Used Vinyl Moving Well

I love articles about the resurgence of the beloved vinyl record. Here's another one, this one from our friends in Vermont:


Music shops selling used albums strong

By CHRIS GAROFOLO, Reformer Staff

BRATTLEBORO -- The faltering economy has caused several major industries to suffer on a national scale, but there's at least one on the local level that has not felt the effects of the recession.

Local retailers specializing in used records and CDs say their businesses have held steady even in the midst of what officials call the worst economic period since the Great Depression.

Cash-strapped music lovers continue to head to the corner shop to browse through the latest collection of secondhand albums.

"Despite it being a lousy economy, we still have a really loyal customer base," said Alicia Beasley, manager of Turn It Up! in Brattleboro. "We're doing well, we're doing good."

The store has seen a bump in sales since winter, with annual events such as last weekend's "May Magic" sidewalk sale bringing in decent profits.

"I think the economic downturn has helped us a bit, but the whole industry has seen a steady decline beginning in 1999," said Fred Wilber, owner of Montpelier's Buch Spieler.

With the digitizing of music and its wide availability online, secondhand stores have taken a major hit over the past decade, he said.

Elektra Duncan, co-owner of In the Moment, a record store in Brattleboro, agreed with Wilber about the condition of the music retail industry.

"I think that we're holding steady in a time when many stores are showing a decline," she said.

Approaching its fourth year in downtown Brattleboro, Duncan said In the Moment has seen a jump in its annual sales regardless of the national economy.

To stay in business during a recession and the explosion of music Web sites, many retail shops have turned to the Internet to reach a broader audience.

Duncan said their online business is holding its own, selling a good portion of contemporary and pop music to buyers in Europe, Russia and Japan.

"We've decided to integrate (the Internet) rather than fight it," he said.

Expanding retail services to the Internet has also helped Burlington-based Pure Pop Records stay afloat.

According to store employee Amy Wild, online albums sales have boosted even as less business is seen revolving through the doors.

"The stuff that won't necessarily sell at the store in Burlington will sell online in other parts of the country and around the world," she said.

Online music has also helped Turn It Up! sales, but in a different way.

Beasley said the store can compete with online music sites because Turn It Up! is selling music for the same price or less than downloading tunes.

"We're finding a lot of people check here and compare it to online, and buy their music here," she said.

Resale stores usually thrive during difficult economic periods. Consumers with less money in their pockets tend to sell unnecessary items in an effort to acquire some quick cash.

"We're definitively seeing an older generation bringing stuff in," said Beasley. There has been a mixed bag of middle-aged customers selling vinyl and CDs, she added.

"There's been a lot of people coming in to sell their music collection to make some extra money," said Wild.

Most shops report an increase in customers bringing in their vinyl records, but many retailers say the aging bundles often yield few sales.

"I've been seeing more vinyl coming in, but what they bring in isn't very good," said Wilber. If people are trying to maximize their return, many turn to online services, he said.

In some cases, it isn't even the dusty vinyl boxes left in the attic for years that people are selling.

"We buy movies, too, we're seen a lot of that," said Beasley.

But since more customers are pawning off old vinyl albums and used CDs, music shops also benefit because it provides a high turnover rate of new merchandise coming in.

"People are getting rid of a lot of old stuff, but vinyl's coming back around," said Duncan. The record sales are increasing at a faster rate than CDs, she said.

With a new awareness around records, more teenagers are coming in and looking at classic rock 'n' roll albums re-released on vinyl, said Duncan. "People are recognizing there is a difference in how it sounds."

Buch Spieler has seen the opposite effect -- less youth purchasing records and more people buying new CDs.

Wilber said he has noticed his shop alter from an after-school hangout to an older clientele looking to add to their collections with brand new CDs.

"I'm not getting as many used CDs as I used to," he added. Wilber has owned the capital city music store for more than three decades.

Even in tough economic times, people continue to look at entertainment items, such as purchasing music or going to see the latest Hollywood blockbuster.

But for the same price seeing a movie once in the theater, Wilber said a customer can own an album for a lifetime. "Music is still a relatively good bargain."

SOURCE: http://www.reformer.com