Collectors of vinyl records range from audiophiles to geeks and everything in between. Attend any record convention to watch the Japanese businessman haggle with the face pierced and colorfully tattooed gentleman hawking his vinyl. The sense of peace that purveys these conventions of unlikely comrades is overpowering.
No matter where you fit within this mass of collecting humanity there is one thing
You have to flip through a lot of vinyl to find your treasure
all of us have in common. We have discovered the joy vinyl records can bring. Catching the vinyl collector bug is the easy part, finding the gems for your collection is where the fun and frustration start. Knowing where to look makes life easier and with a little luck, your vinyl treasure is closer than you might believe.
Vinyl records are far from dead and the market for new and used records just keeps expanding. Thanks to the many folks who packed away their vinyl in attics and closets after retiring their turntables, there is a constant flow of good quality, used vinyl to be found.
Friends and family
If you are just stepping into vinyl record collecting the first thing to do is let your friends and family know. The majority of used vinyl available today comes from the basements and attics of people who either gave up on the format long ago or folks who collected for decades and are now selling their collection to help finance their retirement. Either way, family and friends can be a goldmine.
When offered free vinyl, regardless of what’s on the records, take it. Every album has some value if it is playable and trading unwanted records for something more to your taste is a great way to get started. My first vinyl records came from family members and many were in good condition but few were ever going to be played in my home. Thankfully, there were people waiting to offer me cash and a discount on anything I wanted from their store. I had hundreds of records to trade in and hauled a stack down to my local Half Price Books every weekend. The value of the records I traded in was generally pretty inconsequential but the discount for trading them in saved me hundreds over a few years.
EBay
The first month I had my turntable, I spent a lot of time scrolling through EBay offerings and I ordered quite a few. I would guess that half where in the condition described and even fewer where properly packaged for the trip across country. In addition, I often found the same record, in better condition, for less shortly after.
I know guys who have had great luck with EBay and I know there are some very good dealers who specialize in vinyl. Much like the local record shops, you are going to pay a little more but identifying these guys can really help with hard to find vinyl. Overall, I stopped looking on EBay but your experience may be better.
Online dealers
In addition to EBay, there are a handful of great online dealers who specialize in quality records and my favorite is recordsbymail.com. recordsbymail.com combs the country for lost stashes of records, millions of records. They update often and have some of the rarest vinyl known to man. They also have just about any album you can think of and they are always in better condition than described. You may pay a little more here but you are ensured of receiving a disc you can listen to.
Record dealers
Some cities have tons of vinyl records and shops while others seem bare. I am lucky, Austin is the home of many used record shops and I make regular trips to flip through their bins. I only buy a small number of my albums from these dealers generally because the cost is not always friendly to my wallet and often I can get the same vinyl for a fraction of the cost. The upside of these dealers is that they are far more likely to have in stock or are capable of finding the more difficult titles on your list.
Record shops, in my experience, are friendly and staffed by knowledgeable employees who often have an encyclopedic recollection of vinyl record history. Let’s face it; if you are working behind the counter of a record store your passion is likely to be high. While we all dream of finding that mythical stockpile of records, these guys actually do it and pass the treasures on to us.
Antique shops
I have found my most treasured albums under a huge pile of antiques. When I entered the store I was pretty certain I was going to be the victim of an antique avalanche. The store was literally filled floor to ceiling with every conceivable item. I was drawn in by the knowledge that they had amassed a pretty big vinyl collection, even if it took some digging to find anything playable. My wife and I flipped through the bins filled with bad 80s music but most of what we found was unplayable. I had noticed a bin of old western music, some country, and old folk but I was really looking for some old blues, in particular any old Alligator pressings.
I eventually asked the older, wild eyed owner if she had any blues albums. She immediately asked if I was going to buy any because she only had a vague idea where they were and she had been piling random crap on top of them for years. I helped her move the piles of random junk. As we continued deeper I was sure anything under this pile was destroyed but alas, the records finally came into view and had been protected by a large table. I walked out with twenty or so blues albums, many of which were from the 50s and 60s, some by musicians I had never heard of. To me, this was a great find.
My point is, don’t dismiss a place because you don’t see what you want immediately, dig a little, ask questions, and become a friend so they will call you if someone shows up with something you might be interested in.
Used bookstores
Used bookstores seem to come in two flavors, those that actively buy and sell vinyl and those who happen to have a few that came along with estate sales. You never know what you will find in either one and this is where I have filled the majority of common wants in my collection.
The stores that actively trade in vinyl are more likely to buy your unwanted records and have enough knowledge to give you fair value, often little more than a dime but the valuable part is that they will often give you a percentage off future purchases and this can add up.
In general these places have a large number of records and they are cheap, often under two dollars but, unlike the record shop, you are going to have to clean you own vinyl and spend some time looking over the record to ensure it is worth cleaning.
The second type of used bookstore is likely to have found a few records in the book boxes they purchase as a lot. They will probably know nothing about vinyl or its value so you can make great finds here. These places are a long shot however, so unless you are in the area with a little time on your hands, you’re probably better off looking elsewhere.
Conclusion
With a little care and searching you can quickly and inexpensively build your vinyl record collection. Take the time to learn how to spot bad records and how to clean what you find and you will be looking for additional room for your expanding collection in no time.
If you came across the ultimate record fine, share your story here so others can learn from and share your experience.
