Charity shopping secrets

[Hooded Claw Electric Banana Find all posts View Profile Close Hooded Claw]

Is there some secret no-one has told me about shopping for vinyl in the charidees?

I've been checking the same 5 shops daily for weeks since starting a new job with NO new vinyl at all coming in then BAM, two loads in one day and I'm beaten to it!!

Had to buy a stereo test record and an MFP 70's soundtrack comp just to stop myself from blubbering in the shop.

This is the fourth time i've been literally minutes late, i'm starting to think I'm cursed.

Apologies for the long boring post...

[wayne Lonely Jelly Find all posts View Profile Close wayne]

Charity shopping secrets:

1: Luck

2: Be llmod1

3: More luck

4: find the scuzziest looking and most out of the way ones you can

5: Be lucky (and keep an open mind)

6: Uh, that's it, I think...

[Lord Thames Lonely Jelly Find all posts View Profile Close Lord Thames]

Sometimes daily visits can pay dividends - I became such a regular at one particular shop (I was in the town every day with lengthy spells of nothing to do that had to be filled in somehow) they started to let me have a look in the back room when new stuff came in.

That shop is now long gone, alas, but there's another one nearby that sometimes lets me know when they've got some new stuff out the back - become a regular face, be nice to the staff and something may happen eventually.

[Matt Hero Electric Banana Find all posts View Profile Close Matt Hero]

If you've got a car and a couple of free hours a week, offer to do donation pick-ups for local charity shops. They always seem to be short of people to do this and records (and books) due to the weight tend to need collection.

That way you get first dibs once they've arrived with the charity.

[green man Ugly Custard Find all posts View Profile Close green man]

I think you've just got to keep at it, there is one shop near me that turned up nothing at all for ages (I was checking it weekly for nearly 2 years) then it got about 200 funk/soul/disco/boogie 45s in, 50p each.

Jack you still up for spinning a few tunes tomorrow at the ground floor btw?

[pokester Electric Prunes Find all posts View Profile Close pokester]

there a many different way's :


one example:

give free records to the shop (and crap stuff ) and they will get friendly with you.... , and the next time they get records they call you first

[Tommo of Sprowston Animated Egg Find all posts View Profile Close Tommo of Sprowston]

Yep, luck and persistence have a lot to do with it. Also remember that even the least promising shop can eventually turn up gold; it goes without saying that it's not so much the shop as the people who are donating to it that's important, and that's all down to conscience, preferred recipient etc.

Interesting change at one of my local Cancer Research places: they've clearly decided they won't get £12 for Abba albums, and so have re-priced virtually all their LPs at £3 each. Which I reckon should be in their interests as it will guarantee a bit of stock turnover for them on the back of 'chance' purchases.

[sermad Chocolate Rain Find all posts View Profile Close sermad]

Go into the same shops week in - week out. Ask them if they are expecting any delivery's soon. Ask if there is anything out the back. Go mid week - thursday's seem to be a gold dust day.

Generally go to spic places and hope for the best. I was near high wycombe a few weeks back collecting some records off a chap and drove through some lovely country villages on the way. Some had 4-5 shops.

[Hooded Claw Electric Banana Find all posts View Profile Close Hooded Claw]

Thanks guys, my fury at charity shopper x has subsided a little now thanks to the VV agony aunts

definitely up for playing tomorrow big t, think I'll leave my MFP comp at home though

OH, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY GREENMAN!!!!

another milestone reached for the shaved wookie

[green man Ugly Custard Find all posts View Profile Close green man]

Good that'll give me more drinking time, try n get there before 9.30 if possible.

[Hooded Claw Electric Banana Find all posts View Profile Close Hooded Claw]

Quote[/b] (green man @ Sep. 22 2004,16:30)]Good that'll give me more drinking time, try n get there before 9.30 if possible.

no probs, wanna get the antisocial records out the way early eh?

[green man Ugly Custard Find all posts View Profile Close green man]

Alex is working late and won't be getting there till 10ish so I was going to do the early slot, 7-10, so it would be better for you to play then (plus it is quite boring to play for 3 hours by yourself before any mates have turned up&#33
should probably have just have sent you a PM to discuss arrangments really... oh well might as well use this for an excuse for shameless self promotion:

If anyone is in the Portobello Road area on thursdays myself and friends have been playing at the Ground Floor for the last year and will (hopefully continue to). Every other 2nd and 4th thurs and sometimes the ones inbetween too... funk hip-hop jazz, the usual and

[Viva Chiba Lonely Jelly Find all posts View Profile Close Viva Chiba]

Dunno if this is anyone's thing, but I was at one of the charidees in Clapham High St. yesterday and they had a shitload of olde British jazz stuff. . .lots of Acker Bilk and Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen stuff. . .about 40 7" and a few LP's. Had there been any Tubby Hayes or later stuff I would have scooped it up. . .

Anyhow, maybe someone needs 'em. . .

[john stapleton Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close john stapleton]

Quote[/b] (wayne @ Sep. 22 2004,13:57)]Charity shopping secrets:

1: Luck

2: Be llmod1

3: More luck

4: find the scuzziest looking and most out of the way ones you can

5: Be lucky (and keep an open mind)

6: Uh, that's it, I think...

7. Don't go anywhere near Bristol - nothing there at all....

[son of stan Lonely Jelly Find all posts View Profile Close son of stan]

Find ones that no one else seems to bother with (they're still just about out there).

Keep on hitting the same ones.

Look during the week rather than on a Saturday.

BTW Apologies if this observation has been made before but ever noticed how often you get asked, "How much are the records?" by charity shop staff?