The law in Israel is that everything must be marked. That doesn't mean
that everything is but the shops that are caught pay a nice fine. I wish
I had the money to buy all these stocks and open a store where you can
browse till you drop dead.
Shai

On 8/20/2010 11:49 PM, Michael Biel wrote:
> On 8/20/2010 10:57 AM, David Seubert wrote:
>> The Record Collector is owned by Sanders Chase. I've only met him
>> once so I will refrain from commenting on my impressions of his
>> character, but there are plenty of people on Yelp who have no shame
>> about such things.
>>
>> http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-record-collector-los-angeles
>>
>> David Seubert
>>
>
> And a further reference from one of the writers to this page.
>
> http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/entity.php?id=6737
>
>
> I'm glad this discussion came up, because after seeing his little spot
> on the Modern Marvels Retro-tech program I was going to suggest to
> Cary that perhaps a panel on LA area record stores like this one be
> done at ARSC. On the program he did do rants exactly like the web
> comments describe, but I didn't realize that this rant was repeated
> for every customer!!! When a store's stock is too big, when it starts
> to be a collection rather than store stock, it usually means that the
> owner doesn;t really want to sell and thus the prices are too high.
> He has been in business since 1974 and has been in this expensive
> location since 1999 so he must sell SOMETHING. I think it should be
> illegal for a store to have unpriced merchandise as a policy. Sure
> with a large stock there might be unmarked items, and certainly there
> are things which become more valuable over time, but to NEVER mark a
> price on merchandise should be illegal. He looks like he would size
> you up to see what you could be convinced to pay, but also looks like
> the kind of guy who would not give someone a break and might get his
> jollies by having stuff that you saps can't afford.
>
> I am trying to think of what I could ask for to get his scent off of
> my trail, but I know that is I ask for some items I REALLY do want,
> the price will now double. I do have three strong specific wants,
> and I suppose I could as for a similar item on the hopes that maybe
> the ones I want might be in the same bin.
>
> I've encountered stores like this in the past -- no browsing, must
> state specific wants. What they don't understand is that if I ask for
> a specific record either they have it or not, If they have it I buy
> ONE record. If the don't I buy NONE. If I browse I probably buy
> dozens. First time was in NYC in the 60s when I was in high school
> or college. It may have been Meltzer';s shop in midtown. When
> challenged I said "Danny Kaye The Court Jester on Decca." It was
> already rare and I DID want it. "Got it" he said and he disappeared
> in the back. I browsed for a minute and he came back with it. I
> started to look at the disc and he said "No need to take it out, it's
> in perfect shape." "How much?" "Five bucks." I took out the cash
> and then walked out with just one record. I might have bought more.
> And I never bothered to retturn. The other time it hapopened was in
> Chicago, on the North Side, in a store I remember having to walk down
> a few steps to. It was a Saturday, place was empty. "No browsing.
> What you want?" I gave him a title. "Nope." Gave him another.
> "Nope." I started to browse again. "No browsing." I walked with no
> records. I can think of very few instances when THAT happens!
>
> I'll probably spend my record buying time during ARSC LA in Amoeba.
> Leah found some great stuff there in just the one hour before they
> closed.
>
> Mike Biel [log in to unmask]
>
>
> On Aug 18, 2010, at 1:07 PM, Rod Smear wrote:
>>
>>> Yes, I know of him. He's on Melrose now. Same old.
>>>
>>> rod smear
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List
>>> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Cary Ginell
>>> Sent: Wednesday, August 18, 2010 11:53 AM
>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] music man murray record collection & Murray
>>> Gershenz, music collector extraordinaire, is parting with his entire
>>> music library.
>>>
>>>
>>> I remember the store on Highland. I think it was called The Record
>>> Collector. It was chiefly classical records, and a good supply of it
>>> at that. Not the bottom-of-the-barrel stuff that Murray housed. The
>>> Highland shop did have a few 10-inch jazz and folk LPs, which I
>>> scarfed up at a decent price because the snob who ran the place
>>> looked down his nose at them. It was like in the Three Stooges short
>>> where Moe, Larry, and Curly are thumbing through a stack of hundred
>>> dollar bills: $100, 200, 300, 400, 500, oh! here's a five," and they
>>> toss it away.
>>>
>>> Cary Ginell
>>>
>>>> Date: Wed, 18 Aug 2010 13:22:09 -0500
>>>> From: [log in to unmask]
>>>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] music man murray record collection & Murray
>>>> Gershenz, music collector extraordinaire, is parting with his
>>>> entire music library.
>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>>
>>>> I recall the excitement when first moved to LA at the prospect of
>>>> going to
>>>> Murray's. Then I went. Dashed hopes. Only to be outdone by the
>>>> music shop
>>>> on Highland at Santa Monica, with a shopkeeper even more arrogant than
>>>> Murray. I hate to see record (and book) shops close but when their
>>>> "owner"
>>>> behaves as these folks have, give me the internet any day.
>>>>
>>>> Alan Carrie
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, Aug 18, 2010 at 12:23 PM, Cary Ginell <[log in to unmask]>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> The point differentiating "stock" from "collection" is well-taken
>>>>> in this
>>>>> case. To my knowledge, Murray as never been anything but a
>>>>> shopkeeper. He
>>>>> has no private collection to my knowledge and really isn't all that
>>>>> concerned with the finer points of discographical research as are
>>>>> serious
>>>>> collectors. He never worked hard to make his a better business. He
>>>>> just
>>>>> opened his doors and expected to sell his schlock for whatever
>>>>> ridiculous
>>>>> prices he posted on them. He has been reviled in L.A. for decades
>>>>> as being a
>>>>> grumpy, mean, brusque, and difficult person. The last time I
>>>>> visited his
>>>>> shop was maybe 25-30 years ago, when it was on Santa Monica Blvd.
>>>>> near
>>>>> Western, a bad part of town even then. What he's got now is most
>>>>> likely the
>>>>> same stuff, only rifled through even further. There may be some
>>>>> choice items
>>>>> that he set aside (some of which he has displayed during
>>>>> interviews), but I
>>>>> can almost guarantee that they are a miniscule percentage of his
>>>>> holdings
>>>>> and certainly not representative of all that is there. If his
>>>>> business were
>>>>> doing well, he wouldn't need to find a new profession at his
>>>>> advanced age.
>>>>> He could have just dumped what was left and gone off to some
>>>>> island in
>>>>> blissful retirement. But creating a new image of himself as a
>>>>> "lovable old
>>>>> coot" on TV shows is easier for him and probably earns him a much
>>>>> better
>>>>> income than selling records. If these records end up in a land fill
>>>>> somewhere, they probably won't be missed.
>>>>>
>>>>> Cary Ginell
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>