Any ideas?

[theeman]

a friend is looking into publishing a guidebook to 2nd hand record shops. they want to get it right so would like some feedback from people in the know about what you'd like to see.

would it be useful?
how much would you pay?
what would you like to see in it?
what size would be most useful - pocket-sized? A5ish?
what sort of content would be useful? wants list pages? top 10s by genre? things to look for? illustrations or cover pics?

[sermad]

yes.

£10?

locations of shops split into towns/cities/villages. address/tel/opening times/how many racks.

pocket sized/small map sized.

no none of that stuff. I dont care about what people are looking for. I just want the info. turns the shop owners onto stuff..

no illustrations. or out.

[john stapleton]

no. of course I'd buy one if it appeared, but I'd much rather it didn't! and definitely none of that other stuff in it!

[Nick Cope]

By the time the 2nd edition comes out, they'll be no used record shops left - they're dropping like flies!

[platerpus]

Great idea........would be tricky to get it bang up to date though......what with so many 2nd hand stores closing these days.......reckon a good basic guide would be just the ticket......you're talking u.k. here...?......off top of me head i'd say listed by town/city/area.....then just the basics.......format stocked.....genre specialist or general stock........maybe rough price eg top wack/reasonable/grading policies though this may upset a few proprieters.......in store record deck/portables acceptable.......nice to have a pic of shop with each addition but hard work........none of this is any help to you i know but hey this is a great idea......no more secret digging spots though!.......didn't big daddy mag publish a u.k. record shop guide a few years back.......?

[Belson]

Quote[/b] (Nick Cope @ Nov. 17 2004,16:02)]By the time the 2nd edition comes out, they'll be no used record shops left - they're dropping like flies!

Agreed.

And just who would the target audience be? Seems a bit of a pointless task to me.

[Xavier_Blake]

In some cases directions might be useful. In my experience quite a few of the smaller record stores are tucked away in low rental locations like alleyways, behind other shops, etc and even with an address can be tricky to find sometimes.

[Viva Chiba]

I'd be more concerned that due that the book would be rather quickly outdated, given the rate at which shops open/close/move.

If it's to be a serious resource then it should be backed up by a website which is updated for corrections etc. (actually you could create a site in which readers/users/shop owners could actually enter info, thereby saving the author the trouble).

Guesstimating the size of the seller's stock by "racks" is pretty useless too. An estimate of the seller's stock -i.e. how many LP's or 7" are typically on sale - and the genres they stock would probably be useful though (this is pretty obvious).

Something else which is important is info on the pricing policies of the shops - i.e., there's a big difference between an overpriced collector's haunt like Intoxica and somewhere cheap, cheerful and frequently productive like the music and video exchange or the olde replay shop at the bearpit in Bristol (can't believe they closed it&#33. I'd go with cheap/nasty/disogranised rather than something smartly organised and with lofty pricing.

If the book is a guide for the everyman as well as the anorak, a guide to the top 10 British rairties in each genre (funk, rock, soundtrack, blues etc) would probably make a nice little feature that you could include throughout the book. Since most of these things are LP's that people here presumably aren't interested in (i.e. some illegal bootleg of Seargeant Pepper with a unique matrix number printed on polka dot vinyl) I don't think it's going to turn dealers on to anything they don't already know about.

And I probably wouldn't pay for such a book (unless it appears in Fopp for £2.99, which it probably will). If I was going somewhere specifically in search of vinyl I'd probably just ask people on this board for their opinion and save $$. . .!

[son of stan]

It would be useful in that I often find myself in unfamiliar towns wandering round looking for record shops.  But....

The practicalities seem rather daunting. It would take forever to research and its difficult to see how you could ensure that it didn't go out of date before it got published. I've a feeling these factors may partially explain why there hasn't been such a book already.

Also, I am strong believer in people doing their own homework. And, purely from the point of view of self interest, I wouldn't want to see my favourite spots picked clean by wealthy carpetbaggers and ebay chancers!

[emperor tomato ketchup]

Sounds useful (ish - agreed about timlieness) but it would not be something you'd want to do for profit as the amount of work involved would probably not justify the work involved.

Would I buy it - maybe if it was out recently and I was heading somewhere covered by it.

[vinylism]

Quote[/b] (theeman @ Nov. 17 2004,14:30)]would it be useful?
how much would you pay?
what would you like to see in it?
what size would be most useful - pocket-sized? A5ish?
what sort of content would be useful? wants list pages? top 10s by genre? things to look for? illustrations or cover pics?

yes.
<£10.00
record shops
pocket size
typical stock size / genres, contact info (eg website), best days for new stock arrival, opening hours, helpfulness / attitude of shop
ambivalent to pictures

[Mumbles]

I think that sites like this one knock a nail in the coffin of the book idea. Anyone who has any interest in s/h vinyl would probably scour forums such like this and could quickly get some addresses of shops to visit if they were visiting an unfamiliar town. In my case it would be a website specialising in 3rd rate hair metal bands, boring indie losers and Richard Clayderman ... you want 'em, we've got 'em!  

[ladyboygrimsby]

I started a record store guide on my site with the intention of eventually publishing it, but it got stuck at about 60 shops and nowhere near the whole of the country covered. The only way you could do this is to include new stores, too, and get a heavy hitting sponsor (HMV, for example) and publish it annually. You would also need a team of willing writers in all areas of the country. The problem I've found with this is that the half the people who actually know about the good record shops are fucking mean with information about them (I'm not accusing anyone here, BTW). I'm afraid the mentality of record collectors is they'd rather see a record store go out of business than let anyone else know about it.

[Campag Record]

You don't need no record shop guide when you've got the ultimate second hand record shop in your home town.

In other words Steel "the best second hand record shop outside of London" Wheels!

Those familiar with Newcastle's finest shop will testify to the tasty treats served up weekly by this diggers paradise.

[**kidsaer**]

don,t forget the top notch old(s)hits nige mate.im thinkin of taking a more rewarding hobby.newwcastle stinks!!!