Vinyl, retailers greed.

[luckylion100]

Happened to be passing by a HMV store today and thought I'd quickly pop into have a look at their vinyl selection.

I haven't been buying much of the black stuff of late but thought I'd get my daughter a little reward for all her hard work at school.

Found just what I was looking for and was about to head for the till when I saw the price. £29.99 for a standard edition version of the Twenty One Pilots album Vessel! Needless to say it went straught back in the rack and I left the store empty handed. Amazon are doing the same for £17 with fee delivery as I'm a prime member.

I know these retailers prey on the impulse buyer, a trap I nearly fell into but surely the vinyl resurgence is going to be short lived if this type of greed continues, they'll price us and ultimately themselves out...

 

[Al ears]

Happened to be passing by a HMV store today and thought I'd quickly pop into have a look at their vinyl selection.

I haven't been buying much of the black stuff of late but thought I'd get my daughter a little reward for all her hard work at school.

Found just what I was looking for and was about to head for the till when I saw the price. £29.99 for a standard edition version of the Twenty One Pilots album Vessel! Needless to say it went straught back in the rack and I left the store empty handed. Amazon are doing the same for £17 with fee delivery as I'm a prime member.

I know these retailers prey on the impulse buyer, a trap I nearly fell into but surely the vinyl resurgence is going to be short lived if this type of greed continues, they'll price us and ultimately themselves out...

That does indeed seem a hefty mark-up. I can sympathise with the woes of high street retailers and do my best to keep them going but that's excessive.

Perhaps 'greed' is the wrong term to use as they have to fund their ground-rent somehow and it would be a pity to see them disappear completely.

 

[davidf]

Some record companies give better deals to certain retailers - that sometimes includes the likes of HMV (and not independents), and sometimes those deals only get as far as the BIG online retailers. OR it could just be greed.

 

[luckylion100]

greed was an extreme term but yes definitely excessive.

HMV despite having their financial woes are still a large chain, as David mentioned you'd expect their purchasing power to at least reflect in a competitive price they're asking for from Joe public... independent retailers I can understand asking for a tad more and in that case I'd be willing to consider it.

After putting the record back I looked at the prices in general and was surprised to see the £30+ mark common place...

 

[Gray]

HMV have always charged what they can get away with charging. It's only relatively recently that they seem to have come to the realisation that they can't always get away with it.

Take their CDs for example, often now actually quite reasonably priced, I've bought from them recently rather than online. Maybe their vinyl is subsidising CD sales as I did think that was a bit on the pricey side.

Made me smile a bit to think back to those days when I used to think CD was a luxury purchase compared to vinyl - now it's the other way round.

 

[luckylion100]

HMV have always charged what they can get away with charging. It's only relatively recently that they seem to have come to the realisation that they can't always get away with it.

Take their CDs for example, often now actually quite reasonably priced, I've bought from them recently rather than online. Maybe their vinyl is subsidising CD sales as I did think that was a bit on the pricey side.

Made me smile a bit to think back to those days when I used to think CD was a luxury purchase compared to vinyl - now it's the other way round.

Agreed ;-)

 

[Al ears]

It's a funny old world regarding the costs for different types of media isn't it. What kills me is the prices charged for a hi-res download..... daylight robbery!

Just how can you justify something that costs as much as a heavyweight vinyl LP when it has no packaging and no transport costs??

Confused?..... You will be. Everyone is at it so I don't have a problem with a high street firm that actually has overheads to deal with, no matter how big that firm is.

Personally I think everyone is taking thee p*ss

 

[Alantiggger]

I reckon the shops KNOW that the folks who are again into wanting and buying OLD tech are in the know that this sort of geezer has a good few bucks to be spending ....

Cd's, flac format , and yet we still have folks WANTING to purchase old record tech, why ?

I hope the shops charge you folks even more for your stupidity tbh.

 

[Al ears]

I can see a lot of thought went into this post.

My point was everything is overpriced......

P.S. CD s and flac files are old tech

 

[chebby]

Hipster punters driving prices like the £4.50 bowl of cereal and more ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/lists/hipster-venues-in-shoreditch-that-will-make-you-despair/

 

[nopiano]

Although recorded media of all types is costly, it's surely live concerts that are the inflated ones? When I worked in London in the 90s and attended classical concerts regularly I could get decent seats for about £10 to £15 which was about what a new CD cost.

Seats are now £30 to £50, but even LPs aren't always that expensive and CDs are still £10 to £15.

 

[MajorFubar]

I reckon the shops KNOW that the folks who are again into wanting and buying OLD tech are in the know that this sort of geezer has a good few bucks to be spending ....

Cd's, flac format , and yet we still have folks WANTING to purchase old record tech, why ?

I hope the shops charge you folks even more for your stupidity tbh.

What a rude man.

As fror HMV's pricing, Amazon and eBay sellers are often tiny outfits trading from the back end of nowhere, where HMV is a high street trader with infinitely higher rent/rates costs and more staff to pay. If more people bought records I'm sure they could drop their price; you could argue that's a catch 22, but it's not really because if LPs were £6.99 like they were 30 years ago they'd still sell in penny numbers.

 

[davidf]

If more people bought records I'm sure they could drop their price; you could argue that's a catch 22, but it's not really because if LPs were £6.99 like they were 30 years ago they'd still sell in penny numbers.

Oh I don't know - I'd buy a lot more at £6.99!!

 

[MajorFubar]

Simple maths which don't consider nearly enough factors says sales would have to quadruple one way or another, which isn't going to happen ever. Of course that doesn't take into consideration that in today's market the actual cost to make them could well be more than £6.99 each before you even consider anyone making a profit. Last time a non-discounted record was £6.99 at major high street retailers, I knew of pubs that still sold beer for 50p a pint.

 

[davidf]

Having said that, you can buy new vinyl for £9.99

 

[chris_bates1974]

Unfortunately for us, one the MAJOR rule when it come to pricing strategy is to extract from the buyer every penny that they are willing to pay. It is simply amazing to me how many retailers are almost constantly offering discounts. I am sure that many millions of pounds of revenue goes begging from retailers in this way.

That said, I'd buy a lot more at £6.99 too, and I wish they were cheaper!!!

 

[davidf]

I can't even afford £6.99 at the moment!

 

[stereoman]

Indeed. Even here in Germany the vinyl prices are quite high. You can buy some new reeditions from 12 - 15 Euros but generally the prices start from 20 Euros up...with an average price of 25-29 Euros.

 

[Al ears]

Although recorded media of all types is costly, it's surely live concerts that are the inflated ones? When I worked in London in the 90s and attended classical concerts regularly I could get decent seats for about £10 to £15 which was about what a new CD cost.

Seats are now £30 to £50, but even LPs aren't always that expensive and CDs are still £10 to £15.

You obviously haven't been to any Joe Bonamassa concerts lately.....

 

[Al ears]

I can't even afford £6.99 at the moment!

The price of running an audio company eh? ;-)

 

[Al ears]

I reckon the shops KNOW that the folks who are again into wanting and buying OLD tech are in the know that this sort of geezer has a good few bucks to be spending ....

Cd's, flac format , and yet we still have folks WANTING to purchase old record tech, why ?

I hope the shops charge you folks even more for your stupidity tbh.

What a rude man.

As fror HMV's pricing, Amazon and eBay sellers are often tiny outfits trading from the back end of nowhere, where HMV is a high street trader with infinitely higher rent/rates costs and more staff to pay. If more people bought records I'm sure they could drop their price; you could argue that's a catch 22, but it's not really because if LPs were £6.99 like they were 30 years ago they'd still sell in penny numbers.

Rude? yes but you are assuming it's a man. It is the sort of comment I would expect my ex-girlfriend to make

 

[Al ears]

Unfortunately for us, one the MAJOR rule when it come to pricing strategy is to extract from the buyer every penny that they are willing to pay. It is simply amazing to me how many retailers are almost constantly offering discounts. I am sure that many millions of pounds of revenue goes begging from retailers in this way.

That said, I'd buy a lot more at £6.99 too, and I wish they were cheaper!!!

Just think of it as the retailers doing you a favour. If they were that cheap and you bought loads more you'd soon be looking for a bigger house to store them in.... ;-)

 

[davidf]

I can't even afford £6.99 at the moment!

The price of running an audio company eh? ;-)

New album from Royal Blood, new one from Queens Of The Stone Age, remastered catalogue with hi-res downloads from Nine Inch Nails, and now upcoming albums from Foo Fighters and Nine Inch Nails as well!

 

[bigfish786]

some stuff is overpriced.

Some shops are.

I shop around, use websites and physical stores.

If I deem it too expensive, I don't buy it.

If an album is 30 quid and the cd is a tenner, then I may buy the cd first. If I like the album, I'll pick the record up at some point in the future.

Either way, I'll still listen to it. Some days I really can't be bothered changing sides on a record so I'll put the cd on instead.

 

[jjbomber]

Having said that, you can buy new vinyl for £9.99

.... and a pint for 99p at Weatherspoons.