The Exchange - Records, DVDs, CDs, Video Games — Attraction in Baton Rouge

This place is real. Good, bad and everything in between. Going to the Exchange is an experience you'll never forget and will probably spend a long time trying to wrap your mind around -- and I mean this in the best possible way because this store is a treasure.

The Exchange is hard to describe. It's a bit like browsing through eBay in real life. You either love it or hate it. The thing is, you should love it -- you just need to dig deep.

The Exchange is not easily-digestible. If you don't like getting your hands dirty and digging through boxes, stacked upon boxes of all kinds of random stuff then you won't enjoy this place. It's completely unorganized and a bit of a clusterf... But that's exactly what makes the Exchange so amazing. If you're looking for it, Victor (the owner) probably has it, or some weird rare German import of it and it's shoved under a box that probably hasn't been moved in a year. Victor knows exactly where it is and how much it goes for online. He knows the record label and catalog number and probably has a good relationship with the vendor he bought it from. He probably orders directly from them by phone -- the old school way. Victor has an encyclopedic knowledge of music. I don't know if he plays an instrument or not but it feels like he does -- and he's a master. This isn't easy pop music, however. This isn't Taylor Swift. The Exchange is the record store equivalent of free jazz. No melody. 3 different time signatures playing simultaneously -- a chaotic acid trip in the form of a record store. But at the end of it all it's amazing and wonderful, if not a bit challenging and maybe a little confusing.

The truth is that I've known Victor off and on for that better part of 20 years. I worked at a corporate record store in the BR area for several years. He was my customer, in fact. I absolutely love him. His store is a direct extension of the mind of a musical genius, which Victor absolutely is. You should understand this before coming here. It may feel intimidating at first but you, daring customer-to-be, need to be intrepid and approach the Exchange with an open mind, much like listening to free jazz.

At first you may feel overwhelmed, which is normal. You may feel like you're getting in over your head and you don't understand what's happening. You most likely won't be able to tackle this place in one go, even if you're there all day. You'll need to visit often, if you dare. Small doses. Little by little is the best way. Like free jazz, you may be surprised that eventually you like it!

When you finally leave, you'll probably walk away a little puzzled about what you just experienced. Part of you, however, may be in awe. Personally, I think you should be. Victor probably forgot 100 times more about music than you'll ever know. Walking into the Exchange, you'll instantly get that impression. It may be a bit intimidating but it's absolutely worth it. Just go with it!

In the end, the Exchange is an increasingly important place in the age of Amazon and instant gratification. It's an underrated and unappreciated local and regional treasure. Come here and absorb the musical knowledge. Buy some records. You'll...

It’s a vibe. Read all the reviews (which seem pretty accurate from different perspectives) and decide if a visit is worth your time and effort. It’s basically a hoard, so if that is like nails on chalkboard for you then you know what you are missing. Not a place to browse (boxes piled on boxes on top of boxes headed to the ceiling) but there’s so much stuff in there he may have what you want if you’re looking for a specific item you can name that he has (he does seem to know where things are even if no one else could find them in there).

Prices are online retail (as noted he’s selling online and apparently reserves inventory for that). The majority of things (definitely the tops of the piles) don’t have prices on them so he looks each item up online in his phone if you do find something you’re interested in. The little bit of old stuff underneath with stickers seemed to start at $5 though most of those seemed to be used or new old stock at new prices (mostly in the teens) probably sitting there for years. I was quoted $25 and $30 each for two items, which a few people might pay for those in some places, but both showed water damage, so were not collector grade quality. Album covers seemed bent from storage, most of it had a layer of dust on it. It is clear he’d rather get top dollar than sell through his inventory (there’s three stores worth of stuff in one store and it’s not necessarily small).

Basically if you have something specific in mind you might more easily call and see if he’s got it and for how much and ask whether it’s damaged, then decide if you want to pay the same online or drive over there to get it instead. Operating a ebay/Amazon online store warehouse is not typically equivalent to running a retail store, but that seems to be a bit of a Baton Rouge thing.

This is a pretty clear assessment. May get a grouchy response but we all see things how we see them… It was not worth my time so I wasn’t there long. I doubt 99.9% of it was listed online but it didn’t seem like he seriously wanted to sell any of it...

The Exchange: A Google Reviews Essay

So, first off, I get that people have some complaints about pricing on certain items. On some level, that's fair, but the things I've purchased here have either been exactly the same price as sold listings on eBay or just a little higher. I am more than willing to pay upwards of $5-10 more than used online pricing to be able to buy from a trusted, local shop with a great customer culture and which provides an excellent experience. Our capitalist society is killing shops like this by the dozens, and I value being able to stop by The Exchange more than I value shopping on eBay, more than $5-10 extra dollars' worth of my cash.

Secondly, if you find the owner and staff to be rude, then you are either sensitive to a fault or you yourself are RUDE, buddy. The owner has a very relaxed and honest demeanor. If he's tired, he will sound tired. If he's annoyed, he may even sound annoyed. He's a person like anybody else. If you expect corporate staleness when you come here to the point you'd insult the owner, then maybe just try Barnes & Noble instead. Dude absolutely rocks.

Lastly, if you don't like getting onto a dusty floor on your hands knees, hauling boxes out of the way in order to dig through a wide variety of cassette tapes that will put a smile of pleasant surprise on your face, then I don't wanna know you, buddy. Hail to the great...