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Not Starting a Record shop & starting a guitar shop, Internet, then the world!


Tom
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Questionable wisdom from people who have never had anything to do with record shops.

 

You make a lot more than a quid a sale.

 

People still shop at record stores.

 

If it's your genuine dream, then sit down with your bank, get yourself in with the suppliers/distributors, and give it a go. It won't be easy, but it's eminently possible.

 

The best model might be a shop that is primarily a musical instrument one, which also sells/buys second-hand CDs. Having a coffee shop too is OTT and probably more work than it's worth.

 

 

I'm amazed he even started a thread when he could have just PM'd you.

 

Personally I think anyone looking at the current economic climate and thinking "Yes, now IS the time to invest heavily in a bricks and mortar company that deals in luxury items and not reposession" wants their head read. But I've never worked in a record shop so I don't know what I'm talking about.

Edited by Happy Face
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Guest alex
But I've never worked in a record shop so I don't know what I'm talking about.

 

Yup, I agree.

'Strop'.

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The best thing for him to do is to take advice of the wiser ones in this thread and knock this idea on the head. :) Vinyl is dying a slow death, why on earth would you want to stake your livelihood on it?

 

agreed. he'd be better off starting an online mp3 shop that also dispatches vinyl

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Guest alex

Shame like but record stores are on the way out. You just have to look in places like Zavvi or HMV, let alone one of the ever decreasing numbers of independent shops, and if you're after anything slightly underground there's a good chance they won't have it because the choice is very limited. Everyone buys stuff cheaper off the internet, if they bother actually buying stuff at all. That's probably why HMV et al have about half the shop devoted to DVDs (another dying market) and video games.

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But I've never worked in a record shop so I don't know what I'm talking about.

 

Yup, I agree.

'Strop'.

Yes, I completely agree, a record + strop shop could be a viable niche market.

razor_strop.jpgFlexcutSlipStrop.gifKIM-MOB-Rescue-Throwing-Strop-(Open)-biggest.jpgPorta-Strop-Lead.jpg

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Your mum.

 

Despite the homogenisation of the industry as a whole, there does seem to be a niche market for online shops specialising in (say) catering to indie boys who like their limited-edition first-week vinyl and so on, but whether that'd translate into a physical presence in this day and age it's hard to say. It's certainly a lot more cost-effective to rent a moderate warehouse space on the edge of some shithole feeder town from which to develop a mail order business than it is to find a central retail unit that'll get the clientele you'd need to survive as an actual shop, anyway. Having said that, I've seen a few places that successfully combine the café vibe described earlier with physical music sales, insofar as they play the music they sell and hence attract a crowd who are into the overall ethos of the place, but that (and indeed any combined business) would open up all manner of additional complications.

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Guest alex

Book shops are going the same way which is also a shame. I'm a hypocrite because I buy most of my books online too.

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Aye, it seems to be the done thing these days to use actual book shops for browsing, then make a mental note to check out how their prices compare with Amazon etc. when you get home.

 

Mind, for all it was daft for Waterstones to have two branches practically opposite each other in town, I'm gutted they've chosen to close the one that was actually nice. Hope someone finds a decent use for that building at some point.

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Aye, it seems to be the done thing these days to use actual book shops for browsing, then make a mental note to check out how their prices compare with Amazon etc. when you get home.

 

Mind, for all it was daft for Waterstones to have two branches practically opposite each other in town, I'm gutted they've chosen to close the one that was actually nice. Hope someone finds a decent use for that building at some point.

 

T-Keith!

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Guest alex
Aye, it seems to be the done thing these days to use actual book shops for browsing, then make a mental note to check out how their prices compare with Amazon etc. when you get home.

 

Mind, for all it was daft for Waterstones to have two branches practically opposite each other in town, I'm gutted they've chosen to close the one that was actually nice. Hope someone finds a decent use for that building at some point.

Which one's closed? One of them was Dillons iirc before it was Waterstones.

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Aye, it seems to be the done thing these days to use actual book shops for browsing, then make a mental note to check out how their prices compare with Amazon etc. when you get home.

 

Mind, for all it was daft for Waterstones to have two branches practically opposite each other in town, I'm gutted they've chosen to close the one that was actually nice. Hope someone finds a decent use for that building at some point.

Which one's closed? One of them was Dillons iirc before it was Waterstones.

It was, yep. They've close the one that was Waterstones beforehand and kept the Dillons one.

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Waterstones do online sales too though, and they're invariably more expensive than Amazon, Play and HMV.

 

I hate how the only deals they seem to do are BOGOF or 3 books for £15. I rarely buy more than one book at a time, I'd much rather the lowest individual price they can manage.

 

*Just been to the website and they've got a half price sale on :) they obviously made a pre-emptive response to my point.

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Guest alex

Amazon are pretty good for 2nd hand books sales I find. You can often get stuff that's been read once for about £2.50 inc the p&p. I still go into Waterstones on a lunchtime now and again though but it's fucking dear.

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Aye, it seems to be the done thing these days to use actual book shops for browsing, then make a mental note to check out how their prices compare with Amazon etc. when you get home.

 

Mind, for all it was daft for Waterstones to have two branches practically opposite each other in town, I'm gutted they've chosen to close the one that was actually nice. Hope someone finds a decent use for that building at some point.

Even with fixed book prices in Germany and living in a town that is literally plastered with book shops I turn to order books online as it is often much more comfortable to avoid the hassle of going into shops. I am not happy with it as the result can only be that German town centres are starting to look more and more as their English equivalents with soulless franchises dominating the scene.

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Book shops are going the same way which is also a shame. I'm a hypocrite because I buy most of my books online too.

 

Aye, you're right.

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Guest alex

How many days is that you've been in the huff now? All because you couldn't back up your opinion on Sven. No need to tell me I'm right btw but feel free to do so.

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How many days is that you've been in the huff now? All because you couldn't back up your opinion on Sven. No need to tell me I'm right btw but feel free to do so.

I'd like to agree with you, but you're OT and ruining the thread. :)

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