Music Swop Shop

It is very easy to get the vibe of a music shop wrong, especially in today’s market, when shopping online is often much cheaper. Some music shops make you feel resented, as if ‘just browsing’ is somehow unacceptable.
The «Swoppy», as Melbourne musicians affectionately call it, is a Melbourne Music institution. The staff aren’t snooty, pretentious or condescending. They can be a bit ‘cool’, but not hipster (rare in the inner city). Almost all of what they sell is second hand on consignment (they sell strings etc too at quite competitive prices). Their terms are 20% of the sale price of an instrument, and it can stay there ’til it sells. Their inventory updates to the website live, (or close enough, they don’t always get the photos up straight away on busy days) so that every item that is in the store is on the web. It’s also possible to get an RSS feed from them, so every new item is emailed to you almost immediately. The bargains can get snapped up quickly, so this is great.
I’ve visited music shops and their websites in the US, Canada, Germany and Japan, and this is unique. Their descriptions of the items are usually precise and helpful, and are often quirky («BASS GRUNGE! w/​box. Replaced switching mechanism. OMG YOLO!»). They have fun, but usually not at the customer’s expense, no matter how pointy the guitar is.
I’ve bought and sold through them, and they are fair and honest. The fact that they sell on consignment means they don’t tell you what to sell something for, and have no interest in ripping you off, as they aren’t reselling it. None of that «sorry, there’s not a lot of interest in Strats from the 50s» guff here. When you ask them what they suggest you sell something for, they check with their previous sales and internet listings to see what’s reasonable. You can specify a listing price and a lowest price, and they call with offers they’re getting from people in the store.
Music shops are a bit of a tricky prospect in the inner city, closing or moving or put into receivership, but the only current one I would miss if it moved is the Swop Shop (I still miss Lamberti Brothers in North Melbourne). It’s not perfect, but there’s very few things I would change.

I have a thing for musical instruments. I just love to collect them, any of them, despite the fact I can’t play. But now, after a long and embarrassing intervention, I’ve learnt to control my addiction and just look but not buy. Music Swap Shop played an integral part in my past hording. Every time you visit you don’t know what you might find, so if you’re on the hunt for something in particular check back regularly or log on to their website. It’s also a good place to sell off instrument you might have. The guys there are really good to talk to if you need any info. I brought in a saxophone I had picked up from an op-​shop to see what condition it was in. They gave it a look over and lucky for me it was in good working order, just not the prettiest they’ve seen is all.