National Record Store Day

I really only buy used shit at brick and mortars anymore because new releases are simply more affordable online, and I don't feel the least bit bad about that.

If there was a shop in my town I'd gladly buy there unfortunately both shops are looong gone, but a lot of stuff I'm into I need to buy direct from labels/bands. But as Krakow knows, i try to get into town when I can. I would rather support local shops. And everyone of the shops I go to agrees that things shouldn't be so limited. But no-one listens.

Anyone (scott?) know what the average margin of profit is for store owners on used stock vs. new stock? I'd bet used sales put more money in the bank year-round.

got the numero comp "burned at boddies" plus a numero compliation CD called "an alternate history of popular music". can't find any info anywhere on the second ... no idea if this is something limited or if it is a preview of something coming out later this year ... the only reference i found to it is here.

There is a lot more money to be made from used than new stock, yes.

that explains why Missing Records still exists then and why this store chain is expanding Anyone heard of this new second hand record/cd chain of stores in England called That's Entertainment?

many x-posts - limiting copies on physical music purchases is a bad idea; punishes the regular customers who may not show up first thing in the morning. What record labels should do is print more but limit it as a one-day sale or something. They can just mark it up enough to make up for the cost of having a few leftovers. Just a thought.

i think it's a fun idea? i guess? hyping one day and making it an event. when was the last time ANY record store was an event destination? so, it works anyway. as far as "regular customers" go, they should get their fat asses out of bed or stay home. they can go a day late and get all the crap that nobody wanted.

i mean, it's a game of sorts. see what you can score. this is sometimes the fun of actual record shopping. if you don't like that sort of thing, shop on amazon.

Ok, but limiting it as they do, it seems that a lot of music stores aren't even making these things availbable to customers anyway; they're just selling it on ebay the day before RSD (according to your post upthread at least - I avoided Music Millenium today after reading from you that they were hawking shit on Ebay a day before it was available to the public, etc.

So if I'm wrong, I stand corrected.

yeah, i mean, i think everyone sees it as a way to make money. customers and store owners and everyone. welcome to america. it's not some perfect system. its a way to hype stores! and if people get greedy, well, welcome to america. wait, i already said that...

i'll probably get stuff for the store next year. but just new reissues. no new foof fighter oasis crap. fuck that shit.

Two Wild Flag singles up on ebay in auctions. The one I posted upthread was a "buy it now" that somebody "bought it then".

Heard that some folks are in the habit of buying and selling desirable discs they're not interested in to subsidize their purchase of tons of stuff they are interested in. Don't know what I think about that. I also heard that My Morning Jacket kindly requested that fans buy just one of the three special pressings or whatever, should fans come across all three for sale. Though of course my fave shop told me one dude inevitably came in and eagerly bought all three.

see that kinda thing is just some sorta pie in the sky crazy. you are in a STORE!!! that SELLS STUFF. just buy one to be nice? seems crazy. maybe on dischord records day. i know some stores limit what some people can buy and that's up to them. but come on its for sale and has a price tag on it!

yeah, i mean, i think everyone sees it as a way to make money. customers and store owners and everyone. welcome to america. it's not some perfect system. its a way to hype stores! and if people get greedy, well, welcome to america. wait, i already said that...

― scott seward, Saturday, April 16, 2011 8:34 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I agree with what your saying. I always thought one purpose of Record Store Days would be to reward people who still gave a shit about buying phsyical releases a way to buy somewhat limited releases that day; I just feel that the current selection is too limited on that day, but again, I'm not a collector.

remember, this is Record Store Day, not Record Buyer Day

It might hurt the cause if it is too limited, yes, but van smack is right. the whole point is to boost activity and excitement in your record store. It is a great way to get casual shoppers into the store, then use the occasion to do some heavy shopping for non RSD items as well.

I've been following this thread with interest, so I went down to Toronto's Sonic Boom (the Scott Pilgrim store) at about 7:00 tonight. I realized within 30 seconds that this is not really my thing. My whole life from 1975 up till 1995 was searching for great record deals; SB had their usual expensive stuff, and maybe some of it was special and limited-release, but I've just never been one to pay a lot for albums. I'm about halfway between this thread and xhuxk's dollar-vinyl thread; "I found this really great album from 1978 in mint condition, and it was only $6!" is about where I sit. (Best thing about the trip was that they were playing "That's When I Reach for My Revolver" over the sound system.)

Just wandered upthread, and I see that xhuxk himself said more less the same thing two years ago.

Since clemenza brings it up, here's what I wrote two years ago (with a couple typos corrected), which I still agree with:

I buy loads of records in thrift stores and garage sales, so maybe I am part of the problem. Usually they are way cheaper and more interesting in those places. But I'm still not partaking in this event today. Maybe that makes me lame. Independent stores deserve to survive, and I hope setting aside a special day for them pulls lots of young kids into the habit -- especially kids pointlessly addicted to getting music the day it comes out, a habit that has never made any sense to me. But braving the crowds seems silly. And I've never been somebody to buy records just because they're rare -- especially when they're created for the sole purpose of their rarity. Seems artificial to me somehow, and none of the records above strike me as all that enticing. (I thought something similar when baseball card companies got self-conscious about their collectability, and it bugged me then, too. Not that it's especially anything new with record labels -- see also: SubPop Singles Club or whatever.) Anyway, more power to the stores -- whatever pulls in customers. I hope they all make tons of money. A friend of mine who runs a store in Philly said Record Store Day last year was his best day in years, and I hope this year he does even better.

― xhuxk, Saturday, 18 April 2009

Should it be mentioned that none of these collectibles are priced so that the stores actually make much money off of them?

xhuxk's where I'm at, in essence, and I might have already said it. Were it not for the fact I was helping friends move all day yesterday I would have likely swung down to a nearby store I know run by a good guy who's been doing this for twenty years in two locations and picked up something, but it would have been just something random in the used section, where I normally look anyway.

Actually (having come to my senses during a morning bike ride just now), I should amend one thing I said in that post -- I don't really think garage sales and thrift stores (or library-overrun stores or guys' houses who put signs up on the street or twice-a-year record conventions) necessarily usually have more interesting selections or even cheaper prices than record stores -- That was just stupid; I obviously go to record stores all the time, way too much probably, to sift through 50-cent bins, dollar bins, even two-dollar bins if I'm feeling especially reckless. It is one of my favorite things to do in the world. I just don't relate at all, though, to the mindset that says have you have to pay ridiculous sucker-bait Record Store Day kinds of prices to find interesting music. That makes no sense to me. And I also don't relate at all to the collector's mentality where you buy records just to resell them, rather than listen to them -- In fact, I barely ever get around to re-selling records at all, even though I've probably got some really collectible stuff on my shelves. That's my problem. But Record Store Day still strikes me as the one day of the year I'd rather not be in record stores, just like New Year's Eve is the last night of the year I'd want to go out drinking. But like I said, I still hope my friends who run stores (hi Scott!) made lots of money yesterday, and maybe reeled in a couple new regular customers who won't wait another 365 days before they visit again.

I bought a CD yesterday - I was in Target on other errands and grabbed the new Radiohead because I happened to see it out of the corner of my eye and it was $10. But I don't own a turntable, so buying limited edition vinyl rarities (most of which are by bands I hate anyway) is out of the question.

xp That said, I did hit Breakaway Records for a few minutes yesterday (since I was at the coffee shop next door anyway) and picked up a 1988 LP by Da Krash for a dollar. The store was way busier than usual, but not insanely. It was kind of cool that I wasn't the only shopper there, for a change. But I really had no interest in checking out what was going on at Waterloo or Antone's, which are way less out-of-the-way, location-wise.

i had a decent day yesterday. even without selling the record store day stuff. and we had a fun show last night. dancing around drunk with the members of the flaming dragons of middle earth to prince's purple rain album was probably the highlight of my day. and it didn't have anything to so with selling records.

i agree totally with chuck's two years ago post.

i sold country records and movie soundtracks and rock and jazz and funk and classical records yesterday. even a conlon nancarrow album of avant garde piano rolls! so i was happy. i was foo fighters-free.

sold the cruising soundtrack. and the warriors soundtrack. CAN YOU DIG IT!!!!???? (met a guy who works at stop & shop and he said "hey, your boy is named cyrus? so is my son! we named him after cyrus in the warriors." thought that was so cool.)

that rules!

picked up a nice used copy of Tangerine Dream's Ricochet. Also played a show at Village Green Records, great little record shop/house venue in Muncie, Indiana.

I wanted to buy the Thrill Jockey records (black twig pickers/glenn jones split, the Phil Manley/Guitarist from Earthless "Norcal Values" thing, and the Liturgy/Oval split), but I couldn't find any of them anywhere :(

we at least have the glenn jones/black twigs and "norcal values" still available, maybe the liturgy record as well. if you still want 'em you can e-mail me and I can figure somethin out dr dot carl dot sagan at gmail dotcom

p sure they had liturgy at fingerprints: http://www.fingerprintsmusic.com/

my overall RSD haul (i went to a few different stores over the weekend): sonic youth live thing, vanguard psych thing, mute compilation. thing i wanted that nobody had: the oxbow king of the jews reissue: http://tinyurl.com/3o28p7d

Oxbow record was delayed apparently. I'd have a phone round this week and get a shop to put it by for you when it does come through.

it'll be available through the website in a few days.

jbr, how do you feel abt the vanguard psych comp? i didn't pick it up, rather let a customer buy it, but I loooooooove the Serpent Power; that whole record is awesomeness.

funny thing is about this is that i was fairly pumped for the weeks preceding to nab that kate bush set, and then realized there was, like, nothing redemeeing about it. aside from resell value.

so you can infer that i didn't even bother waking up til noon saturday

What's all this about an unreleased Elevators single, though?

Can anybody speak to the relative profit margin of LPs versus CDs? I've noticed a lot of records now sell for $20, $25 and even up to $45—granted for deluxe, multiple-LP editions, but still. I'm wondering how much the extra mark-up on LPs is offsetting the general decline in music sales.

What's all this about an unreleased Elevators single, though?

It's "Wait For My Love", the aborted Stacy Sutherland single from early '68. I forget what the flip is, but basically Charly released the "single that never was".

Ok, thanks.

The flip is "May The Circle..." and both sides say "remastered by Sonic Boom" though I can't really hear any difference.

jbr, how do you feel abt the vanguard psych comp? i didn't pick it up, rather let a customer buy it, but I loooooooove the Serpent Power; that whole record is awesomeness.

haven't listened yet! i'll report back when i do.

xpost My understanding is that the profit margin for the stores themselves is still pretty shitty, all said and done.

I suppose that makes sense, given that stores sell vinyl for roughly the same price as labels or artists direct do.

There is no innate difference in profit margin for stores between vinyl and CD. We do find that there is more leeway in terms of what customers will pay for a nicely done piece of vinyl compared to CDs, but any difference in mark-up that we choose to try and make is only very slight.