Due to issues with the previous venue, we have been forced to look for new locations. However, I'm very excited about this opportunity to do a show at the Old US Mint in conjunction with the New Orleans Jazz Museum. Please read all the details as this show will have some differences from previous shows.
Where: New Orleans Jazz Museum at the Old US Mint. 400 Esplanade Avenue, New Orleans, LA
When: Sunday, March 25th 2018. Load-in starts at 9am, event starts at 10am. Load-out goes from 5pm to 6pm.
How Much Does it Cost to Sell? $40 per 8 foot Table if reserved before March 1st. $50 after that. Registration closes March 12th. If this is your first Record Raid, you get 50% off your first table. Limit of 2 tables per vendor. Chairs will be provided for free. You cannot provide your own table.
What you can sell: Music of any format, vintage, used or new. Record labels are free to sell their music as well. Consumer audio equipment is great too. Music-related ephemera (books, movies, memorabilia, t-shirts) are OK so long as they're not the focus of the table. We do make some exceptions, so feel free to ask.
What you can't sell: Food and drink. As above, Crafts are generally discouraged unless they're clearly a "side item", musical instruments are discouraged, though you may leave a paper at your table letting people know (so long as they're not the focus). You should be selling *something*, for instance you cannot set up a table promoting another event.
Venue Load-in: Load-in starts at 8:30 am. Loading into the building should be easy, with ground-floor access to the building via a back courtyard where vendors can pull in. You will have to repark your car after loading in, however (paid) parking options are plentiful in this area of the French Quarter. Vendors can sell in the landing areas of the second and third floor as well as the third floor concert hall. There are two elevators to reach these floors, which will likely slow things down but at least they're very close to the loading area and the selling area. We've included your desired floor on the sign-up form below. Priority will be given in order of sign-up -- we may have to move you to another floor if we think one fills up, and as of yet we don't know the exact floor plan or capactiy of tables on each level. This is our first time at this venue, so please be accommodating as we try to figure things out. As for which table you get on that floor, that will be first-come-first-serve
About the venue: The New Orleans Jazz Museum is located inside the Old US Mint where Esplanade st meets the river, right next to the french market. I'm optimistic about this spot: it's in a touristy area with a lot of foot traffic, should grab shoppers from the French Market and from Louisiana Music Factory across the street. It will also likely get a lot of customers from the Marigny and Bywater areas of New Orleans. For a spot in the French Quarter, it's surprisingly accessible with easy access via both Esplanade Ave and Elysian Fields -- nearly a direct shot from the interstate.
The venue does not have food or drink onsite but is surrounded by good options. The Jazz Museum inside the building is a lot of fun and a draw on its own -- could also placate significant others that might limit the time of customers.
Due to the shifting programming of this venue, this may not be a permanent solution. We have backup ideas, but we'll see how this goes.
About the Record Raid: The Record Raid has been New Orleans' largest record show since 2010, averaging between 300 and 400 customers. We like to keep an informal, fun and funky vibe that can cater to serious collectors but not intimidate casual buyers. Our free entry helps keep a diverse group of shoppers. We want to create a show where people can be excited about records and talk about them rather than simply shop for them. We're coming off of a bit of a break lasting almost a year, so we expect vendors and shoppers to be pretty excited.
Other details
It's generally a REALLY good idea to have a Square or some way to accept credit cards. We'll never force you to accept credit cards, but it's nice for customers. I've heard from several vendors about how carrying a credit card reader has given them a big bump in sales.
We expect to have a table at the front to help people with questions (though the event itself is free). We've been assigning nametags to tables and people. The point is to make sure people know who to talk to when they find records. To be honest, we don't care what your name is exactly, the important thing is that it matches what's written on your table.
I would make sure to bring a handtruck if you have one.
People often ask what they should sell. My answer is always "Play to your strengths". We get a very diverse crowd, and there's often somebody that's into what you have. Our recent poll had a few people complaining that there was too much classic rock and other "beginning record collector" stuff. People are definitely looking for deals, but don't leave the big ticket stuff at home either. Things that I always hear people saying they want to see more of: punk, reggae/ska, 90's-2000's indie rock.
We will probably continue to have early bird admission from 10am to 11am at $5 per head.
We are still figuring things out. We will keep you in the loop!
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