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Opening a record store

There was a thread a few weeks ago about someone opening a store selling and repairing vintage stereo equipment and new and used vinyl in Austin, Tx. I haven't heard anything about that venture since. It sounded like it could be a cool business, especially in a town like Austin.
 
GP Hill said:
There was a thread a few weeks ago about someone opening a store selling and repairing vintage stereo equipment and new and used vinyl in Austin, Tx. I haven't heard anything about that venture since. It sounded like it could be a cool business, especially in a town like Austin.
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This the place you're talking about?

http://soundgalleryaustin.com/

Next time I visit Ghog, I want to check out that place.
 
For this type of business location is a key. As an example from NJ - PREX store in Princeton NJ doing quite well - located one block from university campus. You need to be either near Ivy League school or place with young but affluent crowd - another example would be Hoboken across river from Manhattan. Rich kids are key customers base for vinyl sales.
 
I visited HIONFI threes times and like their business model very much and would like to do the same. I have been in business before and am a business major in college, so running a business is not new to me. Lately, I been running into a bottle neck and give it a thorough look and find out what's causing my bottle neck issue. I spend a lot of time looking for deals and its time consuming plus there's no deal to be had in the surrounding area. I drive a lot going to places for deal, which meant gas and time wasted. To increase my opportunities if I have a store not only I will have more exposure to sell goods, but gain more opportunities. I will advertise that I will buy your broken or unused vintage gear and records. My tech will refurbish them and either sell them in store or online. You will be surprised on what kinds of deal you will get when you have a store and advertize. HIONFI scroe some unbelievable deals based on that. I mean gears worth hundred of thousands for $3K only. My biggest overhead will be rent, since nothing is cheap around this area. Then I will have to find a good tech. I don't think decoration will cost too much money, but finding a commercial space is really important.
 
There is a vinyl place in Frederick md that also sells a bit of vintage gear. You might interview them and see how the model is working for them.
 
There used to be a vintage hi-fi store right down the street from me that offered on site repairs in addition to sales. I quickly became good friends with the owner and still am several years after the store has closed. There's a lot more going on behind the scenes than just hiring a tech, renting and decorating a place. After seeing what he went through no way would I attempt something like that. First thing you have to have is a large working inventory as well as a spare parts one that's almost as big. Vintage gear breaks down a lot and quite often parts aren't available. Keeping an inventory and not selling it all is a challenge to as no one wants to go to an empty store. A nice speaker or gear switch for comparisons would be a must. Occasionally gear comes back broken that has to eaten in order to insure not alienating a potentially good customer. Then there has to be a customer base to support the store. You need hi-fi nuts that aren't tire kickers with extra cash as vintage gear is just a hobby and not a necessity. There's a lot to think about before opening those doors. Those scores can quickly become liabilities and yes I've seen it happen.
 
jameswei said:
I visited HIONFI threes times and like their business model very much and would like to do the same. I have been in business before and am a business major in college, so running a business is not new to me. Lately, I been running into a bottle neck and give it a thorough look and find out what's causing my bottle neck issue. I spend a lot of time looking for deals and its time consuming plus there's no deal to be had in the surrounding area. I drive a lot going to places for deal, which meant gas and time wasted. To increase my opportunities if I have a store not only I will have more exposure to sell goods, but gain more opportunities. I will advertise that I will buy your broken or unused vintage gear and records. My tech will refurbish them and either sell them in store or online. You will be surprised on what kinds of deal you will get when you have a store and advertize. HIONFI scroe some unbelievable deals based on that. I mean gears worth hundred of thousands for $3K only. My biggest overhead will be rent, since nothing is cheap around this area. Then I will have to find a good tech. I don't think decoration will cost too much money, but finding a commercial space is really important.
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Sounds like you need to find a tech first before you go any farther. One of the reasons I think (I have no inside information) that HIONFI is doing ok is because their tech is top notch and is certified by many major companies to do their repairs. He is (no disrespect to anyone) a basement solder jockey. Because of this they can charge a primo rate and their restorations are top notch.
 
qpagoda said:
This the place you're talking about?

http://soundgalleryaustin.com/

Next time I visit Ghog, I want to check out that place.
Click to expand...

Great store. I got to see it go from stacks of boxed gear, and empty walls to a really cool place. Some of the gear he has for sale came from me, and I repaired some turntables as well. There are a few members here that are VERY involved.
 
Consider what it takes to gain the inventory. Can you acquire the large lots you need to be profitable? I have run into a few dealers picking up large amounts and some of them have personalities I would not want to support. Can you find that balance in a competitive market?

Also agree on finding a good tech first. Your tech will make or break you depending on their reputation.

Start small, with low overhead. Build a following before agreeing to rent.

Good luck.
 
Two problems with this, the vinyl and the equipment.

Vinyl. You need a lot of space and a lot of inventory in order to satisfy people's wide music tastes. You need a reliable source of vinyl, there is no point trying to reply on Goodwills and Thrift Stores, unless you want to corner the market in Lawrence Welk and Polka albums. Your vinyl needs to be graded, which either means listening to everything you buy, or pricing it cheap and letting the buyers find out. A record cleaning machine would probably not go amiss either.

Equipment. Again, you need inventory to satisfy every clientele, ranging from cheap to expensive. Someone is going to come in wanting a rock system, so you'll need a basic but good turntable, medium to high powered (but cheap) amp, and some Cerwin Vega speakers. The next person will be listening to classical, and will need a Linn, VPI etc. turntable, an accurate sounding amp (insert your favorite here), and some excellent monitor speakers.

Then there is the longevity. Unless you sell exclusively new gear, you'll need to get every vintage piece checked over and possibly restored. There's no sense buying stuff at the Goodwill, from Craigslist, estate sales etc., wiping it over with a duster and giving it a quick DeOx, and expecting it to last. There are already hundreds or thousands of people doing this. I have offered one year warranties on equipment I've serviced, and so far nothing has come back to bite me. Either that, or specify at the time of sale that this is unrestored vintage equipment, and cannot be guaranteed more than a week or so.

Just my two cents.

Lee.
 
I would love to open something of the sort but personally because of the limited market I wouldn't.It would be different if I lived in a town full of AKers.
 
some ideas for you:
1. Maybe (maybe) open weekends only
2. have some time left over to hunt down Craigslist stuff, flea markets,
estate sales, free-cycle, etc
3. know everything about the business and
the hardware (tube amps, BFC, golden age, cartridges, TTs,
and software (vinyl now, 24/96-hires Ripping,...)

find folks to help
1. I know this guy in san Jose who can fix ANY turntable and his
specialty are linears. I make deals with him (swap parts/service/...)
his has a stock of 50 TTs and he sells them to support his retired
life style - And he's NOT on any audio forums. They're out there
2. buy/grab/get lots of stuff free and discombulate them: take tube
stuff - harvest tubes and trafos if you can't get them working.
3. stock parts. just the basics. have some cheap part time help
bag parts for rebuilds...

if you then open a store
1. sell mystery boxes 100 Lps or whatever fits into a cheap grocery
box.
2. sell systems with 100 lps (by type - classical, rock, vocals, ...)
(Craigslist is your friend - I've picked up TTs and receivers for $10
and sometimes they work and sometimes its a belt or a new cable)
3. check out the LP pricers for your pricing model
4. offer selections by type (classical, rock, foreign, ...)
and by price and by sets, and by specials

If you do clean each LP, use a new sleeve and come up with some
system to barcode the things, for pricing and inventory. Use
cheap High School labor.

What we can do to help (how about it - AKers?)
1. send James your unwanted stuff (media mail is cheap)
2. advertise him - he's one of us

James
If you do open your own store - email me - I have an interesting way
of cleaning LPs, cheap, fast, ...

I'd open one but don't have the energy. Can barely finish all my tube
projects.
 
ryanjl said:
No sense in repeating what others have said in this thread, but to me, the hardest part would be (1) getting inventory, and (2) creating demand for it.
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That's a little backwards. Most successful businesses supply products to satisfy existing or growing demand, not creating demand for existing goods....
 
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