About Volver
My name is Lincoln Stewart. I buy and sell quality used vinyl out of my loft near Dundas West and Sorauren Avenues in Toronto. I've been doing this — buying and selling records in this city — since 2005.
The short version
Volver is an appointment-only record shop with no in-store browsing, no shipping, and no social media. You browse the inventory online, text me for what you want, and pick it up in person. If you have records to sell, I pay 50% of what I'll resell them for — every record, every time, no exceptions. That's the whole business.
If that's all you needed to know: browse the records, sell me yours, or read how it works.
If you want to know who you're dealing with, keep reading.
Where I come from
I worked retail and customer service in Toronto since 1982. I managed Art & Trash Video for its entire existence. I managed Vortex Records for eight years, mentored by its proprietor, Bert Myers. Then I owned Good Music.
Vortex was the most highly-thought-of used record store in Toronto for almost 40 years. The Toronto Star called it "an oasis for music lovers," and between Now Magazine, Eye, The Grid, and the Star's annual People's Choice Awards, the stores I ran collected more than a dozen "Best Record Store" wins and nominations. Over the years, those stores paid out more than a million dollars to people selling their used items.
I'm not listing this to brag. I'm listing it because when someone offers to buy your record collection, you should know their track record — and mine is long, public, and verifiable. For years after I left, Vortex's own website recommended me by name to anyone looking to buy or sell vinyl in Toronto. My competitors' staff, past and present, sell their personal records to me rather than to their own employers. Those things are worth more than any slogan.
Why there's no store
In 2016, at 48, I had a TIA — a small stroke. It had nothing to do with owning a shop, but it made me reconsider what mattered. Owning a store didn't make the list. I sold Good Music's entire inventory to a competitor and semi-retired.
Eighteen months of travel later, I was bored and going broke. Did I want another storefront — the landlords, the staff, the never-ending regular hours, the Toronto winters? No. But could I keep the parts of retail I love — interesting people, an unparalleled selection, fair prices in and out, real customer service — and drop everything else?
Yes. That's Volver.
What I believe
My motto is Quality records bought and sold. Fair prices in and out. It was on my signage and business cards back when no other store in the city put the word "fair" anywhere near an explanation of what they paid. (The industry-standard is 30%, regardless of what my competitors say. This is verifiable by asking anyone in the know in Toronto.)
In practice it means: I pay 50% of resale value on every record I buy, stated up front, with one firm offer and no haggling — in either direction. I guarantee everything I sell, with every pressing properly identified and every flaw described on its listing. I don't expect sellers to be experts; if you bring me an $80 record you thought was worthless, I'll tell you — when I offer you $40.
And when your records aren't right for me, I'll point you to a competitor who'll treat you well, and then I'll follow up to make sure they did. About 75% of the people who sell to me are repeat sellers. There's a reason.
I'm not on social media because I believe it's antithetical to everything I value about connection — and connection is the point of this whole enterprise. The mailing list exists for one thing: telling you when records drop. I don't ship because I'd rather have a time-rich life than a money-rich one. The one event I never miss is the annual Roncesvalles Street Festival — I believe in the neighbourhood.
About the name
Volver is Spanish: "to return," "to go back," "to do again" — fitting for my return to retail. It can also mean "to turn or spin around," which suits the merchandise. Say it vol-VAIR. (No, it's not the end of "Revolver." But call it whatever you like.)
Elsewhere
I was interviewed by Running Man Press about Volver and the state of retail — you can read it here. You can also read what my customers say, or get in touch.
— Lincoln