Thanks so much, Andy, for sharing Kadrian's story, as well as mine.....vinyl-vending as different as night and day, but it all boils down to the key tips you mentioned: Under-promise and over-deliver! Know your stuff, and be diligent and thorough! I hope your readers glean valuable insight from our experiences, whether buying or selling their vinyl treasures!
Thank you, Brad, for your generosity in telling me your story! It was a lot of fun to put it all together, and try to make it all flow from one to the next and vice versa! When I asked you both for your insights, I knew I’d get very different perspectives (generational, yes, but also process-wise: your record-selling venture is fait accompli, whereas his is just getting started!) but I never thought it’d be so contrasting! Plus, as you know, there was no structure: I asked you both to write what you wanted, pretty much! The fun part for me was to find the common themes and make it all work as one piece! I feel I got to know you both even more by doing this! Thank you again for this great collaboration 🤗
My goodness, Kadrian.........I'm not sure we want me walking around with a big head!! But, thank you....that was beyond kind!
Say, while I've got you.....'twas back in November (for TT #15) when you last tagged any tunes con moi (I love mixing languages)! If you're game for Part 2, you're certainly due.....just DM me your first song and artist!
Under promising & over delivering is huge. These days, a lot of people seem to think their records are M or NM, and are trying to price them accordingly. When you find a seller that is pricing/grading fairly, you tend to go back to them over & over.
Kadrian's leveraging of social media--specifically Instagram-- to sell his records is also particularly interesting.
Absolutely. A lot of sellers take a very liberal approach when it comes to grading. I love it when you expect something in VG and turns out it’s what others would have graded as NM.
Yes! Kadrian’s Instagram reels are the bomb. Man of many talents!
I'm not sure how best to articulate this, but to me he's putting a very millenial spin on what has traditionally been a space dominated by, well, older folks. In a lot of ways, I think the way he's set his business up will become more & more common as we go (primarily via social media, vast majority of sales done via e-commerce, etc.). It's all incredibly well done and involves very little friction.
Yes! I agree. I receive newsletters from other sellers and the design seems taken right out of 1986 🤣 One uses Word Art (I kid you not). What Kadrian is doing is revolutionary in a way, as it speaks directly to younger vinyl audiences who might be put off by traditional marketing graphics.
wow, truly, Kevin and Andres, thank you for the kind words and feedback! You've quite nailed what I'm trying to capture and so grateful you appreciate. I had felt that vinyl record selling could be more diverse in who is in the game, and one of the many reasons i gravitated towards my method of selling.
Fun to learn of Brad and Kadrian’s LP selling journeys! I am also super impressed at your seamless integration of their stories, structured by topic! Did you have the topics in mind before you started the interviews? Did they more or less tell their stories and you shaped them afterward? I always love to know other writer’s processes.
Thank you so much, Steve! No, I had no structure in mind. I gave them very rough pointers as I didn’t know what shape the text was going to take. I asked them to share a couple of tips from their respective journeys. Putting it all together and creating the narrative was a challenge (probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done here on Substack) but it was fascinating. Glad you enjoyed!
I have a large record collection, and over the years, I have thought about records I could move on from. I did an initial purge several years ago where I pulled out about 100+ records that I either had duplicates of, didn't like anymore, hadn't listened to in years, and most likely wouldn't listen to again that I decided to get rid of. I received a decent amount for them but ended up using all of that for, you guessed it, more records. I think if selling to a shop one has to be realistic and know that at best they will offer you 50% of what they think they can sell it for. As with anything, you will make more money selling privately but you have to be willing to invest that time. For the records I was selling, I was happy to shift them and take the price he offered me.
If I ever move on from some of the rarer LPs in my collection I will definitely sell them myself or leave my wife a list of the highly collectible ones.
Thank you, Michael! I hear you. Sometimes one has to make a decision based on time and convenience, which are also valuable. In many cases, the time it would take to sell certain records on their own would be more costly, especially if it’s a lot of records and the record shop owner offered something decent.
Some stores are not bad at recognising the value of certain records particularly if they know they’re sought after.
And yes, I agree with your approach re collectibles. Those are too good to give away!
Really enjoyed this piece, Andres - a great collaboration with some good insights. I occasionally wonder about selling some of my records, but seem to get cold feet pretty quickly whenever I do. It’s daft, as I have some that I very rarely listen to now, and I could free up some space for ones I want to buy now! But it feels like selling a little part of me somehow… it’s hard!
Definitely agree in cataloguing your collection on Discogs. Even if you’re not looking to sell, it could be useful for insurance (heaven forbid) and certainly for my kids in years to come…
Thank you, Rich! Glad you enjoyed. Brad and Kadrian gave me incredible stuff to work with. It was a great team effort 😊
Yes, I completely see what you mean. If you’re not desperate to sell, and the space situation is more or less manageable, I’d say keep them. I would only recommend selling when you really want to. Cataloguing for insurance/inheritance is smart!
Thanks so much, Andy, for sharing Kadrian's story, as well as mine.....vinyl-vending as different as night and day, but it all boils down to the key tips you mentioned: Under-promise and over-deliver! Know your stuff, and be diligent and thorough! I hope your readers glean valuable insight from our experiences, whether buying or selling their vinyl treasures!
Thank you, Brad, for your generosity in telling me your story! It was a lot of fun to put it all together, and try to make it all flow from one to the next and vice versa! When I asked you both for your insights, I knew I’d get very different perspectives (generational, yes, but also process-wise: your record-selling venture is fait accompli, whereas his is just getting started!) but I never thought it’d be so contrasting! Plus, as you know, there was no structure: I asked you both to write what you wanted, pretty much! The fun part for me was to find the common themes and make it all work as one piece! I feel I got to know you both even more by doing this! Thank you again for this great collaboration 🤗
you did such a great job pulling it all together in a cohesive manner! so fun to see it come to life
Thank you! You guys made it easy!
'Twas my vinyl pleasure!
the pleasure was being in the same substack as you, Brad! you're a legend
My goodness, Kadrian.........I'm not sure we want me walking around with a big head!! But, thank you....that was beyond kind!
Say, while I've got you.....'twas back in November (for TT #15) when you last tagged any tunes con moi (I love mixing languages)! If you're game for Part 2, you're certainly due.....just DM me your first song and artist!
Yes please guys, give us another TT!
haha hopefully in the near future when my schedule lets up a bit!
Under promising & over delivering is huge. These days, a lot of people seem to think their records are M or NM, and are trying to price them accordingly. When you find a seller that is pricing/grading fairly, you tend to go back to them over & over.
Kadrian's leveraging of social media--specifically Instagram-- to sell his records is also particularly interesting.
Absolutely. A lot of sellers take a very liberal approach when it comes to grading. I love it when you expect something in VG and turns out it’s what others would have graded as NM.
Yes! Kadrian’s Instagram reels are the bomb. Man of many talents!
I'm not sure how best to articulate this, but to me he's putting a very millenial spin on what has traditionally been a space dominated by, well, older folks. In a lot of ways, I think the way he's set his business up will become more & more common as we go (primarily via social media, vast majority of sales done via e-commerce, etc.). It's all incredibly well done and involves very little friction.
Yes! I agree. I receive newsletters from other sellers and the design seems taken right out of 1986 🤣 One uses Word Art (I kid you not). What Kadrian is doing is revolutionary in a way, as it speaks directly to younger vinyl audiences who might be put off by traditional marketing graphics.
wow, truly, Kevin and Andres, thank you for the kind words and feedback! You've quite nailed what I'm trying to capture and so grateful you appreciate. I had felt that vinyl record selling could be more diverse in who is in the game, and one of the many reasons i gravitated towards my method of selling.
100% objective. One can tell the amount of work and love and passion (and skills!) you put in what you do.
haha y'all are too kind, thank you!
Fun to learn of Brad and Kadrian’s LP selling journeys! I am also super impressed at your seamless integration of their stories, structured by topic! Did you have the topics in mind before you started the interviews? Did they more or less tell their stories and you shaped them afterward? I always love to know other writer’s processes.
Thank you so much, Steve! No, I had no structure in mind. I gave them very rough pointers as I didn’t know what shape the text was going to take. I asked them to share a couple of tips from their respective journeys. Putting it all together and creating the narrative was a challenge (probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done here on Substack) but it was fascinating. Glad you enjoyed!
you nailed it!
I have a large record collection, and over the years, I have thought about records I could move on from. I did an initial purge several years ago where I pulled out about 100+ records that I either had duplicates of, didn't like anymore, hadn't listened to in years, and most likely wouldn't listen to again that I decided to get rid of. I received a decent amount for them but ended up using all of that for, you guessed it, more records. I think if selling to a shop one has to be realistic and know that at best they will offer you 50% of what they think they can sell it for. As with anything, you will make more money selling privately but you have to be willing to invest that time. For the records I was selling, I was happy to shift them and take the price he offered me.
If I ever move on from some of the rarer LPs in my collection I will definitely sell them myself or leave my wife a list of the highly collectible ones.
Thank you, Michael! I hear you. Sometimes one has to make a decision based on time and convenience, which are also valuable. In many cases, the time it would take to sell certain records on their own would be more costly, especially if it’s a lot of records and the record shop owner offered something decent.
Some stores are not bad at recognising the value of certain records particularly if they know they’re sought after.
And yes, I agree with your approach re collectibles. Those are too good to give away!
Well done Andres - and Kadrian and Brad. Great collab and advice.
Thank you!! Glad you enjoyed!
thanks, Jami!
Really enjoyed this piece, Andres - a great collaboration with some good insights. I occasionally wonder about selling some of my records, but seem to get cold feet pretty quickly whenever I do. It’s daft, as I have some that I very rarely listen to now, and I could free up some space for ones I want to buy now! But it feels like selling a little part of me somehow… it’s hard!
Definitely agree in cataloguing your collection on Discogs. Even if you’re not looking to sell, it could be useful for insurance (heaven forbid) and certainly for my kids in years to come…
Thank you, Rich! Glad you enjoyed. Brad and Kadrian gave me incredible stuff to work with. It was a great team effort 😊
Yes, I completely see what you mean. If you’re not desperate to sell, and the space situation is more or less manageable, I’d say keep them. I would only recommend selling when you really want to. Cataloguing for insurance/inheritance is smart!