Anyone been to the Austin Record Convention?

[TxArch 2]

Is it worth going? Any tips or tricks? I've surprisingly never been, though it's usually because I'm working or out of town those weekends. I'm mainly interested in jazz (bebop, hard bop, bossa nova, fusion, cool jazz) & 60s soul. Also trying to beef up my classic/psych 60s & 70s rock shelf too. 

Is everything great gone by saturday, or taken by the VIPs early on friday? Does the text messaging system actually work?

[stc 1460]

it's a good event, definitely worth going. unless you're looking for super rare stuff there's no reason to do the early entry, still plenty of great records available on saturday and sunday. take cash. 

[CTC2 2791]

It's a good record show.  If you don't mind digging I think you would be pleased.  Lots of good deals but they are usually at the tables who have records in random order in their boxes.  Good mixture of rare and solid collection stuff.

[BoomMF 1398]

There was a table up near the front that specialized in MoFi. I spent damn near the whole time just at that table.

Most tables are a mess, but some are really curated and you could spend a lot of time happily thumbing through the crates.

Everyone has Herb Alpert's Whipped Cream.

Really enjoyed it. Fun way to spend an afternoon.

Edited May 6, 2018 by BoomMF

[TxArch 2]

Yes, I expect to see many copies of Tijuana Brass as well as Percy Faith's "Touchdown". 

Are there any listening stations or should I plan to take my mobile turntable? 

On 5/5/2018 at 1:17 PM, stc said:

it's a good event, definitely worth going. unless you're looking for super rare stuff there's no reason to do the early entry, still plenty of great records available on saturday and sunday. take cash. 

Cash is quicker, but did you find any vendors that wouldn't accept credit card at all?

[stc 1460]

i don't remember seeing any listening stations anywhere, and yes there are vendors who only take cash. 

[destroya 374]

I've been about 5 times over the past few years.  I've done the Friday VIP thing and the past few times have gone Sunday afternoon.  Unless you are looking for specific, hard to find albums, I don't think paying extra to go on Friday is worth it.  Friday is mainly collectors and other dealers who know what they want and are flipping through crates as fast as they can looking for it.  Given what you're looking for, you'll find a lot of good stuff on Sunday.  Also, there's a lot less haggling on Friday than Sunday.

My advice is to take 30 minutes or so when you first get there to get the lay of the land before you start digging through crates.  Some vendors are going to be a lot less expensive than others; some are going to be more organized; some are going to have a lot more albums; and there's some that hit on all three.  Other vendors will specialize in hard to find albums while some will have a more mainstream selection (relative to the genre).  Some guys are in it to make money, and others are hobbyists who do it for fun and to fund buying records for themselves.  The last thing you want to do is to waste time and energy going through some guy's disorganized crates of expensive albums when you could go to another guy's booth whose records are in alphabetical order genre and less expensive.  (Made this mistake before)

Also, don't be afraid to lowball the fuck out of people.