Re: [ARSCLIST] Is The Record Shop Dead?

[Tom Fine <tflists@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I totally agree with Steve's conclusion on this:

> Things don't get better or worse, they evolve.  So must we all.

On the one hand, yes, brick and mortar music-software stores are dead or walking dead -- WSJ 
recently reported that Wal-Mart, now the nation's biggest music retailer by far, is reducing CD 
space and variety due to lack of "turnover" in that department (ie the floor space is more 
profitably used for other items). I still think a good part of the problem today is really bad 
content being put out and marketed, but perhaps my tastes haven't "evolved" far enough. In any case 
the idea of going down to a music shop and buying something is a dinosaur.  On the other hand --  
look at something like Amazon, especially since they added used-item sellers -- and eBay. If you 
can't fiind a copy of what you want for a decent price with delivery within a week or so, you're 
either not looking hard enough or searching for something really obscure. I would argue it's been a 
very, very long time since a walk-in store carried _anything_ really obscure. The biggest variety in 
a single building I ever saw was J&R Music World in its heyday, with jazz and classical each in 
separate stores and the import section of the rock store bigger than any mall store in and of 
itself. Still and all, I find it easier to get exactly what I'm looking for and save a ton of money 
not travelling into NYC by using Amazon and/or eBay. Most recent score was snapping up a bunch of 
now or soon out-of-print Verve CD's for less than original retail.

Bottom line, with retailing, if you're not comfortable with the web today, you're at a severe 
disadvantage for just about any item.

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Steven Smolian" <smolians@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 9:50 AM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Is The Record Shop Dead?


> Since discounting was allowed in the late 1940s in the U.S., new records were always sold on a 
> short mark-up.  The bucks used to be there for those who could buy trainloads, run sales on items 
> bought well below wholesale, buy fresh stock, and sell it cheaply with enough left over to pay for 
> the carload when that was due.
>
> Dealers used to make more on cut-outs than new stuff.
>
> I've been on all sides of this counter and concluded long ago that, with small capital, the only 
> way to make money in the retail end of the business was to buy and sell used records. The antique 
> mall model with unattended booths worked well for a while but you needed more than one location. 
> Driving time was lost time.  As gas went up and the CD cycled in, that too became unprofitable. 
> The CD was also a lot more theft-prone.
>
> With eBay, it is no longer necessary to carry bricks an mortar overhead- no emplyee, no need to be 
> there all day, etc.  There's world-wide distribution, not just the ten local collectors who 
> already had what they collected from your stock.
>
> Things don't get better or worse, they evolve.  So must we all.
>
> Steve Smolian
>
>
>
>
>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "phillip holmes" <insuranceman@xxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Friday, June 29, 2007 1:57 AM
> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Is The Record Shop Dead?
>
>
> > The real record shop died a slow death in the '90s.  What I mean by real is:  33, 45, and 78 rpm; 
> > all genres; record care supplies; ephemera; the selection of replacement styli; the stylus 
> > magnifier; the audition turntable and headphones; tobacco smoke _OR_ an old man chewing a cigar 
> > _OR_ the hourly help dealing pot out the back (but preferably all three); two pair of JBL L100 on 
> > the walls; cardboard stand-up Beatles; a ceramic nipper somewhere in the store; at least one 
> > crotchety old worker and one bipolar young worker; a jaded owner that USED to be in "the 
> > business"; the smell of paper aging (the not acid-free kind); and let's not forget the most 
> > important part of a real record shop--delusional and weird record collectors.  Yes, it's dead.
> > Phillip
> >
> > Roger and Allison Kulp wrote:
> > > http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/shows/music_week/agenda_recordshops.shtml
> > >  ---------------------------------
> > > Be a PS3 game guru.
> > > Get your game face on with the latest PS3 news and previews at Yahoo! Games.
> >
> >
> > --
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> > 6/28/2007 5:57 PM