Last night I popped into the Union Square Virgin Megastore, one of the last remnants of the once-mighty chain; it’s currently in the process of its final clearance sale, although truth be told, there were few real deals to be had. (CDs, records, and DVDs were marked down 20%; I scored a vinyl copy of Ida Maria’s “Fortress ‘Round My Heart” for $10.) The DJ hired with providing ambiance to the store sounded slightly dejected as he noted that everything around him would be closed by month’s end, and while the place was fairly full of bargain-hunters, there was a sense that the air was being slowly and torturously let out of a big room where people cared enough about music to venture out in public for the purposes of sampling it. More observations–including a gallery!–after the jump. MORE »
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bought for a song
The Great Union Square Virgin Megastore Clearance Sale: Well, It’s Not All That Great
bought for a song
On The Borders: What People Aren’t Buying
As part of book giant Borders’ slashing of its DVD and CD sections, the store here in Athens, Ga., is selling its CD and DVD inventory at 50% off. The standard pre-liquidation price for a CD? $18.99. So at 50% off, most of the remaining inventory was still as much as it would have been at Best Buy, Target, or Wal-Mart. In fact, in most cases the prices were exactly twice what they were at the Big Boxers, particularly in the DVD/Blu-Ray section. I decided to document the dregs of Borders’ music collection to see what people weren’t buying, much like I did last year during the Circuit City fire sale. All of the releases documented after the jump had at least four copies for sale. MORE »
bought for a song
The Long, Slow Death Of The Times Square Virgin Megastore Begins Tomorrow
We’ve known that that the Virgin Megastore in New York City’s Times Square is set to close, but finally the death march has a start date; the everything must go signs get plastered into the windows and the stack of pre-thumbed through books and import CD singles get their first in a series of markdowns tomorrow. MORE »
bought for a song
Will Circuit City’s Liquidation Sales Actually Be A Boon For Artists’ SoundScan Numbers?
A reader who’s been hitting up the Circuit City liquidation sales for some last-minute CD bargains was wondering if his buying of albums in bulk is helping the bands’ SoundScan tallies, what with the “everything must go” nature of the sales, but the actual nuts and bolts of the sales being taken over by a liquidation company. He writes: MORE »
videodrone
Circuit City’s Island Of Misfit CDs: What People Aren’t Buying
The Circuit City here in Athens is closing up shop, and all of the CDs there are 50% off. I picked up the new Q-Tip there, Portishead’s Third, and Sly & the Family Stone’s Greatest Hits (so I could get the three songs not included on last year’s box, bastards). Maura posted about Circuit City closing a couple of days ago and how there were tons of Janet Jackson’s Discipline there. “Tons” is an understatement: There were four rows of copies. I got intrigued by this and decided to catalog what other CDs people weren’t buying at Circuit City, even at 50% off. MORE »
bought for a song
Circuit City’s Going Out Of Business Sale: Everything (Especially Those Janet Jackson Albums) Must Go
Two years ago, this site chronicled the long, slow demise of Tower Records painstakingly, with notes on what albums were burrowed away in the deep-discount bins. Well, in the current era, there are fewer music-specific stores left standing, but it would seem like there’s a similar, if slightly more depressing, story unfolding with the Chapter 11 bankruptcy and substantial closures borne by the electronics chain Circuit City, which, you may remember, sold records now and again. MORE »
bought for a song
Bought For A Song: The Final Days Of Deals Under Tower Records’ Deathbed
Tower Records’ long death march is entering its last week, but that hasn’t stopped readers from sending their favorite deals–along with price info and MP3s–to tips@idolator.com. We got the following note from a tipster who found more than 20 dollar-or-less CDs–including a relic of our time, a Track Marks alum, and an album in one Idolator’s 2006 top ten–at the Rockville, Md., outpost:
A few of these I bought just because Pitchfork told me to (here’s looking at you Boris, [Serena-Maneesh] and Frog Eyes), but I figured that for one dollar a pop, I could risk buying some pretentious bullshit on the off-chance that it wouldn’t suck. Once I rip these CDs, I’ll know whether I chose wisely. Of course, I’m still kicking myself for not picking up the copy of Jamelia’s album that I saw. At any rate, 23 CDs for $23.60 is the best deal around, so all in all it was 2 hours well spent.
The full list of dollar deals–and a couple of MP3s–after the jump. MORE »
bought for a song
Bought For A Song: The Final Days Of Deals Under Tower Records’ Deathbed
Tower Records’ long death march is entering its last week, but that hasn’t stopped readers from sending their favorite deals–along with price info and MP3s–to tips@idolator.com. MORE »
bought for a song
Bought For A Song: Still More Deals Under Tower Records’ Deathbed
Tower Records is closing down, and readers are sending in their favorite deals–along with price info and MP3s–to tips@idolator.com. MORE »
bought for a song
Bought For A Song: Even More Deals From Under Tower Records’ Deathbed
Tower Records is closing down, and readers are sending in their favorite deals–along with price info and MP3s–to tips@idolator.com. MORE »
