Oh the Places You'll Go
Like Santa Cruz. You'll specifically go to Santa Cruz, CA. First Latin Gold Records Pop-Up Recap plus this weekend's Memorial Day Record Sale
If you take Highway 1 south from San Francisco, past the Highway 1 Brewery where nearly ten years ago, I drank exactly two jalapeño saison beers after a weekend at Outside Lands Festival, sits the coastal city Santa Cruz. If you’ve never been to or heard of Santa Cruz, imagine the aesthetics and lifestyle of San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district residing on the seaside white coast of Santa Barbara - that’s Santa Cruz, baby.
Still don’t know what I’m talking about? Then, may I direct your attention to the incredible 1987 film The Lost Boys, which takes place in the fictional city of Santa Carla but was predominantly shot Santa Cruz. While I didn’t see Kiefer Sutherland at the boardwalk, I’m pretty sure that I did see a shirtless, muscled saxophonist at some point. Then again, I saw a lot of weird things this weekend. Santa Cruz, baby!
While I was able to enjoy the many sights and sounds of “Surf City” for the very first time, that wasn’t the main reason why I was up in Northern California this weekend (although I did indeed celebrate the 100th anniversary of a wooden roller coaster named the Giant Dipper). No, I was in Santa Cruz on business. Latin Gold business!
This past weekend, Latin Gold Records (check out our hot new website here) hosted its first pop-up sale at the Humble Sea Record Swap, presented by Redwood Records & Friends. Along with 14 other vendors and an excellent line-up of local DJs, I finally brought Latin Gold Records to life physically, and I have to say . . . it was a smashing success!
Let’s take a look at the stats:
Over 900 miles driven
10 Custom Record Crates built by my brother-in-law
80 Records sold in 5 hours
4x World albums
24 Rock albums
10 Latin albums
6 Jazz albums
21 Funk/Soul albums
12 “Dollar Bin” albums
3 hats sold
1 unforgettable first pop-up experience
In the spirit of transparency and community, I’m going to be honest. While I was able to make a 2x profit in revenue when I subtract inventory costs, I am in the red after account for all the weekend trip expenses (food, gas, lodging, one ticket for the Giant Dipper rollercoaster), but not by that much! I knew going into the weekend that I was going to take a financial loss because I made a very intentional choice:
I wanted my first pop-up to be outside of my comfort zone.
For my first pop-up, I needed to work out all the kinks and relieve myself of the safety net of my hometown Los Angeles. By being a stranger in a strange land, if you will, I was able to be objectively experience the whole operation from set-up, to sales, to tear down. I also removed the personal pressure and distraction of knowing a lot of people (minus the immediate family that came to support, that was so incredible - thank you for showing up!). I was essentially able to observe how strangers perceived the whole experience objectively versus the subjective bias I would have had in Los Angeles.
l learned A LOT.
My first takeaway - bring cash for change. I assumed most people were going to venmo or zelle, but the majority of payment was via cash, and thankfully, I had some to sustain me throughout the sale. The next majority type of payment was Venmo, followed by Square. Square was pretty seamless since I was able to install the app on my phone for easy tapping. The only drawback is having to administer a service fee + tax because of the credit card process.
My second takeaway - set up the tent before bringing and unloading everything else. Because we had unloaded the records and tables first, I had to move them again when it was time to set up the tent, which took more time than it should have. However, the tear down was seamless, and I feel that a few more rounds of doing it will make it an easier and regimented experience. My goal is to be able to set up the whole booth by myself in under 45 minutes, but it definitely is worthwhile to have help (thank you to my partner this weekend Ellis and his partner Kalista and her sister Sam!).
My third takeaway - curate the inventory to the audience. While I specialize in Latin music, I know that it can also be niche for a mainstream audience. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I made sure to bring enough variety and a heavy selection of good ole classic rock and funk/soul for people to have plenty to dig through. As well, I really believe in the value of a good dollar bin, and I wanted to make sure it was eclectic and representative with a few hidden treasures. The strategy seemingly worked, but I definitely need to re-up my Latin section more.
My fourth and final takeaway - the record community of Santa Cruz is incredible. Our hosts from Redwood Records were so kind and gracious. The whole affair was really easy and casual. Every vendor I met was so incredibly friendly and welcoming (shout-out to Baybesoul Records, Highly Curated Vintage, S.A.G.E. Collective, Offshore Sounds, DJ Vishal, Radio Isaura, and of course, Redwood Records and Humble Sea Brewery). This was perhaps my favorite part of the trip - connecting with like-minded and passionate people over music, beer, and life. I couldn’t have asked for a better overcast day by the beach, followed by a night out at the Santa Cruz boardwalk.
Side note: if you want to read more of my tips on selling records, I highly recommend you check out by Andres, who wrote up THIS amazing article consisting of tips and stories from myself and the legendary Brad Kyle of .
Overall, I may not have seen Kiefer Sutherland or made profit, but I’d say the whole experience was priceless.
MEMORIAL DAY RECORD SALE - SATURDAY, MAY 25TH
In “memory” of this past weekend’s record outing (see what I did there?), Latin Gold Records will be hosting a MEMORIAL DAY RECORD SALE this Saturday, May 25th at 10AM PST / 1PM EST.
The sale will feature (24) more rare, high-quality albums spanning the genres of Latin, Rock, Funk/Soul, Jazz, and 2000s Electronic. In addition, I’ll also be selling a few limited edition Latin Gold Records black corduroy hats! Each purchase gets a free postcard and sticker while supplies last. Follow the Latin Gold Records Instagram now and turn on your notifications because the sale starts at 10AM PST exactly!
As a subscriber of First Pressing, below is your exclusive sneak peek of the full collection going on sale. Mark your calendars and see you on the Latin Gold Records Instagram this Saturday, May 25th at 10AM PT / 1PM ET.
Also, if you’re in Los Angeles this weekend, I highly recommend checking out the Highland Park Record Fair on Sunday, May 26th, hosted by our new friends Radio Isaura! There are (8) incredible vendors, all of whom I’ve shopped with before and deliver the goods. I’ll be there - come say hi and let’s have a beer together.
That’s it for this issue of First Pressing. I am plan on getting back into the long album essay posts soon as I also focus on prepping for (2) TWO RECORD FAIRS IN JUNE! It’s gonna be a great summer, y’all. Thanks so much for reading.
Happy Spinning,
Kadrian
P.S. What’s the album that feels most like summer to you?
I'm so impressed, Kadrian, with your jump-start with the store! Great job on the merch, too! That's key to start with that, as it's an up-front money stream, as well as advertising that's "going out into the street"! Thanks, too, for thoughtfully mentioning Andres' article and my "little storefront," FRONT ROW & BACKSTAGE! Keep on doin' what you're doin'!
Congrats on stepping outside your comfort zone. The investment you made in the whole enterprise (the being in the red) really well serve you well in the future. Consider it a market research expense given all the learnings it produced.