Talk and share knowledge on rare records, sources of new samples, vinyl, diggin, etc
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By damien907 Tue Apr 15, 2008 1:09 am
so i was in this record shop yesterday with one of my friends, in vancouver bc and i was looking through some crates as usual, finding some stuff to listen to then i took two peices over to the listening station and was about to pop them in and dude comes up to me and says "excuse me, are you planning on buying those?" naturally i was taken aback, i was like what, i dont know man, and then he says "i cant have you listening to those especially this expensive one, its a 35 dollar record unless your going to buy it.
saying that shit to me like i was 10 years old.

so i was like "well dude, what do you want me to listen to? dollar bin records?"

and he said strait up "no, not those either."

"give me those ill re-file them for you"

so in conclusion me and my friend decieded **** "vinyl records" on 319 west hastings street.

how the fook are you going to treat your costomers like this? i mean, you have listening stations for a reason dont you?

has this happened to anyone else? i mean, im newer to the digging culture but sh!t man, "are you going to buy theese?"
how the fck am i supposed to know if im going to buy these if i havent listened to them.
its not like i was destroying his record collection
what a prick.
By JAISU Tue Apr 15, 2008 1:42 am
yea record shop owners can be like that. having said that i was digging today and on saturday in a place in edinburgh and the guy was proper cool, let me listen to a good 7 or 8 joints, gave me a bit of chat and even made me a cup of coffee - now if that ain't service i dunno what is!
copping records has got to be the only shopping experience where u have to analyze the salesperson, tip toeing around them before u know if they're a dickhead or not lol
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By dj e.d.e Tue Apr 15, 2008 3:51 am
sorry you had a bad experience!

but you have to understand that you don't just walk in a record store like you know what your doing, cause you don't, if you don't know the price of a record then you ask, if it's an expensive one then you ask if you can listen to it then. you will learn this if you stick to the game long enuff!! it's very easy to mess up a 100$ record by just dropping the needle on it wrong! then what he has to eat it? cos the next world collector that will see it will inspect it to the DEATH the hole gruv!

I'm not saying you don't know, but obviously you came in to the store like that,and that's what he picked up from your vibe.IDK

i don't treat my customers this way, but i have been treated this way myself many times grown up I've been doing this 30yrs, you just have to learn to not get hurt and understand that what you are looking at and listening to is a piece of art/history you need to treat it like that! it's precious black gold.
trust me your no loss to his business he has his regular or trust worthy customers that will buy more then you will ever put down.there's dudes that will have the store closed down just for them cause they don't want the distraction, that's just how old collectors are.

this is a reason why i like to dig by myself or be picky about who's diggin with me cause you can't get the respect of the owner if you come in with others that don't know how to treat the vinyl. they just think it's a black piece of wax with music on it . NO... IT"S NOT! IT"S MORE THEN THAT!!!
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By bobbybigbeats Thu Apr 17, 2008 3:57 pm
first off:
of all the ways I've ruined records, improper needledrops are almost at the bottom of the list...way below fingernail scrapes when putting it back in the sleeve, hot car in sun warping, and tied with skateboard-crash with a record in my backpack shatter (that one was weird). It's almost never my needle, if I ruin a record...more often, the record wins that battle (cue burns from scratching not included)...

but as for record stores:
it's like a fancy restaurant. Part of the deal is the exclusivity, the feel that somehow this record store has better records, and maybe you're not worthy...they kinda need a little bit of that to make you want to stay (doesn't always work, but hey). That, coupled with the fact that people who run record stores are weirdo collectors themselves, and making zero money, and bitter about it, which means that customer service isn't always paramount...

I'm cool with it. I like the record weirdos and record nazis and talking shit about them...

The store you're talking about may be one of those ones started by a rich kid, those are little different...I don't have those fully figured out yet, but the dynamic is similar to the sneaker boutique. They're still just children, they haven't figured it out yet...

Or, maybe you are an obvious herb and your being in dude's store was hurting business LOL

Music genre elitism, pissing contests over music trivia knowledge, delusions of grandeur over collections, all that...record stores are awesome!

PS- no offense e.d.e.!!! ...but you know it's true!
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By dj e.d.e Thu Apr 17, 2008 5:23 pm
bobbybigbeats wrote:first off:
of all the ways I've ruined records, improper needledrops are almost at the bottom of the list...way below fingernail scrapes when putting it back in the sleeve, hot car in sun warping, and tied with skateboard-crash with a record in my backpack shatter (that one was weird). It's almost never my needle, if I ruin a record...more often, the record wins that battle (cue burns from scratching not included)...

but as for record stores:
it's like a fancy restaurant. Part of the deal is the exclusivity, the feel that somehow this record store has better records, and maybe you're not worthy...they kinda need a little bit of that to make you want to stay (doesn't always work, but hey). That, coupled with the fact that people who run record stores are weirdo collectors themselves, and making zero money, and bitter about it, which means that customer service isn't always paramount...

I'm cool with it. I like the record weirdos and record nazis and talking **** about them...

The store you're talking about may be one of those ones started by a rich kid, those are little different...I don't have those fully figured out yet, but the dynamic is similar to the sneaker boutique. They're still just children, they haven't figured it out yet...

Or, maybe you are an obvious herb and your being in dude's store was hurting business LOL

Music genre elitism, pissing contests over music trivia knowledge, delusions of grandeur over collections, all that...record stores are awesome!

PS- no offense e.d.e.!!! ...but you know it's true!

NO offense taken ...th edeal with our stire is to keep vinyl alive and sell it to those who are still into it, which we do ,

yeah we are weirdo's but we else you goin to go these days to buy your records?

like i said i don't treat my customres that why... but it's wouldnt be a loss cause i got other that spend much more money on a regular basis.

if you don't like to be traeted that way then move on t o the next store SIMPLE..i've been treated that way and thats what i have done no big loss. feel me
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By Kd Fri Apr 18, 2008 7:33 am
yeah ive had similar experiences, its just the way it is sometimes. Im not justifying or condoning the behavior but the record business is tough (especially when your people skills suck) and most of those cats see plenty of slopp-e users. Personally, if i like a spot, I make it a point to get to know the folks there, besides meeting interesting cats its an opportunity to let peeps know what your about and at least set you aside from the rest of the turkeys . Honestly though, I prolly wouldn't go back to a spot with a bad vibe. All things aside, the dude shouldn't have had a $35 record on the floor if he didn't want it spun. Anyway, dont trip, dude could of had a bad day, we all have em. dont take it personal show love even when dudes are act'n out of pocket, thats a good way to get your point across w.o saying anything. And the answer is, it all depends. Keep dig'n pimp peace. my 2 cents
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By dopedee Fri Apr 18, 2008 10:03 am
Kd wrote:yeah ive had similar experiences, its just the way it is sometimes. Im not justifying or condoning the behavior but the record business is tough (especially when your people skills suck) and most of those cats see plenty of slopp-e users. Personally, if i like a spot, I make it a point to get to know the folks there, besides meeting interesting cats its an opportunity to let peeps know what your about and at least set you aside from the rest of the turkeys . Honestly though, I prolly wouldn't go back to a spot with a bad vibe. All things aside, the dude shouldn't have had a $35 record on the floor if he didn't want it spun. Anyway, dont trip, dude could of had a bad day, we all have em. dont take it personal show love even when dudes are act'n out of pocket, thats a good way to get your point across w.o saying anything. And the answer is, it all depends. Keep dig'n pimp peace. my 2 cents

Exactly 8)
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By jnorth Fri Apr 18, 2008 10:17 am
Top things that annoy me in record stores:
- Miserable, patronising old men, who give you no warm welcome if you're under 25
- Ignorant arseholes who just seem to pose and talk to mates about yesterday's rave.

One place that definetly annoys me is Vinyl Exchange in Manchester
Proper rude service, i mean you could be going to the counter to buy a record but it could take ages to get served because the guy behind the counter is too busy talking to some random who isn't even a customer about last nights drum and bass rave.
Plus on top of that they don't even handle the records properly f*cking raggin it about puttin scratches on it and shit. I just think at that time "forget it".
And when you ask where e.g. the disco is they'll probably say "It's over there you know where it is!" :evil:

I don't see selling records any different from selling clothes in a small indie store. I mean people expect good customer service, some knowledge of where something is at least, and a warm welcome even if you aren't a regular.

Record stores are turning into pubs where if you aren't a local you aren't welcome. Compared to some record stores i could get better customer service and a nicer people at HMV.
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By Dr_Doom Fri Apr 18, 2008 10:46 am
We've got a few dudes in some shops down here who obviously think they're just too cool for some of us.
Another shop where they won't give you discount cos they already think they're giving you a deal even though they're a couple dollars more expensive than else where. Some people need to get there heads outta the sand.

I'm gonna be moving to Africa shortly and from what I've gathered so far there are no Record shops where I'm going so I'd be happy even with grumpy owners if only there was a shop.
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By djobserv Fri Apr 18, 2008 3:22 pm
yeah record stores, with the exception of goodwill and other shops, always make you feel like a suspect.

a few records that i've been going to for years never treat me well because i've made friends with the owners, but on occasion when there are new workers they usually have the uptight attitudes.

saying shit like "you didn't just open that did you" or " are you going to buy all of that" or "there's no listening here" that had to be the worst i've heard.

it's understandable though, they dont want you wrecking up $100 records, but at the same time if they're so worried about the record, simple solution would be ask them to drop the needle on the records for you.

it's okay man take the good in with the bad, maybe you'll find the holy grail you've been looking for for cheap.


if you' really wanted to be a dick, go back to the store and have a small pebal or glass in your hand and scratch the record.

but i would never do something like that and don't advise that you do that
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By Dr_Doom Fri Apr 18, 2008 4:11 pm
djobserv wrote:if you' really wanted to be a dick, go back to the store and have a small pebal or glass in your hand and scratch the record.

but i would never do something like that and don't advise that you do that


Not trying to start anything but if you wouldn't do it or advise it, why suggest it ?