Play It Again Sam Inc.

What Play It Again Sam Inc. does

Play It Again Sam, Inc. is a single-location, owner-operated vintage home audio equipment retailer and repair shop founded in 1979 and headquartered at 14311 Madison Avenue in Lakewood, Ohio, with 14 employees. The company serves audiophiles, vinyl collectors, and owners of legacy home audio equipment, primarily through a brick-and-mortar storefront supplemented by phone, email, Facebook, and Instagram, with only limited online sales of small accessories. Its product and service portfolio rests on three pillars: (1) the sale of pre-owned, fully reconditioned vintage stereo equipment — turntables, receivers, speakers, amplifiers, cassette decks, reel-to-reel recorders, tuners, and preamplifiers — sourced across more than 50 brands including McIntosh, Marantz, Pioneer, Sansui, Technics, JBL, and Klipsch; (2) expert repair and restoration services, with rare specializations in reel-to-reel tape machines, antique tube amplifiers, and speaker refoaming/reconing, supported by an in-house parts library (cartridges, diamond needles, headshells, belts, tonearms); and (3) authorized dealer sales of new equipment and accessories from brands such as Music Hall, Sumiko, Ortofon, Audio Technica, Well Tempered, Sota, and Belles.

The business makes money through three hardware-sales streams (pre-owned equipment with a 30-day warranty, new authorized-dealer equipment, and accessories), a professional-services stream (repair and restoration billed as labor plus parts), and a transactional-fee stream via a consignment program that charges a 20% commission with an 80% payout to the consignor. Pricing is transactional rather than recurring: pre-owned turntables range from $159 to $3,499, speakers from $79 to $3,900, and receivers from $229 to $2,500, with high-end items such as the McIntosh MC75 reaching $4,000. Distribution is intentionally constrained — the store is open five days per week (closed Wednesday and Sunday), does not routinely ship, and accepts consignment items in person or via emailed photos.

The company carries no outside investment, no parent entity, and no subsidiaries, with primary contact routed through "Ben" at [email protected], consistent with family or founder ownership. It maintains a Better Business Bureau accreditation as a credibility signal in a relationship-driven business, and reports a customer base that, while nationally and internationally dispersed for repair services, ultimately funnels through a single physical showroom in the Cleveland suburb of Lakewood.

Name

Play It Again Sam Inc.

Legal name

Play It Again Sam, Inc.

Website

https://playitagainsam.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Play It Again Sam, Inc. is a Lakewood, Ohio vintage home audio retailer and repair shop, founded in 1979, selling pre-owned and new equipment from brands like McIntosh, Marantz, and Ortofon to audiophiles, vinyl collectors, and legacy equipment owners seeking restoration services and consignment.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Vintage Audio Equipment Retail

NAICS

Used Merchandise Retailers (459510), Other Personal and Household Goods Repair and Maintenance (811490), Electronics and Appliance Retailers (4492)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Repair Services (7600)

akta.pro primary industry

Turntables & Vinyl Audio Equipment Retail (CRACAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

AV Receivers, Amplifiers & Hi‑Fi Components Retail (CRACAEAE), Pro Audio & Recording Equipment Retail (MI-adjacent) (CRALAEAC)

Keywords

• Vintage audio equipment
• Audio repair services
• Home audio retail
• Turntable sales
• Consignment audio

Headquarters

HQ city

Lakewood, Ohio

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Pre-owned Equipment Sales: Sale of fully reconditioned vintage home audio equipment including turntables, receivers, amplifiers, speakers, and cassette decks. Primary revenue stream with equipment sold on a one-time basis.
2. New Equipment Sales: Sale of brand new equipment from authorized dealer relationships with brands including Music Hall, Sota, Sumiko, Well Tempered, Belles, Ortofon, Audio Technica, and others.
3. Repair Services: Expert repair and restoration services for vintage audio equipment including turntables, speakers, reel-to-reel machines, and tube equipment.
4. Consignment: Consignment model where the store sells customer equipment for a 20% commission, paying out 80% of the sale price to the original owner.
5. Accessories: Sale of audio accessories including vinyl cleaners, speaker wire, turntable belts, needles, cartridges, microphones, and cables.
6. Gift Certificates: Gift certificates available for purchase in-store.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Play It Again Sam, Inc. operates a single-location brick-and-mortar retail store in Lakewood, Ohio, specializing in the sale of pre-owned reconditioned vintage home audio equipment (turntables, receivers, speakers, amplifiers, reel-to-reel recorders, cassette decks, and related components) and brand-new audio gear from authorized dealers. The business also provides expert repair, restoration, and maintenance services for vintage audio equipment, including tube electronics, reel-to-reel machines, and speakers, alongside a consignment program that sells customer equipment for a 20% commission.

Product overview

Play It Again Sam Inc. is a vintage home audio equipment retailer and repair shop established in 1979, operating as a single-location brick-and-mortar business with an online presence. The company offers a unified portfolio comprising three core pillars: (1) the sale of pre-owned, fully reconditioned vintage stereo equipment including turntables, receivers, speakers, amplifiers, cassette decks, reel-to-reel recorders, CD/DVD/VHS players, equalizers, tuners, and preamplifiers from over 50 major brands; (2) expert repair and restoration services for vintage audio equipment including tube amplifiers, reel-to-reel machines, speakers (refoaming/reconing), and turntables; and (3) authorized dealer sales of brand new equipment and accessories from brands including Music Hall, Sumiko, Ortofon, Audio Technica, Sota, Well Tempered, Belles, Townshend, Analysis Plus, LAST, Mogami, and Standesign. The company also offers consignment services and sells vinyl records and audio accessories. Everything sold pre-owned is fully reconditioned and warranted.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pre-Owned Vintage Stereo Equipment Sales
• Authorized Dealer New Equipment Sales
• Audio Equipment Repair & Restoration Services
• Consignment Services
• Vinyl Records
• Audio Accessories
• Gift Certificates

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Music HallcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for new audio equipment including turntables, amplifiers, and accessories. Customers can order products not in stock.
• SotacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for Sota turntables and related equipment.
• SumikocoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for Sumiko phono cartridges including Blackbird, Black Pearl, Pearl, Rainier, Moonstone, and Blue Point #3. Also carries new Sumiko equipment.
• Well TemperedcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for Well Tempered turntables and audio equipment.
• BellesminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for new Belles audio equipment including amplifiers and pre-amps.
• TownshendminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for Townshend audio equipment and accessories.
• OrtofoncoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for Ortofon phono cartridges including 2M Red (best-seller), 2M Blue, 2M Bronze, 2M Black, OM series, MC Quintet Black S, MC Xpression, and Omega cartridges.
• Audio TechnicacoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for Audio Technica phono cartridges (AT81CP, AT85EP, AT-VM95 series, AT-OC9/III), turntables, headphones, and accessories.
• Gold RingminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for Gold Ring phono cartridges and accessories.
• PfanstiehlminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for Pfanstiehl phono cartridges, needles, and accessories including headshells.
• Analysis PlusminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for Analysis Plus cables and audio accessories.
• LASTminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for LAST record cleaning products, preservatives, and stylus treatments.
• MogamiminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for Mogami audio cables and interconnects.
• StandesignminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for Standesign audio equipment stands and racks.
• ApatureminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAuthorized dealer for Apature audio accessories.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Acoustic Sounds: Large specialty retailer of audiophile vinyl records and high-end audio hardware (turntables, cartridges, accessories). Comparable customer base of audiophiles; broader catalog and stronger e-commerce than PIAS.
• Elusive Disc: Established online retailer of audiophile vinyl and high-end audio gear. Targets the same high-fidelity listener with broader inventory and full e-commerce capabilities PIAS lacks.
• Hi-Fi Sound Connection: Online retailer specializing in vintage and modern home audio equipment with national shipping. Competes with PIAS for out-of-area audiophile buyers but with stronger e-commerce infrastructure.
• Music Direct: Major online retailer of audiophile turntables, cartridges, and home audio components. Competes for the same audiophile buyer with a much larger catalog, national shipping, and stronger digital presence.

Direct peers

• Echo Audio: Independent hi-fi retailer in Portland, OR selling new and pre-owned home audio equipment including turntables, speakers, and tube electronics with trade-in/consignment programs — directly comparable vintage-and-new hybrid model.
• Audio Classics: Long-established vintage and used hi-fi audio retailer with in-house restoration services. Closest direct analog: pre-owned McIntosh/Marantz/Luxman sales plus expert repair bench, similar to Play It Again Sam's core model.

Others

• The Cable Company: Specialty retailer of high-end audio cables, power conditioning, and accessories. Adjacent to PIAS's accessories stream (cables, interconnects, cleaners) and serves an overlapping audiophile customer.
• Vinyl Engine: Online community and reference resource for vintage turntables and hi-fi equipment with service manuals and parts references. Functions as an ecosystem enabler for the same collector/repair audience PIAS serves.

Emerging players

• Upscale Audio: Authorized dealer for premium new tube and solid-state audio equipment (McIntosh, Audio Research, PrimaLuna). Overlaps with PIAS on new-equipment side, especially tube amplification repair and sales.

Regional players

• Lone Star Audio: Texas-based vintage and used hi-fi dealer with in-house repair. Comparable business model of pre-owned sales plus restoration services, but serves a different regional geography than PIAS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/playitagainsam
• Instagraminstagram.com/playitagainsam
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/play-it-again-sam-inc.

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Play It Again Sam Inc.