The Inner Sleeve

They have a pretty good selection of new and used vinyl. Can sometimes find records here that I can’t find elsewhere.
However, I find their prices to be on the high side, and suprisingly so in some cases. Most of their new LPs can be found for a few dollars cheaper at Calgary’s other record stores (and even at HMV). Their used vinyl is pretty pricey too, unless you’re looking for a lot of the common classics, which are fairly priced. But anything that isn’t super common is usually unreasonably priced and can be found cheaper elsewhere. I’ve been especially disappointed at the quality of some of the used items I’ve purchased, given the price I’ve paid.
Customer service is tepid at best. Not exactly a friendly lot.
All that being said, I have spent a lot of money here over the years. Supply and demand. But, damn it grinds my gears when I make purchases at the Inner Sleeve only to discover a few says later that I could have spent much less at another store. I will shop here on occasion, but they are my last choice for vinyl in Calgary.

If you’re here to scoop a few cheap deal classical LP’s, or meat ‘n potato rock such as BTO, Aerosmith, and Alice Cooper within the $ 5 — $ 15 range, then this is the place for you… no harm no foul. But if it’s highly collectable vinyl obscurities that you’re after, that not even the store owners themselves had heard of prior to acquiring a collection from somebody for the purpose of resale, then it’s buyer beware!
Do your homework before forking out the big bucks at The Inner Sleeve!
I have to say, I’ve regrettably shopped here a few times and have deduced that The Inner Sleeve is yet another prime example of a person with money (and possibly some post-​secondary education?) who decides to open a record store with no prior knowledge of the business whatsoever.
ie: How to grade a record accurately, ability to differentiate between various pressings/​releases, label/​price codes, matrix run-​outs and etchings, variations in label design, pricing things accordingly, etc.
Despite obtaining an MBA, a BBA, an MSMR, or whatever… also acquiring a solid understanding of these aforementioned business related skills is generally a prerequisite when operating a record store. Yet at The Inner Sleeve it seems they’re still learning, and/​or totally in the dark on these matters.
A while ago, they purchased a massive progressive and krautrock private vinyl collection… some well taken care of, some not. A few rare pieces for sure, yet not all that hard to find online in better condition from a reputable seller, and in most cases for far less $$. Most of these LP’s recently stocked at The Inner Sleeve are not worthy of the money they’re asking. This is partly due to the condition of merchandise not corresponding with the asking price, and in some cases, what they’re selling is not nearly as rare or collectable as they’d like to think. This is also where their grading skills (or lack thereof) come into question.
As a resource, the misinformed folks at The Inner Sleeve head over to websites such as Discogs, eBay, or GEM, seek-​out the same or similar obscure release, then base prices solely on their findings. I suppose this might be totally understandable to some extent. The only problem is, they’ll see a Near Mint LP listed at one of the aforementioned sites, and affix that same price to what they plan to sell, which with The Inner Sleeve usually tends to fall way short of Near Mint, and is rather somewhere between VG+ to EX at best (see Goldmine Standard Grading).
So rather than a NM/​NM (vinyl/​cover) which could sell for $ 100.00 (just an example), in reality what they’re trying to sell is VG+/VG+ (another example), which should warrant roughly half of what the NM/​NM item would sell for.
Then to make things even worse, sometimes it’s not even the same release, but rather a second pressing or reissue… shame on you Inner Sleeve!
As an avid buyer/​seller collector for 5 decades, I’ve learned a thing or two. I’ve also lost track of how many times I’ve seen LP’s with a $ 100.00 tag (or much higher) within this store, then claim it to be «An Original First Pressing» via a sticky note, when to any knowledgeable collector, it’s clearly not.
I’d then politely point this out to the staff and owner (explaining in detail how to differentiate), and then I’m greeted with a surprised «oh, we’ll have look into that». This has happened nearly each time I’ve visited the store, and upon returning several weeks later, I find nothing has been amended. Why am I not surprised? Stores like this hate it when the customer is more informed than they are.
Here’s a tip; Don’t affix sticky notes to an LP and claim it to be something without researching thoroughly. At first I thought this was an honest rookie mistake. But after repeat occurrences, it became clear this was not the case. They’re obviously waiting for some poor schmuck to come along and pay what they’re asking.
I’ve also encountered many high priced LP’s ($ 50 and up) suffering from warps, which are sometimes hard to detect while browsing. Depending on severity, for me, some warps are acceptable… while some are not. Upon returning a badly warped LP for an exchange (not a refund), I’m told, «oh, you should check things more closely». Well, I suppose this very same logic should apply to The Inner Sleeve. Perhaps THEY should check their inventory a little closer before slapping a $ 100.00 price tag on a warped record? Then people wouldn’t be stuck with a $ 100.00 piece of garbage, and forced to come back begging for an exchange? Just a thought.
I’ll definitely never shop at The Inner Sleeve again. At least not until they hire someone that actually knows the business. They might have some of the newbie/​tweener collectors fooled (hence the 4 & 5 star reviews), but not this old cat. So if you want the hard to find obscure stuff, then do your homework and check online. Don’t waste your time here, even though a few things might look enticing.

I have nothing good to say about The inner sleeve. I am very disgusted and a little pissed off. I brought some records and a turntable in to see what they were worth and the person behind the counter said everything i had was very common and not worth anything accept for 2 records that were worth 5 DOLLARS the rest was worthless. I agree that what i brought in were not great records but to say and do that is not nice or a fair price which is stated on there web site. The turntable was working accept the belt for the turntable was broken and the person said it would cost 30 DOLLARS to fix WTF!!! What is the belt made of special rubber !! That some special belt in conclusion i will not ever do business with this establish again and for those who do you are fools. I understand they are there to make money that’s fine i am all for that but it is how you do it that makes you a good establishment what you said and did to me was not nice or fair. I did go to your all you can carry once and what a load of crap you had if it wasn’t for the Montovani and Nana Mouskouri records you would have had very little to offer. The record i brought in will be amongst next years all you can carry. I did get 10 record sleeves for my trouble and WTF should i support you for something that cost maybe 10 cents a for a piece plastic no thanks. All i am talking about is goodwill if you don’t have that you might as well fold up your business and close your doors.

When the sunshine beams down upon weekend Calgary, it makes me and my fiancé want to go vinyl shopping. Usually we are new vinyl purchasers, but today we had the time to scour shelves for used treasures.
The Inner Sleeve is great for this! Other stores hide their used vinyl selection along the floorboards and pack it in so tight you can’t pull anything out and are trying to read the worn album names along the spine.
Inner Sleeve has taken much care and love into organizing their used collection into many sub sections along giant floor to ceiling shelves and also have prominently marked more of the popular artists.
Usually I have to attempt to lie on my stomach to see if I can even recognize an artist, the Inner Sleeve made it so simple for me to navigate their massive collection of used vinyl.
We were about the leave with a giant stack of records and I was suddenly curious if they had a copy of the soundtrack to Chess (you are already jealous I thought of this, aren’t you?). I found a copy in about 1 min cause the sections are so clearly marked and close to alphabetical order that there it was, CHESS!
Now I am spending one night in Bangkok with my turntable.
Amongst the treasures, Inner Sleeve purchased a little ways back the record collection from CBC. These are in their own section and there is some awesome stuff in there, but it is pricey, like $ 30 – 40 for a record, since some of the pieces are rare.
My one detraction is that their new vinyl is very expensive compared to other shops in Calgary. New albums start at $ 27 for a single album.
Inner Sleeve also offers CDs (new and used), used DVDs, turntables and record accessories. They also have listening stations throughout the store where they spotlight local artists! Very cool.
Oh, they are also Friends of CJSW, so 10% off your purchase with your friends card.
I am gonna go listen to Chess now.

Love coming here for my record needs. Prices are comparably cheap and much better than Recordland.

My spouse purchased a turntable for me from The Inner Sleeve and along with it I received a $ 45 gift certificate to shop for LP records. Today I found six I was excited about without much effort. An hour blew by while I browsed and I didn’t cover half of the store. The selection of Rock music is great. The classic Metal selection is lacking though. However, the price for the vinyl that I purchased was stellar — less than $ 6 per record! What a deal. Some of them, especially new ones or special editions like double albums and live performances, are very expensive. I thought it was cool that all Christmas albums were free.
I received my first punch card and it will be used again I’m sure. You have to spend $ 200 (GST not included) to reap the rewards. Now that I have a turntable, I’ll be comparison shopping and it will be interesting to see how competitive the prices are in other stores that sell vinyl.
My only beef is that the woman working the counter came across as awkward and not very friendly.

For high quality and good selection of vinyl, this store certainly has plenty to offer for audiophiles and novices alike.

The Inner Sleeve has been around for four years, but they recently renovated their store and held a re-​opening celebration a couple weeks ago. They buy and trade used cds and vinyl and have a decent selection (some records going for $ 1). But they really specialize in turntables and mixers and if that’s your thing, you should check these guys out.
They do repairs and have access to a vast catolog of turntable accessories.
Anyway, they even have a small collection of vintage Led Zeppelin and Hendrix posters which are cool, although a little pricey ($ 36 for one). You might even find some treasures in there for albums, including some newer ones like Metallica. Worth a try…