I saw a notice at a Kansas City auction site, via Crate Kings, that the contents of the Music Exchange – an icon on the KC music scene for decades – are going to be auctioned off in July:

Due to the death of The Music Exchange owner Ron Rooks and the subsequent closing of The Music Exchange store, a vinyl phenomenon and fixture of the Kansas City music scene for decades on Westport Road, we will be selling the store inventory and fixtures at public auction and record sale in July 2008.

The auction and record sale will both take place at the final resting place of the business, namely 1413 West 13th Terrace, Kansas City, MO 64102 (The Beast building in the West Bottoms, corner of 13th Terrace and Hickory).  Directions: I-35 to 12th Street, go across the 12th Street Bridge and take the first left which is Liberty, go two blocks south and take a left on West 13th Terrace.  Signs will be posted from 12th Street the days of the sales.

Public Auction – Saturday, July 12th, 10AM (Preview Friday, July 11th, 1-4PM)

We will be selling the fixtures and primarily non-vinyl inventory from the store at auction.  This includes store fixtures, record storage, showcases, shelving, crates, desks, chairs, tables, flip racks, metal swivel racks, filing cabinets, metal shelving units, lamps, fans, tags, labels, store displays, shopping cart, bookcases, shrink-wrap machine, etc.  The inventory includes music and movies, in all conceivable media formats (reel-to-reel, 78’s, LP’s, cassettes, CD’s, 45’s, VHS, Betamax, DVD’s, 8-Tracks, video discs, etc.), vintage magazines (men’s, music, Jazz Times, Living Blues, Rock & Roll, Stereo, etc.), autographed memorabilia, framed art and mirrors, movie and concert posters, neon signs, Coca-Cola cooler, vintage Coke and Pepsi crates, decanters, music postcards, blank CD cases, vintage tube radios, vintage stereo equipment, phonographs, old clocks including Telechron, beer signs, RCA Victor record displays, Kolster radio, Swordfish on the wall, old stoplights, Columbia Records display rack, Pioneer laserdisc players, local artist-created copper motion lamp with glass globes (this large lamp hung in the store), tons of vintage sheet music (most individually priced in the store), Ediphone, promotional items, piano rolls, record price guides, The Music Exchange electronic sign, The Music Exchange customer list, film cans, lots of record accessories (dividers, sleeves, etc.), musical cigars, books, Muehlebach Beer thermometer, Little Wonder records, picture records, Led Zeppelin items, Beattles items, Elvis items and much more. We will also be selling some of the best vinyl at the auction.  Please join us in person for an exciting live auction event!  Please note: we will not be charging a buyer’s premium at this auction.

Blow Out Record Sale – Wednesday, July 16 – Saturday, July 19 and Wednesday, July 23 – Saturday, July 26 (10AM – 4PM Daily)

We will be selling 250,000+ LP’s of all music genres including Blues, Jazz, Gospel, Classic Rock, Classical, Country, Imports, Pop, R&B, Rock, Soundtracks, Comedy and many more that we could list.  All records will be sold for $1 each, regardless of the original retail price.  Most of the records were priced anywhere from $5 to $50 in the store, some even higher. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime chance to stock up on vinyl, and we mean stock up!  At this point, we have only opened about 10% of the boxes containing records, so we have no idea what else we might find in the weeks leading up to the sale.  Due to space constraints, fresh stock will be added daily.  Come prepared to dig and flip through records and expect to be rewarded with many bargains.  Dealers are welcome as we need to leverage your knowledge and time to sort through this many records.  After the sale, we will be taking offers on the entire remaining stockpile of records.

Questions? Please contact Gregg at (913) 491-2930.  Feel free to leave a message.

The Music Exchange wasn’t one of the great American record stores. It wasn’t one of the biggest. They didn’t have the most complete selection. It certainly wasn’t one of the cleanest. 

Nevertheless, it was one of the best record stores in the midwest.

I spent a lot of time, in my youth, at the Music Exchange, digging through crates. I found a lot of great new music there, and I expanded my ears there.

It’s sad to see this place getting auctioned off, piecemeal. 

RIP, Music Exchange.

Printable Auction and Record Sale Flyer (.pdf)