Jump to content

Running a record tent at a festival - advice? Thoughts?


Recommended Posts

So I sorta impulsively signed up to be a vendor at a street festival in a (very) small town, selling records and tapes. I've always sorta wanted to run a record shop, but apart from passively selling on Discogs for a few years (totaling maybe 400 transactions at 100% positive) I really haven't dipped my toes into any real selling face to face with the public, or had a physical storefront in any way. I'm wondering if anyone has experienced or is familiar with a similar type of deal, selling outside outta crates under a tent, and has any advice, stories, warnings, speculation, etc. I'd very much like to hear it.

 

I don't expect to make money, and anyway that wouldn't be the point. It's more to just see if I can do it, and it's an uncomfortable step into the unknown that might be educational.The plan is to sell about half modern stuff, half vintage. I have plenty of stock in my collection but by restricting to those I wouldn't mind losing or making back at cost for whatever reason,  in my opinion it doesn't completely look like something you'd be satisfied pawing through, so I threw in some high roller items, some more well known albums I could replace pretty easily if ever I was inclined, a couple box sets and weird lookin things. Haven't gotten to the tapes yet but I have managed a lot of desirable modern and vintage cassettes in my collection that aren't junk, Pixies and Sonic Youth and stuff, so I'm confident in that area. 

 

I do have worries and concerns, biggest ones right now being the temperature (supposed to be 84 degrees, probably a bit of humidity, and it's from 12-10pm) and peoples goddamn hands being covered in some sort of festival saucy ass food grabbing records like 'whoopsie'.  But I wonder if there's anything I'm missing. My friend offered her Square reader after I assumed I'd just be cash only, for example, so I'm wondering of the ramifications of that if I am not a business, but hey, I sell on Discogs no problem, so what's wrong with this? Not sure.

Anyway, do post if you have anything to say about it. It's on Saturday so I'll be pricing things til then.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, HoneyFrosted said:

So I sorta impulsively signed up to be a vendor at a street festival in a (very) small town, selling records and tapes. I've always sorta wanted to run a record shop, but apart from passively selling on Discogs for a few years (totaling maybe 400 transactions at 100% positive) I really haven't dipped my toes into any real selling face to face with the public, or had a physical storefront in any way. I'm wondering if anyone has experienced or is familiar with a similar type of deal, selling outside outta crates under a tent, and has any advice, stories, warnings, speculation, etc. I'd very much like to hear it.

 

I don't expect to make money, and anyway that wouldn't be the point. It's more to just see if I can do it, and it's an uncomfortable step into the unknown that might be educational.The plan is to sell about half modern stuff, half vintage. I have plenty of stock in my collection but by restricting to those I wouldn't mind losing or making back at cost for whatever reason,  in my opinion it doesn't completely look like something you'd be satisfied pawing through, so I threw in some high roller items, some more well known albums I could replace pretty easily if ever I was inclined, a couple box sets and weird lookin things. Haven't gotten to the tapes yet but I have managed a lot of desirable modern and vintage cassettes in my collection that aren't junk, Pixies and Sonic Youth and stuff, so I'm confident in that area. 

 

I do have worries and concerns, biggest ones right now being the temperature (supposed to be 84 degrees, probably a bit of humidity, and it's from 12-10pm) and peoples goddamn hands being covered in some sort of festival saucy ass food grabbing records like 'whoopsie'.  But I wonder if there's anything I'm missing. My friend offered her Square reader after I assumed I'd just be cash only, for example, so I'm wondering of the ramifications of that if I am not a business, but hey, I sell on Discogs no problem, so what's wrong with this? Not sure.

Anyway, do post if you have anything to say about it. It's on Saturday so I'll be pricing things til then.

Do you have one of those pop-up tnts you can use to keep everything in the shade? And maybe put up a sign that says something like "no food or drink" and "you fuck it up,  you bought it" or something to that effect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

12 hours ago, MachoHommeRandallSauvage said:

Do you have one of those pop-up tnts you can use to keep everything in the shade? And maybe put up a sign that says something like "no food or drink" and "you fuck it up,  you bought it" or something to that effect.

I will have a big old borrowed tent, which will safely keep em out of sunlight, for free! Wasn't intending to drop a lotta bills on just getting the tent up and running, and a lot of friends and acquaintances have offered their equipment in this endeavor. A good friend is donating 4 awesome apple crates that are pretty perfect at holding 50 records apiece. Besides the tent I guess I'm just worried about the humidity, wondering if I should keep a fan around. Most info I've found says if it's not one of the hottest days of the year, as long as they're out of sunlight it should be fine for one day.

 

As for the no food and drink, I'm considering keeping a big box of complimentary hand wipes or something. Please Clean Hands Before Handling Records?

Anyone have suggestions for makeshift dividers for alphabet, genre, etc? I asked a buddy who runs a music store if he had spares, no luck, and he recommended to make my own out of poster board or something if I didn't wanna drop 75 bucks on 30 plastic dividers that are essentially just blank and properly cut and not worth the retail price.

 

Also - individual price stickers. I wanted to avoid stickers, because I hate em. Not sticking anything to sleeves or, god forbid, jackets. Tempted to print a couple hundred custom ... cards, I guess? That go inside the clear sleeve to indicate band, title, condition, genre, price, small description. Most of the used will be delegated to $2, $3, $4, $5 batches and won't require individual cards.

 

Sorry to go on and on but I keep thinkin of stuff as I go. Probably not hugely thrilling to any of you but I'd still like to hear your thoughts.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, HoneyFrosted said:

I will have a big old borrowed tent, which will safely keep em out of sunlight, for free! Wasn't intending to drop a lotta bills on just getting the tent up and running, and a lot of friends and acquaintances have offered their equipment in this endeavor. A good friend is donating 4 awesome apple crates that are pretty perfect at holding 50 records apiece. Besides the tent I guess I'm just worried about the humidity, wondering if I should keep a fan around. Most info I've found says if it's not one of the hottest days of the year, as long as they're out of sunlight it should be fine for one day.

 

As for the no food and drink, I'm considering keeping a big box of complimentary hand wipes or something. Please Clean Hands Before Handling Records?

Anyone have suggestions for makeshift dividers for alphabet, genre, etc? I asked a buddy who runs a music store if he had spares, no luck, and he recommended to make my own out of poster board or something if I didn't wanna drop 75 bucks on 30 plastic dividers that are essentially just blank and properly cut and not worth the retail price.

 

Also - individual price stickers. I wanted to avoid stickers, because I hate em. Not sticking anything to sleeves or, god forbid, jackets. Tempted to print a couple hundred custom ... cards, I guess? That go inside the clear sleeve to indicate band, title, condition, genre, price, small description. Most of the used will be delegated to $2, $3, $4, $5 batches and won't require individual cards.

 

Sorry to go on and on but I keep thinkin of stuff as I go. Probably not hugely thrilling to any of you but I'd still like to hear your thoughts.

I like all you ideas and the poster board seems like a good idea. You could probably find some cool wood on Craigslist for free if you felt like cutting it down, which might go well with your apple crates.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I sell my artwork in a tent at festivals and markets. A couple of thoughts:

 

- Make sure you know what the sales tax req's are for your locality/state. You may have to register as a biz (sole proprietor) in order to collect tax. My town is pretty strict on this, but ymmv. If you aren't going to do this that often, you may be able to just get a special event/festival permit. Again, varies by state.

 

- Put together an enticing display of your best items to just get people in. A bunch of crates of records doesn't really have a broad appeal. Everyone loves album art though.

 

- Be super personable and have a good story to tell about yourself and why you're doing this. People will open up their wallets more readily when they feel like they have a connection to you.

 

- If you can afford to get some stickers printed up or get any other custom cheap swag, do it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've been selling records on the side at record shows for nearly a decade. I started with a couple boxes, a couple crates and a box for 45's and now take two, eight foot tables worth (1K+ LP's & 45's) to shows I can reasonable drive to and home from same day. I do between 4-6 shows a year all over the Gulf South. 

Here are some tips: 

Just get small Uhaul boxes. They're a $1 each, they stack well, and carry less awkwardly than anything else I've hauled. After a few uses, they do get worn down. But then you can easily and cheaply replace.

Just get your own Square reader. If there's not enough time, borrow one. But Square will give them to you for free just using their service. Check their fees, but it's reasonable. I think when I did $840 in just cards one time, it worked the fees out to around $20.  Or get some comparable reader like Paypal. But make a sign that you accept credit cards. Even at festivals, people forget just how readily unavailable ATM's are. If you're one of the vendors who takes credit cards, you'll sell more. I promise. I resisted for so long but it just makes sense. People usually want to buy, so give them a reason to charge something.

I divide my boxes by genre. I don't have enough enough space or records of one genre to really get sub genre specific. So, there's a couple punk/metal/ska/indie boxes. There's a jazz box. There's five rock/pop/folk/country/electronic/rap boxes. There's a couple soul/blues/gospel/reggae boxes. There's a soundtrack/spoken word/comedy box. I obsessively alphabetize to help people (and myself) locate things easily. Plus, I know immediately if I have something or not because I've wiped, cleaned, bagged, listened to, researched and priced every goddamn record I have. It's easier than you think to keep track of stuff. There's maybe two records in my nearly ten years that passed through my hands that I'm not sure if I sold or they got stolen.

As you get addicted to this, buy a dolly. You can stack three of those Uhaul boxes up safely to load in and out. Saves on the back. I live on the second floor of my apartment. I dread making fifteen trips down to load and vice versa. 

Just buy little white labels at Wal-Mart. Stuff that needs to be bagged you can write a blurb and price. If it's cheap, don't worry that the price tag is on the sleeve.


I always try to set up closest to the entrance. I want to be the first records people are looking at. Sometimes this isn't possible. But if there is a first come, first pick table policy, I'd get there super early. When other vendors start breaking down tables, I keep mine up until the organizers say it's time to go. I've sold a ton sticking around until the very end.

Make up business cards. If you sell on discogs, just have that address, your email, other contact info on the card. People often want to buy records, so be their guy. Not everybody is as resourceful as we are. But people on occasion are  also looking to sell collections sometimes. I've never actually gotten a call this way, but I need more records to buy like I need a hole in my head. If you want to do this more regularly, you got to let people know you're the guy who buys records. I literally just bought 1,100 LP's off Craig's List. If you advertise that you're buying, people will get into contact with you. It helps if you're one of the only people in town doing this. I have a real job and there's tons of people here. But sometimes you get lucky. This was in the collection I bought, which is part of the reason I forked over the dough:
https://www.discogs.com/The-Southern-University-Jazz-Ensemble-Live-At-The-1971-American-College-Jazz-Festival/release/12158075

 

Good luck! Any other questions, just ask.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×

AdBlock Detected

spacer.png

We noticed that you're using an adBlocker

Yes, I'll whitelist