Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Jerry Weber never met a record he wouldn't buy.
So this weekend, he's giving away as many as 25,000 of them. For free.
The catch? You'll have to accept a sealed box of 100 records — limit one box per person — and take whatever you get.
Now that the boomers are dying,"I just get calls every single day from all over the tristate area. I give them a few bucks for the records I can use, then I give the rest away."
These giveaways, Weber says, are only going to get more frequent.
Weber estimates about 75 percent of the records he gives away are "playable" — especially if they're less poplar. That Jane Fonda workout album, for instance: definitely playable. A popular Zeppelin album, not so much.
Weber sees the giveaway as a kind of charity. The boxes and labor costs mean he loses money on the venture, though he hopes to make some of it up with increased traffic in the store.
"I buy everything — the good, the bad and the ugly," Weber says. "I’m a weirdo, I can’t throw records in a dumpster."
The giveaway starts Friday and runs through Sunday.
Jerry's Records. 2136 Murray Ave., Squirrel Hill. 412-421-4533
Tags: Jerry's Records , record giveaway , music , vinyl , Jerry Weber