Grapefruit Records

Grapefruit Records in Omaha is both a record label and a shop, with a community-minded history behind the old Record Club name. The interview covers how the storefront grew out of the label, what they buy, and why the best used records get time in the bins before they go online.

Interview with Grapefruit Records

Grapefruit runs a record club and a storefront at once, with about half your inventory new and half used — how did the shop and the club grow up alongside each other?

It's a record label and a shop. The "Record Club" idea was from when we started the label in 2011 and it was subscription-based, people signed up to get an annual subscription and we were doing four releases a year. But we only did that for a few years and switched to releasing records in a standard way, one at a time, and distributing them to shops rather than trying to keep it mail-order only. I kept the website name that has the record club in it because I think it also speaks to community. Everyone who visits here is part of a club of sorts. During the pandemic I was looking for a new office to run the label out of and was offered a space in downtown Omaha in the Old Market district which has a lot of foot traffic so I decided to have a label and a record shop and opened the kind of record store that I like to visit when I'm in other cities. It's pretty curated on the new side to things I like to stock and then the used is whatever comes through the door!

You buy nearly all genres but draw the line at big band and easy listening — except, oddly, you'll still take Sinatra. What earns Sinatra the exception when the crooners don't?

It's not a hard line though! We take the good records from all genres. Saying we don't take big band isn't entirely accurate. If someone has a big band collection we will only want a few things from it though, most likely. Duke Ellington is jazz but he's also Big Band. Most of the music from the pre-Bop jazz period doesn't sell so we have to cherry pick through genres with limited interest but there are big band titles we love to see. Sinatra is a vocalist and he's great. Andy Williams is a vocalist too, we don't stock his records. Country music is the same way, most of it is difficult to sell but there are plenty of big exceptions, of course.

Omaha's a bigger music town than outsiders think — who comes through Grapefruit, and how's the local scene?

Everyone comes through Grapefruit. The local scene is how all local scenes are, I guess, it ebbs and flows. It's also subjective. I think there's plenty happening and there's actually a multitude of scenes rather than an over-arching one and that's a good thing.

What's the most valuable or surprising record that's come through the door?

We've sold a couple of rare, excellent condition Velvet Underground & Nico records with intact banana peel and the torso cover on back. They are usually not in perfect condition but we found a couple time-capsule ones in the last five years which were worth several thousand dollars each. Of course records like that are the exception, the store isn't just full of high-end collectibles, it's for everyone.

You make a cash offer, and trade runs 20% higher — how do you decide what a collection's worth, and when do you steer someone toward the trade?

It's just up to the person selling their records if they want to be paid with a check because they need the money or if they want to take 20% more so they can reinvest in more records out of the shop. A lot of times people are just trading in records they are tired of so they can get some new music in its place and we reward that. But we don't steer anyone in either direction, we just offer them the two amounts to choose from. Sometimes it's better to turn your records into money, especially if you are moving or something. It's just stuff, right? It's nice when you can re-sell your stuff and use the money for something else if that's what you want to do.

You put your best used records on Discogs but keep most of it in the bins — what's the thinking there, and what does that say about what actually sells?

We don't put anything on Discogs until it's been available in the shop to the general public for a month or two. Our best records are on the wall and in the shop for several weeks before we put them on Discogs and then we leave them available to buy out of the shop unless they sell online. It's important to us that people coming into the shop have first chance at anything. If something sits awhile without selling then we put it online but only to make room for more stuff as new collections are coming in all of the time and it's not a museum! Most of our inventory sells out of the shop to people browsing in person. I'm sure if we were in another part of the city with not so much foot traffic we might have to rely on online sales to stay afloat but we're fortunate to have a good local following and a lot of bands stop in when they are on tour so we don't have to sell much online, actually.

Past the LPs, do 45s and 78s still move for you, or is that a corner of the market that's gone quiet?

We don't buy 78s, that is too niche for us, not enough people are interested in them. 45s are still selling, especially punk and new wave and post-punk and old soul and funk and disco. We like 45s but like Big Band, we have to cherry-pick, most are not worth buying.

What do people most often get wrong about what their records are worth?

People often think the more popular the band is, the more valuable their records are. Elvis Presley records aren't worth very much because they made millions of them. They are so plentiful. Are Elvis Presley records better than most of the obscure psych rock records in the Acid Archives? Yes. But those records are rare and Elvis just isn't. Exceptions to every rule, of course. Some people think that the older something is, the more valuable it becomes, but it isn't the case with books and records or most other things. And it's hard for people to understand just how important condition of the vinyl and condition of the jacket is to the value of a record. If you take care of your records, they will be worth more to us when we assess and value them.

FAQ

Does Grapefruit Records buy used records?

Yes. Grapefruit buys across many genres, but condition, demand, and what the shop can realistically sell all matter.

Does Grapefruit offer trade credit?

Yes. Sellers can choose cash or take a trade offer that is typically higher than the cash amount.

Are all used records listed online?

No. Most used records are kept in the shop first, with only select higher-value records moving to Discogs after time in the bins.

Last updated: 2026-08-14

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