Record Raid is back! I apologize that it took this long, but we're planning to get back on a schedule from here.
Where: Howlin' Wolf 907 S Peters Street, New Orleans
When: Saturday, November 16th 2024. 10am-5pm. Load-in begins at 9am, need to be out by 6pm.
How Much Does it Cost to Sell? $50 per 8 foot Table if reserved before October 2nd. $70 after that. Registration closes November 1st . If this is your first Record Raid, choose the first-timer option for a 50% discount off your first table. Limit of 2 tables per vendor. Chairs will be provided for free. You cannot provide your own table.
Please only choose first-timer discounts if this is indeed your first time selling at Record Raid. I do check on this.
I vastly prefer vendor payments made through the form below. If you cannot pay online, I will no longer accept payment day-of, so your reservation will not be valid until there is money in my hand.
What you can sell: Music of any format, vintage, used or new. Record labels are free to sell their music as well. Consumer audio equipment (turntables, etc) are good too. Music-related ephemera (books, movies, memorabilia, t-shirts) are OK so long as they're not the focus of the table. We do make some exceptions, so feel free to ask.
What you can't sell: Food and drink. As above, Crafts are generally discouraged unless they're clearly a "side item", musical instruments are discouraged, though you may leave a paper at your table letting people know (so long as they're not the focus). You should be selling *something*, for instance you cannot set up a table promoting another event.
Venue Load-in and Load-Out: Load-in starts at 9 am. No advance table designations, first-come first-serve. Load-in will be from the side bay doors on N Diamond St., which should allow for smooth load-in via hand-trucks. And I would encourage using a hand-truck if you can! We will not open earlier than 9am, so there's no reason to come at 8am. But I know some of you nuts will do it anyway.
About the Venue: Howlin Wolf is a long-standing music venue in the heart of the New Orleans CBD -- fairly close to the French Quarter and the interstate. Parking in the area will likely be sparse, but there are nearby parking garages. If you're traveling, there are many hotels very close by. It is climate controlled, and there is a kitchen and bar, not to mention other eating options within close walking distance. This is a large concert hall and it is unlikely that there will be power available at your table.
The lighting is adequate but not excellent. We will try to improve this.
About Record Raid: Record Raid has been New Orleans' largest record show since 2010, averaging between 300 and 400 customers. We like to keep an informal, fun and funky vibe that can cater to serious collectors but not intimidate casual buyers. Our free entry helps keep a diverse group of shoppers. We want to create a show where people can be excited about records and talk about them while they shop. We also like to have DJs at conversational volumes playing obscure vinyl.
Other details: It's generally a REALLY good idea to have a credit card reader (for instance, Square reader on your phone), venmo account, or some way to accept credit cards. We'll never force you to accept credit cards, but it's nice for customers. I've heard from several vendors about how carrying a credit card reader has given them a big bump in sales. That said, make sure to have plenty of five and one dollar bills handy day-of.
You are your own storefront: Record Raid does not need to know how much you sold (though it's nice to give feedback), and any issues are between you and the customer.
We expect to have a table at the front to help people with questions (though the event itself is free). We've been assigning nametags to tables and people. The point is to make sure people know whose records belong to who, and who they should talk to when they're ready to buy. To be honest, we don't care what’s written on the nametag exactly, the important thing is that it matches what's written on your table.
We have discussed a system for allowing customers looking for a specific record to find it. This will likely be done by them asking somebody at the front table, a request being made over the speakers, and vendors raising hands if they have it.
People often ask what they should sell. My answer is always "Play to your strengths". We get a very diverse crowd, and there's often somebody that's into what you have. Our recent poll had a few people complaining that there was too much classic rock and other "beginning record collector" stuff. People are definitely looking for deals, but don't leave the big ticket stuff at home either. Things that I always hear people saying they want to see more of: punk, reggae/ska, 90's-2000's indie rock.
We will continue to have early bird admission from 10am to 11am at $5 per head.
Refunds: Our past few Record Raids had refund clauses for positive covid tests. This does not seem reasonable today. However, if you find you cannot make good on your table reservation before November 1st, please reach out ASAP so I can another vendor to take your place.
