Long time readers of this blog will remember how I used to get ever so slightly too excited about Bank Holiday Monday trips to my local indie emporium when, with literally no logic to back this up, I used to spend without impunity, somehow convincing myself that money spent on a bank holiday doesn't count. Actually, now I think about it, what with it being a day when banks have a holiday, that's not quite such an idiotic idea. Still quite an idiotic idea, mind.
Anyway, said days are long since gone, what with most of the record stores in the whole world having closed down. I'm now left to take my chances with whatever I can find. And so I found myself in a hotel in Derby this morning, flicking through boxes of mainly second-hand vinyl. Most of it, it must be said, was toss. If you ever need a battered copy of any Tina Turner album, a record fair's the place for you. In fact, if you ever need seventeen battered copies of any Tina Turner album, a record fair's the place for you. Sadly, it also appears to be the place for people who get so lost in the supermarket that they never quite find the aisles for soap and deodorant. Sadly, despite the late, great Joe's claim, they can still shop happily. Still, there should be a little corner of the world for everybody and, just like the New Year Sale in HMV is the place for the chronically flatulent, record fairs seem to be the place for the slightly unwashed.
Not me, I hasten to add. I smell perfectly fine, thanks. Anyway, after flicking through the aforementioned tat, I alighted upon a stall selling new stuff. It dawned on me how infrequently I actually get to physically hand over the cash for vinyl these days. The charming bloke I ended up buying a few records from, whose name I can't remember - something like Dave, told me that the record-selling business is so shit these days that he's just resorted to record fairs and "my Vauxhall Cavalier." As a result of these circumstances, most of my record buying occurs online. Not through choice, so much as lack of options.
This neatly dovetails with a request from a rather splendid chap (who has recently directed people to this site from his own rather fine corner of the interweb) for a general guide to picking up vinyl at decent prices. So, provided you don't all start buying everything I want before I can get it, I present:
The Vinyl Junkies guide to buying vinyl
I know, imaginative title, eh?
1. Indie stores online
First and foremost, if you're after new release vinyl that isn't just the latest overly-loud, overly-pompous and overly... well, shit, U2 album then you'll need to identify a few indie retailers who cater for tastes similar to yours.
My chosen benefactors are the splendid people at Norman Records, who I've mentioned previously.
They stock pretty much all the new release stuff you could wish for and, almost always, at the best price you'll find online. They ship the items in very sturdy packaging and turn around orders pronto. Their communication is second to none and often rather amusing. Decent sized orders tend to come with a few sweet - works for me - and they publish weekly reviews of an irreverent nature which carry the following advisory message:
Warning: stay away if you're going to be all offended by us slagging off your favourite artist. We reserve the right to hold an opinion!
The one thing to bear in mind is postage. Vinyl is heavy and bulky and will always require a few quid bunged on top of your order. That said, order more than £50 worth in one go and shipping is free!
There are a few other indie retailers I frequent:
Action Records - The shop in Preston is lovely, the web service is quick and pretty competitively priced. I use them for reasonably recent back catalogue stuff. If you're after something from the last five years, and it's not already super-rare, Action are a good bet.
What Records - Now online only. Vast stock, lots of upfront listings in order to ensure you can get hold of very limited pressings and very secure shipping. Neither particularly keen on obscure stuff nor the cheapest, What is pretty dependable for the rare stuff.
Leaning more towards electronic music than Norm, but covering similar ground, Boomkat is another place to go to for the very limited indie store only pressings and it also does a nice line in flac downloads - not that that's what this post is meant to promote!
2. Catching the big boys getting it wrong
I do so love benefiting from a mis-price by Amazon or HMV. It's double satisfying: knowing you get a bargain and that bargain is directly linked to one of the indie-slayers not making so much money. As a technique, it only really works on pre-orders and you'll need to get in early. Online retailers, or etailers if you will, try to outdo each other in terms of getting things listed first in a bid to get extra sales. As a result, this doesn't always lead to entirely accurate listings. HMV listed the Oasis vinyl box set for 'Stop The Clocks' as a single vinyl at £12.99 delivered for a month. Amazon were gladly flogging the recent Aidan Moffat and the Best Ofs vinyl/CD/bonus CD/7"/Valentine's Card/board game box set as a piece of single vinyl at £13.69 delivered. Peter Doherty's 'Grace/Wastelands' vinyl pressing was £7.98, the same as the CD, delivered for a month. It's all about luck and it's not a guaranteed route to bargains, but it throws up some decent stuff.
3. Caiman on Amazon Marketplace
If it's an album that's getting a release in the US, then a good source of cheap, new vinyl is Caiman USA, Caiman Zone, Caiman Bargain or whatever they're calling themselves at the exact moment when you order. Often charging £8-9 per item, with the stock £1.24 postage on top of that, you can get some real bargains. They tend not to list items until a week or two after release, and those prices don't stay around for long, but they're worth checking for on most new releases.
As for second hand stuff, I can't really offer much more than you already know. Track down your nearest second-hand retailer, keep an eye on eBay auctions that finish in less 'busy' times and search via places like Gemm and Musicstack. That said, car boot sales and record fairs remain the best places to pick up second-hand bargains.
Feel free to leave a comment correcting me, adding extra info or simply sharing your experiences. I enjoy reading about this sort of stuff, honest!
Oh, one last thing. I write a reasonably well-followed blog (which has already been visited by the rather splendid Thomas Pugwash) and yet I've not been sent a promo of The Duckworth Lewis Method's new album to review. I'm naturally quite hurt. That said, a rather positive review will be appearing at the aforementioned splendid chap's aforementioned site shortly.
EDIT: The Duckworth Lewis situation has picked up. Yay.
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