Corporate Record Stores With Evil Tactics

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Marking cheap indie albums up to major label prices -- Fugazi for $15
Selling EPs at album prices

Additions?

― Jonathan Williams (ex machina), Monday, 11 November 2002 19:37 (twenty-three years ago)

making a profit

― geeta, Monday, 11 November 2002 19:40 (twenty-three years ago)

Being the only stores with Best In Blur DVD not sold out.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 11 November 2002 19:41 (twenty-three years ago)

on young st. in toronto there used to be an hmv, a sam's, a sunrise and tower records stores (to name the major ones). then tower went under, followed by sam's; sunrise was reduced to 1/3rd it's original size. this is when hmv decided to get rid of their stamp cards, their boxing day sale (which my friends and i went to every year) and they dropped the return policy. this is the thanks the customers of hmv get for making hmv the only lasting big record store on young.

then sam's reopened and i haven't been into an hmv since.

― dyson (dyson), Monday, 11 November 2002 19:51 (twenty-three years ago)

I am so glad that you added that sentance at the bottom. Cause I was about to start CRYING, coz damn... I bought most of my Sloan CDs at that Sam's.

― kate, Monday, 11 November 2002 19:54 (twenty-three years ago)

(Or was it Queen Street? It's been so long since I was in Toronto...)

― kate, Monday, 11 November 2002 19:55 (twenty-three years ago)

If it was Sam's it was Younge Street with the big neon records overhead. I don't think the HMV on Queen was when you were here (the Elliot Smith tour Im guessing).

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 11 November 2002 19:57 (twenty-three years ago)

Yup, that was the one. Yeah, crazy lesbotour was when it was.

― kate, Monday, 11 November 2002 20:01 (twenty-three years ago)

I still miss the days when the big A&A's was next door to Sam's - before HMV or Tower came along, and I seem to remember that when the whole A&A chain went under, Sam's rasised their prices too. Not to mention that their prices were always hiked up in any Ontario small towns where they had a monopoly. I like Sam's, and I'm realy, really glad that the main store is still there - but pretending that they're squeaky clean, just ain't true.

― Kim (Kim), Monday, 11 November 2002 20:12 (twenty-three years ago)

(ended) their boxing day sale

Yeah, but HMV's Boxing Day sale was "Buy 3 at the regular price, get the forth (the cheapest one) free." Considering that meant spending at least $70, it's not like it was a great bargain to begin with.

Did they revamp the Sam's? The last time I was in there (1994), that place was a hole.

― Vic Funk, Monday, 11 November 2002 21:56 (twenty-three years ago)

What was Sam's? 15% off everything?

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 11 November 2002 22:03 (twenty-three years ago)

It's YONGE street, people. Sheesh.

Sam's has been remodelled a bit, but not much. To be honest, since Sam's went out of business and HMV jacked their prices up I haven't been to EITHER of them much, even with Sam's reopening. The problem is that Sam's realized that they couldn't actually make money if they started another price war with HMV ala beforehand, so the prices there are still very high and the selection is very spotty. Seriously, there's nothing I can get there that I can't get about 15 - 25% cheaper at CD Replay just a block from work here, though I sometimes have to wait a week or so. Case in point: HMV wants $89 for the Peter Sellers box set, and CD Replay got it for me for $69.
Most of the indie stuff, I just go to Soundscapes or Rotate now.

If we're talking evil tactics, HMV's dropping of the loyalty cards was the biggest fuck you to the customers ever, coming so hot on the heels of Sam's initial closing. That was enough to make me stop going there regularly.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 11 November 2002 22:19 (twenty-three years ago)

By the way, what ever happened to the chit chat about a Virgin Megastore opening up at the corner of Yonge/Dundas?

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Monday, 11 November 2002 22:22 (twenty-three years ago)

The Tower in Boston closed down. So did Other Music in Cambridge.

― brg30 (brg30), Monday, 11 November 2002 23:14 (twenty-three years ago)

HMV trick people into thinking they have any idea what people actually listen to by having little shelves aying 'indie', which consist entirely of whichever bands Steve Lamacq has been over-hyping recently. They also stock Constellation Records stuff, and markt he price up by about 100%

They also tried to sell me Low's first album for £17, which is utterly stupid.

― Callum (Callum), Monday, 11 November 2002 23:24 (twenty-three years ago)

Corporate stores suck and all, but man, those clearance racks of cassettes are a godsend. Recent pick-ups at malls across america include: Slick Rick's first, Eric B. & Rakim's "Follow The Leader", Neil Young's "Comes A Time," Alice Cooper's "Greatest Hits," Black Sabbath's "Paranoid," Aerosmith's "Toys In The Attic" and many others I can't remember. You can really bone up on your music history for cheap if you aint afraid of buying cassettes there.

― Anthony Miccio, Tuesday, 12 November 2002 00:59 (twenty-three years ago)

That's the second time you've been called out on that Yonge St. thing Noodles. Should we bring flash cards to the next FAP? We just can't have this you know - not in front of the foreigners!

(that's a joke - just in case)

― Kim (Kim), Tuesday, 12 November 2002 01:43 (twenty-three years ago)

Its the American influence on our financial markets, its corrupting my spelling.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Tuesday, 12 November 2002 02:06 (twenty-three years ago)

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