Saturday Deluxe: Back to Berlin

Regular / longtime SDE readers may recall that I spent a long weekend in Berlin in 2016 ‘doing’ the various record shops and enjoying some of the cultural aspects of the city including a visit to Hansa Studios.

Well, I’m back in this wonderful city – for a bit – and intend to do the same again, perhaps revisiting some of the haunts to see if a) they are still there and b) see if they are any good. But there’s always new record shops to discover and that is what today’s Saturday Deluxe is about. 

Unlike London, Berlin is still full of weird and wonderful second hand record shops. A few nights ago, I was out for an evening stroll and came across a place called ‘Silver Disc’ which is in Wrangelstraße, north of Görlitzer Park, to the East of Kreuzberg.

It looked quite good and, according to the sign, it specialised in CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays and Games, which seemed refreshing considering vinyl tends to be the dominant format in second-hand record shops. There was even a laserdisc hanging from the ceiling in the shop window (I have a working laserdisc player and collect them). Anyway, I made a mental note to come back the next day.

Which is what I did. The shop was fairly big; done out in typical record shop style with posters on the wall and things hanging from the ceiling. There were quite a few racks of vinyl in the entrance area, which surprised me slightly (they aren’t ‘silver discs’ after all). Someone behind a counter (presumably the owner) was busy tapping into his computer. No acknowledgement or ‘hallo’ (a foreshadowing, as it turned out).

Anyway, I headed towards the CD section about halfway back and spotted a Crowded House promo CD called Full House that I’d never seen before. I noticed there was no price on it, but there looked to be a sticker of some kind and thought maybe I’d missed a sign telling customers that all CDs which such a sticker were ‘X’ price. I kept hold of the CD because I thought I’d probably buy it, assuming the cost was reasonable and it was then, as I headed towards the rear of the establishment, that I saw the sign. It read:

“The CDs on the black racks do not have prices. These are currently determined on the Internet. So please ask at the counter.”

You what? You are expected to browse around without knowing the price of anything? This has an enormously negative impact on the browsing experience. You see things that look interesting but without the reference point of how much they actually cost, it was like all the joy was sucked out of the experience.

Despite this being an unwelcome development, I noticed loads of yellow buckets of vinyl on the floor at the back of the shop. There was quite a few of them and they were all backbreakingly low. Anyway, I made the effort to flick through many of them. It was solid, but unremarkable fare; lots of 80s stuff, maxi singles… that kind of thing. For example, a came across a copy of Curiosity Killed The Cat’s Keep Your Distance, a 12-inch single of Rebecca Storm singing ‘The Show’ which was the theme tune from Central TV’s Stephanie Beacham drama ‘Connie’! You get the idea. I was thinking these were likely to be around maximum €4 each, maybe 3 for €10 – that kind of thing.

To be fair, the selection was peppered with the odd semi-decent item. A spotted a German 12-inch of Pet Shop Boys’ ‘Suburbia’ and put to one side a VG copy of XTC’s Black Sea, along with a Sting 10-inch. But mostly it was all unremarkable.

I asked the guy at the counter how much the vinyl was. With some degree of impatience he told me they “don’t have time” to go through it all and I’d have to bring it up and he’d tell me the price. Okay, so the same as the CDs then…

Despite this ludicrous system, I persevered. I had the Crowded House CD, the Sting 10-inch single and XTC. I’m thinking if it’s in the €20 ballpark, I’m game.

So, I take these items up to the counter and the guy does that thing of ignoring me while he continues tapping away at his computer. There’s no one else in the shop at this point. I’m starting to wonder if he’s seen me, but eventually, he turns to me as I hand over the items. Now I’m expecting him to glance at them, scratch his head and say something like “Call it €18” but no, he picks up XTC and starts to examine it very closely. A few minutes go by and he’s still looking at this vinyl record. Holding it up to the light, inspecting it. He’s now starting to tap in his computer. I’m getting bored and take a photo of the shop; “NO PHOTOS!” the owner says angrily. “Oops, sorry”, I say.

Meanwhile, a local is now waiting at the counter with a few things in hand and like me he’s starting to wonder what’s taking so long. I’m not joking when I say about five minutes has passed and he’s still looking at XTC (we haven’t even got to Sting or Crowded House). I can no longer hold my tongue: “Come on, mate… What’s taking so long?”. He’s irritated: “I need to check… everything in the buckets is premium vinyl” (it really isn’t). He repeats that they “don’t have time” to go through and price the records beforehand. Meanwhile he’s looking at Black Sea like it’s some treasured ancient artefact. “Just tell me how much you are going to charge me!? I feel like I’ve been standing here for half an hour…”

He loses it and scoffs loudly to a colleague, saying something in German, but I can hear the phrase “half an hour!!” in the mix. Suddenly he says: “No, I’m not selling these items to you”. It’s all going pear-shaped… “Your system is ridiculous” I say. “Keeping me waiting around while you decide how much you are going to charge and checking online…”. “FUCK YOU!”  he shouts, “FUCK YOU!”.

Jesus. Obviously, I leave the premises.

I’m not sure how the whole thing deteriorated so quickly, but here’s a proprietor who can’t be bothered to price up his stock when it comes in so customers know what they are expected to pay.  He wants to do that on YOUR time. He’s also a dealer who does not have the skills to look at items and quickly determine a price (even though he must have some idea, because a seller must have been paid at some point). Either that or he’s so desperate not to inadvertantly give anyone a bargain he insists on going on “The Internet” and try and “determine” the price. Probably by looking on eBay at ‘completed’ (but not sold) listings and Discogs.

What’s the point of going into a physical shop with its limited stock if the prices are going to be identical to online, where you can get almost anything?

Needless to say, being told to fuck off is my worst second-hand record shop experience to date. Not sure how it can get any worse, but I’ll keep an open mind. Have you ever had such an experience, or do you know of shops that indulge in these same ‘check the internet’ practises? Leave a comment.

Stay tuned for more Berlin record shop updates. I should emphasis that there are lots of lovely shops and shop-owners here, too!