Vinyl purchases

[sean]

So now I've got my turntable and I'm digging out my old records. Fun times.

My next question is where do you brothers shop for new/used vinyl? Are there places better than Amazon. I've got stores in town which I plan on supporting, but I'm curious about online sources, too.

 

[memphsdad]

Interested in the answer to this as well. Seeing as I have zero vinyl and just bought a record player lol.

 

[VeLoRoK]

I just go to record stores. Asked thrift shops.


Sent back in time from Dr. Hoppy's phone using thinkatalk.

 

[Ozark Rambler]

Here in Jefferson City we have a shop called In the Groove that sells used records and occasionally turntables. The guy has a pretty decent selection and his prices are fair.
I'm only allowed to visit about twice a year tho.

 

[BigSkySmoke]

Thrift shops, goodwill, Craigslist and estate sales. I always have the best luck at estate sales. Not the ones with big crowds, but the smaller ones that are done by family members. They are always thrilled when I start going thru them.

Oh and ebay...refine the search to free shipping and buy it now or best offer. Sometimes you can snag 10+ albums shipped to your door for what the shipping costs.

 

[sean]

I have a handful of stores in San Diego, but I also discovered musicstack.com. It's like an Amazon of nothing but record stores from around the world. I found some HTF stuff from a shop in Sacramento and I have some 45s coming from Jamaica... fun stuff.

 

[memphsdad]

I have a handful of stores in San Diego, but I also discovered musicstack.com. It's like an Amazon of nothing but record stores from around the world. I found some HTF stuff from a shop in Sacramento and I have some 45s coming from Jamaica... fun stuff.

Sacramento you say

 

[sean]

Sacramento you say

Yeah the store was called Audiophile USA the lps were near mint.


http://www.audiophileusa.com/

 

[luckyace12]

Half Price Books is a great place to buy vinyl

 

[luckyace12]

That and Ebay, I got a lot of my Aerosmith records from there

 

[sean]

Hit a local spot for a few slices of black gold:

Frightnrs play a modern-day soulful style of Rocksteady, reminiscent of those old John Holt, Alton Elis, Paragons, Heptones. Plus they are on Daptone, so that keeps it "real."

Rust is an old 90s San Diego band that played a grungy-punk style; kinda like a garage band trying to do pearl jam, couldn't get away from Fugazi's "13 Songs"

The Gain was a poppunk band from Simi Valley that used to play around the San Fernando Valley a lot when I was a teen growing up there. How their 7" got into a used record store in SD beats me. Bought it for the nostalgia factor.

 

[W.B.]

Went to Cracker Barrel this week, found a small selection of popular older records in their gift shop.

 

[BigSkySmoke]

Small little hual from today outings...

 

[luckysaturn13]

Flea markets!

 

[mpomario]

I second Half Price Books. There is a place here called Forever Young Records that my son and I frequent. Usually hit that spot for Record Store Day too.

 

[Old Smokey]

Don't forget to check and see if your area has any Record Shows. There are usually at least a couple of dealers with nice stuff and reasonable prices.

 

[Simian504]

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[3ddasilva3]

eBay has always worked well for me. In most cases, I only end up paying a fraction of the price that I would pay at a local record store.

 

[bwhite220]

Somehow, I've managed to miss this thread until now.

Best places are local record shops, flea markets, and estate sales.

I also have had really good luck with particular shops on Instagram believe it or not. For example, @vitaminvintagevinyl or @indyrecordshop. They post vinyl for sale and include grades for the record and for the sleeve, and if you want it you just comment "BUY". I have found so many gems from these guys it's insane. And their grading and pricing are superb. (Both also have an Etsy store if you want to see their whole catalog for sale).

I'm a huge fan of SMLXLvinyl.com. They sell all new records but they have some really good ones at great prices.

I actually find Amazon's Vinyl page to be a great source. They have, as usual, everything and even have the colored vinyl, heavier gram weights, and picture discs available for the Albums that were pressed that way. And the best part is if there is a problem, let them know and they'll send you another one. I freaking love Amazon!

Another location that works really well for bands that are still "up and coming" is to go to their website and purchase the vinyl they have for sale. Most of these bands end up getting their vinyl on Amazon but occasionally, you just have to go to the band's website. For example, @Xingpao got me HOOKED on a band called St. Paul & the Broken Bones (go listen to them right now if you haven't heard of them). After checking them out on YouTube (favorite video of them here), I had to find out if they had vinyl available. Amazon had their 2nd album but not their first. One quick check on the band's website and boom, nabbed them both.

I have learned to absolutely avoid most big box retailers (Barnes & Noble) and smaller places like Vintage Exchange. They have the "all sales are final" rule which I understand but if you can't test out a record before buying then it seems like an unfair advantage for them. I've received 5 different albums from both locations and 7 of them ended up warped/scratched right out of the sleeve. Wasted purchases and they were overpriced.

 

[Glassman]

Somehow, I've managed to miss this thread until now.

Best places are local record shops, flea markets, and estate sales.

I also have had really good luck with particular shops on Instagram believe it or not. For example, @vitaminvintagevinyl or @indyrecordshop. They post vinyl for sale and include grades for the record and for the sleeve, and if you want it you just comment "BUY". I have found so many gems from these guys it's insane. And their grading and pricing are superb. (Both also have an Etsy store if you want to see their whole catalog for sale).

I'm a huge fan of SMLXLvinyl.com. They sell all new records but they have some really good ones at great prices.

I actually find Amazon's Vinyl page to be a great source. They have, as usual, everything and even have the colored vinyl, heavier gram weights, and picture discs available for the Albums that were pressed that way. And the best part is if there is a problem, let them know and they'll send you another one. I freaking love Amazon!

Another location that works really well for bands that are still "up and coming" is to go to their website and purchase the vinyl they have for sale. Most of these bands end up getting their vinyl on Amazon but occasionally, you just have to go to the band's website. For example, @Xingpao got me HOOKED on a band called St. Paul & the Broken Bones (go listen to them right now if you haven't heard of them). After checking them out on YouTube (favorite video of them here), I had to find out if they had vinyl available. Amazon had their 2nd album but not their first. One quick check on the band's website and boom, nabbed them both.

I have learned to absolutely avoid most big box retailers (Barnes & Noble) and smaller places like Vintage Exchange. They have the "all sales are final" rule which I understand but if you can't test out a record before buying then it seems like an unfair advantage for them. I've received 5 different albums from both locations and 7 of them ended up warped/scratched right out of the sleeve. Wasted purchases and they were overpriced.

Oooooh yeah, St. Paul & B&B is badass. Good stuff B.