Opening a record store
- Thread starter jameswei
- Start date
What location in your plan?
There is one store in Edison with tens of thousands records. But I don't think they sell one in months considering you can buy used lp's for 0.5 - 1 in goodwill or other thrift store.
There is one store in Edison with tens of thousands records. But I don't think they sell one in months considering you can buy used lp's for 0.5 - 1 in goodwill or other thrift store.
62sunbeam
Raconteur
I doubt they sell as few as you estimate.
There's a used record store near me in Burbank that does pretty well. No used electronics though.
I would imagine if you were in a hipster rich environment and had low enough rent and cheap enough inventory you could make a go.
Good luck James
Eric
Kneedeepinit
Super Member
I was a black belt in karate and used to love it, until I was talked into opening my own dojo. It became a business and I completely lost any passion for it.
If you enjoy vintage electronics, do it as a flipper. You will probably make a lot more money and you will enjoy it a lot more.
If you enjoy vintage electronics, do it as a flipper. You will probably make a lot more money and you will enjoy it a lot more.
Good buddy of mine
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mellow-Matts-Music-More/624610077590815
Check that out. I got another buddy who repairs gear that's brought in to the shop, and they sell it.
Mostly low end fully auto tt's, speakers, and amps, but business is good.
And Matt is a fantastic guy.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mellow-Matts-Music-More/624610077590815
Check that out. I got another buddy who repairs gear that's brought in to the shop, and they sell it.
Mostly low end fully auto tt's, speakers, and amps, but business is good.
And Matt is a fantastic guy.
I suspect that this is good advice. While vinyl is hot right now, I'm not sure how long before the "young hipster" segment that is driving much of the market moves on to the next cool thing (cassette tape?).
There will always be a market for vinyl and for vintage gear, but I believe that this market is more limited than you might think. And, it's tough to make a lot of money on vintage gear after accounting for the time/cost of restoration and repair. Most of the gear that's available is mid-market stuff, which is also where the biggest market is, but the return on investment is pretty limited. And ebay has made it harder to find decent prices on this kind of gear, so your "cost of goods" will be relatively high (you can't be too picky when you have a store, because you need inventory!).
If you really want to give this a shot, I would recommend doing it at a flea market on a one-day a week basis, or something similar. Your operating costs will be much lower, you won't need to spend nearly as much time acquiring and conditioning your inventory, you can test the market, and I suspect that buyers will be more motivated because of limited hours (limited availablity).
A Store selling purely Vintage would be great!
Forget the Records!
Fully serviced and reconditioned Vintage Pieces only with a Service Dept to boot would be even better. Don't know if would a viable enterprise or not but would be nice to see!
I would do just that if a I win a Lotto but that's easy for anyone to say but I would do it no less with no thought of Profit as I wouldn't need it,just enough to cover expenses would be fine!
Flea Markets do just that here but it's not great and rethinking the Records might work if you let it be a drop-off centre for unwanted ones like the Thrifts get but I wouldn't get my hopes up on that one!:thmbsp:
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futureman
If not now, whenever.
Hi James. There are a few record stores around here. Some do well, some don't. One promising store was open for a very short time before it had to close. I was surprised, especially since the space was so stinking cheap. Then again, their record selection was bad, and they had ridiculous prices on used vinyl. The owners seemed to like the idea of having a record store more than running a good business.
By contrast, another store is doing very well. Good selection of both new and used records at reasonable prices. They also have a turntable tech on the premises and some used vintage equipment, but clearly vinyl is their specialty. Still, it is nice that they do several things well and provide people with multiple reasons to visit. It also helps that this store is close to a bustling college campus and in a somewhat hipster area.
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By contrast, another store is doing very well. Good selection of both new and used records at reasonable prices. They also have a turntable tech on the premises and some used vintage equipment, but clearly vinyl is their specialty. Still, it is nice that they do several things well and provide people with multiple reasons to visit. It also helps that this store is close to a bustling college campus and in a somewhat hipster area.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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portnoy
AK Member
I was perusing CL today for something... (I don't remember what), and found (a link) to this place
https://www.facebook.com/Gr8soundz
https://www.facebook.com/Gr8soundz
moodydan
I love the punk rock.
I've been doing repairs out of my basement for a while, and I'll be working for a local resale shop this summer. Hopefully it will be profitable enough that I can open a repair shop of my own in the near future, but it's nice that I have the resource, opportunity, and support of the store (Pop's in Lexington, KY). I don't know if that kind of thing is an option for you, but it may be worth looking into - a way to see what kind of business you would do before jumping in face first!
Tube Sound
Super Member
Ditto to the above on the challenges. The overhead, rent, utilities, insurance, payroll, kill off most start-ups. Flipping with none of these is what allows some to make a buck. You have a good eye for finding gear, James, I would stick to what you do now, IMHO.
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
Two words: Eight Track.
HeyJB
Active Member
There's a store in my city that is just what you described called Hionfi (except they also sell vinyl), been around for a while as far as I know and recently expanded to a bigger space
No
Eight track do not sale well either. The store I mentioned also selling eight tracks. Hundreds of them. Seems that I am the only person who buy eight tracks there. Since I can see the eight tracks are in the same place as I put it back 2 or 3 month ago.
They ask $5 each for both LP and eight tracks. Take it or leave attitude. They don't discount at all doesn't matter what you say.
And spamming the CL for ads.
:tresbon:
Eight track do not sale well either. The store I mentioned also selling eight tracks. Hundreds of them. Seems that I am the only person who buy eight tracks there. Since I can see the eight tracks are in the same place as I put it back 2 or 3 month ago.
They ask $5 each for both LP and eight tracks. Take it or leave attitude. They don't discount at all doesn't matter what you say.
And spamming the CL for ads.
:tresbon:
phatster
Honey Boo Boob
James,thanks for the link to your friends shop.Everyone I know in this business seems to have a spouse with a full-time job to keep the home fires burning.I would like to have one of their T-shirts since I love to do free advertising for independent small business.:thmbsp:
Dswankey
Lunatic Member
Very interesting, take a look at what used Walkmans are going for along with NOS sealed Maxell's etc; I was reading somewhere that there has been an uptick in newer/indie bands releasing their music on cassette tape. I know a guy, who's not a hipster, and he absolutely swears by cassette tape. I believe RSD 2014, this Saturday, some bands are releasing albums on cassette.
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