How to Open a Record Store (Part Five) New Vinyl Inventory | Talking About Records 

A couple friends and I have just recently started up our own online vinyl store. This video could not have come at a more perfect time, and your advice is very helpful. I appreciate this content so much, thank you!

I revisited your Frisco booth last weekend and was impressed with your growing selection. At the same time I wondered if you could really make profit spending say $500 a month on the rental space ... and you have 3 of these booths! I did purchase a cool used record by the way. If there are new arrivals coming in, I'll keep checking back.

I would probably not visit a shop a second time if they only had preowned vinyl. Not that I never buy preowned. Maybe 10% of my 1500 albums are used, but I definitely prefer to buy new.

Very helpful video! Thank you for sharing. You mentioned that you price match. Is this with the big box stores only or with the other local shops? Looking forward to your next video. Thank you 🙏🏼

Great Videos! Very helpful! What POS/Inventory system do you prefer? Do you keep used inventory or just new? Thanks!

Although I still sell new albums in my store, the increased distributor cost per album has severely limited my purchases. Quite simply, my profit margins are much higher on used albums than on new albums. I will still buy new product from time to time, but used is where I make the most profit.

wow, nice series. The one problem with new vinyl that I have been wondering about ( I used to own Phantasmagoria, a small chain in DC 1980-2000) is returns for overstock that will not sell. Do your wholesale distributors take back a certain percentage of returns based on your total purchases? In the past when you had a account set up with WEA CBS, RCA Capitol etc. you could return any in print LP that did not sell for full credit. If you bought through a one stop middleman because you did not deal directly with the major labels you could return 10% of the nonsellable titles. Certainly you are dealing with a tiny profit margin to begin with and not everything sells, some is defective and some just disappears. Are you sure you are making a profit from the new vinyl?

In my brief searches on wholesalers, it asks for business specifics: EIN, physical store etc. if you’re just starting out, how difficult is it to get records from wholesalers? Love the series and your tiktok

Great Video! Im looking to start a record store in Stillwater, OK. I was wondering what you use to track your inventory? I've been doing pop ups around town but when they're over I'm left with tickets that have all the vinyl I sold on them and then I take those tickets and delete the sold vinyl from a spreadsheet. Its a terrible system and I want something more automated. Any recommendations?

I have been searching for distributors for a couple of days. Is millions of records reputable?

How do you feel a used record store would do online with grading and picky buyers? Are margins typically to too tight for putting new on Discogs? Personally I'd actually stock a record where there was a $2 margin because in this market things go out of print faster than most people change their underwear. If it's in demand, margin shouldn't matter much. Not to get too personal but are records your full time job?

Do you have any suggestions for where one could by wholesale vinyl from?

After you purchase a new record from a distributor, how do you set its price at the store? I do a lot of comparison between online shops, and most of them have the same price for the same album. Do the label or the distributor set the price or can you set it to your needs?

More and more people hunting for used records, here in Austria flea market prices go up and up. I see shops buying collections from ebay so get supply. There is a race, 5 min late on the flea market, the good stuff is gone and as a dealer you are competing with collectors. I still find stuff but not enough for a store, just for me financing my collection.

The wholesale costs for new are too high, the prices of vinyl is still too high - it needs to come down to become a better value to buyers/sellers.