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chugging_pus
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2007 11:59 pm
Posts: 210
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:28 pm 
 

..A brick and mortar storefront that sells heavy metal vinyl of the collectible variety. Thrash metal, speed metal, NWOBHM, death metal (from the early years), etc.

Was interested on what the board's thoughts are on the viability of a store such as this. Do you think a store could survive only selling older releases and not many new releases?

The store would primarily sell Mint, Near Mint and "VG+" copies of classics and great obscure records. Not looking to stock beat up copies of records, just stuff that's ready to hang on your wall.

In addition, I would buy collections or consign records to be sold in the shop. What do you guys think would be a fair consignment percentage for a shop? I was thinking 12% in hopes to get a better selection of sought after vinyl in the shop. I know some shops ask for as much as 50% to consign.

Overall, do you guys think this would be a huge money loss? Or do you think metal heads collect enough vinyl to warrant a small shop like this?

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The_Minstrel51
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Jul 12, 2010 1:06 am
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:35 pm 
 

These kind of shops are usually cool, but be prepared to take big losses.
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HellishHound
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Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2013 9:37 am
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:51 pm 
 

I've often dreamt of doing this. However I think a business such as this would need a good location specifically a location in a huge city: L.A., New York,etc. But also the exclusivity of selling only old metal vinyls just wouldn't work without taking huge losses. However if you had a good location, included a huge selection of metal not just a few old genres I think you could do very well. I caution you though don't do this on a whim think every possible part out before hand this is a business not a hobby you know?
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Zodijackyl
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Joined: Wed Apr 30, 2008 5:39 pm
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:58 pm 
 

It's a difficult business to sustain, and with any store you'll need to have financing secured for the possibility of a few years of losses on top of the up-front investment and acquisition of merchandise.

chugging_pus wrote:
Do you think a store could survive only selling older releases and not many new releases?


No, not at all. If you're running a record store you'll have a hard enough time staying afloat if you stock old and new releases of punk, metal, indie rock, and anything else that's popular on vinyl. Still, profit margins will be fairly thin on vinyl and it's good to have that be an attraction while selling posters, patches, pins, shirts, and other merchandise that isn't quite as costly to produce and acquire.

Paging Gutterscream to this thread as he has real experience with owning a shop.

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chugging_pus
Metal newbie

Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2007 11:59 pm
Posts: 210
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:59 pm 
 

other details:

store would be in Bordentown, NJ. There's already 2 record shops here. 1 focuses on punk, hardcore, alternative and some metal. The other is a larger store with a more general rock focus. 45 mins from Philadelphia, hour and 10 from NYC.

There'd be no space for in store performances, but would have bands doing signings.

The store would be 10 mins from a pretty large bar/venue that does get touring metal bands on a regular basis. (Suffocation just played there)

The store would be 50 percent Near Mint metal vinyl (mostly from the mid 70's to early 90's variety), 25 percent VG+ and 25 percent sealed Mint records.

I'd have an online shop.

Offer consignment to sell people's collections in shop.

Would offer record grading services, as well as appraisal services.

Would sell some record players and equipment in store. As well as smaller amounts of shirts and metal memorabilia.

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lsid
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:41 pm
Posts: 102
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 9:52 pm 
 

I don't know what it is like in the States, but here in the UK rent is just so expensive. Here in Aberdeen we have only one shop left (HMV) and they are pretty much on the brink of collapse. The one independent store that sold vinyl and cd's has just gone bust after decades of being the best place to get music in the city. Was one of the saddest days seeing the owner close that place. In the days leading up to the closure everyone was going in giving condolences etc and the guy looked heartbroken.

Anyway if there is a market in your area for this, and rent and bills are not too expensive then it may work. Be prepared to make a loss in your first year though...not trying to sound negative but being realistic. If it was me I would start up an online shop first and test the waters.

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HeySharpshooter
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2006 3:12 am
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Location: United States
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:29 pm 
 

Our only true Metal store here in AZ, Metal Devastation, did well for a time, well enough to open a second store and start hosting shows. But it eventually went out of business and now all we really have left is Zia Records, a store which caters to pretty much everyone but in terms of it's decor and stuff caters to all "alternative" musical styles(Extreme Metal, Indie Rock, Underground Hip Hop, etc). It's a decent store, and I am often surprised what I will find there, but it isn't perfect.

However, Zia does cater to everyone: yeah they may carry shit from Portal, Dolovotre, Hatred Surge, Running Wild etc, but in order to stay afloat they still have to sell Adele, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.

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TheUglySoldier
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Joined: Mon May 12, 2008 3:44 am
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Location: Australia
PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:35 pm 
 

The climate is probably a bit different over there, but the only metal stores that manage to survive here are ones that, coupled with the old and rare stuff, sell a lot of newer stuff - Utopia Records is probably the biggest here in Sydney, and to my understanding they have had ups and downs. They have some absolutely awesome stuff, but I think they primarily survive by selling more popular stuff, as well.

As others have said, be prepared for losses.
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ralfikk123
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 25, 2013 10:39 pm 
 

There are a few record places here in downtown Chicago that specialize in metal and more underground music. Whats great about it is that it is on the upper floor of a venue that attracts a decent crowd. Other than that, there aren't many record stores that survive. There is one that sells all kinds of old records and genres, and they are barely surviving.
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Grave_Wyrm
Metal Sloth

Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2012 5:55 pm
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 12:19 am 
 

How seriously are you thinking of doing this? As a broke person, I offer my most conservative caution pending a really solid business plan and a considerable amount of sacrificial capital.
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ENKC
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 1:03 am 
 

Questions like this activate my accountant mode. The most fundamental question is what business experience do you have? Because Richard Branson would struggle to turn a buck from this, let alone someone with little business track record.
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Veracs
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 1:40 am 
 

HeySharpshooter wrote:
Our only true Metal store here in AZ, Metal Devastation, did well for a time, well enough to open a second store and start hosting shows. But it eventually went out of business and now all we really have left is Zia Records, a store which caters to pretty much everyone but in terms of it's decor and stuff caters to all "alternative" musical styles(Extreme Metal, Indie Rock, Underground Hip Hop, etc). It's a decent store, and I am often surprised what I will find there, but it isn't perfect.

However, Zia does cater to everyone: yeah they may carry shit from Portal, Dolovotre, Hatred Surge, Running Wild etc, but in order to stay afloat they still have to sell Adele, Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.


Is MD's shop still open? I haven't been there in like three years, but when I did a google search it said: "Closed". Even though his webstore is up and running
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Turner
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 5:31 am 
 

in all honesty, you'd be mad to do this. even mainstream record stores are struggling these days. it's a cool concept (much like opening your own bar) but completely unsustainable. i wouldn't even try it in a major city, or a big "alternative hub" like hamburg, seattle or LA. competing with online sales and illegal downloading is killing industry experts and shit, man.

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Tired
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Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 4:12 pm
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Location: Finland
PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 7:31 am 
 

I doubt it's very economically viable, as many people said, but you could combine it with something else. Like sell cool stuff at the actual shop, but have an internet store which sells other kinds of music and CDs (possibly with a different name, so you don't lose your "credibility"). Although it's true that any actual profitable music industry probably will move online sooner or later anyway.

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aaronmb666
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 7:31 am 
 

I used to go to a used cd, etc store and of the vinyl that they had, it was mainly stuff from the 70's, but hardly any metal. They sold all the old school video games and systems, but they were way overpriced(at least $30 for a used snes game). It wouldve worked 15 years ago, but last time I was there, they were so strict with the used condition, that they didnt even take half of my stuff. Ended up selling almost all of it on amazon.

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Metallumz
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Joined: Mon Jan 31, 2011 2:02 pm
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Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:41 am 
 

Initially on its own the shop would be making losses, but to make such a venture viable I personally would rent out a room upstairs as a practise/recording venue for the local bands. Maybe have a few gigs there occasionally? it not only brings in customers to the shop you also get free advertising in todays social-media market.

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The Orange Man
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Joined: Sat Dec 31, 2011 6:54 pm
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 8:55 am 
 

A record store popped-up out of nowhere one day in a neighboring town a few years ago. Not metal-oriented or anything. Music from every genre. Tons and tons of vinyl stashed into this tiny hole-in-wall store where you have to stand sideways and scrape by another person trying to walk past you. The guy was really cool and had a great dollar record bin, but I didn't think he was going to last too long.

But he's still in business today. He does sell some CDs, tapes, music books, and music videos, but everybody goes there for his selection of vinyl. He's really the only game around for records (although there are a couple other vinyl shops, but they deal strictly in punk and make ends meet due to the huge amount of punk clothes they sell). Anyway, a friend of mine will help him out on the weekends if he's attending an auction or a swap, and he was telling me the owner only recently started turning a profit after years of loosing money. He sunk every dime he had into that place, worked constantly on acquiring new stuff, and he still hasn't made his money back even though the place is always busy.

So yeah, I guess it's going to depend on where you live, but a metal-only record shop sounds like an uphill battle all the way. As some people have already mentioned, your best bet is going to be to also sell stuff other than records. That's fine to be known for your vinyl, but you're going to find easier success if you cater to the metalhead lifestyle, too. How far would I travel to visit a metal record shop? A few towns over maybe once a month or so. How far would I travel if the place also sold t-shirts, patches, videos, stickers, dildos, etc? Probably a couple hours and also make it a point to spend money there when I was in the area.

Quote:
I used to go to a used cd, etc store and of the vinyl that they had, it was mainly stuff from the 70's, but hardly any metal. They sold all the old school video games and systems, but they were way overpriced(at least $30 for a used snes game).

Ha ha ha! There was a place like that around here. Kind of like a geek shop for douchebags. Yard sale vinyl selection, comic books from the 90s, Atari 2600 games for $10/pop, etc. It looked like he bought everything at an estate sale from a 40-year old nerd. Way overpriced, but the pot/body odor funk was free just for walking in the door. I don't think that place lasted much longer than a month.

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HellishHound
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 10:45 am 
 

I go to the record store owned by the guitarist of the punk band ANTISEEN. Every once in a while because it's right beside my grandfathers house. However he doesn't sell any metal or punk records? O.o all classic rock plus some country and rap and I really don't think he's making a profit at all and he's selling "popular" music. You're just gonna have to expand your offering of merchandise op or it's gonna fail. Their aren't enough people buying vinyl these days especially metal vinyl to constitute a store for that niche.
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the_raytownian
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 11:39 am 
 

That's more than likely to be a huge money pit if you don't cram it with "Indie-Pop-Garage" Hipsterbabble and music your mom and dad listened to in the mid-70's (expect a lot of old-timers trying to sell their haggard Beatles records to you, too). Fine if people like those things, and a lot of the customers do, but it's seldom for me.

I've been lucky to have a shop that has all that, but also happens to have a lot of other people's secondhand records they wouldn't normally stock to make looking around (and spending money) worthwhile.

Plus, most of the stuff I'm interested in has been marked down, because I'm basically the only person who wants it. :D
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Zerberus
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 12:15 pm 
 

You've got to remember that you earn next to nothing for each unit sold. For new vinyl releases of popular artists they often have a purchase price ranging from $16-23, and most sell them at around 30-40 bucks, so you have to sell aLOT of vinyls to be able to pay rent, bills and have something left for yourself to live off of. And if you sell mostly metal you gotta take into account that many metalheads are chronically broke and can't afford buying expensive classics.
You have to think about this: What can and will you do to make your store stand out, and what will you do to make people shop with you rather than buying their vinyls in other stores or online?
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PureFrackingArmageddon
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 1:45 pm 
 

I personally would love it but unless you have some reliable outside source of income I would definitely sell more than just metal because you really want as many customers as possible. If I went into a record shop with a great selection of music no matter the genre I wouldn't give a shit and I doubt anyone else would either unless their some uber kvlt douchebag.

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Apteronotus
Metalhead

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 3:15 pm 
 

I am going to jump in with the people discouraging you from trying this out. The physical place I used to buy metal cds from now has more clothing lines for sale than metal music, retail music sales just looks like a dying industry.

Zerberus and lsid have pointed out how costly rent will be, and rent is only part of your overhead. Suppose you got an absurdly small place at 100 square feet with a low rent rate of $10 per square foot, that's $1,000 a month as a super conservative estimate (after a cursory look out of curiosity the lowest rate I found in Bordentown was closer to $2,500 a month). Supposed you even made $6 on each vinyl sold, at that rate you would need to sell 2,000 a year just to keep up with rent - and this is all with conservative estimates. A property owner would likely make you sign at least a year long lease and since you aren't a giant shopping mall conglomerate with bargaining power you would also end up paying the property taxes, building insurance, and maintenance.

This is of course on top of the taxes that you have to pay for your business and for liability insurance for operating your business. Your personal credit would probably be an issue because the business would be new and undercapitalized at first unless you put a bunch of money into it upfront. This would make a landlord demand more as a security deposit, want a certificate of your operating insurance upfront, and make the interest on any loans you went for to have high rates. Add on top of that the costs of obtaining the appropriate licenses and business formation costs. Unless you can afford people to do it for you, the tax, accounting, marketing, and legal issues would all be on your shoulders in addition to the time you have to spend running the music part of the business. If you hire employees you have to think about your contracts with them, more potential liability, social security, medicare, federally mandated leave, unemployment/disability insurance, worker's comp, and complying with all sorts of federal state and local regulations about employment.

Next consider economics in general. Profit margins are usually driven down by competition, and you will be competing against online only shops that lack the overhead costs of a physical location. If there was plenty of money to be made in this kind of a shop then why wouldn't there be a ton of them? Think about how music; particularly mint, near mint, and "vg+" copies, is not at all a necessity but rather a specialized luxury. Even among those who still buy their music a fancy and pricey old vinyl is probably the first thing to fall at the end of a to-buy list. Consider the current economic conditions in your area.

Obviously there are still stores that sell music, so it isn't impossible, but business can be damn hard.

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blood_and_fire
Metal newbie

Joined: Wed Jun 04, 2008 8:26 pm
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Location: Canada
PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 3:40 pm 
 

A good way to test the markets would be to just make a portable distro like most touring bands/people who live at show houses do. Fill up a large milk crate with some records and tapes, and go to shows and set your box up (This obviously only works for smaller more intimate shows, you can't just show up anywhere and do it And try to get your name out for having sweet stuff, to test the waters for your future business. "Whoa that guy who's always at shows with the killer distro just opened his own shop, I better check it out" This only works if you have a lot of shows in your town, or if you go to them at all. Either that or just open an internet distro to start, once again to test the waters/get your name out.

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Misfit74
Metalhead

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Location: United States
PostPosted: Tue Mar 26, 2013 11:01 pm 
 

Nearly every music store that has sold records, tapes, CDs, et. al has gone under here in the Pacific Northwest, that I know of. Budget Tapes & Records closed. Tower Records (a major store that sold all kinds of genres, including metal) has been closed for years and years. There are a couple of small shops staying afloat in the Vancouver/Portland area but I have to think they are not turning a profit...I'd even conspire to say that they could just be fronts, lol. No way can these places do enough volume or enough sales of hi-quality items to profit. Technology has taken over and the niche you're talking about filling is a very thin piece of the pie for music. Perhaps it can be done, but I have to think it need be tied to a pool hall, espresso bar, or restaurant of some sort in order to for the other side of the business to sustain the record store side, much like a bar can sustain a restaurant. I think it's a fun music-fan idea, but a bad business idea that would take a ton of crafting and planning in order to come up with a successful business model.
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Zerberus
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 3:07 am 
 

I know of very few recordstores that seem to be turning a profit. There's this one place I know called Stardust, which sells mostly vinyls (both new and used, you can often find some cool gems there in any genre) but also a few CDs of all genres. However, to keep things afloat they've combined the recordstore with a café. Sounds cheesy, right? Well, it works. There're always a ton of people in there. A pure recordstore most likely can't run anymore, but combine it with something else and you stand a better chance.
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Carpathianchrist
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 10:52 am 
 

lsid wrote:
I don't know what it is like in the States, but here in the UK rent is just so expensive. Here in Aberdeen we have only one shop left (HMV) and they are pretty much on the brink of collapse. The one independent store that sold vinyl and cd's has just gone bust after decades of being the best place to get music in the city. Was one of the saddest days seeing the owner close that place. In the days leading up to the closure everyone was going in giving condolences etc and the guy looked heartbroken.

Anyway if there is a market in your area for this, and rent and bills are not too expensive then it may work. Be prepared to make a loss in your first year though...not trying to sound negative but being realistic. If it was me I would start up an online shop first and test the waters.


We still have the Cavern in Aberdeen which is a vinyl only store two doors down from where 1up was. Pretty well hidden, I have no idea how it stays open but it is rammed to the roof full of records.

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orionmetalhead
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:13 am 
 

It will be impossible for you to compete with Princeton Record Exchange and Vintage Vinyl in NJ. Don't even try, it's not worth it.
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msalyers
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Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2013 11:28 am
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 11:19 am 
 

my girlfriend and i sell yard sale items at the local flea market and our booth is right next to a guy that sells only vinyl. mainly classic rock but he's gotten in some good metal stuff (my GF just picked up IM's piece of mind) and i notice he gets a good amount of traffic looking at his stuff. could work...but you'd have to open up the variety.

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lsid
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:41 pm
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PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 3:29 pm 
 

Carpathianchrist wrote:
lsid wrote:
I don't know what it is like in the States, but here in the UK rent is just so expensive. Here in Aberdeen we have only one shop left (HMV) and they are pretty much on the brink of collapse. The one independent store that sold vinyl and cd's has just gone bust after decades of being the best place to get music in the city. Was one of the saddest days seeing the owner close that place. In the days leading up to the closure everyone was going in giving condolences etc and the guy looked heartbroken.

Anyway if there is a market in your area for this, and rent and bills are not too expensive then it may work. Be prepared to make a loss in your first year though...not trying to sound negative but being realistic. If it was me I would start up an online shop first and test the waters.


We still have the Cavern in Aberdeen which is a vinyl only store two doors down from where 1up was. Pretty well hidden, I have no idea how it stays open but it is rammed to the roof full of records.


Yeah I pop into Cavern now and again but to be honest they don't really have anything that much metal related. Seen a few Iron Maiden LP's and some Metallica but nothing much else. Picked up a few Zappa records and some prog in the past, but everytime I buy something from them the vinyl is generally in pretty poor state. The dude that works there is very easy going, and pretty knowledgable...most of the time I end up chatting to him for at least half an hour lol. I also don't know how they have remained in business for as long as they have, but their service and knowledge is great. If only they had a vast collection of metal on top of all the other stuff they have...

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Carpathianchrist
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Joined: Thu Sep 25, 2008 12:34 pm
Posts: 386
Location: United Kingdom
PostPosted: Wed Mar 27, 2013 9:09 pm 
 

lsid wrote:
Yeah I pop into Cavern now and again but to be honest they don't really have anything that much metal related. Seen a few Iron Maiden LP's and some Metallica but nothing much else. Picked up a few Zappa records and some prog in the past, but everytime I buy something from them the vinyl is generally in pretty poor state. The dude that works there is very easy going, and pretty knowledgable...most of the time I end up chatting to him for at least half an hour lol. I also don't know how they have remained in business for as long as they have, but their service and knowledge is great. If only they had a vast collection of metal on top of all the other stuff they have...


Saw a Bathory record the last time I was in but it seemed to be a mish mash of covers and unexciting stuff. I like the selection of horror movie soundtracks but yeah, you are right, apart from that there is not much interesting. I think there is some sort of ownership link between The Tunnels and Drummonds so that might explain it.

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oneyoudontknow
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PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:02 am 
 

why don't you approach the topic from a broader angle?

Instead of merely selling stuff, you can start some kind of cafe in which people can listen to vinyl disks. You have some turn tables and they can listen to the stuff in their booths. You can sell drinks and disks.
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Morfiend
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Location: WA
PostPosted: Thu Mar 28, 2013 12:47 pm 
 

Brick and mortar shops such as these are dying, which is really sad. If you decide to do this prepare to take a big loss, especially at first. The record shops around here are only sticking around because of the used vinyl market, you might wanna keep that in mind. I've had my online shop for over 2 years now and it's been great. Opening my own brick and mortar shop is a dream of mine but with so many shops closing I doubt I'll ever go that route.
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chugging_pus
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Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2007 11:59 pm
Posts: 210
PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 12:47 am 
 

Thanks for everyone's input.

My pal has a small shop in bordentown, nj. Believe his rent is under 600 a month. The place I'm looking at is 250 ft for $300 a month.

New Jersey does have a strong metal heritage. Bigger shops like vintage vinyl and prex would have nothing on the collections of metal records I've assembled. Both stores have lots of old and new metal typically, but my concept is ALL metal and I've got lots of stuff amassed that you might never see under 1 roof at 1 time. I'd go as far to say that I have nearly every worth a listen thrash and speed metal record (original pressing) released up to 1991 in NM to vg++ condition. A good 20 percent of the stock is sealed records, never opened or played.

I'd definitely have an online shop, and I'd even allow customers to put down payments or make multiple payments for records out of their immediate range. For people who drool over a mint copy of the Soundhouse Tapes, or a sealed original press of Seven Churches, I could make owning it more attainable.

I buy items in bulk from many collectors and stores in very large quantities which affords me good profit margins when records sell. Some of the really rare gems have smaller margins, but I find these records are easy to sell. Wouldn't even need a store to sell them.

The store would not be full of every new band that is paid attention to for 5 minutes and forgotten or just downloaded for free. It will be stocked full of the classics and the contemporaries of the classic bands.

And I'm not slagging the new bands, but we all know the Internet age attention span for their material is very short regardless of how amazing more recent bands may be. My focus is records many of us grew up with, owned on cassette or vinyl, sat in our rooms and digested over and over again. Not pointed and clicked and then moved on to the next band. Records that in the past lived on
our walls.

I do plan to start an online store first, but ultimately will make a stab at a little store. This will enable me to take on consignment, make it easier to buy collections, offer record grading and appraisal service, sell record players (to create more customers), and to have frequent appearences from many of the bands on the shelves as well as newer bands. I'd also sell vintage shirts and new shirts, consign old leather and denim jackets with their patches, spikes, paint, etc., buttons, pins, stickers, patches, and whatever else can be crammed in.

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elf48687789
Metalhead

Joined: Mon Feb 02, 2009 2:03 pm
Posts: 1662
PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 10:33 am 
 

It kind of depends what kind of prices you're going to have. If you have lots of stuff that's 35$+, you're going to limit your market, although there are certainly people who buy those too, but they are hardcore collectors/traders.

You'd want to also sell new reissues at affordable prices, if you just want an elitist place you're going to go out of business.

Personally if I had a store I would even sell metalcore. Have the young kids come in, buy their metalcore, get some Iron Maiden too, thank you please come back, happy customers.

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Zodijackyl
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 11:19 am 
 

That's an awful lot to expect to do with 250 square feet. How much space would it take up to have a record player in display? How much space do you need to have a cash register, a counter with a good light where you can do appraisals, another computer for looking stuff up if needed, and space for a person to sit there? How many records do you expect to be visible in this space?

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ENKC
Veteran

Joined: Fri Feb 29, 2008 7:28 pm
Posts: 2711
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 10:30 pm 
 

chugging_pus wrote:
Thanks for everyone's input.

My pal has a small shop in bordentown, nj. Believe his rent is under 600 a month. The place I'm looking at is 250 ft for $300 a month.

New Jersey does have a strong metal heritage. Bigger shops like vintage vinyl and prex would have nothing on the collections of metal records I've assembled. Both stores have lots of old and new metal typically, but my concept is ALL metal and I've got lots of stuff amassed that you might never see under 1 roof at 1 time. I'd go as far to say that I have nearly every worth a listen thrash and speed metal record (original pressing) released up to 1991 in NM to vg++ condition. A good 20 percent of the stock is sealed records, never opened or played.

I'd definitely have an online shop, and I'd even allow customers to put down payments or make multiple payments for records out of their immediate range. For people who drool over a mint copy of the Soundhouse Tapes, or a sealed original press of Seven Churches, I could make owning it more attainable.

I buy items in bulk from many collectors and stores in very large quantities which affords me good profit margins when records sell. Some of the really rare gems have smaller margins, but I find these records are easy to sell. Wouldn't even need a store to sell them.

The store would not be full of every new band that is paid attention to for 5 minutes and forgotten or just downloaded for free. It will be stocked full of the classics and the contemporaries of the classic bands.

And I'm not slagging the new bands, but we all know the Internet age attention span for their material is very short regardless of how amazing more recent bands may be. My focus is records many of us grew up with, owned on cassette or vinyl, sat in our rooms and digested over and over again. Not pointed and clicked and then moved on to the next band. Records that in the past lived on
our walls.

I do plan to start an online store first, but ultimately will make a stab at a little store. This will enable me to take on consignment, make it easier to buy collections, offer record grading and appraisal service, sell record players (to create more customers), and to have frequent appearences from many of the bands on the shelves as well as newer bands. I'd also sell vintage shirts and new shirts, consign old leather and denim jackets with their patches, spikes, paint, etc., buttons, pins, stickers, patches, and whatever else can be crammed in.

With my accountant hat back on again, what I'm hearing here is still an awful lot of emotional dreaming and almost nothing in the way of actual business planning. So either you'd need to be a multi-millionaire who can afford to blow your money on this as a hobby, or else you'd need some much more serious ideas of how to turn a profit. You're starting from the standpoint of what products are cool from a fan's perspective rather than what products are proven to sell. A business starting from anything other than a profit motive is not one likely to make a profit.
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lsid
Metal newbie

Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2007 2:41 pm
Posts: 102
PostPosted: Fri Mar 29, 2013 11:19 pm 
 

chugging_pus wrote:
Thanks for everyone's input.

My pal has a small shop in bordentown, nj. Believe his rent is under 600 a month. The place I'm looking at is 250 ft for $300 a month.

New Jersey does have a strong metal heritage. Bigger shops like vintage vinyl and prex would have nothing on the collections of metal records I've assembled. Both stores have lots of old and new metal typically, but my concept is ALL metal and I've got lots of stuff amassed that you might never see under 1 roof at 1 time. I'd go as far to say that I have nearly every worth a listen thrash and speed metal record (original pressing) released up to 1991 in NM to vg++ condition. A good 20 percent of the stock is sealed records, never opened or played.

I'd definitely have an online shop, and I'd even allow customers to put down payments or make multiple payments for records out of their immediate range. For people who drool over a mint copy of the Soundhouse Tapes, or a sealed original press of Seven Churches, I could make owning it more attainable.

I buy items in bulk from many collectors and stores in very large quantities which affords me good profit margins when records sell. Some of the really rare gems have smaller margins, but I find these records are easy to sell. Wouldn't even need a store to sell them.

The store would not be full of every new band that is paid attention to for 5 minutes and forgotten or just downloaded for free. It will be stocked full of the classics and the contemporaries of the classic bands.

And I'm not slagging the new bands, but we all know the Internet age attention span for their material is very short regardless of how amazing more recent bands may be. My focus is records many of us grew up with, owned on cassette or vinyl, sat in our rooms and digested over and over again. Not pointed and clicked and then moved on to the next band. Records that in the past lived on
our walls.

I do plan to start an online store first, but ultimately will make a stab at a little store. This will enable me to take on consignment, make it easier to buy collections, offer record grading and appraisal service, sell record players (to create more customers), and to have frequent appearences from many of the bands on the shelves as well as newer bands. I'd also sell vintage shirts and new shirts, consign old leather and denim jackets with their patches, spikes, paint, etc., buttons, pins, stickers, patches, and whatever else can be crammed in.


Again I am not trying to sound negative but you are seriously limiting your market with the music you want to stock. You are basically wanting to sell just classic metal albums...you must understand people's music tastes can change. You are underestimating the "Internet agae attention span". There are loads of really fantastic bands out there that are carving their niche within the metal genre. Deathspell Omega is one band that comes to mind. Sure I love the classic bands, but I'm always looking for a fresh new album I can digest and absorb.

To be honest with you if there is a "classic" metal album I am looking for I can probably find it for a decent price on Discogs, or just get a plain reissue. For example Seven Churches, which you mentioned, can be bought for £15 still sealed. Ok it's a more recent reissue but most people don't care if it's the original LP or not. They buy it simply for the music. You are basically catering for collectors which is seriously limiting your market. I'm sorry but I just don't get it...

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somefella
Veteran

Joined: Sat Dec 20, 2008 11:57 pm
Posts: 3134
Location: Singapore
PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 12:23 am 
 

No offense nor intent to be a wet blanket, but from what OP has said he doesn't appear to know much about the concept of business. Even if your selection of records ARE better than everyone else's, so what? Macdonald's has the WORST food of nearly all fast food chains(Wendy's, Carls Jr, Burger King, KFC, etc) but is probably the biggest of them all. Quality means nothing in most markets.

To get a random market sample, look at this board full of metalheads. How many are willing and able to cough up that kind of money for vinyl, how many even BUY vinyl?
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TheUglySoldier
Metalhead

Joined: Mon May 12, 2008 3:44 am
Posts: 1687
Location: Australia
PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 12:36 am 
 

msalyers wrote:
my girlfriend and i sell yard sale items at the local flea market and our booth is right next to a guy that sells only vinyl. mainly classic rock but he's gotten in some good metal stuff (my GF just picked up IM's piece of mind) and i notice he gets a good amount of traffic looking at his stuff. could work...but you'd have to open up the variety.


A market stall has MUCH lower overheads. Really, this is the most viable way to do it in a physical-store environment, and I imagine he has another source of income.
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Zerberus
Metalhead

Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:29 pm
Posts: 2325
Location: Denmark
PostPosted: Sat Mar 30, 2013 3:28 am 
 

somefella wrote:
To get a random market sample, look at this board full of metalheads. How many are willing and able to cough up that kind of money for vinyl, how many even BUY vinyl?


That's not a bad idea actually. OP could set up a questionnaire and get people on MA to answer it. It would have to include:
sex
age
location
income
disposable income
whether they buy vinyl or not
if they buy vinyl exclusively
How often they buy vinyls
If it matters to them if it's original
The highest price they ever paid for a vinyl and if they would do so again
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