Shop vs Internet

[WOStantonCS100]

Don't get me wrong I love going to local record shops and much prefer it to shopping on the internet. Give me a record shop anyday of the week.

But I have to pay bills that are going up (it seems) every month.

If I had enough money to spare then sure i'd choose record shops but I dont have a choice.

Its cheap or not at all. Thats my point.

Record shops local(ish) to me. The sad tale...

Clockhouse records - closed
Memory lane records - closed
DJ records - closed
101 records - closed
Beanos - closed
Cloaks - closed
Showells - closed

Agreed. "Crate digging and flicking" is a wonderful thing I've enjoyed for most of my life and hope to continue; but, a roof overhead, food on the table and clothes on the back are always the first priority.

I understand it's the same objective for the shop owner. Still, there are two trains of thought there. One is to keep jacking up the prices when business slumps off and the other is to actually lower prices to retain customers and stave off disaster. One can't get blood from a stone. Everyone should get paid what they are worth and what their products are worth. But, very few people are getting that these days because the economy, largely, is not supporting that. Things are very, very different than they were four years ago. Two choices: don't adjust to the times and possible lose the business or take a little bit of a hit now to have a good chance of lasting longer than the down turn. Here at the computer shop we are taking the hit (continuing with free diagnostics and service fees lower than any of our competitors). Take home pay has suffered tremendously; however, we (for now) are still in business where as 3 other shops have shuttered their windows in the past 4 months. Sometimes you just have to suck eggs for a while. On the other hand, I can't afford to build an amp under a certain price point. So, I don't and I and the potential client both lose. I'm not bitter about that. The fact is, in this day and age, having a functional computer is much more of a must than having a custom built tube amp. That's no one's fault; just the way it is. Disposable income for many folks is non-existent or extremely limited; including money for unnecessarily over-priced vinyl records.

[MartinT]

I was in Southampton today and went looking for FM Music. Closed down
In fact, Bargate mall is virtually dead, with most shops closed. It looks like West Quay took what was left (but has no music shops).

Thankfully I decided to nip into HMV on the high street to see what they had. Well, what a difference from the Basingstoke branch! They have the entire basement dedicated to music (no 'movies' or computer shite) and they have a vinyl section, too! The manager was chatty and said he was trying his best to build up a good vinyl selection, including new releases - good man! I came away with a few discs of various sorts so the visit was well worthwhile.

[Marco]

Hey mate, at least you tried, and got a result out of it from an unexpected source! All power to the dude in HMV - respect!

Looking forward to our visit to The Sound Machine in Reading (link for the benefit of others):

http://www.thesoundmachine.uk.com/location.htm

It's amazing you didn't know about that place, being only 25 mins away!

Marco.

[MartinT]

Marco - I didn't know about it when I lived in Earley or Sonning - about 10 mins away!

[Marco]

Lol! That's the way the cookie crumbles...

Marco.

[Thing Fish]

Speaking of HMV. The Oxford street branch in London has a fair vinyl section. Its quite expensive buy hey ho at least they have one...