Rough Trade East Reviews Summary

Category: Record store

Address: Old Truman Brewery 91, Brick Ln, London E1 6QL, United Kingdom

Phone: +442073927788

Rating: 4.7
based on 189 reviews.

Product Selection

Pros:

  • "Great collection of vinyl, from the record label of same name, also selling related books and serving beer."
  • "Great record shop for vinyl. Wide range of styles and genres."
  • "They sell an array of books too, on topics such as music, art, politics and London."
  • "An impressive stock over a wide sweep of genres."
  • "Huge record store with a wide variety of music in almost every format."
  • "The store has a huge selection of new and used records, as well as a wide variety of music-related merchandise."
  • "Very large choice of vinyls and CDs."

Cons:

  • "Notice a lot of damaged record covers on the shelves with brand new records."
  • "Has a huge selection of music but sadly the display boxes have the records in them packed far to tightly making browsing difficult and a lot of the stock gets dog eared."
  • "Sadly a quick look through their tiny selection of CDs is a good indication of why record shops have all but disappeared of the high street."
  • "An impressive stock over a wide sweep of genres but surprisingly often lacking specialist depth and/or a canny curator's touch."
  • "Not a big techno and house section unfortunately."
  • "Unless your taste is mysoginist electronic music."
  • "Two things I'd change tho: more jazz music... I mean, way more jazz music."

Staff and Service

Pros:

  • "The staff at Rough Trade East are knowledgeable and passionate about music, and they're always happy to help you find the perfect record for your collection."
  • "Helpful staff and busy live music programme in-store."
  • "Staff seem knowledgeable."
  • "Staff are very friendly and helpful if you are not completely sure what you are looking for."
  • "The staff are always friendly and helpful."
  • "The staff were brilliant, very kind and helpful."
  • "Always find the staff friendly and helpful."

Cons:

  • "Unfriendly staff on two counters. Very unhelpful staff."
  • "The staff didn’t even want to help me, they closed the shop 1.5 hours before they normally were."
  • "After making a special visit on RSD I found one item only to the most offish cashier going who was too busy on her mobile first the only she said was 'want a bag' pointed to card machine. really poor unhelpful left a bad experience won't go back."
  • "Personally I think some of the staff in the record store could do with some training with customer service, or just being nice."
  • "Today I went to visit Rouge Trade East, London and buy some records, to my sadness and disappointment we were treated very badly by the cashier."
  • "Rude sellers. The store implied that I would leave with the discs when I went to the front to buy a bag."
  • "The door staff handing out the pre purchased physical product for a live + signing event and the security staff are unfortunately consistently rude to customers."

Store Atmosphere and Events

Pros:

  • "Great interior decor and regular in house events."
  • "For gigs, it's my favourite venue in London - typically for around £15 to £20 you can see world-class bands in an intimate venue, while also getting an album for free."
  • "They also do loads of small gigs and signings which are always brilliant."
  • "The store holds regular live music events, which is amazing!"
  • "It's unusual to see a record shop have its own performance stage."
  • "Great bands on ts and album signings."
  • "They have regular shows like comedy."

Cons:

  • "Tried to fit 1000 people into a small room WITHOUT air con. Was 50 degrees in there."
  • "But sadly also pick up for online orders became a hassle."
  • "Watch out though - if you go in the evening and a band is on, or coming on after 7, the shop will close early so despite the website saying they are open until 7 you may not be allowed in."
  • "Went here for a gig. Should be illegal for a venue not to have air con."
  • "Came after work to buy a record, was told the shops was temporarily closed, so I waited an hour to be able to shop, just to be told that what I wanted was packed away because of a gig."
  • "Attended free set by She Makes War (on Sat. 06/10/2018) which was very enjoyable. Only real problem was that it started over an hour & quarter late."
  • "Very loud and lively, a bit too loud for my preference, but that's just me, it has an atmosphere that is almost party like."

Pricing and Value

Pros:

  • "Price: Slightly above average, a place that you'd like to pick up 1 or 2 discs but not a lot."
  • "You can count on them to get your records at decent, competitive prices."
  • "Decent prices and good sale section."
  • "Plus a completely satisfactory cup of tea for under £2. In London!"

Cons:

  • "You pay a bit more than anywhere else, for no discernible reason other than trading off the back of their trendy brand."
  • "Vinyl seems to go for £24 an album, CDs much cheaper, plastic dolls £20 and upwards."
  • "The coffee is extremely expensive though, but it's the price of being inside the store."

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