I set up an online record store over the weekend on a whim. You could call this a soft launch, as I think there are still some tweaks that I need to make. Nonetheless, any feedback (or purchases) would be greatly appreciated.
THE NAME. A few friends expressed concern about this, and I kinda agree. Eels are slippery customers, although I am not. I might change it.
I’M NOT A RECORD DEALER. Full respect to all the dealers who came before the digital age. I cut my teeth with people like Chris Pure Pleasure, Nick the Record & Mark Seven, pioneering diggers to a man. There are also a lot of amazing new online dealers/stores. I frequently buy music from Gripbuster, The Growing Bin, Diskfrisk, Perfect Lives and Picnic 1987. What you see on The Eel are records I bought to DJ with but no longer really need.
EXPENSIVE RECORDS. Yes, some of the records are expensive, but I think they’re fairly priced. I am now in a place where I can occasionally spend £100 on a 12" and recognise that it’s an inherently ridiculous thing to do.
BARGAINS. No, you aren’t going to find any. If you get out there, maybe you can buy some of these records cheaper. Real-world record shopping is more fun, IMO. Luckily, I live in London, where there are many fantastic record shops: Eldica, Atlantis, Jelly, The Little Record Shop, Hidden Sounds, Tome, etc.
STOCK. There are about 50 records here. I don’t want to go backwards and forwards to the post office all the time for cheap tunes. I’d rather have a small, high quality amount of stock.
BE NICE. I’m a human being and have plenty of responsibilities outside of selling records. I got sick of Discogs, both as a buyer and seller and I’d like this retail experience to be a bit like this forum—a nice place where people are friendly to one another.
DO IT YOURSELF. I decided to do this on my dog walk in the morning and had this set up about 6 hours later. Big Cartel is incredibly easy to use and the cost is $9.99 a month.
Thanks for reading. Any questions please shout!
Friends of Test Pressing can use the code TPDISCO for a 10% discount (10 only)
Love it Piers “Major balearic cross-over potential” & “Look at the cover FFS”
Great selection of super rare things, certainly worth paying proper money for.
I like the Eel avatar and name. If you could send automated messages after purchase such as “this won’t pay my bills” “you have terrible taste in music” & “f-off out of my shop, I’m closing” then I’d feel right at home…
It’s been a nice first year for The Eel. Most importantly every customer has been a pleasure to deal with, and I’m very grateful for how many of you have become regulars.
There will be a big drop of fresh stuff in February, but, until then, treat yourself to 24% off everything in-store until January 1st.
Great Layout and good to navigate! bookmarked. (although it would be good if sold out tracks could be bumped down to the bottom of the page so you don’t have to pass trough them to see the stuff that’s available
