Wax Merchant Are Revolutionising Online Record Digging

Wax Merchant are a husband and wife duo who started their own independent online record store. During lockdown, James started selling a few records online as a side hustle. Not too long after they got a puppy, and things became a little busy so he had to put it on hold. Fast forward a few years, and they were on holiday in Lisbon when they had the idea to give it another go together. That’s where the idea for Wax Merchant and the concept of ‘scroll to dig’ all began. They spent a few months getting the website ready and before they knew it, they had launched at the end of January 2025. 

How were those early days, balancing full-time jobs?

We were both in full-time jobs at the time, so there were plenty of late nights spent around the kitchen table packing orders, and we had to sacrifice elements of our social lives. We were, and still are, completely obsessed with what we were building and really threw ourselves into it from the start. As the business grew, it became increasingly difficult to manage alongside both working full-time. Amie left her job in October 2025 to focus on Wax Merchant full-time, followed by James in June 2026. We’ve now had a few months of working on the business together full-time, but it still feels surreal that we’re able to call this our job! 

What was the first record you sold? 
 

The first record we sold was DJ Taco - The Ghost. It was one from our own collection, as that’s where we started selling from before buying collections to sell. We still remember the moment the first order came through.  

What’s your current best seller? 

I think it’s got to be Uknowho - Missy x Badoo, that record quickly rose to the top of the list earlier this year and it’s understandable why. A super silky deep house record remixing two icons. Our favourite is the Badoo side, go and check it out if you haven’t heard it already. More recently though, Tino’s latest release on M.A.D Records (Super Hot EP) has been flying. Track of the summer, right? 

Physical media is having a revival, what advice would you give for anyone building a record collection now? 

We’d say the first thing is to think about why you want to start collecting records. Whether it’s purely for listening, DJ’ing or a bit of both will probably shape the direction you go in. If it’s just for listening, buy records with tracks you genuinely love. Some might be difficult to find or cost a bit more, but there’s something special about owning a track on vinyl and being able to come back to it. 
 
If you’re starting out as a DJ, don’t feel like you need to buy loads of records straight away. Our advice is to start with 10-20 records that are relatively easy to mix together. Get comfortable mixing them, learn your records and build your confidence before branching out into different sounds. 
 
As your collection grows, don’t be afraid to explore different genres/sounds. Some of the best sets come from DJs who aren’t afraid to move between genres and bring together records you might not necessarily expect to hear together. 
Ultimately, buy records that resonate with you. There’s no right or wrong way to build a collection, and it should be something that reflects your own taste.  

In what ways do independent online stores differ from physical ones?  

Being online gives us the opportunity to connect with record lovers from around the world. We speak with and ship records to people from all around the world. Some tell us they don't have a record store in their area, or one that sells the type of music they're into, so they’re pleased we exist. We're blessed with so many great record shops in the UK that it's easy to forget this. 

 
Why is intentional record collecting important right now? 
 

In a world where you can stream every song ever at the press of a button there’s something special and more intentional about selecting records to add to your collection. Collecting records can be an expensive hobby, meaning you can’t have it all. That limitation often makes you think about which records you should add to your collection. All killer, no filler. 

What was a pinch-me moment for you guys? 
 

There have definitely been a few! A big one is getting to work with artists and brands that we’ve admired for years. When you’ve followed someone’s music or what they’re doing for so long, it’s a bit surreal to suddenly be working with them. A few examples that come to mind are Kerri Chandler, who is one of our all time favourite DJs and producers. Also Hide&Seek Festival where we hosted a record pop-up this year. We went to the first edition of Hide&Seek festival so being able to work with them was super exciting for us. We often work with Progress/nowhere in Manchester, where we spent a lot of time on the dance floor throughout our twenties. It's nice to be on the other side of it all and contribute a small part towards parties there with our pop-up record store. 
 
What’s been really nice is seeing how many people are genuinely happy to help each other out and those connections have probably been some of the most rewarding parts of what we do. 

Tell us about your new scroll to dig feature. 

We wanted to approach how our customers can dig for records on our website and app a little differently. One of the main frustrations we had when browsing records online was how disjointed some websites were. It often felt like the audio clips were secondary to the experience, when in reality, they should be the star of the show. 
 
Scroll to dig is exactly what it says on the tin. We’ve tried to make it easier and quicker for people to listen to the audio clips by building it into a scroll feed. More time listening to music and less time clicking around. 

Rarest record you’ve ever sold? 

At the moment we only sell new releases, but when we did have some second-hand stock, we had some pretty rare UK Garage records. We think rare often gets confused with expensive, and the prices you see on the second-hand market aren’t always a true reflection of a record’s value. A record someone bought for £5 selling for £100 doesn’t always sit right with us, particularly when that extra money only goes to the person re-selling it, rather than the artist or producer. 
 
We still love digging for older records, that’s part of the fun of record collecting, but there’s a real buzz around supporting current artists and buying new releases too. You’re supporting the people making the music more directly, rather than paying inflated resale prices on records where the artist won’t see another penny. 
 

If you could give one piece of advice for anyone looking to follow in your footsteps, what would it be? 

Build your community and take a genuine interest in what other people are doing, which can absolutely be done online. We really enjoy keeping up with what our community is working on, whether that’s building a label, launching a brand, putting on events or developing their own music career. Everyone’s building something of their own, but there’s a real sense of people supporting one another along the way, and that’s what keeps the community thriving. 
 
It’s never been a one-way thing for us. We’re still lucky to recognise so many of the names who supported us from the early days, either through engaging with our page or buying from us. We see it all, and we know we wouldn’t be where we are today without that support.  

What’s next for Wax Merchant? 
 

The next few months are particularly exciting ones for us. We’ve just announced that we’ll soon be moving into a warehouse space in our hometown of Altrincham, which will be used as space for us to fulfil online orders but also mean we can host in-person digging sessions, which has always been part of our vision. After 18 months of running Wax Merchant from our home it feels like the right time for us. We'll also be welcoming our first team member as part of the move. We’re super excited to see where this next stage takes us and to start building a team around what we’ve created. 

📝: Kelly Washington