kyle Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 I stopped by my local indie music shop for the first time in about a month to visit my buddy who works there. It was 3 in the afternoon and the first thing I noticed were the lights were off and the gates were pulled over the door. I got closer and saw a small, handwritten sign that read, "Thanks for stopping by, but we've closed. Sales too low, overhead too high." Now, their vinyl selection wasn't that great, and I don't buy CD's, so I haven't really bought anything there in ages. However, when an independent shop closes down, its truly a bummer. Especially since their demise can pretty much be blamed on internet downloading. Support your local indie shop! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottheisel Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 Now, their vinyl selection wasn't that great, and I don't buy CD's, so I haven't really bought anything there in ages. Support your local indie shop! Talk about mixed messages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyle Posted August 23, 2007 Author Share Posted August 23, 2007 Now, their vinyl selection wasn't that great, and I don't buy CD's, so I haven't really bought anything there in ages. Support your local indie shop! Talk about mixed messages. Heh. I suppose so. There is another shop on the other end of town that has a better selection for me, so I buy some stuff there. Unfortunately, I know they're not doing too well either. Won't be long till they too fall victim to the mp3 generation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steventangent Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 My local indie shop added a coffee shop to stay afloat. Dude is just starting to carry vinyl now. I used to be the only one who came in and ordered it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flood Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 the biggest problem with indie shops is they rarely cater to their audience, but rather try to groom their audience.. which is ok if you're independently wealthy... but not if you need sales to stay afloat. Adding a coffee shop, throwing instore shows, etc... also why do so few stores really embrace ebay as a way to supplement income? theres a store ive gone to in CT for years that has tons of amazing records on the walls that are absolutely of no interest to their general clientel... why not drop those on ebay... i mean you are selling them... so sell them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skumbucket Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 my local guy is great. he'll order anything you ask him to, his catalogue is incredibly extensive, and in the last year his vinyl selection has quadrupled. he says he's doing better (thanks to the vinyl "resurgence") than he has in ten years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
faith Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 i hate that most record stores here all you find is that old tina turner LP your mom might've listened to 25 years ago except for Extreme Noise on lake st. TOTALLY awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrc Posted August 23, 2007 Share Posted August 23, 2007 i have a new shop in town that carries some decent vinyl. the store is new and is still growing. It kinda is a split store between records and merch and a vegan bakery/resturant. pretty cool and has some dope food even though i like meat. And then there is another shop that opened in the back of a local skate shop. the skate shop has been there for about a year and the vinyl portion just moved in about 2 weeks ago. decent. but about 2 days ago the news came on with breaking news about how some lady was driving past the shop and her husband pulled up next to her and opened fire with a hand gun. she freaked out and drove through the front of the store. pretty crazy story, but now i am down to 1 record shop again until all the repairs are finished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowEndAutomatic Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I stopped by my local indie music shop for the first time in about a month to visit my buddy who works there. It was 3 in the afternoon and the first thing I noticed were the lights were off and the gates were pulled over the door. I got closer and saw a small, handwritten sign that read, "Thanks for stopping by, but we've closed. Sales too low, overhead too high." Now, their vinyl selection wasn't that great, and I don't buy CD's, so I haven't really bought anything there in ages. However, when an independent shop closes down, its truly a bummer. Especially since their demise can pretty much be blamed on internet downloading. Support your local indie shop! This is happening to a shop around the corner from me this weekend... Pretty sad. The guy who owned and operated the shop is the best guy ever, just didn't get the business needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scriptedrain Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 What a bump. Sucks to hear about more going under though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counterfiction Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 What a bump indeed. The store I work at seems to be the exception to the rule as far as record stores go. We have carried vinyl since the store opened (13 years ago) and have always tried to diversify the selection of other products. We also have an EXTENSIVE poster section, t-shirts, new/used DVDs, stickers, etc etc etc. I think the best part is, as someone said above, we don't try to influence shoppers or "groom" our customer base. We carry everything from Emperor to Carrie Underwood and everything in between. If someone wants to buy it they can and we're not going to pass judgment (to their face at least). So yes, PLEASE support your local independent record store. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steventangent Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 My local indie shop added a coffee shop to stay afloat. Dude is just starting to carry vinyl now. I used to be the only one who came in and ordered it. I wasn't paying any attention to screen names when I read this. I almost quoted it to say "Yeah, mine too!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jawbreaker Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 My favorite record stored closed down two years ago this May. They had a great new vinyl selection and always had the best free promotion crap. Unfortunately much of their business relied on CDs and they just couldn't compete with Wal-Mart and FYE. Matt, the only other record store in the area does supplement their income with an eBay store. I interviewed the owner for a piece I wrote and he said eBay was helping the business keep afloat. Pretty smart move. The only bummer is that many of the albums they list never touch the selves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kurtz Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 My local record store closed down about nine months ago. It sucks. I used to have them order things for me on a semi-regular basis. Now the dude who owned it has a stand at the Sunday flea market where he sells used cds and vinyl. It sucks that these small stores are dying off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counterfiction Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 We do a little bit with ebay but it's mostly with old jazz records. The owner still doesn't see the value in hardcore/punk records which is great for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotterson Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 i have a new shop in town that carries some decent vinyl. the store is new and is still growing. It kinda is a split store between records and merch and a vegan bakery/resturant. pretty cool and has some dope food even though i like meat.And then there is another shop that opened in the back of a local skate shop. the skate shop has been there for about a year and the vinyl portion just moved in about 2 weeks ago. decent. but about 2 days ago the news came on with breaking news about how some lady was driving past the shop and her husband pulled up next to her and opened fire with a hand gun. she freaked out and drove through the front of the store. pretty crazy story, but now i am down to 1 record shop again until all the repairs are finished. what stores are these? ive stopped going to cd connection entirely...so i need more stores Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrc Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 There is vinyl frontier down on atlantic blvd by san marco. its mostly old classic rock, motown and other old records. i have gotten a few things there and they have had some vinyl flea market type things that is crowded by old fat guys that love old records. They used to be in the back of the skate shop on hendricks Ave next to jack rabbits but then that car drove through the front door so they moved at the end of last year. For punk rock records i go to a small place down town. Inertia Jax 1520 N Main St Jacksonville, FL 32206 their hours keep shrinking - Wed 2-7 Thurs 2-7 Fri 2-7 Sat 2-7 they used to be in 5 points in the same store as a vegan dinner but moved at the end of last year. The dont have much but usually carry a bunch of no idea stuff and other bands that have bearded dudes in them, and some hardcore stuff. Yeah Cd Connection isnt that good, i havent been down there in about a year. but lst time i was there i did grab Rancid - lets go 2x10" on white vinyl for 8 bucks. Other than that, thats about it. there used to be several music stores in 5 points but no longer are open. Kinda sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajackwithoneeye Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I can vouch for counter fiction's store. I used to live in the dorm right across the street from it for a year and all of my cd's were bought there that year. It is in a prime fucking location too. Right across the street from a huge university, its so convenient for college kids to just walk across the street rather than fighting the traffic to get to Best Buy. Def. my favorite record store after Ear-X-Tacy. I didn't collect vinyl at the time but always browsed their selection and it always had some solid stuff in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowEndAutomatic Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 What a bump. Sucks to hear about more going under though. Yeah, I came across this thread while lookig through "the archives" last night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
counterfiction Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 I can vouch for counter fiction's store. I used to live in the dorm right across the street from it for a year and all of my cd's were bought there that year. It is in a prime fucking location too. Right across the street from a huge university, its so convenient for college kids to just walk across the street rather than fighting the traffic to get to Best Buy. Def. my favorite record store after Ear-X-Tacy. I didn't collect vinyl at the time but always browsed their selection and it always had some solid stuff in it. Why thank you! Yeah, I have a perma-boner for Ear-X-Tacy but I just can't make it out there as much as I would like to. Maybe next week before the Crime In Stereo show . . . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dynamitekid Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 which record store was it that closed? sounds like? the mad platter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattisr1984 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 i try to support the local record stores here whenever i can but that pretty much obviously boils down to whether or not they have something i want. CDs are a whole other issue, but if you want to narrow it down to vinyl--on the one hand i sometimes i think its just the stores buyers fault for not really being in tune to what collectors want. example: im pretty sure the new avenged sevenfold record on vinyl is not exactly on the top of many, if anybody's, list. on the other hand, sometimes its just not possible to bring in the stuff people want because it goes OOP too quick. or people know labels offer rarer variations, etc. etc. heres another interesting point on vinyl in record stores: ive come to know a good handful of people that work at a few local stores here and have been told that when a lot of good vinyl (mostly referring to used vinyl but sometimes new) comes through, the employees rummage through and buy it before it even hits the shelves. thats great for the employees but not so great for your customers... if you want them to keep coming back. you can only rummage through the vinyl section so much and see the same records that nobody wants. a great find would bring you back, wouldnt it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rivalcycle Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 i ALWAYS support my local indie shops. i've got a legendary new jersey shop literally right down the street from me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j4m35 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 i ALWAYS support my local indie shops. i've got a legendary new jersey shop literally right down the street from me. im contemplating making my way down there this evening Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markalark17 Posted March 13, 2008 Share Posted March 13, 2008 Apparently my favorite record store is double-ing their vinyl inventory. WOOOO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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.