and bought stuff when they opened and made a mention of them on our FB page to be neighborly.)

(but what say you, peanut gallery. poor form or what?)

I love going into a record store with no agenda or hope of getting any particular record. That said, if I’m looking up/price checking an album it’s because 1) don’t want to be scammed 2) genuinely surprised if the record in question is actually selling for $X used these days.

Yeah if you’re going to look up every record, why even go into a store??

For me, I mostly like buying records I've never even heard of before, things I'd never otherwise encounter. Some of them are in genres where there's a hell of a lot of mediocre records, if not outright garbage. Looking stuff up does help navigate things, especially if you can listen to them, otherwise I'd be going home with 20 fresh slices of total poop that would go straight in my ever-growing pile of shite I don't want.

Being able to look up things is a luxury! Prices can be all over the place depending on the shop, but the more I trust the place the more likely it is that I'm looking up things just to get a better handle on what something intriguing or vaguely familiar actually is.

i knew you guys were going to end up defending yourselves. but you guys don't count! if an ilxor-type came into my store i would be so happy. but this is mostly dudly dudes. they look up every record and stand in one spot for two hours and then spend five bucks and they are boring as hell.

also i am mean and cranky.

seriously though when smart city people come in they are a joy to talk to and open and curious about stuff and a pleasure to be around. and they love my store and say nice things about it. unfortunately i don't live near a city so they don't come in that much.

when i see people looking up a dire straits record though...come on now.

or "supposed DJs" who ransack my 12-inches and buy nothing...blah. but that's commerce for you.

"but this is mostly dudly dudes. they look up every record and stand in one spot for two hours and then spend five bucks and they are boring as hell."

Guys do this in the store where I work with dollar records and $0.50 singles! Looking up and play testing for an hour. You can't take a flyer on those, man? It's not my store so I have no say in us having a listening station but sometimes I want to hide the headphones behind the counter when I'm working and tell these guys they broke.

you need a switch behind the counter that enables and disables the listening station based on the dudliness of the dude

or ask the owner to make a time limit. put up a sign.

record stores should offer overnight lock-ins with a turntable, a comfy chair and a couple of bottles of wine. charge a fee, set a minimum spend amount. would totally get stuck into those crates of 45s that no-one ever has the time to go through

no play testing vinyl records period

my brother used to lock an NYC DJ into his store overnight. they have the best all night digging drugs.

ahhh the dream

i feel bad when i have a record and i don't want to put it in the store because its too nice! so sometimes i don't. i do put the bulk of my discogs stock in the store but not the $$$ stuff where i really have to make sure that the condition stays exactly the same. people manhandle records. and people LOVE to manhandle the most expensive records with no thought of buying them.

i have been known to clasp trees albums to my heaving bosom its true

(especially older stuff that is more delicate. people just aren't as careful as they should be. when i was younger i used to hate it when a store just had covers out and you had to ask to see the record for more expensive stuff but i get it now.)

I bought some records off discogs last week, the seller messaged me that they were about a mile away from me so I could just come and get them and save on postage, so I did, and the guy there said they'd got a big collection in with a load of rare flexis that they decided not to put in the shop because of people fucking them up browsing through them.

It was a good plan to get me to pick up the records because I ended up spending another £50 in the shop.

I stopped going to record stores when I started listening to vaporwave -- there's just no demand or supply

Not much of a market for vapor, I reckon.

people LOVE to manhandle the most expensive records with no thought of buying them.

#truthbombs

they look up every record and stand in one spot for two hours and then spend five bucks

gearing up for selling at a show on the 12th, if anyone tries this at my table they are banned immediately. go bother someone else, digging space is at a premium

good luck at the show.

i opened up and put on a live Pretenders boot from 1980 and the first person through the door had to tell me that he never listened to the Pretenders until he heard "Brass In Pokcet" and got physically aroused. he kinda liked them after that. i will have to live with that little tidbit until the day i die.

You know, we are all Pretenders to some degree in this crazy world, in life, until the day we die

What I mean by that is that from now on I'm going to have to pretend you didn't share that story with us.

haha, sorry! i needed to share my pain.

new band name:

"Brass In Pokcet"

is that Brass In Pocket, or are you just happy to... hear the Pretenders?

I inherited a signed copy of The Pretenders' first LP from my grandpa. it's otherwise a £1 record, do people want signed Pretenders records? just wondering

someone might!

i am a record dealer who has zero interest in autographs. i do have a copy of black sabbath s/t signed by all four demons but even that i don't get that excited by. i have two early westbound funkadelic records and they came from different places and on both george clinton uses the word "bitch" and "dog" in his inscription. those are kinda cool.

i feel like they weirdly complicate my life. sometimes i just pretend they aren't there. does a signed maria muldaur record raise the price? by how much? who cares!!??

I don't care about autographs either. I have CDs signed by Paul Collins and the guitarist from D.R.I. but I didn't ask them to sign them they just did (bought them at gigs)

i go on discogs right now and this is the first thing i see on my store page:

"mickey hart" AUTOGRAPH on front. looks legit and matches online examples of his signature but not authenticated in any way.

its just so boring.

I've got a few signed records, but I treat it as a neat bonus and not something I'm seeking out or paying extra to get.

the only way an autograph would mean anything to me is if I was the one who procured it from the artist

generally would favor a previous owner's name in sharpie over signatures. especially if I buy a few from the same collection.

I am dispersing my dead friend's record collection back into the universe, he had a signed Sparks 12"! that was pretty cool. we gave it to his brother.

generally would favor a previous owner's name in sharpie over signatures. especially if I buy a few from the same collection.

i've got a few lps where the previous owner was a local musician and/or critic. who would have thought michael morley was once a fan of the international submarine band?

I bought a shoegaze-era Boo Radleys 12" at the weekend, on the inner sleeve is written "happy 18th Flamp Damp from Afterbirth + Aunty Jags xxx". Flamp Damp must be pushing 50 now.

Almost every time I’m at the store, someone asks me “Are these all your records?”

Meaning, I suppose, “is this your personal collection that you’re now selling?”

Which is a weird thing to ask someone at their store.

Runner up: “Have you listened to all of these?”

I’m gonna go into a clothing boutique and be like “Are all these your clothes? Have you worn them all?”