Jim G.
Yelp
I had planned to stop at a number of record stores as I made my way south on the Atlantic route to Florida on I-95 this season, but as it turned out, Graveface was the only one I actually did make. I learned a little about Savannah itself as part of making my way to this shop as it is well outside the established tourist route.
Once inside, I engaged the young record seller who was on duty, and made my way to the used bins on the floor by the counter. I quickly found a number of $2-$3 soul and reggae records once owned by "Sonny" (he'd made sure no one was going to walk off with his LPs by marking his name on them). Nonetheless, Sonny's records weren't in bad shape despite being a bit dusty, so I overlooked the personalized labeling and wondered where Sonny is today...if he is with us on this Earth still. Part of the charm of old LPs to some extent.
Eventually, I made my way into more expensive fare (but not too expensive because this is one of the most reasonably priced shops I've entered in 2014). Graveface has very decent electronica, reggae, hip hop, jazz, and soul sections and I found a little bit in each to add to my stack.
Finally, I made my way to a section called "Psych/Pop" and hit a goldmine of reasonably priced new records that are actually hard to find if you expect not to order them online (which I try not to do). For example, I found several rarer Guerssen Records (a Spanish/German reissue label) reissues of American psych bands of the late 60s/70s. These are well made European records and always a pleasure to own.
By the end of my digging, the owner had arrived behind his counter, and I had tallied quite a stack that ultimately resulted in a purchase of nearly $300. I was surprised (and maybe a bit put off) by the owner's failure to offer me a discount on the basis of such a large haul but I feel that his prices were already evident of the small business' need for cold hard cash and I respected that right off.
Still, Graveface is the first record seller in the entire USA who hasn't offered at least a 10% discount to sweeten the deal for a serious purchase of this sort. I believe this was due to having been marked as a tourist. Maybe? I was offered a tote bag or t-shirt and I wound up with two totes so the proprietor tacitly acknowledged the significance of my patronage.
I laughed all this off once I realized that my Yelp checkin at the start had resulted in a 10% discount offer and I had just failed to notice it! I won't make that mistake again.
Certainly, I would encourage any big time buyer to make a stop at Graveface and to press their advantage by asking for a discount up front for large purchases, but in any case you will be getting a very fair deal from a shop that clearly knows what vinyl record collecting is all about. All said, this is one of the most well-curated vinyl record shops I've found in my recent travels. Highly recommended!
