Circuit City Audio CD Frenzy

[VirtualLarry]

Originally posted by: Slickone
And I'm not sure where VirtualLarry was getting new CD's for $6e, but new CD prices have actually fallen over the past 10 years. They used to all be $15-$18e, now they're usually around $12-$14. You can get many brand new CD's for $9.99 for the first week they come out. Some of the lower price has to do with the price fixing lawsuit(s) not too long ago; Also the fact that the technology is getting old. And of course the MP3 craze.

Well, I was talking years ago, but you're incorrect about CD prices falling, they have very clearly risen.
Most used to be in the $6 (bargain-bin) to $12 (new release) range, back then. If you were in the northeast, there was a dept.-store change called "Lechmere's", that used to have decent prices on music. $15-$18 is where most new-releases started selling for during the price-fixing, and the "new, lower prices!" are an attempt to prove that they weren't, or that they cut some deals with record stores or something.

Originally posted by: SlickoneSo while new CD prices have fallen, used CD prices have risen and are even closer to the price of a new CD. I used to go to used CD stores all the time but rarely do anymore.

I agree that used prices have gone up, ridiculously so, both for video-games and music. Go to E.B., they want merely $2 less for the used copy of the same game as compared to new, if it's a recent release. Sometimes you can find the older bargain-bin titles selling for less new than you can used. (I understand why that happens, but it's still a bit funny to see.)

Originally posted by: Slickone
Oh, and LP means a Long Playing (full length) album, though generally people use it to mean a vinyl record. Just as EP means Extended Play. Some mistakenly use the word 'album' to just mean vinyl.

Except that there aren't LP or EP CDs, they're just.. CDs. They only have one play speed and one max length, according to redbook standards. So I did assume that he was talking about vinyl. I grew up in the in-between generation, the era of audio cassettes. Easily duplicated, but they sounded like crap after a few years. I doubt many of them survived. I always considered an 'album' to simply be a collection of songs, although it does sound wierd to be talking about an 'album' when referring to a cassette tape.

I have a feeling that the next formats may well be totally solid-state, both for security (DRM) as well as power-saving (for portable players) and convenience (small size, possibly re-recordable). The only thing preventing it still, is price. CDs cost so little to make, compared to most packaged and tested chips.

 

[0roo0roo]

meh, no rain checks i bet. some of the cc near me have almost no selection.. i mean seriously, 2 shelves?

and i wanted the elf soundtrack...oh well, next time i guess.

 

[DanielNTX]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry
Well, I was talking years ago, but you're incorrect about CD prices falling, they have very clearly risen.
Most used to be in the $6 (bargain-bin) to $12 (new release) range, back then. If you were in the northeast, there was a dept.-store change called "Lechmere's", that used to have decent prices on music. $15-$18 is where most new-releases started selling for during the price-fixing, and the "new, lower prices!" are an attempt to prove that they weren't, or that they cut some deals with record stores or something.

CD prices have dropped in the last two years. Especially after the class action lawsuit where money was given back to the consumer.

CD Lawsuit Could Earn You $20

Suppose someone was handing out $20 bills and no one wanted one? That's what's happening in a massive price-fixing settlement paid for by the recording industry.

The top five U.S. distributors of compact discs and three large music retailers have agreed to pay $44 million in refunds to settle a lawsuit that accused them of cheating consumers by illegally inflating prices. The companies settled to avoid an expensive legal battle. Anyone who bought CDs between 1995 and 2000 is eligible for a refund of up to $20, even if you don't have a receipt to prove it.

"I want free money, but it seems like there would be a catch," said Jayla Fincher of San Jose.

There is one catch. If more than 8.8 million people apply, the per-person share would drop below $5, and the customer refunds would be cancelled, because sending out so many small checks is too expensive. That seems unlikely, however, because only 30,000 people have filed claims in the last three months, leaving most of the money untouched.

Filing for a refund is simple. Just answer a few basic questions at www.musiccdsettlement.com and tell them where to send your check. I made $20 in less than three minutes. Most music buyers call that easy money.

"Twenty bucks?" said Susie Caustrita of San Jose. "It's another CD."

There is a limit of one claim per person."

CD MAP Settlement

 

[Slickone]

Originally posted by: VirtualLarry

Originally posted by: Slickone
Oh, and LP means a Long Playing (full length) album, though generally people use it to mean a vinyl record. Just as EP means Extended Play. Some mistakenly use the word 'album' to just mean vinyl.

Except that there aren't LP or EP CDs, they're just.. CDs. They only have one play speed and one max length, according to redbook standards. So I did assume that he was talking about vinyl. I grew up in the in-between generation, the era of audio cassettes. Easily duplicated, but they sounded like crap after a few years. I doubt many of them survived. I always considered an 'album' to simply be a collection of songs, although it does sound wierd to be talking about an 'album' when referring to a cassette tape.

Sure there are EP CD's. I have several and just got one this week. Four more. Another.
And if they aren't EP's, they're LP's IMO.

I grew up listening to vinyl and 8-track (still have some).

 

[mikeford]

New CDs I get mostly from BMG club, or ebay, or lately allofmp3.com which horror of horrors is going up to 2 cents/ MB.

 

[Slickone]

I like Columbia House better than BMG since BMG puts their name and catalog # all over everything and a big white square where the UPC was. Harder to sell later on too.