littlebistro Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Went to a few record stores today in buffalo.. Is it normal for record stores to sell records at eBay prices? I thought it was kind of sketchy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joshnotgood Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 I'd say so. Some stores price based on amazon prices. This is especially true if the store sells online and doesn't have to rely on someone walking in and wanting an obscure and expensive record. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dethrock Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 The few stores I have in my province do. If they get any sort of used colored vinyl, the prices are generally ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thieves Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 good record stores don't. one of my favorite store owners (charles @ my mind's eye) was explaining how he likes to price stuff low enough to be affordable, but high enough to try to discourage ebay flippers from coming in and cleaning him out. it's unfortunate, but i guess it's just the price we collectively pay for having the ability to buy virtually any record we want without leaving the house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
burntwolf Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 amoeba and red devil esp here in CA are sometimes even more than ebay prices Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thieves Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 i love living in a city that's not a huge market, the records here are so much cheaper than what i see whenever i go to chicago or new york Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somethingvinyl Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 There's a "retail" price. A physical store has overhead and other expenses that online retailers don't have so that justifies the price. For instance, when I sell a common U2 or REM record at a record fair, I put $2-3 on it if it's a dollar record and not rare. At the store I work at, it would be $4.99. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magicpanda Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 To put things into perspective: When I'm at home, there's a record store that sells Unknown Pleasures for close to $30. When I'm at school, there's a record store that sells the same album for about $16. Same press and everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snarfsnarf Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 someone here from lakewood?? awesome. i love my minds eye Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thieves Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 yeah, his prices are always real reasonable, even collectible stuff i miss hodad's Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriss Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 It depends on the proprietor. It's tempting to say that stores in higher traffic areas (thus, higher rent and overhead) would sell for lower in order to motivate customers to buy in droves, but there are just as many reasonable vendors to pig headed ones regardless of popularity or obscurity of a location. Some sellers (the good ones) acknowledge that eBay prices and online auction prices are for a multitude of reasons (many bidders aren't near mom and pop used stores so they bid higher to avoid time and gas spent hunting, the record is rare, etc) and will price far lower - those are the ones who you see with a near constant turnover of stock and good word of mouth. There are others who will sell according to price guides and Popsike and no matter how beat up a record is, they'll make you cough up top dollar for it. These are the stores where turnover is the same from three years ago and will be the same three years from now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karadotcollett Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 I love the stores in Atlanta. Criminal Records and Wax N Facts are stores i really enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
damianzamora Posted February 12, 2012 Share Posted February 12, 2012 The stores I go to used to have awesome prices. Now they got some dude that prices stuff at the last high price on pop sike. I had recently put some stuff on hold that didn't have ridiculous prices and when I went back the next day they were magically gone. I am pretty sure that same guy gets everything at cost and resales everything on ebay. one day I'd see a Francis the Mute for $90 and the next day it would be gone. I know most of the record collector's in town and no one would pay that price for it. Anytime new stuff comes in I always see him stash a bunch of shit behind the counter as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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