18 Oldham Street, Manchester M1 1JN
Opening Hours:Mon-Sat 10:00-18:00. Sundays 12:00-17:00
Website: http://www.vinylexchange.co.uk/
Telephone: 0161 228 1122
Nah can’t shift ’em mate”…”I’ll give you 15 quid for that lot”….”got any New Wave of British Heavy Metal?”….aha we must be in Vinyl Exchange, right there in the glittering Northern Quarter and probably the biggest second hand record shop in the North West. Open since 1988 Vinyl Exchange has a massive stock of pretty much every genre of music, spread over two floors. Upstairs you’ll find racks upon racks of CDs, indexed on cards for easy browsing, and down in the basement is the Vinyl department plus loads of DVDs. They have a particularly large collection of Experimental/underground music, Electronica, Dance and Indie so not your typical second hand junk.
They have stacks of serious collectors items here, rare promos, loads of deleted and out of print records, music books and memorabilia. The rare stuff is priced fairly, and you’ll also find plenty of cheap bargain bins to rifle through too so hardcore collectors and bargain hunters alike will find hours of fun here.
If you are one of those people who isn’t particularly happy to run a sort of pseudo mail-order business from your bedroom flogging your old records on Ebay, save yerself the price of a load of jiffy bags and take your unwanted tunes down here, they’ll help them find a good home. You’ll need ID if you want cash and bear in mind you’ll get a much better deal if you want to do a part-exchange (hence the name). Be warned, they’ll only take what they can re-sell so be prepared to have a very critical expert eye cast over your collection. If you’re lucky the ‘want’ pile will be bigger than the ‘take it down to Oxfam’ pile. The staff know their stuff so if they can’t shift it, its probably worth nowt. Suffice to say if it’s a CD copy of “Be Here Now” you’re probably better off making a novelty coaster out of it instead.
There is one heavily used listening post for the vinyl heads downstairs, generally unless quiet its not meant to be used for checking out your “bargain”finds. The staff will also play stuff for you if you ask nicely.
mrweedman1 says
overpriced records eg lurkers lp on vinyl 18 quid avin a laff lot of their stuff been there a long time no wonder they also need to take posters down when they say sale is over some rude staff aswell
Crate Digger says
To be honest Mr Weedman has got a point. Vinyl Exchange should reduce the prices on some their stock (mainly vinyl) more frequently in order to turn it over a bit more quickly. Having said that being in a prime location means they have to charge a bit more than other outlets I suppose. Having picked up a quite a few quality bits in here down the years and despite some shortcomings, it would be a loss to the local music scene if it disappeared.
admin says
There is a great article in the September issue of Word Magazine by Fraser Lewry who used to work in London Record & Tape Exchange. His experiences are probably indicative of the reality of what it must be like behind the counter of Vinyl Exchange even today….if they come across as grumpy I can understand why! It’s a great shop…and indeed in the age of downloads its worth noting you can get an unwanted journalists promo of certain records before they come out…for far less than it would cost to download.
steve says
Hi suggest you give this place a wide birth !! Got cd from here and it turned out to be a cdr !!!!! the cd player display doesnt lie !!! Put the disc in several players and they all displayed CDR the worse thing was it skipped like hell RECOMMEND YOU STEER CLEAR OF THIS PLACE !!!!!!!
HATFIELD68 says
In all fairness, no one has the time to check every single item that is for sale at the shop, so I reckon you are best to check the item yourself before buying OR how about a “I bought this item and was disappointed to see it was a CDR. Is this normal for this record label to issue promos on CDR and can I have a refund please ?” conversation with the staff.
John says
I recommend you take it back then rather than complaining on here. There are plenty of legitimate record company promo CDR items in the secondhand market, clearly marked by the shop too. Perhaps you didn’t understand that?
John Wildman says
I got a great price here for my old 12″ singles and 60s LPs, whereas in Stockport shops I was all but told to get lost. In Vinyl Exchange the staff are very experienced and well researched. There must be thousands of happy customers considering how long the business has lasted – pity more of them haven’t posted.
Charlie says
A magnificent shop and home to some incredible bargains.
paul says
ive been buying from Vinyl Exchange ever since they opened, i find most of the staff to be helpfull and quite friendly most of the time, even when the shop is packed with buyers and the staff are run off thier feet, thier on line service is fast and items always arrive well packed, lots of rare quality items at reasonable prices.
I know because i shop there.
HATFIELD68 says
GREAT shop where you can buy new releases for a couple of quid less than the large record retailers plus always manage to pick up some promo copies of the more obscure stuff. Staff have always been polite and friendly towards me, so can’t say I recognise the criticism. I’ve been a regular at the shop for a decade and always head there when in Manchester.
JoeyRamone says
I took some rare foreign Beatles stuff there for a swap to be told it was the Beatles buyer’s day off,was offered & took £7 for a Bowie LP because it was worth £18 but was in the racks for £40 on my next visit,never found anything but racks of records overpriced based on condition and treat the £40 copy of the Wailing Souls War 12″ on Greensleeves as an old family friend. If Les from Kingbee was in charge of this gaffe you’d need bouncers on the door to keep the peace from 9am on Monday to 5pm on Saturday.We’ll give Les the sabbath off.
Richie says
I`ve never had a problem with the exchange, I`ve bought some LP bargains there and the the staff have always been friendly. I would never consider selling unwanted LPs/CDs to a shop or dealer, you will get at best 50% of what your items are worth.
jimmy bo says
whenever im in Manchester this shop is my first port of call. cheap bargains galore. hear me now!
richard finch. says
hi do you buy beatles lps .also mowtown 60s 70s.
Rob says
Been i there today and picked up two LPs. I’ve never yet found any member of staff to be rude or unpleasant. Generally, if you are pleasant to people in shops you find it gets reciprocated.
Rob says
‘In’ there….sheesh !!
richard finch. says
its nice to be nice, have a nice day .regards Richard.
Mark Thompson. says
This shop is the canines testicles. I have shopped there for 30years and find it a haven away from all the day to day grind. The staff are great ( bar one who is a bit tight with valuations) Russ is the best of a very knowledgeable bunch of experts. Love this place, it’s my home from home and I look forward to every visit. Keep up the good work, you represent what is great about Manchester.
Matty Boy says
Vinyl Exchange has a good selection of vinyl and something for everyone’s taste. However, it is definitely very pricey, even more than some shops in London . It’s all down to whether you are prepared to pay those prices. I’m not prepared to pay those prices, usually. But I will always pay the shop a visit when I am up in that neck of the woods. They have some records that are ridiculously over-priced and frankly look like they have been sat there for years ( maybe they should have a half price sale, even at half price, some of them are still expensive) . On the plus side , I came across Les McCann’s album Layers there , a new pressing for £20. The original sells now for north of £60 plus. A price I would never be prepared to pay, though some idiot will, no doubt. These days, I rarely visit record shops because of the prices. I go to garage sales and car boots and believe me, I have found some great stuff for pence..!!!!