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. crookedbill

    crookedbill Forum Resident

    I have both a Best Buy and a Target just above the subway stop three blocks from my house, so I'd frequently peruse the music selection at Best Buy on the walk back from work.

    I bought Queens of the Stone Age's latest album "Villains" (on Matador) there on its release day just six months ago, and Ghost's latest album "Meliora" (on Loma Vista) on its release day two years prior to that. Best Buy do/did carry some decent stuff I wanted, and they're literally the last place I could buy a new album on release day.

    Amazon has "guaranteed release day delivery" but in the last year all those have been delayed by days for some reason. Any problem with Friday delivery causes a delay until Monday or Tuesday - which drives me insane. That didn't used to happen when release day was Tuesday.
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  2. Jose Jones

    Jose Jones Outstanding Forum Member

    Location:
    Detroit, Michigan
    They announced this on the local news this morning, accompanied by the usual rolled-eyes and chuckles from the amused news staff ("I can't even remember the last time I bought one of those..........those....things!!!"), as if the mere memory of those dreadful days was too much for the poor girl. One of the men recalled how he couldn't open the sealed up new cds. You wonder how any of these idiots could make it through college....
     
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  3. bartels76

    bartels76 Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    CT
    I have not encountered this problem living in CT. Just got a new release a couple weeks ago on Friday.
     
    crookedbill likes this.
  4. crookedbill

    crookedbill Forum Resident

    Good. No such luck here. Not sure why that's been the case. For example, I was excited for months for the last Bowie box-set and pre-ordered with "guaranteed release day delivery". The shipment didn't arrive on time so I called Amazon and they shipped another copy out guaranteed overnight - for free. That shipment arrived Saturday morning.

    Was pretty happy about Amazon's quick help on that, but when I can actually get what I want fully dictates where (or from whom) I will buy it. For example, if I suspect a shipment is unlikely to arrive on time from Amazon, I'll buy the same product at a brick and mortar store like Best Buy (which is just a couple blocks away from my house). Easier and quicker. I guess that won't be an option anymore.

    Btw, the original Bowie box-set that was delayed, ended up arriving the following week. Two box-sets for the price of one. Now, still waiting on my "Heroes" replacement disc (with corrected audio) from Warner. The agony.
     
  5. bartels76

    bartels76 Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    CT
    I haven't had any faith in Best Buy carrying anything new I want on release day for a couple years now. Been burned a few times by them. I wish I could support the closest mom and pop record store more but it's too far to do that on a regular basis.

    I recently bought the Whitesnake 30th from Best Buy via mail order as it was the cheapest price. I didn't get it until Saturday. No more BB CD's for me.
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  6. Deaf_in_ LA_1974

    Deaf_in_ LA_1974 Forum Resident

    Does anybody remember 'new Coke' maybe this is a shake out to see if they can pull any more buyers
    in from Amazon. seems like its getting lots of publicity which always makes me skeptical.

    From my business experience, I think if they had made a firm decision to pull cds, they would do it, or have a weekend blowout sale and then their gone, not give months and months of notice.
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  7. Baba Oh Really

    Baba Oh Really Certified "Forum Favorite"

    Location:
    mid west, USA
    It's not that CD's are unpopular, per se', it's that they can't compete with Amazon.com who has a stranglehold on CD sales....especially with the development of "autorip", the gratification is more instant than it ever has been before in history.
     
  8. Matthew

    Matthew Senior Member

    My CD purchases have been pretty limited in recent years. I'll typically get them in one of two ways:

    1) From a local independent shop
    2) Direct from the artist's website

    I suspect the 2nd choice is going to become more prevalent, and it's kinda fun to be honest. Often there are special editions, or swag included with the deal in some sort of bundle.

    Only occasionally do I grab something from the "Amazons" of the world.
     
    Matthew Tate likes this.
  9. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    Got that for $20. Also got several copies of the Running Down a Dream BestBuy exclusive 3DVD + CD set for $3/each.
     
  10. kwadguy

    kwadguy Senior Member

    Location:
    Cambridge, MA
    You're an old timer if you can remember buying the "Simon and Garfunkel" album (Tom and Jerry sides) on Sears Records before it was recalled.

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Feb 6, 2018
  11. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    Definitely. I'll take a CD any day over a news anchor. Many of the news anchors are glorified actors and bad ones at that. Not sure if the teleprompter is partly to blame, but their jokes are often worse than their timing and they make a pathetic attempt at appealing to the lowest common denominator.
     
  12. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    Although I have no plans of buying anything from Best Buy in the future, hopefully their brick and mortar stores will stay open so I can continue to drop in and use their public restrooms while shopping at other stores the shopping center.
     
  13. jimac51

    jimac51 A mythical beast.

    Location:
    Allentown,pa.
    Opposite is the probability. July is a set-up time for retail. Clear out the dead. With Father's Day & Graduation behind them,Back-To-School takes center stage while stores get ready for Christmas. The Consumer Electronic Show was four weeks ago. Buyers come back not only with new ideas but how to change current store floor plans. CDs are in their rear-view mirror. They won't necessarily blow out anything,save for non-returnable titles("Special Product" stuff-the usual $5 bin stuff in other stores) and even there they may consolidate what they own and have a salvage place(locally,we have a fast expanding chain ,Ollie's Bargain Outlet) bid and buy it all. Put a fork in it. CDs at Best Buy will be harder to find than staples at Staples
     
  14. jimac51

    jimac51 A mythical beast.

    Location:
    Allentown,pa.
    Uh,any format dropping near 20 % from year-to year,is unpopular. Per se'.
     
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  15. Deaf_in_ LA_1974

    Deaf_in_ LA_1974 Forum Resident

    Does your local store still sell CDs?

    I'm in Louisiana your in the South too, I find the cd holdouts are more plentiful in the south where rural areas can make internet spotty .
    I find it bizarre many music stores REFUSE to sell new CDs, when the local music sales is clearly 10-1 in favor of CDs/vinyl(when they have plenty of space.
    Imagine if Burger King stopped selling cheese, because of a fad diet
     
    snowman872 likes this.
  16. Deaf_in_ LA_1974

    Deaf_in_ LA_1974 Forum Resident

    It's the number of news articles on this that is a red flag for me. I have been in sales floor management and when you drop something, you do it quietly, all the hype should be towards the new product.
     
    melstapler likes this.
  17. slop101

    slop101 Guitar Geek

    Location:
    So. Cal.
    I think the crux of the issue is that, while people still love music as much as ever, it has become so devalued as a comodity, for many reasons, partly because there's SO MUCH of it out there these days, to the point of people not even having the time for FREE music they might like, that there's no way they're going to bother with a physical thing they have to store.

    It just doesn't have the worth, and the perceived value it once did. That's probably why vinyl has been catching on, because, even with all it's faults, it brings back some of that "perceived value" back into the music that's been missing with $1 CDs, streaming and unlimited free downloads.
     
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  18. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    You know, there was a time, even quite recently, when you could buy $1 LPs. You probably still can, although they are not desirable titles.
     
    Dave likes this.
  19. Charles Buxton

    Charles Buxton Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Antonio, Texas
    The Let It Be and Abbey Road Remasters at Target because I was able to receive a $5 Target gift card along with the purchase. I used it to buy 2 cartons of orange juice. What a score!
     
  20. cdash99

    cdash99 Senior Member

    Location:
    Mass
    Only if you're a member of their Rewards program.
     
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  21. crookedbill

    crookedbill Forum Resident

    I'd imagine CD sales stats only account for new sales, not aftermarket sales. Is anybody tracking aftermarket sales? Maybe the aftermarket for CDs is generally healthy but is not being factored into any meaningful stats about the overall commercial popularity of CDs. It'd be like analyzing the health of the housing and real estate market by the sale of newly constructed homes only.

    Young people tend to enjoy new music via newer formats (ie. streaming) so naturally there's just no market for "new music" available on "new" CDs. Therefore, the overall impression is that CDs are unpopular. Just a theory.
     
  22. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    A lot of CDs go unsold on ebay. Sometimes, it is the price, but often, it is because the CD is unappealing. Back catalog CDs that sold in their millions are hard to shift unless they are rare and appealing versions.
     
  23. jimac51

    jimac51 A mythical beast.

    Location:
    Allentown,pa.
    There is no way to track used stuff. Any number is pure speculation. Just like no figures on used furniture. As for the "health" of the used market,check out the many stories in those "used CDs will increase in value" threads where some folk thinking that there is value in their collection(spoiler alert: 99% of it isn't) refuse to believe stories of how the market has dropped. Meanwhile,around here,three bucks seem to the the top price I spend for just about anything I want,and a dollar is closer to the norm. Which is still a bit more that the newer formats lots of the youngins' like:free.
     
  24. Deaf_in_ LA_1974

    Deaf_in_ LA_1974 Forum Resident

    anybody wants to see the daily ebay cd sales of over a thousand dollars for single cds or box sets do this search.

    cd in Music CDs | eBay
     
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  25. Some Barnes & Nobles still have fairly large music selections from a wide range of genres. Certainly more than Best Buy or Target have carried in several years.
     
    Galley and Matthew Tate like this.
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