Vinyl Is Back. Are Cut-out Bins Next?

Rand Cabus, who owns the indie store Mojo Vinyl in Roswell, Georgia, knows what he’s about to hear when a customer approaches him with a particular type of used LP he’s selling.

“People say, ‘Why is the corner cut off this record?’” he says. “And I think, ‘Oh, let me tell you something about back in the olden days!’”

Cabus’ younger clientele may be baffled, but longtime record buyers rarely are. Whether it’s an LP with a corner missing or one with an indent on the jacket or a mysterious hole in another corner, those pieces of vinyl are remnants of a mysterious but intermittently rewarding part of the long-ago music business.

And with vinyl continuing its forward march—more than 8 million LPs have been sold this year so far, according to Music Week—what better time to reflect on the past, present and possible future of the cut-out bin?