Well, here it is at last! Record Store Day 2025 is upon us this Saturday. This will be my first time on this side of the counter, having queued in previous years, so I’m really excited – and a little bit nervous. I hope to make it as smooth an experience as possible for everyone, and we’ll be following the procedures that have worked so well in previous years.
We will open our doors on the big day promptly at 8am. People are welcome to queue in an orderly fashion from whenever you like, bearing in mind that some years the queue starts the night before! We will close at 4pm.
First come, first served. We really mean it! We adhere to RSD and ERA rulings, which state that we can’t reserve anything for anyone. What kind of event would Record Store Day be if people could reserve records? This isn’t downloading, and nothing beats the feeling of having that limited must-have that almost no one else has!
One copy of each official RSD release per customer. You can buy as many records as want but please don’t try to purchase two or more of the same thing, as we won’t sell them to you. This means everyone will have a chance to get what they want. After the day itself this rule will be relaxed; any stock left and in any quantity will be up for grabs.
We’ll be keeping numbers of people in the shop at any time to a reasonable level to make sure it’s comfortable for everyone, and operating a ‘one in, one out’ policy in operation. We have to respect the people who have queued for hours and want to give them a fair crack at purchasing what they have stood in the cold for. We don’t want to see any crushes/fist fights, or anyone’s passion for music being compromised.
The above rules will mean that everyone should be able to purchase at least something they desire at any point during the day.
There may be quite a few late additions to the exclusive releases, or titles you have heard are being released but which are not on the RSD list. Rest assured, if it’s an official RSD UK release, we will have a chance to stock it.
We are confident that we will receive large amounts of stock, and certainly as much as our bank manager will allow! But do remember that some of these items are super-limited (in some cases, only 150 items for the whole country) so, depending on the total quantity available, we may not receive as much as we ordered. Feel free to contact us before RSD, when we should be able to tell you how many of a particular release we will have, and you can then adjust your queueing strategy accordingly.
A note on the pricing for Record Store Day: we aim to offer the lowest prices and the best experience we can. We never mark our prices up for any event; our standard margin is applied to all stock at all times of the year.
Tips for the big day
The first customers on the big day have usually earned the right to buy whatever they want by queuing for quite some time. If there is something you really, really, really want, plan to get there really, really early.
Don’t be put off if you don’t fancy standing in a queue. This is why we employ the rules above, so that everyone gets a fair crack of the whip. Many people were still finding releases they wanted well into the afternoon last year. We want to make this as fair as possible, and look after our regular customers as well as welcoming new ones.
We’ll be making a whole weekend of it, opening on the Sunday from 11am to 2.30pm, so if you’re unlucky enough to be working on the Saturday come down and say hi on Sunday!
Parking on the day
We recommend using the long-term parking at Romsey Rapids, off Southampton Road (see map below). The first 4 hours are free, and then it’s just £2.10 for the rest of the day. Drive round to the right of the Rapids and park at the far end. There you’ll find a cut-through to Bypass Road. Turn left here and then right onto Palmerston Road and up to Hundred Records.
See you on Saturday!