Originally from Hungary, Andras Jozsi currently lives in Novato, California with his wife, where he'll soon be working as a warehouse operations manager at Super7, aka toy collector heaven. From the photo above, you can see that Andras is also a fellow hardcore fiend, so please join me in welcoming him to the Record Collector series.
How long have you been collecting records?
I’ve been collecting records since 1999. I started with CDs a few years before that and found it really annoying that most 7"s never or barely were ever released on digital, so I had no choice but to go for vinyl. Who knew this would be the best choice I would ever make? I think my first record was the Collision 7" on Ambassador Records, followed by Morning Again’s Martyr LP and Spirit 84, both on Goodlife.
Where/how do you usually find your records these days?
I am really lucky to be living in the Bay Area, where you have tons of great record stores, many which specialize in punk/hardcore records. I do hit up record stores every few weeks like Ameoba or 1234Go plus I go to record fairs pretty often. I don't really buy records online from sites like eBay or Discogs, but I do sometimes find deals from Facebook groups. I prefer to buy in shops or to search through crates and find some cool stuff, rather than to have to browse all day on the Internet. Sometimes I also trade records with fellow collectors from IG.
What is the most you paid for a single record, where/how did you obtain it, and what was it?
The most I ever spent on a record was Turning Point's It’s Always Darkest...Before the Dawn LP test press about a year ago. My main man @lifelessplagued had this for a while and I was bugging him to sell it to me for years. Finally, last year, he said yes and I was happy to offer him $400, which I think is the highest (or close to highest) selling price, sold on eBay.
I don’t mind dropping big bucks on rare records, like test presses or something that’s really hard to find and I need it to finish off my collection, but there is a limit. I would never pay the asking price for a Chunk King or Floorpunch on gold because those records are way overrated in my opinion (great records but not worth as much as they are going for).
Of everything in your current collection, what is your most prized record and why?
This one is hard to answer because I was lucky enough to get some amazing and rare records over the years and honestly, I could not pick just one as my “Holy Grail” or anything. But I can tell you that I have a few I will never sell because of sentimental reasons: Judge Breaking It Down on green that I got from my wife for my birthday a few years ago, Until the End s/t 7" on purple from a friend who passed away a few years later, and Step Forward s/t on clear also for my birthday from one of my best friends.
Is there anything that frustrates you about the current record collecting scene?
Compared to many collectors I don’t care about Record Store Day and the flippers. If you want those reissued records for already disturbing retail prices, then be my guest.
Prices are inflating every few years on new or used, rare hard-to-get vinyl, which is understandable, however, when something goes for double the price and then suddenly that becomes the new going rate, it’s a bummer.
What really bugs me, is pressing so many reissues of the same record on different colors yearly, instead of keeping it in press on black vinyl and making a color version every 2-3 years or so. Things like this made me stop buying reissues because I got burned out.
Which records are still on your want list that you've had a tough time tracking down through the years?
My main want list is getting smaller every year and I try to keep it small. I could make a list of at least 100 records I still want but I don’t really hunt them down, unless some of them are up for sale and the price is right for me.
Here is a list of my main wants but some of these are close to impossible to come by:
- Battery, s/t 7" with straight outta Mike’s closet sleeve and tests
- Unbroken, Ritual on light grey marble, plus And/Fall of Proverb variants always welcome
- Turning Point, s/t 7" on gold or red
- Mouthpiece, s/t 7" Middlesex cover/150
- Demon Knight soundtrack
- Rebirth of Hardcore comp on gold
- Until the End, 2x7" limited sleeve/30
- Rebuliding comp 7" on gold
- The Hope Conspiracy, Code Blue on transparent blue/100, and Endnote on clear/red/yellow
- Straight Ahead, 12” any I risk press
Any test presses from Damnation A.D., Battery, Until the End, Unbroken, bands I don’t have... the list is unlimited [laughs].
***
Follow Andras on Instagram.
Tagged: record collector
