Does anyone still shop at HMV?

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I used to work in an Oxfam and we were absolutely not allowed to change the price of anything if a customer tried to haggle. We were allowed to mark it down after they'd gone if we thought it was overpriced though!

OTM about pricing records according to what a mint copy is worth, ignoring the condition of actual record! The Cancer Research shops in Muswell Hill do that as well.

― Colonel Poo, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 12:01 (seventeen years ago) link

What some of the general Oxfam shops do is: find out how much an LP is worth, and price it accordingly.

Without checking the condition...,

Absolutely. I have to tell off some of the other volunteers for Oxfam to look at more than just the Big Record Price Book to see how much stuff is worth. A lot of CDs and DVDs we look up on EBay to see what the going price is, and then put it at about that, give a take a quid or two. End of the day, we try and get the most money we can for the donations we get, so if we can sell a DVD for £10 that's £12 in HMV, then we'll do that. Yes, it IS for a good cause, and no, don't go there looking for bargains. Go there because the music section is often well looked after, and there's often cool stuff there, and it WILL be cheaper than buying new/ebay/whatever, and yes, it IS for a good cause.

― The Wayward Johnny B, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 12:04 (seventeen years ago) link

I can honestly say that, in many years of shopping in charity shops, I have never once thought, "This is for a good cause"

― Tom D., Tuesday, 13 March 2007 12:06 (seventeen years ago) link

Agreed on all those points. The Oxfam on Oldham St in Manchester has a very good music section, obviously run by people who know what they're doing.

― Neil S, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 12:07 (seventeen years ago) link

i hate the atmosphere and vibe in the one in manc. always have really. they don't seem to give a fuck about making it any nicer either. it's a dump and it feels like a morgue.

― pisces, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 12:34 (seventeen years ago) link

From recent visits: if you're into Sydney Devine and Anne Lorne Gillies, you'll be in heaven.

It's been like that since before I was born I reckon. These records will just ALWAYS be there.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 12:40 (seventeen years ago) link

That end of Oldham St is a bit scummy in general, with that pub that has bouncers outside all hours of the day. It is difficult to make Oxfams feel anything other than what they are, which is musty charity shops.

― Neil S, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 12:43 (seventeen years ago) link

As part of a three-year turnaround plan, HMV plans to save £40m by 2010 by reviewing all aspects of its business, including its stores, supply chain and administrative operations.

Unprofitable stores plus those deemed surplus to requirements following Waterstone's purchase of Ottakar's last year are likely to be closed.

New initiatives

HMV also plans to refurbish its stores and introduce new products including portable music players and gift stationery at Waterstone's.

Goodbye bookshops too. And the portable music players being sold just sounds like when Our Price started hawking virgin mobile phones instead of cds.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 12:46 (seventeen years ago) link

Just at the point when Virgin took over Our Price as well.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 13:20 (seventeen years ago) link

It was all downhill from that point.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 13:37 (seventeen years ago) link

yes.

Returning to an earlier point...

If something was overpriced, part of me wants to tell the charity shop, part of me says 'whatever'...

If it was something I wanted, I either want it or get put off by the price. I'd not try the knockdown.

Only time I did this was a non-charity shop, and the bloke said "If it's still here in a week,ask again"

And it was. So I did, and he said "Oh yeah, you did. OK then." and the Monkees Head DVD (test pressing) was mine for a fiver.

― Mark G, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 15:14 (seventeen years ago) link

Returning to a much earlier point...

Hey, y'all prepare yourself
For the White Van Man
You're about to get new sounds
From the White Van Man
You're bound to lose control
When the White Van Man delivers those jams

(commence scat singing)

― henry s, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 16:52 (seventeen years ago) link

"I ordered CDs, not bleeding jam!"
"I'm only doing my job mate."

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 16:55 (seventeen years ago) link

I'm now wondering why Smuckers never saw fit to use the MC5 in an ad campaign...

put that bread in my hand
and let me spread on the jam
yeah
spread on the jam
come on, spread it out

spread on the jam, soccer mothers!

― henry s, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 17:54 (seventeen years ago) link

charity shops should be charity for the people going in there as much as the customers IMO. maybe not so much with records and books but the prices for their bric a brac sections (which is the first bit i look at) always amaze me. 20 pence ikea tealight holders and whatnot being sold for £2.99.

― jed_, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 22:38 (seventeen years ago) link

but yeah, HMV. you're unlikely to find some of the more obscure DVD's in fopp but they will, at least, usually be on sale in HMV even if the price is a bit high.

― jed_, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 22:40 (seventeen years ago) link

Got this in the email to day - sound 323's myspace

― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 13 March 2007 22:58 (seventeen years ago) link

x-post to jed

considering a lot of the people who shop in there aren't exactly rolling in money, it is surprising how much they charge for some stuff.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 03:48 (seventeen years ago) link

However, they do get their fair share of professional crate diggers, so I imagine that they adjust their prices accordingly.

― Marcello Carlin, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 08:22 (seventeen years ago) link

another bookshop selling music players--everything's going to end up like the post office

― RJG, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 09:22 (seventeen years ago) link

Being renamed "Consignia"?

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 11:53 (seventeen years ago) link

that is not what I meant

― RJG, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 21:49 (seventeen years ago) link

I know.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 23:47 (seventeen years ago) link

I know

― RJG, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 23:53 (seventeen years ago) link

I didn't know what you meant though.
Did you know?

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 23:55 (seventeen years ago) link

I was browsing through Sound 323's online store, they seem pretty spensive. But maybe that's because the Australian dollar is shitty.

They look to have an amazing range of cds though.

― Drooone, Wednesday, 14 March 2007 23:58 (seventeen years ago) link

I know

― RJG, Thursday, 15 March 2007 00:00 (seventeen years ago) link

Do you still shop at HMV, RJG?

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Thursday, 15 March 2007 00:25 (seventeen years ago) link

well HMV Oxford road is >>> any othe HMV.

The HMVs I am most familiar with, such as the Glasgow Braehead one, are just terrible places to wander arounnd.

There is the idiotic division between the sale and the full price stuff. This has bothered me for years. It's bad enough in Fopp, but at least its mainly the quick to scan wall displays. The contents of the sale stuff, mainly ex-chart from a year or two, aren't interesting to browse.

All the cases are sealed too, making browsing a less fun activity anyway, I've become adept at opening the spine side top and bottom hinges to find out if that really is the album that has the track that has him from that other band on it.

And then the curious feeling that even though the store is large the selection is poorer than the much smaller Fopp on Byres road/ How do they do this? Unlike the Oxford Road HMV, the provincial shopping mall ones are not safe bets to find an item, far from it.

Oh and their DVD box set selection is poor, the DVD movie collection is terrible (especially older movies) and those trinkets near the counter are just naff, get better trinkets for gods sake.

and Marcello, the Scars CD is out, amazon

― Sandy Blair, Thursday, 15 March 2007 07:01 (seventeen years ago) link

I don't even shop at the post office

― RJG, Thursday, 15 March 2007 08:32 (seventeen years ago) link

There's a new-ish HMV near Moorgate which has about ten aisles, with one and a half of those given over to CDs, the rest being devoted to cheapo DVDs and video games.

There's a handwritten sign in the window saying the store still has 38 PS3s left for pre-order.

It's probably the worst HMV I've ever seen. Even the tiny little railway station ones have more CDs on offer.

― James Mitchell, Thursday, 15 March 2007 12:20 (seventeen years ago) link

The record shops moan they aren't selling enough yet the don't fucking stock enough. If they didn't just get in 3 million take that cds and stocked some more slightly obscure stuff and develop a good reputation for having cds noone else has then they will get more people in the shop and loyal customers.
If I go into a record shop I DON'T WANT TO BUY MOBILE PHONES OR DVDS!!!

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Thursday, 15 March 2007 12:27 (seventeen years ago) link

Unfortunately the concept of "a record shop" is increasingly alien to the thrusting Thatcherkids whose custom HMV are so desperate to attract and retain.

― Marcello Carlin, Thursday, 15 March 2007 13:22 (seventeen years ago) link

A friend of mine works in one of the London branches of HMV, he was telling me that the big store on Oxford Street only ordered 2 copies of the last Lamb Of God album, a 100,00+ seller worldwide. That was just an example, there's loads more similar examples I guess. Just shows that they have NO CLUE about how to make the place appealing to more than just tourists and fifty-pound-man. I think the big chains are realising that record shops aren't profitable any more but they don't really know what else they can do. I guess they'll go out of business within a few years.

― Matt #2, Thursday, 15 March 2007 13:40 (seventeen years ago) link

It's quite simple. Stock more cd's. More than just the chart stuff you can get for £10 at Asda/Tesco. Stuff that isn't sold elsewhere will always get punters in thinking "oh I got so and so there i'll see if they have this in" Also, sell vinyl.
Build up a reputation and get goodwill from customers. Stop selling the same Dylan/RHCP cd's in sales everytime.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Thursday, 15 March 2007 13:45 (seventeen years ago) link

The companies just want to concentrate on selling the platinum albums sadly. A quick buck is all they care about.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Thursday, 15 March 2007 13:46 (seventeen years ago) link

Perhaps they should accommodate second-hand/pre-owned material.

― blueski, Thursday, 15 March 2007 13:47 (seventeen years ago) link

Possibly the Oxford Circus HMV people just wave their hands in the air and assume that everyone wanting something off the beaten track will just go straight to Sister Ray or Rough Trade but it doesn't always work like that (especially not with Sister Ray's abominable stock control).

But for instance I wanted the Emily Haines/Soft Skeleton album - one copy in stock in Ox Circ HMV.
Catherine Howe's What A Beautiful Day reissue from 1971, subject of rave review by Barney Hoskyns in last month's OMM (and rightly so) - one copy in stock in Ox Circ HMV.
Marnie Stern - one copy in stock in Piccadilly HMV (they might have had some at Ox Circ but thanks to Biffy Bastard Clyro I had no opportunity to find out).

So more imaginative stock control is required, but also they need to act more like Borders and irony of ironies Waterstones - make it more of a place where people can simply hang out and browse as opposed to the glorified Tescos it is at the moment.

― Marcello Carlin, Thursday, 15 March 2007 14:03 (seventeen years ago) link

You better watch. They might get Starbucks to open in the shops and everyone will drink their coffee while listening to Norah Jones and James Blunt.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Thursday, 15 March 2007 14:25 (seventeen years ago) link

You get it all on the internet these days - legally or non-legally - so fuck 'em

― Tom D., Thursday, 15 March 2007 14:26 (seventeen years ago) link

I don't want to get it on the internet! I want to find it in a shop! I'm old fashioned that way!

― Marcello Carlin, Thursday, 15 March 2007 14:37 (seventeen years ago) link

I buy all of mine now on the internet. That's what happens when they close record shops in my town.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Thursday, 15 March 2007 14:39 (seventeen years ago) link

you can buy stamps online and everything these days

― RJG, Thursday, 15 March 2007 15:02 (seventeen years ago) link

I like the idea that record shop closures forced people to buy CDs online and not the other way round!

― blueski, Thursday, 15 March 2007 15:07 (seventeen years ago) link

I know

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Thursday, 15 March 2007 15:07 (seventeen years ago) link

Who said anything about buying CDs online?

― Tom D., Thursday, 15 March 2007 15:09 (seventeen years ago) link

don't think you can download stamps illegally anywhere

― RJG, Thursday, 15 March 2007 15:15 (seventeen years ago) link

Not yet ;)

― Tom D., Thursday, 15 March 2007 15:19 (seventeen years ago) link

If dada can find a way...

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Thursday, 15 March 2007 15:27 (seventeen years ago) link

That Virgin Megastore on Buchanan St in Glasgow , last time i was in that it was absolute garbage. Huge building with hardly any cd's. Totally stupid.

― Brigadier Lethbridge-Pfunkboy, Thursday, 15 March 2007 15:45 (seventeen years ago) link

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