9 pro tips on how to run a vintage record shop

I sat down with the man behind Ottawa's Birdman Sound record shop, John Westhaver, and asked his tips for starting, running, and keeping alive a vintage record shop.

Here is what he had to say.

● HAS VINYL 'MADE A COME-BACK', AS THEY SAY?

“Resurgences and come-backs don't last for seven years,” Westhaver says.

“Most people still just don't buy records. Most people just steal music from the internet.”

● WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU SEEN IN RECORD-SHOPPING HABITS OVER TIME?

When people would buy records back when he worked in shops in junior high, the majority of customers would come in for an album just looking for one specific track from it.

“I had two aunts who bought records,” Westhaver says.

“They were into country music. They bought albums all the time. Their record collections, which I inherited when they passed away, were really funny because they were blueprints of one another. It was where those hit singles were, those were the tracks that were worn out on the records and the rest was just not touched. So they put that record on and used their hand (to listen to just one song).”

Nowadays you can just buy one song on Itunes or stream on Spotify, so that is what most people do, he says.

● WHAT WAS YOUR BIGGEST SALE?

Nirvana's Bleach. “I sold it for $250,” Westhaver says. “But I know it is worth even more now.”

● WHO ARE YOUR DISRIBUTORS?

“FAB Distribution and Outside are the main ones,” Westhaver says.

He used to deal with five or six distributors years ago, but they are slowly disappearing. He also deals direct from a few small labels in the US and in Europe, but not that often.

● WHAT IS YOUR MONTHLY SALES?

“I will say 'not enough'.”

● WHAT BUSINESS TIPS DO YOU HAVE FOR OTHER ASPIRING RECORD SHOP OWNERS?

Get ready for a lot of down periods with no sales coming in.

“Weather plays a huge role in it,” Westhaver says.

“When it is sunny and 100 degrees in the shade you've got no business. When there is a snowstorm you're not going to have many customers.”

Also, be mindful that customers' own financial situations change.

“'We just bought a house out in Kanata, and we just had a kid.' That's bye-bye record-buying,” he says.

If you have a financial “nest egg” to rely on, that is great too.

● WHO BUYS RECORDS, WHY?

“Records never were not made," Westhaver says. "All through the 90s, thousands of records were manufactured, made and sold all over the world. Most people got rid of their records because they were told by rich people, stereo-making companies, that CD's were the way of the future. So a lot of people jumped off the cliff and got rid of their records – but not everybody. There are always new formats coming along. It's not good, bad or indifferent. It's just different.”

The people buying records today are people who never stopped buying records.

“There are also a bunch of people who jumped off the cliff in the 80s,” Westhaver says.

“Got rid of all their records, and are regretting it now. That could be a bit of nostalgia but it could also be because of the lifestyle -- hauling around thousands of records from job to job, from province to province. I also know people who stored their records, raised a family and then once they got rid of the kids took them back out.”

● WHAT LESSONS HAVE YOU LEARNED FROM OWNING YOUR BUSINESS?

1. “You can't be everything to everyone. You can't make everyone happy.”
2. “Don't lose your edge and enthusiasm for discovery.”
3. “You always have to have respect for the people who regularly support you.”

● WHAT WEIRD CUSTOMER REQUEST DO YOU GET A LOT?

“'I don't know what it's called or who it's by," Westhaver mimicks, "but I'm looking for a record by this guy in a cowboy hat and one of the lines of the record goes something like this...' and they hum you a line from the song. Or on the phone, 'If I sang you a couple bars from the song would you be able to tell me if you have it in stock?'. Likely not.”