Having visited two record fairs in Leeds over the past few weekends, I have come to the realisation that they are fairly pointless these days.
My belief was always that the entire point of record fairs was to pick up a bargain or something rare. Nowadays, fairs are just expensive record shops. Just about every record I picked out over the last few weeks, I could get cheaper online.
The cheap records are usually in absolute rubbish condition, the decent stuff in good condition is basically the Discogs med price and the rare stuff is ultra-expensive.
I had a chat with one of the regular sellers and, to be fair to him, he said that his margins are so tight that when he gives a small discount to people buying more than four records at one time, it often wipes out his profit.
The only positive is one seller, who has a big collection of new, non-mainstream records. He clearly picks up bulk stock – presumably excess stock from HMV or record labels needing warehouse space. He sells his new records at between £12 and £20, so if you do find anything you didn’t pick up when released, you can save a few quid. He had all the recent The Divine Comedy reissues at a very reasonable £12 each.
Think I’ll stick to going down the pub…
Record Fairs – any point nowadays?
I like a Record Fair as an event – a few hours mooching and chatting on a weekend morning. Usually find something – and often a something I didn’t know I wanted. But the selection and the pricing is as you say an issue most times.
Don’t think they’re redundant, but discogs, ebay, interweb sales etc have made that once rare or rarely seen item more available.
In my experience either go first thing, sometimes paying more for early entry, to find the best stuff. Or go late when discounts occur as dealers don’t want to carry everything back home. As for “profit”, I don’t understand that, at some point just sell the things, better than getting no return on it and I am sure many records they are selling they picked up years ago for pennies. Surely they don’t buy stuff especially to sell at fairs
Used to love going to them, found some of the personal hygiene things a bit off-putting though. And the last thing I would do in the last couple of years is go to one, perfect super spreader events.
And if there are specific things you are looking for then much better than buying online as you can actually see the condition
Of course dealers need to sell at a profit. Otherwise what do you have to buy new stock? What pays for the pitch at the fair? The cost of getting there? If you deal at a loss you’re going to be an ex dealer sooner or later.
I meant that I don’t think record fairs are the place to sell new stuff that they have just bought. Better to sell stuff they may have had around for years or even decades that they won’t necessarily have paid much money for
I could pick a couple of hundred albums from my collection and sell them at a fair. At this point I would be happy to cover my expenses and petrol money, anything else would be nice. I bought the records to listen to, not to sell for a profit
Dealers may be different but presumably they have shops also or online presence to sell stuff
I think the problem is sellers are basically bringing their shop or online stock, including prices, to the record fairs. That’s what kind of makes the entire thing a bit pointless now.
I was in my friend’s record shop yesterday in Leeds, there was someone talking to him who’d been to the record fair and was saying how he enjoyed searching and hoping to find that elusive recording. Probably the thrill of the chase.
Someone was in the shop and had gone in looking for a specific Killing Joke lp and found it there. He was highly pleased as that was their only lp in the shop.
It’s the old hunter-gatherer instinct.
The Leeds Record and Book Fair always seems to entice an enthusiastic crowd. Unfortunately my interests veer towards the book side of the event which sadly appears to only attract a smattering of dealers. Regrettable but inevitable l suppose that over the years Leeds has lost some superb bookshops. Any Leeds Afterworders remember Bernie’s opposite the Grand? An extensive Michael Moorcock collection, lots of Savoy publications and his porno mag section with the biro’d sign “No looking.If your not buying F**K OFF”. Oh happy days.
No. Pointless now.
Used to go to the ones in Oxford Town Hall back in the day for some bootlegs.
I still go to the odd record fair but the choice is sometimes quite limited and there’s a growing number of bootleg copies of popular albums starting to appear. I prefer exploring local flea markets, as you genuinely don’t know what you’ll find.
The Record Fair I went to in October was the only (physical) access I had to a CD outside a charrridddeee since I’d been to London earlier in the year, so I’d say it was more than a viable event for the town.
The CDs I bought (all Rock ‘n’ Roll – all Ace label – all mint condition) veered from more expensive than online (twice) to less expensive online (once) and, factoring in a discount mentioned above and the entrance fee being deducted, levelled out at about the same price… so no bargains as such, but then I’m more interested in the stuff just being there.
I didn’t see anyone buy vinlys… but in the half-hour I was there, right by the 50s and 60s and right by the place you pay, five or six men (one woman bought a CD) bought three or four CDs like me. Going rate, anywhere between £20 and £40.
No one was making a fortune, but it did feel like a service to the community and it was pretty busy. The guy at the front desk was treated like a long-lost pal by everyone (including me) who came in.
You make some good points there @deramdaze
C’mon guys, he does!