Virgin Records Closing at the Bloc-The OC
 

Another one bites the dust.....have not stopped in yet-figure not worthwile until they at 60% off or so...if they ever get to that point.

Ontario Mills will also be closing...was only 30% this past weekend, i'm hoping there's still some finds when it gets down to 50 and 60% too.

That store at the Block is the first and only Virgin Megastore I hae ever been to.

As much as I love the Internet I also despise the effect it is having on other things that I love. I used to love going to a Virgin Megastore that was 2 hours away that is now gone. Record shops that were closer also vanished. For whatever the reason, i can't stand to look at CDs at Best Buy (although I do enjoy looking at DVDs there). I'm sorry to see another Megastore close.

Are there any Virgin Megastores remaining open in the SoCal area?

Hollywood and Highland store (next to the Mann's Chinese Theatre) will stay open.

as I recall last time a Virgin store was closed they never even got to 50% off they just moved inventory to other stores or something...please post finds/good deals..

Thanks! How's the parking there?

Do people from California really refer to it as "The OC", and "SoCal"? Wow, would that be annoying.

Usually horrible, but you can get validated parking in the Hollywood and Highland complex. Unfortunately for me, every time i'm in that parking lot i get SO lost and takes a while to find my car.

I'm sometimes lucky and find street parking, but if you're anywhere near a Red Line stop, I would just take that instead. I jump on it if I'm shopping at Amoeba or checking out a show at the Fonda and have time to kill.

LOL...yeah, people i meet when i'm out will say "I'm in the OC", "I'm in the Val", "I'm from the IE", or "I'm from the Westside". I've seen people abbreviate SoCal, but I'm never actually heard anyone say it.

I don't see that being any different than going to San Francisco and people saying "I'm from the East Bay" or going to New York and being in an "outer" borough and people say "I'm from the city" when they are referring to Manhattan.

Really? I never really had the inkling to browse much except when CDs FIRST came out - only because you never knew what favorite may have hit the format. Beyond that, I know exactly what I want when I walk into a media B&M, grab it and go - because often the reason I'm getting it there is because it is on sale. I certainly never drove 2 hours to browse in an overpriced Virgin Megastore or Tower Records.

If the internet is causing business economics to evolve, then it is a good thing. Mostly retail practices have been sadly stagnant for decades. Time to shake things up, baby!

Yeah, really. I also loved going up to Toronto and hitting Sam's, HMV and Tower. And not everything is overpriced. I"ve found some great deals, especially on imports. Mostly, I simply enjoyed the browsing and finding a treasured item or two. Did I do other things on these trips? Yes. But hitting the record stores was always the best part.

Everything is now 50-70% off. I was in store when 40% off and lots left...not sure about now...anyone been in there? I don't plan to go in there until atleast 60% off.

Don't call it that.

If you dont want to spend $10 for a nearby private parking area.. then the answer is brutal

must add a quick comment :

I was in the store during my LA/Vegas trip (Aussie here) during late Sep 08. The Virgin Megastore at the Block was DEPRESSING !!

It's the 2nd time I'd been there over a period of a few years (last trip in Jan 2005) and little had changed. It was OVERPRICED and barely a person in the store. I even asked the staff there 'how was business ??' only to get a 'like what ??' answer back (hell it wasn't the accent - it was just that they had no idea).

Sadly - trips to the US to get CDs / CD singles / DVDs etc is turning bleaker. Tower.. gone.... Perfect Beat in West Hollywood .. gone.... and now this Virgin store. Gee... losing these stores takes the 'fun' out of shopping overseas trips - and reasons to go to those shops / centres :(

I hear ya. Pretty much the only place to buy a CD is the internet. I used to love going to Toronto to see some shows, dinner at the CN, visit the zoo and shop for CDs on Younge Street. Tower vanished years ago and it was a heartbreak when Sam the Record Man closed. (Sam makes an appearance with their neon record sign in the Hulk film.)
All the music stores are closing with Best Buy being the last stand and, for whatever the reason, I don't enjoy looking at CDs at BB.

I loved Tower...was fun store to browse...I was in Colombia and found one in a Shopping mall so think they are still around in other Countries.
Has anyone been to the Ontario Mills location lately also?

No, they really don't.

I live in the Inland Empire and I've never heard anyone say "IE." I work in Orange County and haven't heard anyone abbreviate it as "OC."

Anyway, back on topic, I may check out the Ontario Virgin when I get back from vacation. I'm sure it's been stripped clean of anything decent, but I only live a couple of miles away from it.

I went to the Virgin at the Block twice this weekend and did not find anything worth picking up. DVDs and Blurays were 50%, but the selection was pretty weak. I thought it was amusing to see so many titles picked out already back when it was at 40% off, knowing almost everything could be purchased for same price or lower on Amazon.

Having lived in Irvine all my life, no one said THE OC until the show. Before it was just "I live in Orange County." Never heard anyone said Val or IE.

Grapevine Mills mall location in Grapevine, Texas is closing too. I've been going everyday for about two weeks now and the discount is currently at 50%. I expect it to hit 60% by Thursday, at the latest.