A Question of Balance

A vinyl collector's main dilemma: should you buy records online or in-store?

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Photo by Suzan Rulof on Unsplash

People often ask me whether it’s better to buy records online or in-store.

As vinyl lovers in the 21st century, we are spoilt for choice: from mainstream retailers and indie stores (with and without an online presence), through thrift shops and car boot sales, to independent sellers located all around the world.

There’s enough diversity to suit any taste or budget. In some cases, you’ll have to dig deeper, sure, but trust me—there are a lot of good deals out there. You just have to know where (and how) to find them.

Variety is key

Long-time readers will know I like to keep my options open. I buy a little bit from everywhere. There are two main reasons for this:

1. I am unlikely to find absolutely everything I want in the same place at the best possible price.

2. Buying from multiple sources is a great way to support the vinyl ecosystem as a whole, which translates into more choice, better prices and more diversity… which can only be a good thing.

Indie all the way

Each place, whether physical or virtual, will have its own particular set of strengths and weaknesses.

While I occasionally buy from mainstream outlets, most of my vinyl money goes to independent sellers, both online and in-store. The main reason? I tend to favour older pressings, which are mostly second-hand.

It’s easy to associate independent sellers with brick-and-mortar shops exclusively, but there’s a lot of value to be found online as well.

I’ll show you why one doesn’t exclude the other. In fact, in most cases, you’ll need both.

Photo by The Retro Store on Unsplash

Go online

The convenience of buying online is hard to beat, especially if you’re juggling work and family commitments, endless commutes, and other delicacies of modern busy life.

The efficiency of online purchases is a breeze, and the variety of records available is infinitely superior to what you may find in a physical store at any given time.

If, like me, you tend to favour older pressings and are fussy with editions, Discogs allows you to search for records directly from your wantlist. You can even see how many more items from your wantlist a particular seller has available for purchase.

Buying online is also great when you’re after new (or newly-issued vinyl), as sellers tend to offer attractive discounts, especially when they are clearing stock. Win-win all around.

On the flipside (sorry, I had to), there are some horrible stories out there of people not receiving their orders, or being ripped off with the grading of items. My best advice: nurture your own pool of trusted sellers. This can take some time and effort to build, but it’s one of the best investments you can make as a record collector.

Not sure where to start?

Kadrian Alvarenga

, a friend of The Vinyl Room and the author of the wonderful Substack

First Pressing

is doing a lot of cool stuff on his online store Latin Gold Records. Check it out!

You can find some of my other online sellers recommendations here.

Photo by Mirta Fratnik on Unsplash

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Let’s not kid ourselves: walking into a record store puts you in another state of mind altogether. The atmosphere, the smell, even those creaky wooden floors… it’s an experience.

If you shop regularly at the same store and build rapport with the owner or other regular customers, the connection you will be able to establish —with the community as well as with the music itself— will make you want to come back, time and time again.

I don’t exaggerate when I say that physical stores can be healing and therapeutic.

But you know what? With time, I’ve been able to recreate that feeling when I buy from my trusted online sellers. I go through their catalogue and I feel like I am flipping through their records at their dedicated vinyl room.

Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of brick-and-mortar stores is the surprise factor, an essential tenet of crate-digging. What secret gems are hidden in there, waiting for you? You need to dig deep to find out. This is where most (if not all) of the fun lies.

If you favour new records, physical stores are not ideal as they tend to add a hefty mark-up to them. Having said that, sometimes you may choose to pay a premium in order to support a particular store.

The beautiful thing about brick-and-mortar shops, at least for me, is the fantastic bargains you can get, especially if you know how to dig.

One thing to bear in mind is that physical stores can get extremely crowded at weekends, particularly in big cities. Some people like the buzz of a packed store, so it’s ultimately a matter of preference, but buyer beware.

The bottom line

The two main skills a vinyl collector should strive to have, in my humble opinion, are focus and spontaneity. Keep a healthy combination of online and in-store purchases and you’ll see your vinyl riches multiply.

Do you have a specific preference between online and in-store? Can you think of other pros and cons? See you in the comments.

Thanks for reading/listening. Happy spinning!