Meet The Owner – Bargain CDs, Records & Tapes

Editor’s note: MyEverettNews.com is working to introduce our readers to more independent business owners here in Everett, Washington. We want to highlight their businesses, tell their stories and invite you to shop locally and help move Everett, Washington forward. If you know of a business we should feature, send us a suggestion via email: news@myeverettnews.com. Leland Dart – Publisher
 

When you’ve been doing something for more than three decades and people keep coming back, having a huge smile when they walk through your door and bring their friends, you must be doing something right. For 33 years Gordy Arlin has been doing things right.

“We’re an old school used record store,” Gordy told me last week during our visit. “There were six competitors when we started who’ve since fallen to I-Pods, Downloads and CDs.”

Gordy worked in two different used record stores before opening Bargain CDs, Records & Tapes thirty-three years ago at the corner of Hewitt and Rucker in downtown Everett, Washington. The store operated there for 18 years until moving to 2501 Broadway where it’s been since.

“We believe we have the largest inventory of DVDs, LPs and CDs in the northwestern United States,” Gary said. “We’re treading water pretty furiously to keep a bricks and mortar shop open.”

That’s right, they really are old school. There is no website, social media or official online presence (though there are a bunch of great Yelp reviews). Gordy and his two employees, Jimi and Doug are immersed in music, the internet…not so much.

“We haven’t had time to market online there’s just the three of us,” Gordy explained. “We do aspire to add a fourth employee to do our online marketing, I mean you gotta have a dream to have a dream come true.”

What Gordy, Jimi and Doug have done is amassed an amazing collection of products that span genres, different technologies and tastes.

While there are certainly finds for collectors, this is a store for consumers. There are lots of choices for people to discover something new to them right in the 99 cent and 25 cent bins. Movies, music, shows, surprises, records, LPs, cassettes, 8-track tapes, CDs, DVDs, you get the idea.

Gordy says the re-discovery of the joys of listening to music on vinyl among a new generation has been a nice surprise.

“People have really been enjoying the experience of needle on vinyl,” he said. “Reading liner notes, finding what’s on the B side. Records that had been an albatross are now an asset.”

Another reason for the store’s success may be their guarantee.

“We have a ridiculously liberal guarantee,” Gordy said with a smile. “The record must play as clearly as you hope or you get full value in exchange or credit Forever! No time limit, no price tag , no receipt needed.”

As we talked Gordy warmly greeted customers as they came in offering a huge smile and an, “If I can help, I sure will, there’s headphones for listening if you’d like.”

A customer hearing us talk came up and told me he’d been coming here for thirty years. “Most of my collection is from this store and in 30 years I’ve only brought one item back and they traded it in right away.”

The store also solicits trade ins. Whether vinyl records stashed in your attic to that huge collection of CDs you don’t know what to do with, to VCR tapes and DVDs stacked up in the garage, what you have at home could bring you a surprise in trade-in value and well worth a few minutes visiting with Gordy, Jimi or Doug.

Bargain CDs, Records and Tapes is open seven days a week from 10 AM – 7 PM. The address is 2501 Broadway in Everett right on the corner just north of Henry’s donuts. The phone number is (425) 259-4306.

In addition to owning the store Gordy Arlin is a BAHA’I minister and has written a quarterly column in the Mukilteo Beacon for the past 28 years.