The fascination with mid-20th Century America culture continues to grow with today’s buying public, sending retailers of both reproduction and true vintage merchandise scurrying to keep the shelves stocked with the latest trends.
Consumer spending for goods accounts for 70 percent of the US economy. Say what you may about the state of that economy, statistics show that consumer spending increased by 48 billion dollars from the first quarter of this year to the third quarter. Taking into consideration that the fourth quarter of the year is the strongest for retail sales, it is safe to say that, as a nation, we are definitely in “shop till you drop” mode.
So why are so many of the nation’s top retailers constantly singing the blues about their numbers? The answer is simple — in record numbers people are buying second hand. Call it vintage, gently used, retro or re-purposed, we are experiencing a recycling craze that rivals the Depression-era mentality, and the most desirable of the lot are those things from the 60s and 70s.
Clothes, shoes, furniture and other essentials are rolling off the shelves for obvious reasons. Among “non-essential” purchases, glassware, jewelry, decorator items and sentiment-based collectibles are no surprise. But what has come as a shock to many of us in the business is the increasing interest in old records
Vinyl — who would ever have imagined? From old hippies to new hipsters, albums from 1960 through the 1970s are a hot commodity. In preparation for this column I visited my favorite record store, Irvington Vinyl, located at 9 Johnson Avenue in Indianapolis, to hear some great old rock and to chat with owner Rick Wilkerson, about the resurgence of music from “the Golden Era.”
The first thing to hit you when you visit this shop is the great age variance in the customers. According to Wilkerson, his store attracts buyers from 17-70. “Since all the 60s and 70s music originally came out on vinyl there is a lot of interest among young people in acquiring original copies of their favorites,” he told me as he cranked up the Beatles’ Revolver album. “Then there’s the nostalgic factor to consider. Baby boomers, who grew up during the golden age of vinyl enjoy reconnecting with the music of their youth. A vinyl record offers a more authentic version of the ‘time travel’ than a CD or digital file.”
While many of us have a stack of old albums in the closet, few of them are the type that record stores want. If you are interested in selling your collection make a list of the artists in your collection and how many pieces you have by each artist, and make a basic assessment of the condition of the albums. Remember, for an album to be considered in good shape the cover should not be creased, torn or water damaged and the vinyl must not be scratched or warped.
Dealers constantly struggle with being inventory poor. To attract a customer base, you need a large display of records. However, many of them will set on the shelf for months, even years, before the person wanting a particular release comes through the door. It’s a Catch-22 and the reason a dealer cannot, in the majority of cases, offer you much for your collection and may have no interest in it at all.
Whether you are selling or buying, vinyl is back and as Rick so aptly put it, “Vinyl has a mystique and a character and is a very good archival medium. An old record kept out of the elements will sounds as great today as it did 50 years ago.” As great today as it was 50 years ago? I like the sound of that. Until next time……..Linda Kennett
Irvington resident Linda Kennett is a professional liquidation consultant specializing in down-sizing for seniors and the liquidation of estates and may be reached at 317-429-7887 or lkennett@indy.rr.com