Absolutely devastated Marbecks is closing after 90 years!! Another great retail loss for Auckland. And another music store shutting up shop.
Gone are the days you had Marbecks, Real Groovy, the CD and DVD Store, and Sounds all along/near Queen St.
Gone are the days you had Marbecks, Real Groovy, the CD and DVD Store, and Sounds all along/near Queen St.
September 1, 2025 at 12:12 AM
Absolutely devastated Marbecks is closing after 90 years!! Another great retail loss for Auckland. And another music store shutting up shop.
Gone are the days you had Marbecks, Real Groovy, the CD and DVD Store, and Sounds all along/near Queen St.
Gone are the days you had Marbecks, Real Groovy, the CD and DVD Store, and Sounds all along/near Queen St.
Marbecks in Queens Arcade is shutting. So that's no Smith and Caughey, no Marbecks. What even IS Auckland city now
September 1, 2025 at 1:20 AM
Marbecks in Queens Arcade is shutting. So that's no Smith and Caughey, no Marbecks. What even IS Auckland city now
Myopic Auckland 'leaders' blame carparking for shop closure.
Marbecks Record Shop moves online after 90 years in business
"Marbeck has been an Auckland icon, and it's another one we're losing.
www.rnz.co.nz
September 1, 2025 at 7:33 PM
Myopic Auckland 'leaders' blame carparking for shop closure.
I wrote this about NZ's last specialist classical music store. It made me sad.
November 25, 2025 at 7:16 AM
I wrote this about NZ's last specialist classical music store. It made me sad.
Ahhh no, not Marbecks 😭
September 1, 2025 at 7:56 PM
Ahhh no, not Marbecks 😭
As far as I'm aware, Marbecks is also the only bricks-and-mortar classical music specialist retailer left. Online specialist retail definitely has its place, but its not built for the life-changing accidental discovery while browsing the discount bins...
September 1, 2025 at 2:55 AM
As far as I'm aware, Marbecks is also the only bricks-and-mortar classical music specialist retailer left. Online specialist retail definitely has its place, but its not built for the life-changing accidental discovery while browsing the discount bins...
Same! I really wanted to work at Marbecks or Real Groovy- still do sometimes.
January 5, 2024 at 8:55 AM
Same! I really wanted to work at Marbecks or Real Groovy- still do sometimes.
Yesterday it was the closure of the 91-year-old Marbecks record shop in Auckland, today 107-year-old Smith's City goes into voluntary administration, so what does tomorrow hold?
If this is back on track we'd like to hop off, thanks!
If this is back on track we'd like to hop off, thanks!
![Pleasing designs in bedroom suites, mattresses and floor coverings / Railways Studios. Smiths City Market Ltd., Christchurch. Ch.Ch. Press Co Ltd, litho. [1940-1950s?]. Ref: Eph-E-FURNITURE-1950s-01. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:5r6ajktq4gbopiqigraobabo/bafkreia6zxxstblzfa4suk3xncghciaq4dz24bvj7xlp5ggshrftwb66ay)
September 2, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Yesterday it was the closure of the 91-year-old Marbecks record shop in Auckland, today 107-year-old Smith's City goes into voluntary administration, so what does tomorrow hold?
If this is back on track we'd like to hop off, thanks!
If this is back on track we'd like to hop off, thanks!
1. It seems commercial landlords will do *anything* but lower rents to meet the market. 2. That arcade, for whatever reason, is a dead location and Marbecks has always seemed a bit culturally stranded down at the bottom of town in general.
September 1, 2025 at 3:45 AM
1. It seems commercial landlords will do *anything* but lower rents to meet the market. 2. That arcade, for whatever reason, is a dead location and Marbecks has always seemed a bit culturally stranded down at the bottom of town in general.
Along with the issues with the arcade itself, I think Marbecks is also a bit culturally stranded down at the bottom of town. Real Groovy is big enough to be its own centre of gravity, but all the other record stores are uptown, where their people tend to be.
September 1, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Along with the issues with the arcade itself, I think Marbecks is also a bit culturally stranded down at the bottom of town. Real Groovy is big enough to be its own centre of gravity, but all the other record stores are uptown, where their people tend to be.
Marbecks closes Queens Arcade store after 90 years.
September 1, 2025 at 2:19 AM
Marbecks closes Queens Arcade store after 90 years.
NZ: 90-year-old Marbecks Record Store closes / TX: Waterloo Records celebrates grand re-opening / TX: The All-American Rejects at Good Records / CO: Wax Trax Records is expanding / TX: Collectors gravitate to to Josey Records—more.
In rotation: 9/2/25 - The Vinyl District
Auckland, NZ | 90-year-old Marbecks Record Store Closes Queens Arcade Store: After more than nine decades in the iconic Queens Arcade, Marbecks, one of Aotearoa’s most treasured music retailers, will ...
www.thevinyldistrict.com
September 2, 2025 at 10:28 AM
NZ: 90-year-old Marbecks Record Store closes / TX: Waterloo Records celebrates grand re-opening / TX: The All-American Rejects at Good Records / CO: Wax Trax Records is expanding / TX: Collectors gravitate to to Josey Records—more.
Sad to see the physical operations of Marbeck's go: www.1news.co.nz/2025/09/01/m...
Marbecks announces closure of Queen St store, move to online sales
In a post to its Facebook, the record shop, which opened in 1934, said it would be closing the doors at its Queens Arcade location and moving to an online-only store.
www.1news.co.nz
September 1, 2025 at 3:47 AM
Sad to see the physical operations of Marbeck's go: www.1news.co.nz/2025/09/01/m...
I know Marbecks has some nice cheeses.
I... did not know Liquorland has cheese rolls.
I... did not know Liquorland has cheese rolls.
February 24, 2024 at 5:25 AM
I know Marbecks has some nice cheeses.
I... did not know Liquorland has cheese rolls.
I... did not know Liquorland has cheese rolls.
Extra credit sadness: Marbecks was a key tenant in Queen's Arcade - a rather charming retail precinct in a heritage building that has more FOR LEASE signs than occupants. Now wondering when - not if - the owners decide to sell out to some developer who raises another 3/4 empty brick of blandness.
Absolutely devastated Marbecks is closing after 90 years!! Another great retail loss for Auckland. And another music store shutting up shop.
Gone are the days you had Marbecks, Real Groovy, the CD and DVD Store, and Sounds all along/near Queen St.
Gone are the days you had Marbecks, Real Groovy, the CD and DVD Store, and Sounds all along/near Queen St.
September 1, 2025 at 3:05 AM
Extra credit sadness: Marbecks was a key tenant in Queen's Arcade - a rather charming retail precinct in a heritage building that has more FOR LEASE signs than occupants. Now wondering when - not if - the owners decide to sell out to some developer who raises another 3/4 empty brick of blandness.
nobody uses vinyl, cassettes or CDs anymore. we're all on Spotify or Apple music & it's way better value. why are you expecting people to pay $34 per album when it's ~$20 a month for unlimited access to good music. don't blame it on parking. blame it on evolving tech
www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...
Marbecks Record Shop moves online after 90 years in business
"Marbeck has been an Auckland icon, and it's another one we're losing.
www.rnz.co.nz
September 1, 2025 at 9:15 PM
nobody uses vinyl, cassettes or CDs anymore. we're all on Spotify or Apple music & it's way better value. why are you expecting people to pay $34 per album when it's ~$20 a month for unlimited access to good music. don't blame it on parking. blame it on evolving tech
www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...
www.rnz.co.nz/news/busines...
We need a big fuck-off building somewhere that can house Hard-to-Find, Real Groovy, & Marbecks, has a space to groove, & quiet areas to read in. No awful, grasping landlords. How hard can it be? 🤷🏻♀️🤔👀
Or am I just describing a library?
Or am I just describing a library?
September 1, 2025 at 11:32 PM
We need a big fuck-off building somewhere that can house Hard-to-Find, Real Groovy, & Marbecks, has a space to groove, & quiet areas to read in. No awful, grasping landlords. How hard can it be? 🤷🏻♀️🤔👀
Or am I just describing a library?
Or am I just describing a library?
Thanks Simon, they (Neils company) also owned Marbecks for a while too.
March 31, 2026 at 2:16 AM
Thanks Simon, they (Neils company) also owned Marbecks for a while too.
Realistically: Skipping school and going to Marbecks to buy Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness.
Knowing what I know now: Quitting school and working my butt off for a couple of years, so I could put a deposit down for a $200k house.
Knowing what I know now: Quitting school and working my butt off for a couple of years, so I could put a deposit down for a $200k house.
May 4, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Realistically: Skipping school and going to Marbecks to buy Mellon Collie & the Infinite Sadness.
Knowing what I know now: Quitting school and working my butt off for a couple of years, so I could put a deposit down for a $200k house.
Knowing what I know now: Quitting school and working my butt off for a couple of years, so I could put a deposit down for a $200k house.
Hearing that Marbecks is closing has ruined my day. Proud to have worked in the classical store at the start of the 2000s with two legends, Murray Marbeck and Mel Moratti (something about that store and MMs). Gutted for the crew. Gutted for music retail. Gutted for me.
September 1, 2025 at 1:45 AM
Hearing that Marbecks is closing has ruined my day. Proud to have worked in the classical store at the start of the 2000s with two legends, Murray Marbeck and Mel Moratti (something about that store and MMs). Gutted for the crew. Gutted for music retail. Gutted for me.
Marbecks is closing its downtown Auckland shopfront. Again.
Its still an open question whether Hard to Find (But Worth The Effort) will be fucked over by its grasping landlord. Again, and terminally this time.
Any other Dorklanders this we really don't deserve nice things?
Its still an open question whether Hard to Find (But Worth The Effort) will be fucked over by its grasping landlord. Again, and terminally this time.
Any other Dorklanders this we really don't deserve nice things?
a little girl in a red and purple dress is giving a thumbs up and the words `` stop it '' are behind her .
Alt: a little girl in a red and purple dress is giving a thumbs up and the words `` stop it '' are behind her .
media.tenor.com
September 1, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Marbecks is closing its downtown Auckland shopfront. Again.
Its still an open question whether Hard to Find (But Worth The Effort) will be fucked over by its grasping landlord. Again, and terminally this time.
Any other Dorklanders this we really don't deserve nice things?
Its still an open question whether Hard to Find (But Worth The Effort) will be fucked over by its grasping landlord. Again, and terminally this time.
Any other Dorklanders this we really don't deserve nice things?
I'm obviously not privy to the finances of the Marbecks, and nobody gets into speciality retail for the mountains of coin, but its infuriating how many indie booksellers and music retailers are driven out of business by their landlords screwing up the rent.
September 1, 2025 at 3:32 AM
I'm obviously not privy to the finances of the Marbecks, and nobody gets into speciality retail for the mountains of coin, but its infuriating how many indie booksellers and music retailers are driven out of business by their landlords screwing up the rent.
RIP marbecks! I spent many an hour I should have been studying in their sale store in queens arcade with the ever patient and knowledgeable Aidan. Shout out to Marbecks staff past and present @ginnypig.bsky.social , Kirk, Sandra, Roger, RL, and many others…
September 1, 2025 at 4:43 AM
RIP marbecks! I spent many an hour I should have been studying in their sale store in queens arcade with the ever patient and knowledgeable Aidan. Shout out to Marbecks staff past and present @ginnypig.bsky.social , Kirk, Sandra, Roger, RL, and many others…
Marbecks is shutting their remaining store end of oct, and shifting solely online, cutting most staff.... dubdotdash.blogspot.com/2025/09/marb...
Marbecks closes store, shifts online only, cuts staff
Peter McLennan writes about music from New Zealand and further afield, covering reggae, hiphop, funk, soul and more.
dubdotdash.blogspot.com
September 2, 2025 at 5:41 AM
Marbecks is shutting their remaining store end of oct, and shifting solely online, cutting most staff.... dubdotdash.blogspot.com/2025/09/marb...