Tonka Vac/Tonka Tunes owner looks to liquidate collection

A vacuum cleaner sales and repair shop that also deals in record albums is not your classic business model, but it has worked for Shaun Gauld for nearly 25 years.

Gauld is a Mound businessman – the owner of Tonka Vac/Tonka Tunes. He started selling Kirby vacuum cleaners after getting laid off from the railroad industry in 1977. Even before then, at age 12 he was collecting records.

He didn’t mow lawns or shovel snow for cash, he sold records.

“I would buy from friends that needed some cash, and then sell them for twice as much to friends who had cash,” Gauld said. Funny thing is, record albums of that era by rock bands like The Who, Pink Floyd and Yes (among his favorites) weren’t allowed in the strict Michigan household where he grew up. So, in a sense his boyhood business was kind of like a fencing operation.

Maybe no surprise then that when Gauld had the chance, he would operate a legitimate Main Street business. His establishment is located at 2313 Commerce Boulevard in a building that once was the Mound move theater and later a furniture store with a second floor added. There Gauld has managed to fill almost all 7,400 square feet with vacuum cleaners and records.

In 2001 Gauld opened Tonka Vac in Mound, and a few years later the store would rebrand as Tonka Vac/Tonka Tunes when he imported his 25,000-count record collection that had been growing since the 1960s. Although that collection continued to expand, surpassing 250,000 records at peak, his business leans about 60-70 percent vacuum cleaner repairs to records.

That includes vacuums for everyone from commercial cleaners to the person looking to turn a garage sale deal into a serviceable cleaning device for the home. Oddly enough, the recent viny record resurgence has been accompanied by a spike in enthusiasm for vintage vacuum cleaners, Gauld said. Different customer niche though, he adds.

Now age 67, Gauld said he is less thrilled to repair and sell vacuums that come into his shop – especially the newer devices with more circuit boards less motors and belts. And while he still loves music -- the strains of classic rock continue to sound each day in his shop – Gauld wants to liquidate the massive collection stored in the building.

That includes music of all genres – rock, jazz, swing, country, easy listening, gospel, show tunes, bluegrass and more; music in various formats – LPs, 45s, cassettes and CDs; other items as well, like concert videos on VHS tapes and DVDs, concert posters that paper his walls – even some player piano rolls.

Gauld has been downsizing for the past 15 months as he moves to retire and travel more with his wife in their new RV; however, he still has a considerable inventory of vacuums and maybe 100,000 LPs and 45s.

So now many of his albums are priced between $1 to $5 a pop, although Gauld is not willing to lowball prices for rare albums, treasures, and items he knows that other collectors can sell for more money. Meanwhile, even while liquidating and with the building for sale, Gauld will occasionally snatch up another set of records if they are good price.

So, maybe he will exit the brick-and-mortar business and move to online sales?

Footnote: If and when he does retire, don’t expect Gauld to save any vinyl for himself. His massive collection of musical favorites is loaded on flash drives and hard drives.