I wouldn't give vinyl the same shelf space as more current items. It depends, really, on the sales. If vinyl doesn't sell well, it doesn't make sense to make it as visible to the customer as something that flies off the shelves.
gofar99 Messages: 1955 Registered: May 2010 Location: Southern Arizona
Illuminati (5th Degree)
Hi, Humm.... I wonder any more what actually is a niche market or product. Best Buy just discontinued CDs. But they carry vinyl and some turntables. If I believe the stuff written recently there are ever increasing sales of records and gear to play them on. Rega and Pro-ject said that sales of turntables are now greater than any time since about 1990. Several new record factories have come on line as well. To be sure, digital down loads are the big guy on the block now. They can be really good and I have no issue with them. Still it is not quite the same. I can't hold a piece of the "cloud" in my hand and I have concerns about who actually owns the cloud stuff and indeed the down loads. Once on a suitable player or local file you are better protected....still questions exist.
As for an online store...you don't actually have to have the stuff on premises. Do what Amazon does and have the actual holder of the stuff ship it. That is the way of things now. At least half of things I buy don't physically come from the address of the seller.
.....would you give everything the same "shelf space" as it were?
No. The biggest sellers would take front and center on my site, the same way that grocery stores typically put the hot sellers, or items from companies that pay for premium shelf space, nearest the main aisle or the end-caps. You don't "hide" the popular items mid-aisle or page 3 of your site.