What form of payment do you accept?
Cash, Debit / Interac, Visa, MasterCard, and American Express. We do not accept personal cheques.

Do you accept American money?
At face value and nothing larger than a $20 bill.

Do you do mail order?
No. In general we avoid all business efforts that could be termed "a pain in the ass." We don't do consignment for the exact same reason.

What media do you buy?
We buy CDs, DVDs, Vinyl records, and Blu-Ray. We do not buy 78s, audio or video cassettes, laserdiscs, books, memorabilia, or magazines.

Is there anything you don't buy within those media?
We do not buy movie soundtracks on vinyl or classical music in any format.

Do you buy all titles brought to you?
Unlike our competition, we do not buy all titles offered to us. However, also unlike our competition, we'll offer you a fair price on the titles we do want. Would you rather take $8 for the two titles we want out of the ten you brought in or take 25 cents each for a total of $2.50 for all 10? We thought so.

What prices do you pay?
The short answer is that for full-length titles on CD, we usually pay between $3 and $7. Same goes for DVDs. Of course we usually pay more for multi-disc titles or boxed sets.

A good gauge is that we usually pay 40% to 60% of what we sell an item for. So, if we plan on selling a CD for $8.99, we generally pay $3 - $5. If we sell it for $13.99, we'll offer $6 - $9. Scarcity and condition is what makes up the difference between the high and low in both examples.

Average price paid for vinyl is about $1.50. Of course, early pressings, limited runs, imports, heavy vinyl, and multi-LP sets get better offers. That said, condition of vinyl records varies drastically depending on age and owner. Vinyl-buyers are also much more discerning regarding what they'll buy. Jacket condition does affect our offer. Please do not bring us your water-damaged or moldy records. You embarrass yourself by thinking a flood in your basement is an opportunity for you or us to turn a profit. Call your insurance company.

What affects the price that you offer?
Multiple factors help us determine what we'll pay, including: the item's scarcity, condition, desirability, marketability, country of origin, current quantity in stock, and what the item sells for new.

I offered to sell you a CD that I bought from your store a few months ago and the employee didn't want to buy it. Why?
Usually when this happens it's for one of two reasons: you scratched it when it was in your care or we simply have too many copies on hand. Though it pains us when this happens, please remember that we're a business, not a library. Having purchased the title from us does not guarantee we'll buy it back from you, though more often than not we will.

If I call you with a list of titles, can you tell me what you'll pay for them when I come in?
Generally, no. The above answers are our standard responses to prices we pay. In order to get a firm offer, we need to see an item. One customer's "It's in mint condition" is another customer's "I'd be embarrassed to have that in my collection."

Do you buy scratched discs?
Sometimes. However, there really is no need for us to purchase a title that is scratched if it's a common title that we see multiple times a month. We'd probably pass on a scratched Pearl Jam CD whereas we probably would buy a scratched Townes Van Zandt CD.

Without exaggeration, every single day someone tells us, "These are in great shape!" when we do not consider the items to be in salable condition. (More than once I have been told a CD is in "mint" condition when it looks like it's been run over by a car after having been used as a breakfast plate for toast and jam. No, really.) If a title is desirable enough, we will buy it even if it's scratched. We'll then send it out to be repaired, which costs us time and money. As a result, we'll offer you less money on the title.

Do you offer more if I take a store credit than if I want cash?
We do not have store credits.

Will you come to my house and make me an offer on my collection?
Generally, no. Note that we may make an exception if you have a huge collection of titles we're keen on. Send us an email with a list and we'll go from there.

Are your CDs and DVDs guaranteed?
Yes. All digital items are guaranteed not to skip. If you purchase a title from us that will not play, you may return it for another copy of the same item. If we are out of stock on that title, you may take a different title of equal value or a refund (your choice). Item must be returned in the condition in which it was sold.

What about Vinyl?
We price our vinyl according to condition and scarcity. You're encouraged to examine any unsealed vinyl prior to purchase. Customers are expected to be familiar with their own turntables / sound systems and know how they'll treat marks or scratches.

Do you accept returns?
We accept returns for damaged digital merchandise only. Though we guarantee a product's condition, we cannot guarantee that you'll like it or that you don't already have it.


Do you do special orders?
The short answer is no. Due to the nature of second-hand retail, we cannot do special orders as we do not know, day-to-day, what product will be coming in. We also have no computer for tracking a customer's requests. As a result, we cannot hold the next copy of X that comes in. Sorry. That said, we have been known to do special orders of new product (in-print items) for our regular customers. Talk to Lincoln the next time you're in the store.

Will you hold an item for me until pay day?
We do not do overnight holds under any circumstances. If you call us and we have a title you're looking for, we can hold it at your request until the end of that day's business, but we will not hold titles overnight. Sorry.


Is it true that you're now stocking new vinyl?
Yes. Check out our blog for details on titles as we bring them in.

Are your prices on new vinyl comparable to the other record shop in the city?
Absolutely. In fact, we do our best to offer the best prices in the city on new vinyl, usually beating the competition by $2 or more per title. We know of at least one title (Bobby Beusoliel 4LP box set) that we're $35 cheaper than our competition and another that's $25 cheaper (Eluvium box set). Many titles are $5 or $10 cheaper.

There are exceptions, though. We don't do so well on most major label stuff as we don't have accounts with major labels (we're too small for them to deal with). However, if it's on a true indie label, we've probably got the best price or equivalent price to other Toronto stores. We do this by charming our sources.

One of your competitors promises that they have the lowest prices on vinyl in the city. Do you do that too?
No, we don't do that. We don't do that because it's pretty much impossible to do. What they probably mean is that they think they offer the lowest markup of any of the stores selling new vinyl. However, there are two problems with this: 1) they don't know how much the other stores are marking things up and 2) not all stores have the same sources and different sources have different prices.

So yeah, that's an empty promise they're making and we don't make empty promises. We do promise to offer the best price we can and buy from the cheapest source we can find, even if it's more difficult for us to do this. And I welcome anyone to compare our prices with the store in question. We emailed them a list of 15 titles that we had in stock and asked for their prices. We were cheaper on all but two of them. On those two, they were cheaper on one and our price was equal on the other.

How do you decide which new vinyl titles to bring in? Can I request a particular title, artist, or label?
All new vinyl is handled by me, Lincoln. The short answer to this question is that I bring in titles I like and don't bring in titles I don't like. The longer answer is that I bring in titles that I like and that I think I can sell and that I don't think my competition is selling or that my competition is selling but not marketing correctly. I prefer to bring in vinyl on small labels. Limited edition or small print runs by little-known artists who make sounds that I like personally. I own the majority of the new vinyl titles you see in the shop so a title's presence there can be taken as my personal recommendation. I often have digital copies of the records so if there's something you want to hear, please ask me and I'll put it on.

As for requesting a particular artist, title, or label... I'm always open to suggestions, but vinyl is a non-returnable item and I'm wary of bringing in titles I can't personally recommend, otherwise I feel like a moron if it doesn't sell. If you wish to special order something, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or talk to me at the shop and we'll see if we can work something out.

Ick. This whole answer sounds snobby. Sorry about that.

I represent a label or am an artist on an indie label. How do I get my records into Vortex?
If your label is distributed in Canada, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with the details. If your label is not distributed in Canada, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). If you have play copies, please send them to the shipping address in the left column.

Note that we do not do consignment!

Did you used to be on Dundas Street East? The Danforth? ... ?
Yes, we've had various locations over the years. Yonge and Eglinton is our only current location and our longest running. And yes, we still have the same owner.

Do you do consignment sales?
Sorry, but we do not. Please DO NOT send us your titles for consignment sales. They will neither be sold or returned.

Who built and maintains your website?
Lincoln did and does. Blame him for the snark.