NYC area thrift shop vinyl

So there have been lots of great suggestions here on where to find vinyl, but most of them are used record stores with prices higher than I'd prefer to pay if I can avoid it. Garage and estate sales can be goldmines, but finding the ones with vinyl is difficult, and the season is over now.

Listener57, library sales is something I hadn't considered, but will any of them have any vinyl left? I don't think I've seen an LP in a library in 10 years or so. I only buy CDs when I can't get what I want on vinyl. :-)

Robdoorack, the WFMU Record Fair looks *very* interesting. Have you been to one? What are the prices like? Are things cheaper on Sunday? It might be worth taking the train into the city.

But back to my original question, where's all the thrift shop vinyl? I lived in Eugene, OR, and there were probably 7-8,000 pieces of vinyl among all the thrift stores, and more than that before St. Vincent De Paul dumpstered their entire cache of classical about 2 years ago - broke my heart! If a town like Eugene has that much, there has to be some in NYC - or is it a very well kept secret? :-)

Thriftily,

David

Bob/Ptmconsulting,

I'm willing to drive to NJ, CT, or Long Island if that's what I need to do to find what I want. Do you have any recommendations in those areas?

Robdoorack,

Thanks for the details of the WFMU show. Looks like a Sunday afternoon trip to the city may be in order...

David

Am_dial,

Those are all great suggestions. Gives us plenty of places to seek as we explore this beautiful area where we live now. I'd heard about Rhino (any connection to the record label?) in New Paltz but hadn't made it up there. Too bad they've already downsized, but probably still worth a look - we occasionally get up to the Rosendale Theater for art films, and frequently get sushi in New Paltz.

I'm still amazed that the thrift stores here in NY are so bereft of vinyl...did I just miss the market here by 15-20 years, and the northwest was that far behind the times?

Just got back from the WFMU Record Fair, and now I know where all the thrift shop vinyl goes! There are so many record dealers in the NYC area that it all gets snapped up before any end user ever sees them.

Luckily, there was tons of $1 (even some 2/$1!) vinyl at the fair, along with $10-50 (and more!) pieces of every imaginable genre and sub-genre. I'm sure that the Internet marketplace has serious affected sales of the higher priced stuff, but if you're the type who likes to grade the LPs yourself, or you just don't like paying shipping, this show is a must.

They used to do it twice a year, but it looks like they're going to a once a year schedule. It runs Fri/Sat/Sun, and lots of dealers go to half price/make an offer at about 5pm Sunday. If you wanted to do a thorough scouring, you could easily spend all three days there.

Oh, there were CDs there too. I didn't look at a single one.

:-)

David