Bizarro World

Bizarro World in Davis works as a garage-culture hub: comics, trading cards, games, tournaments, DJ equipment, movies, and records all sharing the same ecosystem. The interview traces how vinyl became part of that mix and how used media fits the shop's wider idea of ownership and culture.

Interview with Bizarro World

Bizarro World is really a garage-culture hub — comics, trading cards, games, DJ equipment — with 20-plus years of Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh tournaments. Where do records fit in all that?

I started as a comic book store, then added things according to space and customer/public demand. The card games didn't exist when I first opened, now they are huge. I added records when the local cd store dropped them and closed its vinyl section. Then they came back big. One rule is that I only carry things I am interested in personally, otherwise it's too much like work. I have been into records since I bought a turntable and a Stones LP (Out Of Their Heads) at a garage sale when I was 13.

You've run card-game tournaments for over two decades with dedicated play space seven days a week — how did the shop become that kind of community anchor?

Just like the products, a little at a time, keeping what works.

In a college town like Davis, how does the UC Davis crowd shape who comes through and what sells?

Students are a big part of our customers, certainly. But because of our line diversity and mass appeal we have all ages: two generations plus of Pokemon and the card games, oldsters renting movies and waxing nostalgic for items from their youth, and even a few little kids who are supposed to be the market for comics, toys and cards!

With comics, games and media all competing for space, how do you decide how much room vinyl gets?

There is always room for good product because it sells and makes room. But the unloved genres and titles are piling up. I need to bulk out classical records at ten cents each if anyone is interested out there.

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

The true first appearance of Spider-Man walked in once.

Do you buy records or media collections from the public, and how does that work?

We are buying everyday. Sometimes I have to go to shows to pick up quality records.

Roughly what does a common record fetch versus something special?

We have hundreds of dollar records. Also hundreds of BOGO sale records. I do bulk deals even cheaper than that. Average 70s-80s rock is like 5 bucks or less per LP. But those that are as popular now as they were when they came out like Thriller, Rumours, etc are $25 used or new. Of course there are ones worth hundreds or thousands but they are infrequent finds for a specialty market.

Do you carry 45s and 78s, or mostly LPs?

I have them all but 45s are tough to sell without a picture sleeve and 98% of players don't do 78 so the shellac never really came back.

Should sellers clean records before bringing them, and what condition problems hurt value most?

If it has a visible warp or scratch you can feel by touch it is probably deceased. But folks buy a lot of low grade copies of popular records, probably for display or to play on a fisher price turntable. Basically only desirable records are worth dealing with in below average condition.

What should a first-time visitor — maybe there for the games — know about your record and media selection?

All media is coming back and even people who didn't grow up with a format (like audio and video cassette) are getting into it. Tactility, actual ownership instead of rental, advantages or at least peculiarities of each format and the compounded failings of streaming are bringing everything from VHS to vinyl back. And in this era of two sided political censorship it's a comfort to know that no one is going to walk into your house and tear pages they don't approve of out of the books on your shelf or excise scenes from your movies like they do with what you access on "the cloud". Owning your own media and particularly buying it used is experiencing art and cultural engagement but without participating in some of the worst aspects of consumerism, empowering technocrats, surrendering to the surveillance state, or accepting the rewriting of our collective history.

Last updated: 2026-08-19

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