Triple digits in dollars, or number of items sold?
I use Discogs, but same general principle.
Dollars. He had a customer last week who bought multiple albums that were over $100 each.
He tends to buy albums by the box full at estate auctions, so they are almost pure profit.
Nice. I need to start hitting those yard sales! One of my coworkers bought a $500 Sinatra box for $3.
I was looking at Google Maps for estate auction houses in the Waukegan area. The estate auction places near Chicago (at least according to their websites) seem to have a different business model than a lot of the ones downstate. Near me, you go on a Tuesday evening (or whenever) to an actual live auction, bid on things in person, and walk away with your merch once you pay for it. You are only competing against other people willing to get off their butts and come to the auction house at the appointed time. In Greater Chicagoland, a lot of the estate auction places are mini-eBays that take bids online for days and days, so I imagine the prices have a greater chance of being a lot higher. Blech!
Personally, I would be wary of buying a high priced collectible from a pop up shop. Not that you shouldn’t have them prominently displayed, but I would expect less interest at a fair than you might see if you open a permanent storefront.
I’m glad you had a good experience with the shop, and I’m looking forward to more news.
Great point, and I agree. In fact, I have no interest in collectibles myself – I just want the music. I have a copy of the Shangri-Las’ Leader of the Pack that’s worth (and priced at) $50, but I wouldn’t pay $2 for it, because I don’t care about the music on it.
Displaying it is cool, and if someone wants it, I’ll sell it – but I’m really not looking to be a store where people go to find rarities.
Just a reminder that I’m doing two more pop-ups at 115 N. Genesee St., Waukegan:
- Sat. 7/13, noon to 5
- Sat. 7/20, 3 to 9
And all Dopers get a 20% discount! The secret password is “Teeming Millions.”
Bumping the thread again because Waukegan Music Exchange has a real location – for the holiday season, anyway.
Progress report:
- I’ve done four popups and a couple of record swap meets, and sold lots of records.There seems to be plenty of demand for vintage vinyl, from bargain bin stuff up to harder-to-find $35-$40 records.
- I’m operating at a loss – not surprising for a new venture – and am roughly doubling my investment to open this extended popup. But if sales run close to the equivalent of my one-day events, I should be close to breaking even by January.
- I’ve discovered that I love running a store. Meeting fellow vinyl lovers and helping them discover new stuff makes my day.
- Live music in the store is awesome. A jazz quintet from the local high school played a couple of times and brought in all kinds of friends and family.
- Sourcing new used vinyl has proven difficult. I’ve connected with one private seller and had some luck with estate sales. I’m hoping that having a fixed location for a few weeks will bring in some sellers.
- Still not a single Doper has stopped by.
The store will be at 126 N Genesee in downtown Waukegan, with a grand opening Saturday Nov. 9. See you there!
Best of luck to you. Great job so far.
Glad this is going well!
– any market for used vinyl classical, mostly dating from the 1950’s and '60’s?
Good question! The collections I’ve acquired haven’t included much classical, so I’ve only sold maybe 1 or 2 records, so it’s hard to say if there’s much market for it.
Thanks for the update. Great to hear it’s going well. And even if it turns out to just be a hobby, it sounds like it won’t really be all that an expensive of a hobby.
Woah! Neat idea!! I hope you’re able to keep this up!
Glad things are progressing like you want. Congratulations!
Right now it’s somewhere between an expensive hobby and a shitty side hustle. 
I’m planning to be open 20 hours a week, which means probably 30 hours a week of actual work, for the next three months – on top of my 40 hour/week regular job. Other than some friends and family helping with the opening, I’ll be working it all myself. That’s obviously not sustainable, so I’m really hoping this popup attracts a partner who can run with the concept.
That reminds me of a cartoon I saw a long time ago. It was a drawing was of the interior of a 24-hour coffee shop with a very tired person behind the counter. The caption was something like “I think I may need a partner”. Hopefully it doesn’t get to that point. With the number of people who enjoy record stores, I would think that you’ll find someone who shares your passion and would enjoy doing it mostly for the fun of running a record store.
Well, that and the money. Just because I’m willing to work for free (or less) doesn’t mean others will. If I can demonstrate that the operation has decent cash flow and growth prospects, someone might be willing to trade their time and expertise for an ownership share.
What I want to avoid for now is hiring actual employees. That complicates everything by a factor of ten, and I just don’t have the time or energy for that.
Awesome update. I’ve actually been curious but didn’t want to bump for an update, especially if it fizzled out. Glad things still look promising!
Stop being over 90min away! 
My new location is a good 20 meters north of my old one. Does that help?
Google Maps says it’s only a 13 day walk from my home, so I can wait a few days before setting off, even though you added 20 meters to the trip.
I’m glad you’re still able to give it a go, as long as you’re happy doing it.
There are plenty of great record stores in Chicago; no need to walk all the way to Waukegan!
(This one’s on the south side, so you can get there and back in maybe a week.)