Vinyl Stores

acman

Well folks, after my 10 year or so affair with various digital audio formats, I have finally decided to move back to vinyl. It has been so long since I have been crate digging and was wondering what good stores there are around Dublin. I am also looking for some advice on online record stores too - which sites to shop on, how delivery works etc. Would greatly appreciate your input, thanks!

jtsuited

Depends what you're into. Right now All City provides all my needs. All City for any dubstep/funky etc. and then Sunil's section for a good bit of my techno and house.

As far as online goes, juno, hardwax, boomkat, and clone.nl are great.

joker77

There's a few shops in Temple Bar - I'll leave it to the other lads to fill you in on them as to be honest I mostly buy online

www.decks.de and www.chemical-records.co.uk - I've primarily used these two over the last while as they are well stocked with what I want. http://hardwax.com - this is the 'cooler' place to buy vinyl, but in general I find them overpriced and badly stocked

www.discogs.com - this site is great - it's like an ebay of vinyl. If you can't find something in one of the regular shops, you're almost guaranteed to find it here. The downside is the cost of shipping sometimes, and like ebay you have to be careful who you're buying from, I generally only buy from a 'rated' seller. It's a goldmine though - if it's been released on vinyl, it's generally on sale here

acman

Thanks guys...much appreciated! Will check out Sunil's section in town and discogs looks great for back catalogue stuff. How long has discogs been doing that for?

Don't really know what I'm into anymore as digital has watered down anything I have ever liked...it gets ridiculous when you have to listen to over 100 tracks to find something remotely listenable. Over the passed few weeks I have been flicking through the techno vinyl releases on juno and hardwax which most certainly instilled my faith in techno once more.

Executive Steve

A really good tip is to get the email lists of the actual specialist distributors that put the stock in the shops and just go through them every week.

All City send a mailout out every Friday with a link to the ST Holdings list for example (they distribute dubstep / dnb / funky / techno etc) and all you have to do is listen to the audio clips on the ST site, reply to the mail saying which records you want, and they'll send you a mail the following Thursday when your records come in...

http://www.stholdings.co.uk/2010/11/05/release-sheet-wc-15-11-10/

Couldn't be simpler!

Paul1979

I check out Dope Jams NYC website and Rush Hour to see what's out then I buy what I see on Juno, in relation to Dublin- all city all the way

jtsuited

joker77 wrote: »

http://hardwax.com - this is the 'cooler' place to buy vinyl, but in general I find them overpriced and badly stocked

blasphemy!!! only messin.
Ah it's a small shop with a very specific catalogue. All the benefits and drawbacks of any small but good record store.

As far as the price thing goes....can't say I've noticed them being any more expensive than anywhere else. then again sterling fluctuations mean that buying on a certain day on juno will save you a good few quid.

hans aus dtschl

joker77 wrote: »

http://hardwax.com - this is the 'cooler' place to buy vinyl, but in general I find them overpriced and badly stocked

Didnt see that quote.

Think perhaps you missed the point entirely. They choose what they bring in: they're not a warehouse.

Just a quick reminder to all that Plugd in Cork is back up and running. Genuinely my personal favourite record shop (not just cos its local). Makes trips overseas record shopping shít though.

joker77

Touch a nerve about hardwax did I?

No I haven't missed the point - I understand what they're about. I just think for the purposes of online shopping I wouldn't use Hardwax too much - it's much more a bricks and mortar outfit

jtsuited

joker77 wrote: »

Touch a nerve about hardwax did I?

No I haven't missed the point - I understand what they're about. I just think for the purposes of online shopping I wouldn't use Hardwax too much - it's much more a bricks and mortar outfit

Ah yeah I know what you're saying and contrary to popular belief I don't think Hardwax is the be all and end all. It's a very very niche operation, and unfortunately we don't have any niche operation as specific as it locally.

Also I think important to take into consideration are the Hardwax exclusives and the various white labels that don't come on to the other sites for a good while after.

hans aus dtschl

joker77 wrote: »

Touch a nerve about hardwax did I?

No I haven't missed the point - I understand what they're about. I just think for the purposes of online shopping I wouldn't use Hardwax too much - it's much more a bricks and mortar outfit

No you didn't really touch a nerve, I shop at Plugd. Plugd > Hardwax. Rush Hour > Hardwax. I've no problem stating hardwax has faults.

But you said they're badly stocked and overpriced. They run out of stock, yes, that's annoying. But what they do bring in is usually good. Go to the warehouse stores for more numbers...I think you're equating "limited stock" = "bad stock" which I don't agree with.
Overpriced, I don't really think so. But maybe if you're buying single items the postage is too much? For me it works out cheaper than bricks and mortar...

So yeah....I disagree, basically. I think maybe we just don't shop the same way...

acman

Executive Steve wrote: »

A really good tip is to get the email lists of the actual specialist distributors that put the stock in the shops and just go through them every week.

All City send a mailout out every Friday with a link to the ST Holdings list for example (they distribute dubstep / dnb / funky / techno etc) and all you have to do is listen to the audio clips on the ST site, reply to the mail saying which records you want, and they'll send you a mail the following Thursday when your records come in...

http://www.stholdings.co.uk/2010/11/05/release-sheet-wc-15-11-10/

Couldn't be simpler!

Excellent tip, thanks! How do I get on to the All City mailing list? Should I drop in or do they have an online form? (wow, that's the first time I've asked how to get on mailing list).

I see ST have an RSS feed which I immediately subscribed to. This leads me to my next question: Do you guys subscribe to any other RSS feeds worth mentioning?

hans aus dtschl

jtsuited wrote: »

It's a very very niche operation, and unfortunately we don't have any niche operation as specific as it locally.

Maybe that's where the disagreement comes in.

It's a very specific shop. It's like comparing your local butcher's with tesco. It's not "badly stocked", its just a whole different thing.

joker77

hans aus dtschl wrote: »

No you didn't really touch a nerve, I shop at Plugd. Plugd > Hardwax. Rush Hour > Hardwax. I've no problem stating hardwax has faults.

But you said they're badly stocked and overpriced. They run out of stock, yes, that's annoying. But what they do bring in is usually good. Go to the warehouse stores for more numbers...I think you're equating "limited stock" = "bad stock" which I don't agree with.
Overpriced, I don't really think so. But maybe if you're buying single items the postage is too much? For me it works out cheaper than bricks and mortar...

So yeah....I disagree, basically. I think maybe we just don't shop the same way...

No I'm not equating limited stock with bad stock - I didn't say bad stock - I said badly stocked. The difference being that I've gone looking for niche records that I would have expected Hardwax to have, and they never do.

Ok I'll break it down like this - Hardwax is not a shop (usually) to go looking for something specific. It's a shop for browsing.

hans aus dtschl wrote: »

Maybe that's where the disagreement comes in.

It's a very specific shop. It's like comparing your local butcher's with tesco. It's not "badly stocked", its just a whole different thing.

I take your butchers analogy, kind of

hans aus dtschl

joker77 wrote: »

Ok I'll break it down like this - Hardwax is not a shop (usually) to go looking for something specific. It's a shop for browsing.

Yep I agree with that. I never go on to hardwax to look for a specific item, unless it's one of their own pressings or something like basic channel. They're not really doing the "holding stock" thing, they're doing the "browsing" thing, where you go through the records without knowing any/most of them, and buying blindly. That way of buying suits me best, and then when I want specific items it's off to juno or discogs normally.

dubsbhoy

I've restarted collecting vinyl and found this today, which is handy when you have a lot of empty shelves

http://www.htfr.com/bargain-packs/

BaZmO*

dubsbhoy wrote: »

I've restarted collecting vinyl and found this today, which is handy when you have a lot of empty shelves

http://www.htfr.com/bargain-packs/

They've been doing that for ages now.
HTFR are no mugs so I'd say you'd just be getting the stuff that they can't get rid of. They don't give you a list so I'd be shocked if it wasn't the case.

dubsbhoy

BaZmO* wrote: »

They've been doing that for ages now.
HTFR are no mugs so I'd say you'd just be getting the stuff that they can't get rid of. They don't give you a list so I'd be shocked if it wasn't the case.

I thought as much myself but i need a bit of a head start so they'll do just to get my hand in again, i haven't touched a set of decks in 15 years.

joker77

HTFR are a pack of thieving c*nts, I'd avoid them if at all possible.

A few years ago (maybe 2000, 2002) I did a cull of records - think it was about 150 or so that I was getting rid of. Anyway - had a deal sorted with HTFR - sent them a list of everything - they gave me a price + shipping, sound.

Sent them over, heard nothing. Rang up to find out 'the guy who was dealing with it has left', so they couldn't honour his deal. Was raging, ended up only getting about 2/3 of what it was worth.

I've heard the exact same thing happening to someone else with them....

Executive Steve

acman wrote: »

Excellent tip, thanks! How do I get on to the All City mailing list? Should I drop in or do they have an online form? (wow, that's the first time I've asked how to get on mailing list).

I see ST have an RSS feed which I immediately subscribed to. This leads me to my next question: Do you guys subscribe to any other RSS feeds worth mentioning?

Just send a mail to info@all-cityrecords.com

Sunil sells Techno in the same premises but you need to be on a seperate mailing list to hear what he has coming into the shop - he actually even posts the details in a thread on here most weeks; send him a mail at earwiggle@gmail.com and you'll hear all about it no doubt.

Selik

acman wrote: »

Well folks, after my 10 year or so affair with various digital audio formats, I have finally decided to move back to vinyl. It has been so long since I have been crate digging and was wondering what good stores there are around Dublin. I am also looking for some advice on online record stores too - which sites to shop on, how delivery works etc. Would greatly appreciate your input, thanks!

www.decks.de is the **** for house, techno and disco. Hardly a bad record on the site.... Other good sites are Hardwax, Juno (great variety) and Chemical Records (good selection, cheap delivery and great customer service - great t-shirts too!)

Apologies if any of the a above sites have been mentioned already, I haven't read the whole thread.

zega

joker77 wrote: »

HTFR are a pack of thieving c*nts, I'd avoid them if at all possible.

A few years ago (maybe 2000, 2002) I did a cull of records - think it was about 150 or so that I was getting rid of. Anyway - had a deal sorted with HTFR - sent them a list of everything - they gave me a price + shipping, sound.

Sent them over, heard nothing. Rang up to find out 'the guy who was dealing with it has left', so they couldn't honour his deal. Was raging, ended up only getting about 2/3 of what it was worth.

I've heard the exact same thing happening to someone else with them....

Thats crazy! Ive never once used HTFR and i dont plan too,they seem way overpriced and understocked on anything i ever fancy.

Selik

zega wrote: »

Thats crazy! Ive never once used HTFR and i dont plan too,they seem way overpriced and understocked on anything i ever fancy.

Except they advertise at very competitive prices and never list an item as out of stock on their website, that's how they suck people in! Had some bad dealings with them years ago whereby they took money off my credit card even though what I ordered wasn't in stock. They then didn't inform me of this and when I finally emailed and then rang them they refused to refund me my money! I sorted them out good and proper in the end though. The fuks.

Scubadevils

Yeah +1 on the avoiding of HTFR, I ordered a good bit off them years ago and got stung a few times with dodgy bootlegs - they were shown as being the original label etc when I purchased and then a feckin obvious bad repress would arrive.

joker77

Yea that dodgy bootlegs happened me once or twice, f*ckers.

I bought a load of stuff from HTFR late 90s early 00s, it's had it's day and was the best (for me) for a while. Between HTFR and GEMM I knocked most of the tracks I'd spent years searching for in record shops off the list.

dixiefly

Is BaseX / The Basement still around?