You started this thread over a month ago. In that time have you estimated the cost of rent for a suitable space? The fees and other costs necessary to open a retail business? The monthly cost of utilities? Insurance? Collection of sales tax?
Not in much depth, because I didn’t get very far before realizing that I can’t afford to open a permanent store yet.
The biggest issue is staffing. I can’t run a store full time and still keep my fulltime job, and I don’t yet have the liquidity to hire someone. Even if the store were only open in my off-hours, it would be too much for me to handle both.
So for the foreseeable future the business will be pop-ups only. In time I still hope to find a partner who can help make the physical store a reality.
You could just have a sign up sheet at the store. I’ve seen a lot of bands and vendors do this. “Sign up for Akaj records mailing list to learn about future pop up locals and features.” People can sign up if they want, or not if they don’t, no pressure.
Though of course social media accounts would be very useful.
I’m on a Toy Shows in Ohio Facebook group. A lot of the vendors have their own Facebook page for their shop/stall and then hype up their appearance at different shows by posting links to posts on their own page. People also do this on our local Facebook group with their “booth-based” businesses.
So you start a page with pics of your wares and then make a post about how you’ll be at the farmers market. Then you share that post to the farmers market event page. You also share it to the general chit chat Facebook group for your area, and to relevant record collecting groups.
Hopefully you pick up some followers that way who are interested to see where you might be in the future.
That’s sound judgement so far. Maybe you should reconsider a virtual store.
Great idea, but for one problem: I hate Facebook.
I know I should probably do this (and I am starting an Instagram account), but … erggh.
There are dozens of ways to buy and sell records online, but there are no physical record stores in my hometown. That’s my goal. I want to interact with people in meat space. It may not be the most profitable way to go, but it’s the only avenue that really interests me.
I highly suggest prioritizing actions that will allow you to pay rent and salaries and trying hard to limit your kneejerk “Internet is icky” reactions.
From the management side, Facebook and Instagram are essentially identical. You can even post to both at once. From a user demographics standpoint, they’re very different. You don’t want to ignore either of them.
Good thing I don’t have any rent or salaries then!
But seriously, I get your point. And I don’t think the internet is icky – I mean, here I am, and I’m happy to do Instagram. I just can’t stand Facebook. And yes, I know I need to get over that.
My brother hates alcohol but he works for one of the biggest alcohol distributors in the midwest. Go where the money is, dude.
@Johnny_Bravo is right. If you’re just gonna do Insta, then you need Insta inventory. It will of course include the classics but the classics you might roll your eyes at. Some kid getting excited to find a Boston album he’s never heard of (all of them) will find you on Insta. But the guy looking for Procul Harum’s 4th album is on Facebook.
Social media might suck but social media is free. Be there.
Just agreeing with the others. It’s something you can afford. Try it out.
Okay, I’ve got my calendar marked off for your first sale… but WHERE IS IT?
115 N. Genesee St., Waukegan, during ArtWauk June 15, 5-9 p.m. Look for the big theater marquee!
And … if this doesn’t violate the board’s rules against selling … it’s called Waukegan Music Exchange.
Fun!
I didn’t know Waukegan was north of Lake Forest, that makes it an easy road trip for my Wisconsin friends! Heck, it’s less than an hour from Milwaukee…
See ya there! And maybe a few Dopers.
For sure! I can’t wait to meet actual Dopers in real life.
Best wishes! Hope you take home way less than you bring with you, except in the cash department.
Before typing this up, I called a friend who was a local DJ and also worked at a record shop but to no reply, but if he does, I’ll reply to this instantly. I really want this to work out for you. This was one of my dreams, but mostly for the conversations, and trying to get other people into music they would like, so I hope this will be successful. Because this is a new endeavor, you should try to find cheap or event free vinyls. There are people on Craigslist (etc) who will give you a ton of them for free if you go and pick them up. It seems albums from the 60/70s dominate the market (according to Ted Goia). I don’t use Spotify except to see how many monthly views artists get. But I’d also focus on the clientele, and many like rare/obscure 70s prog stuff, too.
I had a few cell phone retail stores in the 2000s, and the best thing I did was to write to all the local media, and that front page in the Business section got us a lot of customers, some who drove 40 miles because they liked that two high school friends got into business early, so if you have a story that can appeal to the hearts of people, you’ll have more… The best and worst form of advertising is word of mouth, but we did a lot of guerilla marketing, such as putting signs at poplar corners. Try asking polls, something I do on my YouTube channels to gauge my audience.
Hey, quick question for the lawyers and IP experts in the room:
If I own an album that I intend to sell, can I use a photo of the album cover on my website? Or would I be running afoul of trademark laws?
Ack!
Almost 200 posts later, I just found out that it can take up to two months to get an an assumed business name certificate from my county. My first pop-up is in 23 days.
Without this certificate, I can’t open an account for the business.
Without an account, I can’t take credit card or digital payments.
This is exactly the kind of critical mistake I was hoping you’d all help me avoid!
Never heard of that before. In other states all that’s needed is your name along with ‘DBA MyBusinessName’ unless changes have been made in the last 20 years or so, which is possible. Have also used ‘SS’ followed by my SSN for a tax ID after changing from a corporation to a simple DBA.
Well, this is Illinois. 
I need to get a notarized form from the county and then publish a notice in a newspaper for three consecutive weeks. Just in case some other asshat already has claims to “Waukegan Music Exchange.”