Q: How do I go about selling my records?
A: We’re always excited to look at collections. If you have thousands of records it is possible we will drive out to see them where they are now and make an offer. Otherwise, most people bring their collections into the shop. Generally, if we’re interested in something in a collection we’re going to make a fair offer for the entire collection – record stores that don’t do that are going to leave you with a lot of junk that nobody wants and pay you only for the very best discs. We’re glad to offer one-stop selling, and we’ll deal with the stuff that hasn’t got any value to collectors (it’s usually given away or sold wholesale, never thrown in the garbage). We are a small family business however and can’t guarantee we’ll be able to bu every collection. We also can’t promise what we’ll pay without seeing the collection but we can promise you we’ll offer the best price we can. Our priority is maintaining Hymie’s reputation for honesty and fairness.
Q: Where can I get my turntable repaired?
A: We are sorry but we can no longer offer help repairing turntables. The City of Minneapolis requires an unreasonably expensive license and we had to discontinue turntable services. We are happy to offer recommendations and Dave is always happy to help with minor adjustments and the installation of cartridges and needles. In fact, we do these things for our regular customers free of charge.
Q: Why Did You Move?
A: In April of 2010 we packed up and moved the entire shop five blocks east to 3820 East Lake Street, to share a building with Mill City Music and the Blue Moon Coffee Cafe. Moving the shop wasn’t our first choice, and believe us it wasn’t easy, but it was what we had to do. Decades of neglect had left the old building entire unsuited to storing records, as every rainstorm brought flooding in the basement and leaking into the shop through the roof. Since the owner refused to make basic improvements and would not offer us a reliable commercial lease, we had to relocate to keep the business afloat.
So on April 17th, 2010 we bid a special Record Store Day farewell to the old building, and a roster of great local artists, all friends and customers of Hymie’s, performed in the basement. Just two weeks later, thanks to the generous help of more friends than we can remember, we reopened a new shop that allowed us to expand the number of records available and begin hosting live music.
Estimates of how much we moved, including records, fixtures and all, run 60 tons or more.
Q: Do you still have your monthly sales?
A: Yes, we do still have a monthly sale, but it is no longer as large as when we had a separate “Dollar Sale room” in the basement. Now, on the last weekend of the month we have crates of albums lining the sidewalk in front of the shop. In the wintertime we set the tables up inside the shop. The number of records varies from month to month, but the price has been dropped to a lean fifty cents a disc!
Q: What’s the story with the Hymie’s Basement album?
A: It was recorded in the basement of the old record store (you might recognize the old “Dollar Sale Room” on the back cover) by Yoni Wolf and Andrew Broder. It’s an awesome collaboration and well worth the search to find a copy
(Sorry, we just have one copy and we’d like to keep it).
Q: Where did Hymie’s get its name? Are you going to keep it?
A: Hymie was the shop’s original owner, Jim Peterson. He got the name Hymie in his high school Spanish class (it was originally Jaime).
Of course we’re going to keep the name – Hymie’s wouldn’t be Hymie’s if it weren’t Hymie’s.
Sadly, Hymie passed away at the young age of 56. Two of his employees – Auralee Likes and Julie Wellman – saved the business from extinction.
Q: What is Irene? Some sort of a piglet?
A: Believe it or not, Irene is a dog (a Boston Terrier).
Since becoming a record store dog she has been photographed by Rolling Stone and also been featured as Miss June in a dog calendar.
She’s here at the shop every day.
Q: Do you have “Blue Monday” by Fats Domino on the Imperial label?
A: Probably. Give us a call and ask.
Q: If you weren’t running the best record store in town, where would you be?
A: Hanging out with our children, biking around, and enjoying the fantastic city we live in!
