Roselle Record Store Selling Rare Gems for Sound Lovers at AXPONA in Schaumburg
Record Wonderland, an independent record store in Roselle, hits the road to attend an international audiophile event next month, but the company won't need to travel too far.
The Roselle record store will be selling at AXPONA, a convention for serious sound lovers who want to see the latest high-end audio gear tested live in person. AXPONA takes place at Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center from April 14-16. The event attracts visitors from around the country and the world.
Pat Deasey, co-owner of Record Wonderland, said he has thought about taking the short drive to sell records at AXPONA, but the event typically coincides with Record Store Day (RSD), an event that features the sales of limited edition records exclusively at independent records stores. RSD will take place at the store on April 22 this year, a week after AXPONA.
RSD, which also features a sale on used records in the store, is always an extremely busy day for Record Wonderland. Many of the exclusive RSD titles are pressed in very small batches. Serious collectors do not want to miss out.
"Our customers literally line up outside the store before Record Store Day," said Deasey. "Last year, the first person in line got here about 9:30 p.m. the night before, with many others coming in the small hours of the morning."
He said he expects RSD to be very busy again this year. Many notable artists, including Taylor Swift and Pearl Jam, will release limited edition material. If AXPONA shared the same weekend, it would probably be impossible to staff both events, he said.
Deasey said the time was right to sell at AXPONA. The store recently acquired multiple record collections that featured classic vintage audiophile vinyl.
"There are some highly-sought titles that have literally never been played," said Deasey. "They are still sealed in the original plastic."
He said some of the pieces will be priced in the hundreds of dollars, including a still sealed and unused copy of Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon pressed by the legendary audiophile label Mobile Fidelity more than 40 years ago. That copy will set you back about $700.
But Record Wonderland does not deal exclusively in rare and expensive records. Deasey said he plans to bring records for a variety of budget levels to AXPONA, with many starting at $5. In the store, there is a budget table with vinyl starting at 50 cents each.
"We always have a wide range of prices on used vinyl," he said. "We just want to sell whatever is good, whether it is expensive or not. But at AXPONA, we will have some top-tier media to match the top-tier equipment."
Record Wonderland is at 737 E. Nerge Road, in Roselle. The store can be reached at (847) 306-1290. For information, visit recordwonderland.com.
The mission of AXPONA (Audio Expo North America) is to bring together the largest annual gathering of audio enthusiasts, music lovers, audio dealers, manufacturers and distributors in North America, according to the organization. For information about AXPONA, visit axpona.com.