Best Buy to stop selling CDs in-store this year

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by DorothyV, Feb 2, 2018.

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  1. Malina

    Malina Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    The anthology was going for 400 new on Ebay and the DVD sets were going for 80 recently. I never stock up when I should. I remember standing in a PC Richards thinking I should buy all the Tool Salival DVD sets for 25 bucks each, but instead I bought one for me. That cost me about 10K when they were blowing out at 400 each.
     
    Last edited: Apr 4, 2018
    melstapler likes this.
  2. Dave

    Dave Esoteric Audio Research Specialist™

    Location:
    B.C.
  3. negative1

    negative1 80s retro fan

    Location:
    USA
    Don't care, because I stopped buying cd's there years ago.

    later
    -1
     
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  4. BG99

    BG99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Elmhurst, IL
    Got a hold of BB on Facebook a few months ago, and I was told that they will have more Exclusives (is this true??), and you can get them supposedly via 'ship to store for pickup.' (Sort of like Wal-Mart)

    Has anyone tried to do this??

    Since most Exclusives are not in the print ads anymore, I would check their sites.
     
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  5. Their selection was pretty pathetic anyway.
     
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  6. slop101

    slop101 Guitar Geek

    Location:
    So. Cal.
    Not always - I remember when they first opened, they actually had some import CDs and stuff - nothing to rival Tower Records, but a decent collection of music for a chain store.
     
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  7. I agree but when they began cutting back their selection to primarily bargain bin stuff (new releases aside), it was pretty bad. Early on they had competition (Circuit City, Tower, etc.) and the public was buying a lot of CDs.
     
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  8. BG99

    BG99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Elmhurst, IL
    I remember getting the 5-LP Set back in the day - still have it. Pretty much the best anthology on him.
     
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  9. BG99

    BG99 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Elmhurst, IL
    Also, the 6-LP Chuck Berry Box Set (also have it) is selling for $150-$160. But you can still get the 3-CD version - the cheapest I've seen it recently is around $40-$50.
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  10. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    My first shopping experience at a Best Buy store was a grand opening weekend nearly 30 years ago and there were great deals to be had, especially in their appliances. Although their stores still have a similar yet enjoyable aroma, so much has changed. Those were the days when you didn't have high pressure phone salesmen in the middle of the store, just good old fashioned browsing and shopping.

    Best Buy seems to be alienating CD consumers and I look forward to stopping by when more of their brick and mortar stores start closing and product is being liquidated in the future. They might not have CDs or much in the way of music, but I'm sure there will be a discounted phone charger or something of interest. If Best Buy can send our physical product music to the clouds, hopefully they'll do the same with their brick and mortar stores.
    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
  11. NettleBed

    NettleBed Forum Transient

    Location:
    new york city
    I don't think that CDs en masse, will ever rise in value again. Certain titles will, of course. Heck, certain genres of used CDs still have decent value (lots of jazz and progressive rock, for example). But why would a CD title of which over a million were sold ever go up in value? There are so many of them out there. The music can be had for free online. People aren't even buying them for $1. Titles that were made in the 5,000 - 50,ooo range can bring higher prices because there are much fewer of them.

    As far as Best Buy goes, it's probably been at least a dozen years since they had any kind of decent CD section to speak of, so their getting rid of them now isn't big deal, IMO.
     
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  12. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    they haven't advertised any new CD's in the weekly ad for the last 3 weeks. choosing instead to advertise that all $6.00 CD's are 15% off.
     
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  13. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    CD's will absolutely rise in value, as soon as the kids realize that vinyl sounds terrible when it gets old and beat up.
     
  14. klockwerk

    klockwerk Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ohio USA
    I'm sure, but a significant number of kids never even play their vinyl.
     
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  15. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    why are they buying it?
     
  16. ClassicalCD

    ClassicalCD Make audio great again

    Location:
    Bogotá, Colombia
    CDs will retain and even increase their value for the small but significant minority of listeners who treasure music and aren't content with merely using it but wish to own and secure it. In the past, the main way to listen to music was to purchase it, so casual listeners were forced to do so. Today they stream it, but dedicated listeners remain as well and will never disappear, so they will continue to collect music on CD or vinyl, sustaining those formats on a permanent, although reduced basis.
     
  17. andrewskyDE

    andrewskyDE Island Owner

    Location:
    Europe
    I'm not familiar of Target and Best Buy stores but I read there were special editions of certain CDs containing exclusive bonus tracks only available in these stores.
    Now that probably means there won't be such special editions anymore.
     
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  18. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    target still does them every so often, but best buy stopped this practice quite some time ago.
     
  19. andrewskyDE

    andrewskyDE Island Owner

    Location:
    Europe
    Maybe for re-selling it online with higher prizes.^^
     
  20. NettleBed

    NettleBed Forum Transient

    Location:
    new york city
    Not saying you're wrong, but please see the essence of my post, which was about supply and demand. If several million of a particular album were sold it does't really matter if there is a small group of dedicated listeners who will never disappear. I'm not saying that they will. I'm saying that this group of people is 1) shrinking all the time, and 2) not large enough to affect the price of an item for which by comparison is in great supply.

    Also, don't forget that future CD sales for items already in existence will be impacted by new reissues that sound better than the old ones. The group of "dedicated listeners" that you refer may well prefer to buy a new less-ocmpressed reissue of a favorite album that gets released in the future, than the one sitting in the $1 CD bins.

    No, I don't see the median price of used CDs going up much in the future at all. The medium is pretty much finished as mass consumer item. The fact of the matter is that they were created for the mass market, yet will only be of interest in the future to specialists. Hence, the supply and demand issues I reference.
     
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  21. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Too bad there's no other alternatives other than CD or vinyl.
     
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  22. dkmonroe

    dkmonroe A completely self-taught idiot

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Spoiler: Target and Best Buy cutting back on CD's has nothing to do with vinyl.
     
    Gaslight likes this.
  23. Gaslight

    Gaslight ⎧⚍⎫⚑

    Location:
    Northeast USA
    I wouldn't bet the farm on that one. Some of the reasons for vinyl's resurgence aren't applicable to CD's, ie. the large album art and heavy tactile experience / having to sit down and give yourself time to listen to it and flip it over.

    Also of note is that modern CD's are generally mastered LOUD and I don't necessarily see future middle-agers running to spend hundreds of dollars on that Drake CD they never got in 2018.

    Anything related to CD's downturn has to be related to vinyl. Because reasons.
     
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  24. bldg blok

    bldg blok Forum Resident

    Location:
    Elmira, NY
    Physical media is pretty much a loss leader for brick and mortar stores, basically a PITA to deal with and store. Have you not noticed that when you go in looking for a CD player, they don't immediately show you a dedicated player, but a boom box or bookshelf system with a CD player built-in. Then when you clarify, they'll show a 5 or 6 disc changer that you can add to a stereo. You know why? Because odds are pretty good they don't deal with one. Maybe in the car if they're not proficient dealing with getting music on and from their phone, and what are the odds of that these days?

    I expect this is probably one of the few places online that has an issue with this. And if you think that clearing showroom space of CDs, the racks for storage, the totes for transport, and the employee hours for tending to them will be a primary reason for any retailer's demise, you're kidding yourself.
     
  25. ClassicalCD

    ClassicalCD Make audio great again

    Location:
    Bogotá, Colombia
    The ownership incentive for buying CDs and vinyl will never disappear, no matter what the utilitarians say. People who respect and relish music will not be content to be in a servile relationship to a streaming provider where their favorite album might be deleted at any moment, and will continue to collect the music they love. I am willing to bet CD demand has bottomed out will remain stable and even increase henceforth.
     
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