Used CD Rant

So I was at a local FYE today and spotted 3 unbrickwalled original CD's that I've been longing for. Problem is one CD's booklet was torn, the other's back insert was crinkled like it had been in the dryer, the last one had black streaks like someone wiped their butt on it. Now I've been buying used CD's at this FYE for awhile now and they all have had some kind of cosmetic damage either a really scratched CD or something from the above. It hit me today though for some reason that these CD's are twice the amount of a brand spanking new remaster CD. Now I wouldn't mind paying that for a well taken care of CD, but these are far from mint so I confronted the manager about it and he gives me the whole "all these are first edition Cd's and are collecters items and that's why they are priced like that". I just realized that these idiot managers probably come on this site and find out which CD's to jack up the price to because they know idiots like me will pay for them. But not anymore I'm tired of buying cosmetically inferior CD's that have playing ticks and scratches on them. This website is both a blessing and a curse. If you FYE managers are looking at this tread I promise you I will never buy a CD from your crappy store ever again. I am just going to get the music with nefarious means from now on if you know what I mean. I would love to have the physical CD in my hands, but you and your kind have ruined customer confidence with your greed.

 

You assume FYE managers can read.

 

Well I doubt they come here to check pricing and rarities. Those are usually pretty well priced here and in good condition. I suspect they've been checking out EBay or Amazon here...

 

FYE is good for that! They wanted a fortune for a used Lee Michaels-Lee Michaels CD.

 

Everyone does now, the Michaels One Way CD's are high priced everywhere I look. So FYE is no different.

 

I have a brand-new CD rant here if anyone wants it.

 

I don't think the actual store managers always have much to do with the pricing of the used CDs. I'm pretty sure they just scan the bar codes into a computer, and this gives them a price range to use. That said, however, I very much agree with the OP. I sometimes see items priced so ridiculously that I can't help but laugh out loud as I'm browsing ($75 for the gold "Foreigner 4", anyone?). On the flip side, I occasionally get really good deals at the FYE near me, especially when they are running "specials" such as 40% off, or just a simple "buy 2, get 1". I try not to spend more than $5.00 per item (average) when possible, and most of the time I'm able to do this.

 

"Your prices are more than I'm willing to pay, ergo I'm entitled to steal the music" = FYE is the one being greedy and nefarious?

 

I suspect they are far from being idiots, and that they know exactly how much people will pay for what they sell from experience.
If you don't like their prices, don't buy it. Someone else will. I doubt the manager cares who as long as they have green rectangle pictures of dead presidents to hand him.

 

If this were actually happening (used CD stores checking SHTV and pricing desired CD editions accordingly), I would be absolutely astounded. Firstly, we're a bunch of irredeemable geeks, and in terms of a target market in any given city, we're negligible. Secondly, even us geeks find it fairly difficult to wade through the morass and figure out what really are the SHTV-consensus best pressings/masterings. I'd think it'd be doubly difficult for a shop manager.

So, yeah, I'm not sure just why just about all used CD's (maybe limited audiophile releases aside) are dirt cheap here, but some seem to be pricier where you are. But I'm pretty sure it's not because shop managers are spending tons of time reading this forum and basing their pricing on the tastes of the cognescenti here.

 

maybe now, but when they first offered it they were double the going price...I guess everyone else caught up.

 

yes, they go by the pricing set up at corporate...that's what they told me. No Mom & Pop here...

 

If any FYE "managers" are reading this thread, please allow me to apologize for the insults. Some of us understand exactly how corporate pricing works, especially on used items like CDs in your stores- you buy low, sell high, the price is set at the corporate level and managers have nothing to do with it. Some of us understand that just having a FYE that sells used CDs is freaking great, as many areas have no stores left that sell any CDs or albums. Many of us understand that confronting a local level manager doesn't do anything but make them have a bad day, which may or may not effect the next customer in line- we get that they have no power to do anything outside of corporate policy. Most of us get that being selfish and insisting on getting things our way is no way to behave ever. And I think all of us, with maybe one exception, understands that making a threat to "get the music with nefarious means" is probably the funniest thing that has been posted in quite a while here.

 

Or we could be FYE managers posing as forum members so we could be holier than thou you know. Like when we see Rant we have to take it seriously you know. Like a forum member can't blow off steam you know. Like people can't have bad days you know. Like he would steal a CD and risk everything he has you know.

 

Oh, I see we've calmed down after our temper tantrum...lol

 

Here is one thing I have noticed. Every used CD from Japan regardless of what title it is, what version it is or when it was released has a jacked up price as if the sole determiner of value was that it was made in Japan. It leaves me scratching my head as to how these CDs have any more value than a standard US issue. Oh look a CD from Japan with an OBI. I think I will pay $28.99 for a used copy no matter that it was originally released two months ago with the same mastering that has been used for the past 10 years. What a deal!!

 

Like darn. Darn us for being angry and starting a rant and blowing off steam. Who do we think we are? Who doesn't like buying a cruddy looking item and paying twice the amount. Not on this forum no sireebob. Hey, but at least it's the original, first pressing, right? It'll be our little secret though mister manager.

 

If you're talking about a store like FYE, I (strongly) suspect the used price is based solely on a corporate-wide pricing algorithm that uses a scanned bar code. As long as the item condition meets some minimum threshold for "sellability" (I think I made that term up), the price is invariant to condition. I'm not sure what they do with the very early pressings without bar codes, but I very rarely see those at places like FYE anyway.

 

I stand corrected, the tantrum continues.

 

"buybacks" another chain with absolutely ridiculously priced rare used CD's actually uses amazon to price their product.

they scan the barcode and if the Cd that pops up is high priced they price accordingly.

i would assume FYE does the same thing, maybe not amazon, but a database of some other kind.

there are no FYE or "buybacks" managers that know anything about target's, first issues, steve hoffmans, etc,

one thing they do know for sure, if the CD is gold it is always worth at least $50, and they will give you $1.00 in trade for it.

 

You must be a real genius, huh? LOL

 

You seem nice.

 

You bet I am.

 

I suspect this is true. A few months ago I was browsing a local FYE and saw a couple Beatles in Mono CD sets behind the counter. One was the regular US edition, which they refuse to mark down even though everyone else has and another one was clearly opened and sloppily re-shrinkwrapped. I asked to see both and asked them why an open copy was $400+. The lady at the counter scanned the bar code and said the computer says it's an import so the price is X. It also looked like it was missing pieces. I don't think anyone working at the store has any say over pricing.

As for their used CDs, some earlier editions they will jack up prices on and others they won't. It's kind of a mystery to me how their "algorithm" works. Also, used CDs there can be a real mixed bag. Some are brought into the store as trade ins and others get shipped in from "corporate". They shrinkwrap them or put them in resealeable bags with the orange sticker. After getting a bad CD one time and having to drive back to the store, I make the clerk at the counter open every single used CD before I buy anything. The clerks get annoyed but I just tell them I'm not buying anything unless I can check it out first.

Lastly, I don't suspect FYE will be around much longer. The store that's left near me is mostly dead, and they seem to be more concerned with employees scanning and pulling inventory than any kind of customer service. Myself and two other customers had to wait for our stuff to be rung up for several minutes while someone from "corporate" was berating a clerk that probably makes minimum wage. Stuff like that is the death knell for a retail chain. Look at how many stores Barnes and Noble has shut down over the past couple years, and what happened to Borders before that. I predict FYE will be gone in a year or two.

 

In Detroit, I believe it.

No, I wouldn't.