What was your first sale?
Rob: “It was a 16-minute 12” remix of Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, which I bought for a couple of quid and sold in the school playground for £20 in around 1985.”
Are rare records really a viable investment compared to stocks and shares?
“Unlike stocks and shares, which have had a pretty unsettled time over the last couple of years, the collectible vinyl market is stable. A mint copy of a scarce single by The Beatles from the early 60s, for instance, can be worth way more than its weight in gold.”
How did you go from the playground to the number one player in the market?
“We set up in business in 1986, from our respective bedrooms. We went without holidays for six years and ploughed all the money we made from our jobs – me from working in Stock Exchange settlements in the city and Julian as a commercial estate agent – in to the company.
“We spent years trudging around record fairs and second-hand shops building up our vinyl collection. We took on staff gradually. We now employ more than 40 people in Meopham and we have agents in the USA and Japan, hunting down rarities and selling to a growing clientele of private collectors.”
What have been your most memorable acquisitions?
Julian: “One of my biggest coups was when a punk fan rang up offering to sell a ‘holy grail’ item – The Sex Pistols’ God Save The Queen single, which was released on A&M Records in 1977 and then immediately withdrawn from sale.
“It’s worth up to £10,000 with its original promotional material. I bought the single for an undisclosed amount. The seller then casually said: ‘Oh, if you’re interested, I’ve got six more copies.’ Needless to say, I snapped them up!”
The company has tens of thousands of records, CDs, tapes, autographed items and other memorabilia in its warehouse Headquarters.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84