Study the List

The full list of Record Store Day releases can be found here: http://www.recordstoreday.com/SpecialReleases

The items on the first section of the list are Record Store Day exclusive items. If your local store is seriously participating, they will have most of these records in stock on Saturday. The second section covers limited and regional releases, which means that your store might not be getting them in at all. If they are, it’ll be just one or two copies of each. The last section are Record Store Day ‘first releases,’ which means that they will be available for sale normally at a later date.

I like to avoid buying RSD first release records on Record Store Day itself. Chances are, you’ll be able to find these albums on sale a couple of months down the road. Focus on the RSD excusive stuff for now.

Craft a Budget

The RSD site doesn’t have MSRPs listed, so you may be in for some sticker shock when you walk up to the cash register on Saturday morning. It’s worth trying to Google search for online stores that have prices listed on some of the exclusives, (TurntableLab.com is one) but you probably won’t find them all. Just know that RSD releases can be more expensive than normal new LPs – albums tend to run $20-$30 and box sets can be over $100. If something was remastered exclusively for RSD, it might run twice as much as a standard LP. Try to find out as much information as you can so you don’t end up spending way more money than you had wanted to.

Call the Stores

If you are lucky enough to have multiple local record stores, call them on Thursday or Friday before RSD and ask the following questions:

1) Will they have the album(s) you most want in stock?

2) How many copies will they have?

3) How are they handling logistics? Will there be a line with wish lists, or will it be a free-for-all?

4) When will they be opening on Saturday morning?

5) Will there be any other sales going on in the store that day?

Most record stores are more than happy to answer these questions, and the answers can help craft your Saturday morning. Ideally, you will want to hit up a store that has multiple copies of most of your wants in stock and has a nice, orderly method for handling the crowds. Make sure to ask about the regional/limited release records first and to prioritize those on your wants list – the general RSD releases can often be found at MSRP or even below on eBay a few months later, but the regional/limited released will always be hard to track down.

Do not forget to ask about in-store sales. On Record Store Day, the best deals in the store are often on non-RSD releases. Some shops near me discount all used vinyl by up to 30%, which makes RSD the best day of the year to finally pick up that one record that I’ve never quite been able to find a good enough deal on.

Show Up Early

If you are going in with a casual mentality and you just hope to end up with a few records on your list, find the store with the biggest stock and get there an hour before they open – you’ll do just fine. If there are a couple of specific releases that you absolutely MUST own, get there several hours early and be prepared to wait in line. Even still, depending on the policy of your local store, you might not get the records you want.

Be Kind

Don’t forget that this is a fun event: bring a book, bring friends, bring stacks, and take the opportunity to talk music with your fellow enthusiasts and collectors in line. Making friends in line is a great way to make sure everyone gets the vinyl that they want, and in my experience, most people are happy to help each other. And even if you do miss out, there are always other ways to get RSD exclusives: through trade, sniping eBay auctions in a few months, etc. It’s not worth fighting over any piece of RSD vinyl.