Anyone heard of this new second hand record/cd chain of stores in England called That's Entertainment?

...
But at this time of struggle, a new chain is hoping to prove that music shops are not dead.

That's Entertainment has branches in 12 towns, from Burton-upon-Trent in Staffordshire to North Shields in North Tyneside, and is hoping to double in size by opening another dozen shops this year.

Like HMV, it sells CDs, DVDs and games. But unlike the other chains, most of its albums are second-hand.

Founder Steve Oliver prefers the term "replay", insisting that the thorough refurbishment process - cases are replaced, discs are repaired and polished - makes them nearly new.

Crucially, they are much cheaper than the brand new versions, at between 99p and £3.99, and Mr Oliver believes people are more worried about price than whether an album is in a cellophane wrapper.

"People are watching the pounds," he says. "The value stores such as Poundland provide great value offers that are still succeeding on the high street. And we're bringing entertainment very much into that category."

Although his shops do sell some spanking new albums, the "replay" sales are more profitable, he says. Most come from sister company Music Magpie, which buys fans' unwanted albums, films and games.

For example, Music Magpie will pay you 30p for a copy of Madonna's American Life or Take That's The Circus, which are then sold through That's Entertainment for £1.99.

Mr Oliver, who previously ran the Music Zone chain, believes the price will be the key to the chain's fortunes.

"You and I will still go into a pub on a Friday night and put £1 in a jukebox to listen to a song once," he says. "So our price is a very low decision-making price point. It's almost a can of pop and sweets."

That's Entertainment's bargain basement offer is an example of how much music shopping has changed in recent years.

In 2010, there were more than 6,500 shops selling music in the UK - but only 8% of those were specialist shops, with the rest being supermarkets, petrol stations and department stores, which mainly stock chart releases or a few cheap compilations.
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Read the rest of the article at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-13067160

Tbh this shop sounds shite if all they're doing is selling cheapo 2nd hand versions of chart cds but if they were to do niche genres then it might be ok. But do they, has anyone been in one?

i'm betting this will be similar to the record shop at luton airport (i forget its name) that just sells tons of
record label overstock at megacheap prices (for example cursive and fall albums for a pound last time i was there)

You will be lucky

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/52162000/jpg/_52162075_thatsent2_304.jpg

Looks just like a fopp with shite chart cds
http://www.thatsent.co.uk/

http://www.thatsent.co.uk/images/inside_stores.gif

Anyone (scott?) know what the average margin of profit is for store owners on used stock vs. new stock? I'd bet used sales put more money in the bank year-round.

― That's why they call me (Johnny Fever),

There is a lot more money to be made from used than new stock, yes.

― krakow,

maybe that chain is on to a winner after all then (still think they would need to go outwith top 40 chart stuff though)

I don't know of any chains specializing in used cds in US that are still in business (although business was booming in the 90s and early 00s). Most of the money to be made with used merchandise over here is vinyl-related.

Oh, a quick check online confirms that CD Warehouse still has plenty of locations open...just none in the places I used to shop. I guess there's still a market for used cds, but it's certainly shrinking.

Might take off over here I suppose. There's not been a second hand chain over here afaik

I wouldn't hold out for anything niche from a chain backed by Music Magpie.

When I was laid up with a broken ankle, their advert was continually on daytime tv so I went to their website out of curiousity. For starters, they only buy things in 10s to save on postage, so you have to have 10 things you want to sell and not one. Then, just to see how good their costing model was, I put in the barcode of a particular album. It correctly identified it as the MCA edition of The Burning World, then offered me 15 pence for it. Unless things are different now, that thing regularly changes hands for upwards of £30.

Of course, that also means you might get some real bargains that have been sold by stupid people.

There used to be a CD Warehouses in Ealing and Uxbridge. I haven't been either places for 10 years or more so I'm not sure if they are still there. I found some good stuff there in the past. Not all that cheap though.

For used CDs /DVDs there are a few Cex shops (awful name). The ones I've been to have racks and racks of chart CDs. 10s of 'All Woman' compilation and old Ministry of Sound CDs. They look pretty tired.

Music Magpie sell under the name 'Zoverstocks' and 'CD Overstocks' on Amazon, I think. I've bought from them and they've had some things I couldn't get elsewhere. I'm not sure they would stock shops out differently. I also sold to them, in batches of 100+. I wouldn't sell anything of value to them but they've paid £3 for some pretty worthless stuff I've found in M&VE. For common CD titles they used to pay a min of 30p, but second hand shops wouldn't even want half of that.

Interesting. We always wondered if Zoverstocks was some kind of remnants of the Zavvi chain, reading the name as Z(avvi) overstocks...

Chances are if they did buy rare stuff for 30p someone at the warehouse where things get sent would be expert enough to identify it and put it on ebay ,the chances of it getting into the shops would be slim. Even oxfam have specialists now (who then charge more than it's worth "it's for a good cause!!")

Did a bit of googling and found this

1st post

I can't believe this but... I've been in a NEW record shop. It was in MetroCente, in Gateshead, and it seems to be one of two shops, the other one is in York. Now, the reason I am so excited about it (and left with 27 CDs) is... because they sell OLD CDs! They have a 99p sale on right now and I can't believe I just went into a shop which had The Brit Awards Album 1989, Smash Hits RAVE! and PJ & Duncan's 'Psyche!' all on CD for 99p... crazy! They had so much old deleted stuff... in top condition. All the Now That's What I Call Music 2CDs from Vol. 20-onwards, all the Sugababes albums for 99p... and loads of stuff I've forgotten about. I can't imagine many forum members are near Gateshead/Newcastle or York but maybe they're spreading up and down the country? Anyone else got one? I've never heard of them before!

I dont think I have any need for a store like this.

http://www.popjustice.com/forum/index.php?topic=23387.0

They're sort've a bit like Music Zone, meets Zavvi, but with early 90s stock?! They had The Greatest Hits Of 1990/1991/1992/1993 2CDs, in fat boxes, 2 Unlimited CDs, endless racks of old Dance compilation series CDs (100% Dance, Best Dance Album In The World Ever, Energy Rush, Now Dance, etc.). 99p each! Made my day.

Read more: http://www.popjustice.com/forum/index.php?topic=23387.0#ixzz1JnCmgvaV

People buy this stuff?

There's probably a forum where people are excited about finding Shine cds and the best indie albums in the world ever for 99p

Cex in Leeds was just like that when I was last there. I can't think they were doing a lot of business on the CD sales, more so on DVD and Games. Still, I think there is a lot of middle ground between the rare items collector stuff and the racks and racks of chart music compilations set up. I'm in the market for a lot of less common but not really collector type stuff that isn't available as most HMVs etc. that don't focus on back catalogue material.

I'm sure there are instances of warehouse staff laying their hands on gold. However, MM might have that covered to at least some extent. They invoice with an itemised list and I'm sure that will be checked though the supply chain. I'm not sure whether the business will work but if they open a new second hand music shop near me I'll probably check it out. I remember finding some great stuff in Oxfam shops before they got clued up. A few years ago I saw an AMM LP in the window of Reading's Oxfam. Thinking I'll have that and then saw the £90 price tag!

The thing with these charity shops is that they look on ebay, see a top price for a mint/sealed album, then charge that price for a beat up copy.

And HMV etc lost me when they stopped selling back catalog stuff, so I'm with you there.

Anyone know the chain Cash Converters? There's one of them in Hamilton and last year I went in just to see what cd's they had and the manager told me they didn't do music as there was no demand, just dvds/games.

I don't think towns like mine will get any record shops again unless there's another grunge/britpop/punk or whatever that gets people interested in music again.

Supermarkets (of which there are plenty here in every part of the town) have cheap chart cds covered. Always hoped HMV would move in once Our Price went but it's never gonna happen.

Last time I went into the Cash Converters in Belfast (admittedly 3 years ago) most of the upstairs was taken up by CDs. Only thing I've ever bought there. Of course, they may have stopped now.

Might just be in my town then. It's not a very big shop tbh. It's inside the crappy 2nd mall thing across from Argos & the pound shop.

I've been in two of the "That's Entertainment" shops, and while it's hit and miss, some of the cds are almost too cheap not to buy. I didn't realize they were second-hand though, but it does finally explain why my copy of Demon Days by Gorillaz contained the disc for their first album. I never could figure out how a shop-bought cd could be mispackaged.

I suppose these places are like charity shops, in that you know it'll 99%+ Ibiza compilations and "The Man Who" by Travis, but you might get lucky with something you were after that isn't in the Record Collector Price Guide (which is what everyone uses I think to price their stock in such a ridiculous manner).

Cash Converters on Holloway Road has had the same cd's on the shelf for at least 3 years, can't be bothered with any of those shops these days.

even the shell garages here dont sell cds now

someone open a record shop here please

Glasgow is hardly a long way away.

it's not exactly somewhere i can just pop into. It's £4 on a bus or £5 train as well to get into Glasgow.