Robocop Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 The last dedicated music store left in St Lukes mall central Auckland closed yesterday. It looks unlikely any will open in the near future. With The Warehouse over the road and JB HiFi as well it was the last straw for trading under Westfields banner. Rent too high and sales not happening. I guess more will disappear from the Malls. Music retail definitely changing. I guess the price is an issue I just bought Eric Claptons latest new CD for $18 from CD Wow delivered for free in NZ dollars. Had to wait 5 days. Online purchases and downloads all contributing.
kiwizig Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 A sign of the times, sad to see these stores close but impossible for them to compete against the big online stores like Amazon and CD Wow.
s4turn Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 it sucks alright.. I hate going into malls now, hardly any decent shops, just lots of $2 dollar shops and banks everywhere!
Mycenius Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 s4turn;136661 wrote: it sucks alright.. I hate going into malls now, hardly any decent shops, just lots of $2 dollar shops and banks everywhere! Take a Shotgun!
King Size1553552683 Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 Robocop;136653 wrote: The last dedicated music store left in St Lukes mall central Auckland closed yesterday. It looks unlikely any will open in the near future. With The Warehouse over the road and JB HiFi as well it was the last straw for trading under Westfields banner. Rent too high and sales not happening. I guess more will disappear from the Malls. Music retail definitely changing. I guess the price is an issue I just bought Eric Claptons latest new CD for $18 from CD Wow delivered for free in NZ dollars. Had to wait 5 days. Online purchases and downloads all contributing. It is sad and they won't be the last music store to close either. I think we are also in real danger of seeing some specialist hi-fi retailers go the same way; the ones' i've spoken to recently are really hurting, but I think that goes for just about any retail business at the moment. FWIW - you could have also bought the same disc for $1.36 more from JB HiFi and got it the same day. Clapton Chronicles is $4 cheaper at the the Red Shed than CDWOW. The price gap is definitely closing.
got tinnitus Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 Chris, you maybe able to answer this but isn't it obvious that retail CD's are just too expensive? I'm sure Marbecks et al would sell CD's as low as possible just to shift units but it's the wholesaler that drives the ultimate retail price. Even i-tunes is dear. I mean $18 for an album at 256 mp3? Get outta here. It's no wonder file sharing is so popular. Disclaimer; I don't engage in file sharing!
s4turn Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 I have to admit, Id rather buy an album if I like it now, as I like having the CD's and being able to rip them onto the PC in a flac format or wav (uncompressed) especially when JB has CD's for $10.. its not worth downloading, especially if its a good album
King Size1553552683 Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 gt, the downward pressure on CD prices suggests they are too expensive in the current environment and i'm sure the pressure will continue. Having said that, when I first arrived in NZ the retail price for the retailer to make their desired margin was around the $33 to $35 dollar mark; this is assuming the retailer received no discount, (or at least didn't pass it on to the consumer). I recently bought a whole bunch of CD's from Real Groovy and only one of them was at that price point, all the others were around the $25/26 mark, so about 25% cheaper than they were five or six years ago. New release chart CD's are generally available at the likes of The Warehouse and JB around the $20 mark, six years ago these would have been between $26.99 and $29.99. So the price is coming down (although it does look like digital prices are lagging in this regard). Wholesale prices have also dropped over this period. What other consumer products have come down by similar degrees in that time? As an observation, over the same time period the price to tickets for live concerts has increased considerably (I remember being told that the $70 I paid to see The White Stripes in 2003 was on the high side, they would surely be over $100 now?). Knowing the wholesale prices on these items it is frustrating for me to see: A) Some retailers sell some items at below or near cost B) Make up for this by charging excessive amounts on other items. There is no such thing as an RRP and retailers can choose what price they wish to retail them for, which I guess explains why the above mentioned Clapton album is $29.99 at Marbecks and $20.35 at JB HiFi. Of course any price is too expensive when compared to free. Anyway, to answer your question, my local marbecks is also closing its doors shortly and it would be both wrong and unfair to lay the blame solely at the door of the wholesaler. Likewise the closure of the Sounds group; the Real Groovy affair and The Warehouse's recent poor performance (which they blamed almost solely on the decline in music and DVD sales). I think i'll leave it at that for now. BTW - i genuinely appreciate all of you who still buy music, and those who buy music locally even more
glennb99 Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 Some good points King Size. I get frustrated at The Warehouse with not being able to find anything so I've enjoyed JB coming in to Auckland. Between them Real Groovy and Marbecks we have great choice and a great range - at least in the CBD. I lived in Oz for a while and still go there a bit. Mostly we are better off so I agree that retailers must be hurting. I've bought a bit of stuff off CDWow but I like the immediate response and so buy most at Marbecks and JB. Cheers, Glenn
Mycenius Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 glennb99;136700 wrote: Some good points King Size. I get frustrated at The Warehouse with not being able to find anything so I've enjoyed JB coming in to Auckland. I agree - I've totally given up on TWL - regardless of the pricing - just too hard to find anything and the stores are always in such a mess. Their store management, operational practices, and staff standards are just disgraceful... If I'm not shopping online I just go to JB's regardless now, even if TWL is cheaper, as it's just so much more pleasant (as far as a chain store can be)...
Cooksferry Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 King Size;136687 wrote: The Warehouse's recent poor performance (which they blamed almost solely on the decline in music and DVD sales). If my local Warehouse is anything to go by its no wonder their sales are down. The range of cds has decreased significantly over the last few years. They have moved from the easy to browse bins to multi level racks which makes it damn difficult for oldies like me with failing eye sight, dodgy knees etc to even see what is on the lower reaches , and of course those cursed security cases mean its no longer possible to browse booklets etc which often contain enough information to prompt a speclative purchase.
Mycenius Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 Cooksferry;136703 wrote: ...dodgy knees etc... Must be from lugging all those hefty valve amps around buddy?! :eek:
nixon76 Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 :confused: So have all of these been knocked off, or just St Lukes? http://www.marbecks.co.nz/stores/
Ross F Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 Not sure whether this has been on other threads but Borders in Wellington had a 50% off all CDs over the weekend. Their Music section has always been a bit odd - the Classical and Jazz where my attention is focussed had a weird mixture of pot boilers alongside some surprisingly obscure stuff. During the normal day the department was largely deserted with only a bit of interest in the DVD area. On Friday afternoon there were a significant number of people and I noticed today many of shelves were considerably emptier than on Friday and one particular CD whcih would have very limited demand had gone. So for them a half price sale was seemingly good - but does this mean they ditching CDs altogether in favour of DVDs? At half price they'd be almost at wholesale cost, wouldn't they? When you see on-line prices especially from the UK, you think twice about getting your wallet out. But don't get me going on Amazon.com's shiipping prices to NZ. We must really be subsidising the locals. Five bucks before you start and then four bucks for each item. At CD Universe you now pay per disc for boxed sets. At least Amazon haven't caught on to that racket yet.
joe90 Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 the main reason for me not buying cds in nz is the pressings are generlly rubbish, when compared to Eu, USA, UK or Canadian versions of the same disc if i can get the same album but a euro, usa or good pressing then i will do it i have of late found some amazing euro, german and uk pressings as well as usa and canadian pressings at the red shed for under $10 so i will of course support my local store...good quality disc at a great price although when in chch i will buy from radar records as the experience of the staff and the quality of music means i will pay more for the same item i can get from overseas, its not always about price but a great retail experience in blenheim our only independant cd shop closed so the wharehouse has the only cd stock in town, as i said if i can find a good pressing there i will buy otherwise i have to make a 2 hour trip to nelson or 4 hours to chch to buy my music the only issue with the w/house is they will not order in they only have what they have so no wonder cd wow or amazon are drawing me and other music lovers to their on line stores if someone at the red shed had a brain and hired good people who have a passion for music and knew what they were talking about and would invest in getting discs in for me i would buy all my music locally , but they don not feel that this is a viable model, shame really as i like to always buy local if i can the changing face of retail unfortunatly me and others locally are happy to pay a premium to get the good stuff, like all things quality costs more, but we are told that its only price that matters so i guess the store owners have this mindset and it follows that thats how they behave if youtell the people that price is the only thing , then it must be true, or is it???
Cooksferry Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 Ross F;136707 wrote: But don't get me going on Amazon.com's shiipping prices to NZ. We must really be subsidising the locals. Five bucks before you start and then four bucks for each item. At CD Universe you now pay per disc for boxed sets. At least Amazon haven't caught on to that racket yet. I dont mind Amazons freight prices too much. At least you know it's a fixed rate whether its from them or a 3rd party seller, unlike the pricing lottery on e-bay. If you happen to get getting a huge vinyl box set weighing a few pounds their freight cost is still the same. Hopefully that continues. On a side note- the Grateful Dead 5lp box set I purchased recently from Deadnet was only US$12 for shipping, a good deal i thought.
fatmansings Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 radar;136708 wrote: the main reason for me not buying cds in nz is the pressings are generlly rubbish, when compared to Eu, USA, UK or Canadian versions of the same disc if i can get the same album but a euro, usa or good pressing then i will do it i have of late found some amazing euro, german and uk pressings as well as usa and canadian pressings at the red shed for under $10 so i will of course support my local store...good quality disc at a great price Excuse my ignorance but how do you tell if it's a good pressing or not, I assumed cd,s were all the same. I learn something new every day
King Size1553552683 Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 radar;136708 wrote: the main reason for me not buying cds in nz is the pressings are generlly rubbish, when compared to Eu, USA, UK or Canadian versions of the same disc Much of what we release here is sourced from Europe, it is only the bigger volume releases that are manufactured locally. The funny thing is, time and time again our local pressing plant pick up errors on the master that went unnoticed/ignored in Europe. I have already had one instance of that this month. radar;136708 wrote: if someone at the red shed had a brain and hired good people who have a passion for music and knew what they were talking about and would invest in getting discs in for me i would buy all my music locally , but they don not feel that this is a viable model, shame really as i like to always buy local if i can Fair point, although I also understand the Warehouse POV - they can't be all things to all people. radar;136708 wrote: unfortunatly me and others locally are happy to pay a premium to get the good stuff, like all things quality costs more, but we are told that its only price that matters so i guess the store owners have this mindset and it follows that thats how they behave Couldn't agree more. It is unfortunate that many stores try compete in the one area they simply can't win on, but you can also understand why with all the focus that consumers put on price.
I will decide! Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 luxury item's like music always take a back seat when paying the mortgage - school fees etc in a recession - possible another reason why music stores are closing in these tough times
got tinnitus Posted October 26, 2010 Posted October 26, 2010 fisher X 100 A;136740 wrote: luxury item's like music always take a back seat when paying the mortgage - school fees etc in a recession - possible another reason why music stores are closing in these tough times tru dat.
Guest Posted October 27, 2010 Posted October 27, 2010 fatmansings;136717 wrote: Excuse my ignorance but how do you tell if it's a good pressing or not, I assumed cd,s were all the same. I learn something new every day Generally if it's NOT pressed in NZ, Australia, China or some third-world country it will be a "good" one. It's getting hard to sift through the chaff as some canny record companies are no longer stating country of manufacture on case, disc or both. But it's not too hard to discern a disc's origins. Carefully read the fine print on the back cover. If the record company name ends in Pty. Ltd, it's Aussie so avoid. Ditto any prinited web addresses that end in .co.nz or .com.au Occasionally some companies try to pull a swifty, Van Morrison's Greatest Hits has Made in EU or similar on the back but the CD says Made in NZ. A throwback to LP days when some covers were reproduced locally as an exact facsimile, down to the Made in USA etc. Grrrrrrrr
enzedone Posted October 28, 2010 Posted October 28, 2010 radar;136708 wrote: the main reason for me not buying cds in nz is the pressings are generlly rubbish, when compared to Eu, USA, UK or Canadian versions of the same disc if i can get the same album but a euro, usa or good pressing then i will do it i have of late found some amazing euro, german and uk pressings as well as usa and canadian pressings at the red shed for under $10 so i will of course support my local store...good quality disc at a great price although when in chch i will buy from radar records as the experience of the staff and the quality of music means i will pay more for the same item i can get from overseas, its not always about price but a great retail experience in blenheim our only independant cd shop closed so the wharehouse has the only cd stock in town, as i said if i can find a good pressing there i will buy otherwise i have to make a 2 hour trip to nelson or 4 hours to chch to buy my music the only issue with the w/house is they will not order in they only have what they have so no wonder cd wow or amazon are drawing me and other music lovers to their on line stores if someone at the red shed had a brain and hired good people who have a passion for music and knew what they were talking about and would invest in getting discs in for me i would buy all my music locally , but they don not feel that this is a viable model, shame really as i like to always buy local if i can the changing face of retail unfortunatly me and others locally are happy to pay a premium to get the good stuff, like all things quality costs more, but we are told that its only price that matters so i guess the store owners have this mindset and it follows that thats how they behave if youtell the people that price is the only thing , then it must be true, or is it??? Yeah, I too do not buy NZ/Aus CD's. And I don't have any crazy/mega expensive setup. And I can tell the difference. Trying not to buy any CD's at the moment and rather concerntrate on Vinyl.
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