JSngry Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 https://www.sfgate.com/la/article/oldest-record-store-los-angeles-for-sale-19489017.php?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 (edited) What an asshole, I am surprised that it even gets 1.9 stars. I am sure every single person on this forum who buys vinyl has found something of tremendous value (to them) that they had no idea existed, either browsing a brick and mortar or browsing online listings somewhere. And is it my bleary eyes or are there 500,000 pieces of vinyl and not a polybag in sight? Edited July 21 by Dan Gould Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjazzg Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 Charmer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 OTOH if he chases people out for violating the rules, you can bet his stock doesn't ever wander far from where he wants it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 I would never go there. The fun of looking through the used record bins is finding something you didn't know existed. On top of that, condition is key. A record store can have a title I've wanted for years but if it's in terrible condition, I'm not buying it. Many years ago, there was a record store in Massachusetts that wouldn't let you look at the condition of their records. If they saw you sliding a record out of the sleeve, they would kick you out. I was in that store for about 2 minutes before I saw them kick someone out. I walked out right behind him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 Great business model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 (edited) Well, I guess he doesn't have to worry much about theft. He owns an archive. He doesn't have to worry about his assets and so he's just "allowing" people to visit his museum. It may be called a "business," but it isn't anymore than if I allowed people into our house to buy something that they were looking for. He's one of those record "collectors" with no interest in having a business. Edited July 21 by rostasi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooster_Ties Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 My Dusty Groove watch-list (more a ‘curious’ list really, in most cases, than a true ‘want’ list) is literally 3,087 items long (I just checked). Anytime I go CD shopping, I try — if I have time — to go thru everything A-Z, even if it’s just very quickly. You never know what you might find, especially things you knew existed, but hardly ever see. I would NEVER frequent a place like this article describes. At a minimum, I would have to give the guy a list of 50 names, and ask him to tell me everything he has by them — but that wouldn’t even hit any of the sideman appearances by those people. Browsing has netted me hundreds of titles (maybe 1,000?) that I would have never otherwise even thought to look for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mjzee Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 I have sympathy for him. His gatekeeping is probably a way to cut down on theft (gingerly alluded to in the paragraph that begins "The day that I visit Chase’s shop to interview him..."). It sounds like, when he asks “Need any assistance?”, all you need to say is "I'm looking for some jazz," and he'll steer you to the jazz area. There's no requirements to buy, and you can still look at the condition of the records (though there's no mention of how competitive his pricing is). He sounds like an ornery old guy; retail will do that to you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 I posted the article at Hoffman and one poster linked a thread about this place on Reddit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidewinder Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 (edited) Sounds from reading the article that Jack Black would be very much at home in this place ! The Gringots of the record business. No doubt discogs sales must be a big part of their business model. Edited July 21 by sidewinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rostasi Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 (edited) 2 hours ago, mjzee said: I have sympathy for him. His gatekeeping is probably a way to cut down on theft (gingerly alluded to in the paragraph that begins "The day that I visit Chase’s shop to interview him..."). It sounds like, when he asks “Need any assistance?”, all you need to say is "I'm looking for some jazz," and he'll steer you to the jazz area. There's no requirements to buy, and you can still look at the condition of the records (though there's no mention of how competitive his pricing is). He sounds like an ornery old guy; retail will do that to you. I'm getting the impression that he wants more than "I'm looking for some jazz." He wants you to have a list so he can get you in and out of there while making bucks in the least amount of time. It also sounds like he'd be mighty pissed if you didn't buy something, so your upcoming days of visiting will probably be numbered. Retail doesn't need ornery old guys ... and if retail does that to you, then you need to do something else. It's a very strange quirk of personality these independent record store operators often have. Locally, we had one guy who was so revered that they made a film about him and his store - even tho the guy was, at best, for many years, a tax evader and, at worst, a pedophile. ... and another guy who recently killed himself had a store just down the street with this sign: "...I gave up caring what anybody thinks about me or the way I do my business at least 20 years ago. And that was the day I truly became happy.” Edited July 21 by rostasi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kh1958 Posted July 21 Report Share Posted July 21 55 minutes ago, rostasi said: I It's a very strange quirk of personality these independent record store operators often have. Locally, we had one guy who was so revered that they made a film about him and his store - even tho the guy was, at worst, a pedophile and, at best, for many years, a tax evader. . That was such a vile store. The owner gave me the creeps. And everything there reeked of cigarettes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Dryden Posted July 22 Report Share Posted July 22 Fred Cohen at Jazz Record Center will happily let you browse his store and be helpful, just don’t touch anything you find up front that isn’t priced. On one visit, he snapped at a customer for picking up a first edition 1950s Blue Note LP and asking the price, it was being prepared for auction. If a store reeked of tobacco smoke I would turn around and leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 22 Author Report Share Posted July 22 Don't they keep shit like that behind the counter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Beat Steve Posted July 22 Report Share Posted July 22 Crazy, ths LA place ... OTOH (apart from this nasty "customer disservice"), this somehow reminds me of stories about record stores way, way back a long time ago in the pre-self service shop days when most of the records in stock and for sale (usually 78s) were in racks on the wall BEHIND the counter and the array of clerks manning the counter and you had to ask the clerks for your specific wants and they pulled them out of the racks. But those were the days when you had listening booths too. All quite hard to imagine as a business model today ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
optatio Posted July 22 Report Share Posted July 22 30 minutes ago, Big Beat Steve said: Crazy, ths LA place ... OTOH (apart from this nasty "customer disservice"), this somehow reminds me of stories about record stores way, way back a long time ago in the pre-self service shop days when most of the records in stock and for sale (usually 78s) were in racks on the wall BEHIND the counter and the array of clerks manning the counter and you had to ask the clerks for your specific wants and they pulled them out of the racks. But those were the days when you had listening booths too. All quite hard to imagine as a business model today ... ... thank you for these memories 😎! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soulpope Posted July 22 Report Share Posted July 22 (Serious) customer is king .... or at least should be .... otherwise no reason to buy "traditionally" .... btw "shop rules" like no beverages/food (while shopping) fully supported .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted July 22 Report Share Posted July 22 (edited) 16 hours ago, kh1958 said: That was such a vile store. The owner gave me the creeps. And everything there reeked of cigarettes. Shopped there once. That was enough for me. Edited July 22 by Joe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted July 22 Report Share Posted July 22 (edited) 7 hours ago, Big Beat Steve said: Crazy, ths LA place ... OTOH (apart from this nasty "customer disservice"), this somehow reminds me of stories about record stores way, way back a long time ago in the pre-self service shop days when most of the records in stock and for sale (usually 78s) were in racks on the wall BEHIND the counter and the array of clerks manning the counter and you had to ask the clerks for your specific wants and they pulled them out of the racks. But those were the days when you had listening booths too. All quite hard to imagine as a business model today ... It's funny you mention listening booths... Stereo Jacks' Jack Woker @Stereojack used to play records I was thinking about buying if I asked nicely enough. Usually, I only asked to see if a scratch was audible, but I seem to remember a couple of times when Jack said, "Put it on and see for yourself", if he recommended something & I wasn't sure. Edited July 22 by Kevin Bresnahan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Gould Posted July 22 Report Share Posted July 22 Sally White (Sally's Place, Westport CT) would open up a promo copy and play it, then sell it to me for $8 instead of full boat on the list price. She was a fantastic lady and store owner with more jazz crammed into a space about the size of my living room than you can imagine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Bresnahan Posted July 22 Report Share Posted July 22 4 minutes ago, Dan Gould said: Sally White (Sally's Place, Westport CT) would open up a promo copy and play it, then sell it to me for $8 instead of full boat on the list price. She was a fantastic lady and store owner with more jazz crammed into a space about the size of my living room than you can imagine. Ed Krech at the now-closed Integrity 'N Music in Wethersfield, CT used to play his promos all the time. If you asked to buy it, he usually pointed you to the racks where a regular copy sat. Ed kept most of the promos he played in the store. Don't get me wrong, he would sell promos, but if he liked the artist and played one of their promo CDs in the store, he wanted to play it, not sell it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felser Posted July 22 Report Share Posted July 22 Val Shively in the Upper Darby section of West Philly was/is notorious for running customers out of the store. 4 million records. I've never been tempted to make the 30-40 minute journey, and it occurs to me that I literally can't remember the last time I was in a brick and mortar store to shop. Has been years, maybe more than a decade. https://clippermedia.org/inside-the-worlds-greatest-record-store/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSngry Posted July 22 Author Report Share Posted July 22 5 hours ago, Joe said: Shopped there once. That was enough for me. Same Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlhoots Posted July 22 Report Share Posted July 22 17 hours ago, Ken Dryden said: Fred Cohen at Jazz Record Center will happily let you browse his store and be helpful, just don’t touch anything you find up front that isn’t priced. On one visit, he snapped at a customer for picking up a first edition 1950s Blue Note LP and asking the price, it was being prepared for auction. If a store reeked of tobacco smoke I would turn around and leave. Fred Cohen came (20+ years ago) to Wisconsin (where I was then living) & bought lots of my LPs. He was very nice to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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