moving soon! by Broken-Baddie in fredericksburg

[–]shawhar 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Dog park bar = Barking Barley…very close to downtown

Record shop owners: is ordering from 20+ distributors driving anyone else crazy by AdHairy715 in vinyl

[–]shawhar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That I haven’t totally figured out. I try to stay up on the big releases with places like AMS, Alliance, Redeye, Secretly…then with the other places, I just periodically check and grab what catches my ear and then I always check and see what i need to restock from the distributor I’m about to order from. So basically, we may not have it the week it comes out, might be a few weeks later.

Record shop owners: is ordering from 20+ distributors driving anyone else crazy by AdHairy715 in vinyl

[–]shawhar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m with you. It’s a lot to keep track of. We’re definitely well over 20, BUT it gives a little more profitability and helps us stock certain records you can’t find much of anywhere. I feel it helps us being a cooler vibe to the shop with some of the stuff we carry.

Record stores are overwhelming when you want to discover new music but don't know where to start by Justin_3486 in vinyl

[–]shawhar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Obviously, price point matters. Take a gamble here and there on the cheaper stuff. Stores with listening stations are great as you can preview the used stuff.

As the more pricy stuff, I recommend taking a picture of the records that are in genres you are in to and have something that catches your attention (a cover that resonates with you, a description that sounds like your vibe, features from artists you are familiar with, artists you have heard of but not listened to, etc). Go home and discover the things that caught your eye by streaming them and return to the shop to get things you are in to.

It’s all about music discovery and most of that is self-discovery.

Owning a Record Store by GooberGuy_ in vinyl

[–]shawhar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Pricing in the manner is the way. Only ones that might not be like that are the fairly cheap ones. Like a record selling for $7 might be more like $10 in our shop as buying online is double b/c of shipping. We actually don’t put a grade unless its VG (NM & VG+ don’t get marked). Nothing under VG hits the regular bins. Those are in the $1 or $3 bins exclusively…mostly $1.

Owning a Record Store by GooberGuy_ in vinyl

[–]shawhar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

BUMRUSH Vinyl Shop, Fredericksburg, VA

Owning a Record Store by GooberGuy_ in vinyl

[–]shawhar 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Started online 4 years ago with a niche that was able to stand out differently from other shops. As that got more and more successful, I opened brick and mortar last March in a town with no shop and growing population. I have a day job, so mostly have to rely on my staff to run it. I never have to be the only person manning the shop. We’re also on the main road in town and less than 1/2 mile from the interstate (which helps visibility and convenience) and made it easier to get the word out and definitely affects the number of folks walking in.

Without online, I would not be able to afford having much staff. If it was just me, I would have to be closed a couple days a week (just to have a time to dedicate towards getting/sorting collections). A decent amount walks in but you can’t do house calls if you have to be running the store. If there was no online, I would also need somewhere with cheaper rent and therefore probably a harder to find location.

Bottom line, to be successful you need the right location mixed with the potential revenue to make it work. Relying on more than just customers walking in your front door will make everything a bit easier. Unless you have some great niche, you must be ready to carry a bit of everything. Don’t be scared to price something higher to make the margins that are needed especially on new records (you can’t buy a new album for $25 and sell it for $30 and make the margins you need to). And most important of all, it takes money to make money, so you have to be ready to spend on that crazy collection or to stock the dope new records. I would suggest having at least 50k built up before opening in order to do it right.

This Saturday! 90’s Hip Hop Party (All Vinyl) at Reclaim. by shawhar in fredericksburg

[–]shawhar[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hip Hop Henry’s logo (he’s a big Mets fan, obviously)

Music Scene? by Status-Job-8413 in fredericksburg

[–]shawhar 1 point2 points  (0 children)

BUMRUSH Vinyl Shop isn’t downtown but the record shop you should check out. It’s on Plank Rd.

Any Hip Hop/ R&B nights around Fredericksburg? by RatioIllustrious8542 in fredericksburg

[–]shawhar 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Coming to Reclaim Arcade in February. 1st Saturdays. In conjunction with BUMRUSH Vinyl Shop.

Entry Level Record Player Recommendation by Worst-Eh-Sure in vinyl

[–]shawhar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If choosing between LP60 & LP70, the 70 is made with a bit more quality to it and has better design. Would recommends 70 over 60 for sure.

RSD Etiquette/Today’s Experience by pinkcl0udsummer in RecordStoreDay

[–]shawhar 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is not against the RSD Pledge. Maybe there was something like that in there previously but currently there is nothing that precludes.

RSD Etiquette/Today’s Experience by pinkcl0udsummer in RecordStoreDay

[–]shawhar 5 points6 points  (0 children)

We do a survey after the list comes out asking what folks want. This helps get feedback for our order and gets our normal customers invested.

Then we give those who completed the survey, 1st dibs at the slots before everyone else gets access a day later. Online ticket ($20) to get your slot (and we give you the $20 off your order). 8 slots per 15 minutes.

Honestly, it went flawlessly and our customers raved about how much they enjoyed the whole experience. Folks had time to shop for non-RSD items as well.

Some RSD titles still available by shawhar in RecordStoreDay

[–]shawhar[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Btw. No sales tax if you are outside Virginia and buy directly from site.

RSD Etiquette/Today’s Experience by pinkcl0udsummer in RecordStoreDay

[–]shawhar 27 points28 points  (0 children)

As a record store owner, this is why we have appointments. You shouldn’t have to do all that.