Written by Hans from VinylFarm.EU
Sometimes a new step for Waxer.eu does not begin behind a computer, in a warehouse or between boxes in Oirschot, but simply on the road. In this case, it began with a trip to Paris. Irene and I went on a business trip together to visit record shops, make new contacts and look at a large collection of 7 inch singles that could be interesting for Waxer.eu.
Because Waxer.eu is part of VinylFarm.EU, everything we do is also directly connected to the bigger story of our company. VinylFarm.EU is of course a professional business, but to us it also truly feels like a family company. Sander, Irene and I created Waxer.eu together, but our children are also often around us while we are working. Lisa, Julia and Tim are naturally growing along with everything we are building.
Tim can often be found at VinylFarm.EU and is just as likely to be kicking a football around between all the daily activity. Lisa and Julia are often busy with music, for example playing on the Juno, and Lisa also enjoys playing a record herself from time to time. For us, music is not only stock or business. It is part of our daily life. That is why Irene and I thought it would be special to bring the family with us to Paris and show them how we buy records, how we make contacts and how exciting it is to search for new music.
During this trip, we visited several record shops in Paris. That always remains special to me. Every shop has its own atmosphere, its own story and its own way of looking at vinyl. You immediately feel that Paris is a city where music is alive. Not only in the shops, but also on the streets, in cafés and in the people you meet. For Waxer.eu, visits like this are important, because we do not just want to add stock. We want to keep searching for items with character, history and variety.
In the photo, we are having dinner together as a family in Montmartre, in the place where you can really feel the painters, the crowds and the atmosphere of Paris. That day, we had already visited several record shops and were fully involved in conversations and new ideas. It was a beautiful combination of work and family. During the day, Irene and I were working on Waxer.eu and VinylFarm.EU, while at the same time Lisa, Julia and Tim could see what is really behind a webshop like this.
One of the record shops we visited stayed in close contact with us afterwards. The relationship has now become so good that the owner is even coming to the Netherlands to visit us. That is exactly what makes trips like this valuable. Of course it is about records, collections and stock, but it is also about trust. In this world, you build relationships by meeting each other, by showing who you are and by sharing the same love for music.
The day after our dinner in Montmartre, we bought a large collection of around 65,000 7 inch singles in Paris. That is a huge amount. For Waxer.eu, this is very important, because we want to grow strongly with new items in the coming period. Our ambition is to add hundreds of new singles online every day, with the goal of eventually growing towards 500 new items per day.
What makes this collection especially interesting is that all of these singles will go through our own process one by one. At Waxer.eu, we do not want to work with general images or standard photos from a database. We want to show exactly what the customer is buying. Every 7 inch single receives its own attention, its own photos and its own place in the collection. That takes a lot of time, but that is exactly what makes Waxer.eu different.
For me, this trip to Paris was therefore much more than just a buying trip. It was a moment where everything came together. Waxer.eu as a new platform, VinylFarm.EU as the foundation, Irene and me as entrepreneurs, Sander as co creator and the children as part of the story we are building together. It showed that our work is not only about numbers, systems and growth, but also about music, family and adventure.
The 65,000 7 inch singles from Paris will soon be added to Waxer.eu step by step. Every day, the collection will continue to grow. And every single that appears online carries a small piece of this trip with it. From the record shops in Paris to the conversations with sellers, from dinner in Montmartre to the large collection we were able to buy the next day.
Waxer.eu is still developing, but our direction is clear. We want to grow into a special place for 7 inch vinyl, with real photos, unique items and a collection that becomes bigger every day. And sometimes that kind of growth simply starts with a business trip to Paris, a few good conversations, a table full of family and 65,000 singles waiting to be rediscovered.
Hans from VinylFarm.EU
Co creator of Waxer.eu together with Irene and Sander
