I often hear people asking Turntable Guy where to buy vinyl (records or LP’s for those who are younger or less up-to-date with the latest lingo). There are several aspiring Rob Gordon’s out there who once parted with their personal record collections for hard cash and discovered that selling music in an obsolete format is profitable.

Here’s a list of places in Cape Town where you can buy records, as well as a few South Africa record sellers who sell online. I’ll be honest – I haven’t been to all of these shops or bought from all of these vendors, so I’ve tried not to express opinions where none can be made.

Bricks and mortar record stores

Turntable Guy

71 Durban Road, Mowbray, Cape Town
Find on Bing Maps
Tel: 082 927 3552
Website: https://www.turntableguy.co.za
Facebook: www.facebook.com/turntableguy

Turntables, Amplifiers, Vinyl and Vinyl Cleaning Gear

We also sell records. We have a small shop stock and a small online stock selection. We always like getting interesting stuff for people to find.

Kandi Records

77 Durban Road, Mowbray, Cape Town
Find on Bing Maps
Tel: 082 927 3552
Website: http://kandirecords.co.za
Facebook: www.facebook.com/kandirecords

Second hand vinyl and CD’s, record cleaning, LP to digital transfers

Kandi Records stocks almost every genre of music. Mark will also help you find the unusual and hard to find albums or artists that you may be looking for. I like shopping at Kandi Records because the records are always clean and in a good condition.

Kandi Records also offer record cleaning, which I recommend if your records are very dirty.

If you want to get rid of your turntables and records, you can sell your turntable to Turntable Guy and Kandi Records will transfer your music from LP to digital format, be it on CD, MP3 or DVD.

Finally, Mark posts his latest gems on Facebook, so it’s worthwhile friending Kandi Records.

Roastin’ Records

28 Wandel St, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001 
Website: http://roastinrecords.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RoastinRecords/info

New and second hand vinyl

I haven’t been to Roastin’ Records, but these guys have been very active on Facebook. They’re selling new pressings and because they’re also an independent record label, they also have some local releases. Hooray for South African music!

Here in Durban Road, we’re not up-to-date with any contemporary music )  so I can’t tell you much about the music genres on offer.

Roastin’ Records also sell records online, but there’s no search feature so you have to browse page by page. Rather visit them at what is most likely a trendy venue in Bloem Street, which could be called either The Eye or Deluxe Coffeeworks., I’m not certain which.

Recreation Records

Jeremy moves around at markets and vinyl fares.
Tel: 082 094 7999

Second hand vinyl and CD’s

Jeremy at Recreation Records has been in the business of selling records for years, and you may have been to his record shop in Fish Hoek before he moved to Simons Town.

Recreation Records has a wide collection of rock and pop, some jazz (but not too much) and even some rooting-tooting country music. He’s got quite a bit or classical music but it’s not sorted so finding a record you want will be difficult. But, here you’ll definitely find some old favourites.

Jeremy also tries to find old South African records, so if you’re looking anything in particular, give him a call.

Mabu Vinyl

285 Upper Long street, Gardens, Cape Town
Tel: 079 922 8585
Website: www.mabuvinyl.co.za/
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MabuVinyl

Second hand vinyl, CD’s, DVD, cassettes, books and comics

Yes, Mabu Vinyl is the record store you saw in the movie Searching for Sugar Man. They’ve been around for a long time and Turntable Guy calls them a “Cape Town stalwart”. It’s got a wide selection of music across the genres including dance, hip hop, house, techno, trance, rock, pop, jazz, soul, funk, D&B, R&B and more.

Voom Voom Vintage

15 Lower Main Road, Observatory
Find on Google Maps
Tel: 082 580 4367
Facebook Voom Voom Records

Vintage shop, second hands clothes, funky dresses, night velvet dresses, art, photography, psychology & SA litterature books, furniture, cameras, rings, typewriters, art deco, 50’s to 80’s lamps, shoes, groovy bikinis and more…
We sell records from Swing, Jazz, Blue Note, Soul, Atlantic, Funk, Reggae, Trojan, 50’s blues, Chess, boogie, rock’n’roll, Latin to 60’s Motown, Stax, deep funk, 70;s, Vertigo, Island, 80’s Rock, South African music, The Sun, Zulu beats, rare gems…lager and sharp selection of Lp, singles, few selected cd’s. From R5 to R1000.

 

Revolution Records

85 Lower Main Road, Observatory
Find on Google Maps
Tel: 072 769 8362

Second hand vinyl and CD’s

Revolution Records is another Cape Town old-timer, with a good collection across the genres.Apart from the ubiquitous rock and pop, I seem to recall that they have a good collection of old vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan and Louis Armstrong.

The Treasure House

3 Bordeaux Street, Franschhoek
Find on Google Maps
Tel: 021 876 2167
Website: www.treasurehouse.co.za

Treasure House is a good reason to venture off Franschhoek’s busy main road. In among the rare books and Africana art at the, you’ll find boxes of records in which you may find some rare treasures. Greg tells me that the rock, pop and jazz tends to go quickly but he’s always getting more in and you’ll always find a good collection of classical records in stock

Fairs and market vendors

Cape Town Vinyl Faire

The Cape Town Vinyl Faire is a monthly event in which a few second hand record sellers find a free venue, bring their records to sell and hope people arrive to buy them. Since the first faire was held in late 2014, both buyers and sellers have been satisfied with their purchases and sales.

To best ways to get updates about upcoming fairs is to friend Turntable Guy or join the VinylSA group on Facebook.

Brian Adams at Bay Harbour Market

Fridays: 5pm to 9pm, Saturdays and Sundays: 9:30am to 4pm
31 Harbour Road, Hout Bay

083 489 2287

Brian is passionate about music and stocks some great albums. He may also have a stall in the Green Market Square during the week if you’re in the area.

Milnerton Flea Market

Ernesto sells records at the Milnerton Flea Market, but I’m not sure if he’s there every week. However, many other stall holders have a few records for sale, but I suggest you check them for scratches before you buy.

Second hand stores

If you’re like me you’ll love that there’s so many second-hand and charity shops popping up around Cape Town selling previously-loved stuff.

Many charity shops carry records, but you’ll have to do some trawling to find something that is listenable. They tend to be “old-favourites” your grandma used to listen to, without being the music that is ageless. But you’re likely to find novelty music and classical records at give-away prices.

Second-hand shops, masquerading as “vintage” shops will probably also have a stack of vinyl on sale. Unless the shop makes an effort to collect quality records, please check the condition of the record before you buy.

Online sellers

Online sellers sells new releases on vinyl as well as second hand records. You can visit their websites and search by name or browse via genre. I like that these two sellers that I list below grade records using external grading systems and that they’re honest about the condition of the records they sell. Score one for honesty!

Vinyl Cafe

www.vinylcafe.co.za

New and second hand vinyl
Vinyl Cafe’ is based in Wynberg in Cape Town and you can probably collect at their premises.

Mr. Vinyl

www.mrvinyl.co.za

New and second hand vinyl
Mr. Vinyl is based in Atholl in Sandton and you can collect your purchases from their office.

Bid or Buy

Click here to view all the vinyl for sale on Bid or Buy. Bid or Buy is similar to eBay in that its an online marketplace through which many people can sell their records. It’s easy to buy through Bid or Buy, you are offered some recourse if you’re not happy with service and I like that you can rate sellers. This is important since there’s no obligation for sellers to disclose the condition of the records they sell. I’ve never bought records from Bid or Buy, but I see that some sellers are honest about defects in the records they sell, but others don’t disclose anything. My suggestion is that you check the rating of a seller, or ask the seller about the condition of the record before you buy. However, remember that you get what you pay for, so if a Beatles record is R20, don’t be surprised if it’s scratched. If a Springbok Hits 34 is R20, then that’s perhaps a fair price. Perhaps…

Where to buy records in Cape Town