Nearly 30 years of early mornings, heavy bins, rare finds, and conversations that turned into friendships. This is my story - in my own words.
Before the Records, There Were Tires
I spent a good chunk of my working life in the tire business. Management position at Miller Tire here in Halifax on King Street. Solid work, decent pay, and every spring when tire change season hit, the floor turned into something else entirely. Long days. Non-stop hustle. Controlled chaos from open to close.
I was good at it. But looking back, I was good at it for one reason that had nothing to do with tires. I genuinely liked the people. Learning what someone needed. Making sure they left feeling taken care of. Building the kind of trust where they'd come back and ask for you by name.
That skill - the rapport, the relationships - that's followed me through everything I've done since. It's still the foundation of how I run this business today.
At some point I started asking myself a question I couldn't shake: what would happen if I put that same energy into something I actually loved?
Sunday Mornings at Penhorn Mall
I was still working full time at Miller Tire when I started doing the flea market at Penhorn Mall. Sunday mornings, up before the sun, loading my caravan with bins of CDs and DVDs. Driving over the bridge alone. Hauling tables and stock across a parking lot by myself. Setting everything up. Working the table all day. Then tearing it all down, loading it back into the van, and going home to do it all over again the next week.
There was no glamour in it. No business partner. No staff. Just me and my inventory and whoever stopped to take a look.
But something kept pulling me back every single week. And it wasn't the money - not at first. It was the people.
A guy flipping through a crate who stops cold when he finds something he's been hunting for years. A kid picking up a vintage Star Wars figure and just standing there for a second because it takes him somewhere. A conversation that starts with "how much for this?" and turns into forty-five minutes about music, life, where you grew up, what mattered to you.
I was hooked. And I realized I wanted a whole lot more of that - and a lot less of tire change season.
So I made the decision. I was going to build something of my own, on my own terms, around something I genuinely loved.
January 25, 1997 - Pegasus Is Official
On January 25th, 1997, Pegasus Used CDs & Collectibles became a real business. Halifax-based, locally owned, built from scratch. No investors. No backing. Just inventory I believed in and a commitment to treating every customer the way I'd want to be treated.
When eBay started gaining traction, I got in early. Earned PowerSeller status and started shipping to buyers across Canada and all over the world. Then Amazon came along and opened up another channel entirely. For years, Pegasus quietly served thousands of customers. Most of them found me through word of mouth - which was always, and still is, my best advertising.
I tried Kijiji for local sales. Kept sourcing rare and hard-to-locate items that people had been searching for everywhere else without luck. The inventory kept growing - vinyl LPs in every genre, Blu-rays, DVDs, music CDs, comics, vintage Star Wars toys and collectibles. Over 25,000 items and counting.
My Star Wars collection in particular has drawn some attention over the years. When you've been doing this as long as I have, certain things accumulate in the best possible way - and a few people have taken notice.
If you're ever looking for something and don't see it on the site, reach out. Chances are I have it.
What Customers Have Said
"Roland really does stand behind what he sells. Any issues, just contact him and he'll make it right. Buy with confidence.
"Top notch seller. Bought many items over the last several years and never had a problem. Sells really rare items at good prices too.
"This is my go-to spot for vinyl. Period."
The Conversations I'll Never Forget
I've met thousands of customers over the years. Some of them found me at a flea market table. Some through eBay or Amazon. Some through a Kijiji post or a Google search at midnight. Some of them live in Halifax and have stopped by dozens of times. Some are on the other side of the country and we've never met face to face.
A lot of them aren't just customers anymore. They're people I know. People I look forward to hearing from. People who'll call not just to buy something but to talk - about what they've been listening to, what they found at an estate sale, what their kid just got into.
That's what this has always been built on. Not transactions. Relationships.
A New Chapter - With a Little Help
I'll be straight with you. I'm not someone who changes easily. I know what works, I trust what I've built, and I don't rush into things.
But my son - a local business owner here in Halifax - sat down across from his stubborn old man and made the case for leveling up. He had the patience to do it right, the skills to actually pull it off, and the persistence to keep pushing. He's taken the lead on building out this new version of the website and the brand, and I'll say it plainly: he's earned every bit of credit I can give him.
Retro Revolution Records isn't a new business. It's the next chapter of nearly 30 years of work. Same inventory. Same values. Same Roland picking up the phone when you call. Just sharper, more professional, and built for what comes next.
Thank You
If you've been a customer since the Penhorn flea market days, the early eBay listings, the Kijiji posts, or the first version of the website - genuinely, thank you. You kept this going. You told your friends. You came back. That meant everything then and it still does.
If you're finding us for the first time right now, welcome. There's a lot to dig through at rrrecords.ca, and we add new stock regularly. Local pickup is available here in Halifax. We ship anywhere in Canada and internationally. And we're always buying collections too.
This is still a small, honest, Halifax-owned operation. That will never change.
Bringing the Past to the Present.
— Roland Alexander
Owner, Retro Revolution Records / Pegasus Used CDs & Collectibles
Halifax, Nova Scotia • rrrecords.ca • 902-877-0196