The first holiday lights to go up are always those announcing the store wide sales. The first songs of the season are the mind vicing jingles, implanting the subconscious reminders of whom you will turn to for that special something, for that special someone.  The world of commerce becomes a battle for your attention where the volume of voice is often more important than the words being said. At least this is how the big guys play the game. The small business is far too self aware for this kind of exhibition. We understand that your decision to shop with us comes from a sober place of reason and informed decisions. That would all be shattered if we were to proclaim so loudly why you should choose our establishment. So, where does that leave us, among the noise of the season?

Please understand that we are not proclaiming “humbug” about the holidays. We understand the strong connection that many of us have with the season and a big part of that connection is about music. We make an effort to stock a few choice holiday albums, as well as some more nostalgic and kitschy classics. But, we feel there needs to be a balance for a store like ours. For many, including ourselves, the record store is an escape for people who want to avoid the impersonal experiences of big box stores. Our selection reflects that desire to dig a little deeper into the well of creativity and culture, often overlooked by many big businesses. This is a common trait with many local establishments. We’re taking a chance, providing quality goods and services that you may not even know you wanted till you’re in the store. That’s not something you can advertise with bright lights or a catchy tune. So, how do we secure our place on that shopping list? What tricks do we have up our sleeves?

Recently, Amazon announced that for two weeks they would be giving away one free record, every day, to one lucky winner. Now, we just thought that was adorable. Our store, this year alone has given away dozens of records, often limited test pressings, hand painted, signed and otherwise. We are almost always running contests for free concert tickets and we sponsor a number of events with free gift cards, weekly. Even without the big marketing budget of a large company like amazon, we manage to give away more prizes, year round. The reason we’re able to do this is because we have strong relationships with other small businesses. We get promotional records from small labels, because they know we’ll spread the word about their awesome bands. We get free tickets from local promoters, because through Stinkweeds and silverplatter.info, we make it part of our job to get people out to shows. We donate gift cards to other businesses and events, because we want to promote others who bring life to our city. It is important to us to offer something authentic that you will keep in your heart and want to share with others. These are the tricks we use. And that is what so many small, local businesses rely on.

Again, we don’t have the luxury of loud advertising. Nor, do we feel it is appropriate. A good product speaks for itself. We just want to remind you that we are here and we are eager to provide you with personal service and quality products. This year, we have made a lot of changes to our store, in an effort to better provide an experience that we would like to believe enriches your life and promotes human interaction and a strong sense of community. We hope you would agree that all of this is worth remembering when making your holiday shopping decisions. As long as you choose to support our small business, we will give back by continuing to improve upon our store and to fit your needs as a music lover.

Our business model is not unique to Stinkweeds. This is how many small, local businesses operate. We would love to hear from you, some of your favorite local businesses and what unique service they provide, for you. Comment below, or on our social media, giving us a few of your favorite local businesses and a few words about why you love them, and we’ll enter you into a raffle to win a $25 Stinkweeds gift card.

Thank you for supporting local business!