I popped in Saturday March 11th for a look see. I had heard about them from a family member that passes through there every day. I generally go to The Record Exchange in Princeton, NJ or Double Decker Records in Allentown, PA for the selection and pricing. This store is tiny by those standards, but they had some titles that would normally be snatched up in a busier store. For that I was grateful. The owner is eager, but I fear that he might be stretching himself a bit thin carrying a couple of arcade machines, some stereo equipment, a listening station that takes up about 25% of his capacity, books, T-Shirts and cassettes. I wouldn't mess with half of that stuff if I were him. There were alot of records I could never get through because they were literally on the floor and my back doesn't care for that. The guitars and arcade machines have to go. Not enough space.
He was having a dollar sale on several boxes of records, but many of them were too banged up to consider. I'd call it a day on 80% of them in his shoes. It's a decent space, but it's definitely out of the way for most folks. Belvidere is farm country, but they are on the main drag with a liquor store, a coffee shop, a CBD store and a bodega all within close proximity. Parking was decent. The prices were a little high, but I can forgive some of that due to his store size and relatively small selection. I found maybe 10 records I wanted at their price points and I got out of there for $120. Try doing that at those other stores I mentioned. One really cool thing is that the actual price tags peel right off the LP jackets without the need for Goo Gone or worrying about ripping the covers. Almost all of them were already in plastic sleeves which really classed up the joint. Keeps the fingerprints off the good ones.
Most of actual vinyl I looked at was in fairly good shape. I found a smattering of $5-$7 records to buy so that was good. I would say there were another 5-7 records I would have bought if their prices were maybe $5 cheaper. A used record, unless it's very rare and or in extremely high demand, should never exceed $20 in my opinion. At that point you may as well buy a new one. I got the impression this guy was a rookie retailer, but he was extremely accommodating and even offered coffee to the folks shopping. Not a particularly good idea with the likelihood of one handed spillage high, but it spoke to his humanity. I was impressed.
Their logo is very cool and I would have bought a jersey from them, but they didn't have my size. In summation, if you are around Central NJ, give this guy some love. He could use it. I'll definitely be back for sure. read more
