Name your fav local independent record shops!

[Tom-Brown]

There is one which is 20 miles from me in Lincoln - "Back to Mono" but to be honest the shop is small and takes you forever to search through the stock I know it's not helping the smaller shops, but to be honest I'd rather get a bargain off t'bay Most shops, and this includes charity shops, all tend to want top dollar for their records!!! They all seem to go straight to the Record Collectors Guide and believe that the prices in there are "gospel"!!!!

[The Barbarian]

That bloody thing single handedly destroyed any chance of the average record buyer getting a record at a decent price. Paved the way for dealers to rip you off & worse of all sellers that manipulate the RC Grading system to their own advantage. What angers me is people that stock pile rare records as an investment. {Got new for you that is a bad move, pump all your money away}

[Tom-Brown]

That bloody thing single handedly destroyed any chance of the average record buyer getting a record at a decent price. Paved the way for dealers to rip you off & worse of all sellers that manipulate the RC Grading system to their own advantage. What angers me is people that stock pile rare records as an investment. {Got new for you that is a bad move, pump all your money away}

I totally agree, I buy to play and yes I have some "rare" vinyl but I bought well and play it often!!!! I don't know how they arrive at their prices, and quick a few are well out. Dr Feelgood's 1st 2 Lp's (Down by the jetty and Malpractice) are listed at £18 mint!! You can't get a decent copy for less than £20-£30!!!

[amigarobbo]

Thanks to a thread on pfm, I've just discovered this place in Southport: http://st33.wordpress.com/record-sho...ges-southport/

I can see me walking out with quite a few carrier bags full of goodies after visiting there!!



Marco.

Just too much stuff! I'd love to spend a day going through all his stuff...

Quicksilver in Southport is worth a look too.

http://www.quicksilvermusic.co.uk

[IslandPink]

Don't know if anybody already mentioned Keswick Collectables - in St. John Street, Keswick ( Cumbria ) .
Looks like an antique and book shop from the front ; inside at the back, a small area with several good racks of LPs and singles mostly from 60's , 70's & 80's . On the wall typically numerous rarities in the £70-£500 range . Last time I was in there ( he tortures me every time I pop in there for a quick look round ) he had 'The Sound of Sunforest' by Sunforest (Deram) up there . Regularly seems to sniff out the best collections in the North of England . Have spent easily over £1000 in there in the last 7 or 8 years . Given the appreciation of vinyl, this has turned out to be a very wise investment .

He hasn't got a website and doesn't do e-mail .

[Marco]

Good shout, Mark. I’ll be sure to pop in there next time I’m up in the Lakes

Marco.

[Qwin]

Keswick Collectables

Rant 1
I bought a first press Beatles Rubber soul (Loud) from there, had three to choose from, all in good nick and played well and all half the price of a naff 2nd press that was scratched and clicked at the Oxfam shop 500 yards down the road. I complained to Oxfam about their pricing, not just over this but quoted them examples from three of their shops in the cash strapped North. I got a very stock response of, "we use the record collectors guide". They may do but the grading is well off, so therefore is the price. Oxfam and anything to do with them is Black listed by me. Funny thing is there were loads of folks in the Keswick shop and the buzz was "why is everything so expensive" refering to the clothing.

Seems that you have to be rich to shop at certain charity shops these days, and for items that were gifted.

Rant 2
While I'm on the subject, of the record collectors guide, what a joke, how can you grade a copy of a sound recording without any reference to sound. Looks can be decieving, the worst sounding LP I ever bought was a copy of Bowies Hunky Dory, no don't say it, nothing to do with Mr Bowies abilities as a singer it was the scratchyest worst sounding thing I had ever come accross, even after going through the RCM twice. It looked very good without any signs of damage and could easily pass for excelent+ according to the guide criteria.
I was ripped of on the Bay but what could I do, the seller quoted the quide grading and his visual assesment was correct.

I'm aware of all the problems surounding sound quality v equipment used if trying to grade sound, but there has to be a better way of doing it.


Sorry for the double rant, two of my pet hates these.

[Tom-Brown]

Qwin!! I quite agree with you about "sound quality" not visual!! However, sometimes it can work to your advantage - I took a gamble on a very early Fats Domino LP - graded as poor and got it for £3 quid........It looks like someone has used it as a dinner plate on both sides!!! To my surprise it plays great, no clicks, jumps or background noise apart from the odd bits on the run in's and between tracks!! A testament to old vinyl

[Qwin]

Graham - Yes I find a lot of old Mono stuff looks bad but plays good.

I bought a Pink/Plum Led Zep II that looked and played terible, but after cleaning on the RCM gave the biggest improvement of anything I have cleaned, it now sounds very nice with hardly a noise, even between tracks. Best fiver I ever spent on vinyl.

An old school friend is opening a record shop a couple of hundred yards from my house - talk about temptation!
Its early days and he is only just moving stock in to the premesis. He has been web based for about seven years, but may start selling from the shop if there is enough interest. I will keep checking and report back if he goes that route.

[Tom-Brown]

Graham - Yes I find a lot of old Mono stuff looks bad but plays good.

I bought a Pink/Plum Led Zep II that looked and played terible, but after cleaning on the RCM gave the biggest improvement of anything I have cleaned, it now sounds very nice with hardly a noise, even between tracks. Best fiver I ever spent on vinyl.

An old school friend is opening a record shop a couple of hundred yards from my house - talk about temptation!
Its early days and he is only just moving stock in to the premesis. He has been web based for about seven years, but may start selling from the shop if there is enough interest. I will keep checking and report back if he goes that route.

He must be very brave!! I buy & sell but it just funds my own vinyl choices!! I'd love to have a shop, but the overheads are really prohibitive especially when you take into account the money tied up in stock.. I wish him all the best, and hope you can resist the temptation