Reports of the death of the brick and mortar store have been greatly exaggerated judging by the long line that was wrapped around Warren’s Village Vinyl record store on Dark Friday morning.
Despite the particular popularity and ease of online shopping, local businesses often have something to offer that customers can’t get via a website. Town Vinyl, located on Chicago Road in the city’s historic district being a perfect example.
“The big thing is our special Record Store Day releases, ” said owner John Lehl. “These are limited releases that you are not going to be able to buy on the internet until tomorrow and by that time, you’re trying your luck because they are often already gone.
The first of these is held in April, marking the release associated with between 400 and 500 new vinyl records. The second Record Shop Day on Black Friday features fewer releases, in the area of 125-150, but still sparks plenty of excitement for music fans.
“We don’t guarantee that we are going to have a particular release because we can’t control what the distributors are going to send us, ” stated Lehl. “But we do our best and do what we can and most everyone that will walks away from here is happy. ”
Lehl said the particular hot items this Black Friday were: Dream Widow, which is the fictional band featured within the Foo Fighters’ horror/comedy feature film “Studio 666”; Smash Mouth’s Fush Yu Mang; Grateful Dead Wembley Empire Pool, London, England, 4/7/1972 live recording; plus the Jerry Garcia Coliseum, Hampton VA November 9, 1991 five-record box set.
To help ensure that clients get a fair chance at finding exactly what they want in stock at Village Vinyl, customers are only allowed to purchase one copy of a particular title. Lehl mentioned the policy helps in order to keep “flippers” from purchasing all of the copies of an item, then turning around and selling them on-line for a higher price.
Town Vinyl employee Alex Delavan says he would not be up at the crack associated with dawn on Black Friday if it was not with regard to his love of information. He has worked several Record Store Day Black Fridays and thrives on introducing customers to new music and offering his opinion upon various albums.
“I had a customer who was holding the Ghost album and I told him that will was the album that was on my turntable the most this year, ” said Delavan.
There is something just a little more special about an in-person endorsement of an album as opposed to an on the web review.
Like many stores, Village Vinyl fabric had doorbusters. There were gift packs regarding the first 30 customers that included a koozie, candy, 45 record adapter and other fun products. One of the 30 gift packs also contained a $25 gift card. There have been poster and compact disc giveaways plus a special offer intended for shoppers who came after 11 the. m. on Black Fri only.
“We always work with Kuhnhenn Brewing. So today, if you take a receipt from here and go across the particular street over there, you will get $1 off a beverage, ” stated Lehl. “We try in order to drive business and keep this little community together. ”
On the subject of the resurgence of vinyl records, Lehl said they never really went away but that in recent years, interest has increased. The advent of compact discs made vinyl fabric recede, but not totally.
“You have the particular 1990s and early 2000s where there were very limited pressings so a lot of the records produced at that time are very valuable due to the fact they had been so restricted, ” mentioned Lehl. “I’d say by the late 2000s, around 2010, that will be when everything started to go back up.
“Right now it’s good so let’s hope it just keeps going. ”