DeanoBKN

Exactly, it's not their fault their prices are high...it's the fact that everyone else (aka big box stores) sell their stuff lower then they should.

As much as I may hate on them in this forum, I really do not want to see this company go under. From someone who has been with the company for 2+ years in the past, I know first hand how hard is it to battle the Best Buy's and Amazon's of the world, and they are trying everything they can to stop the bleeding.

Although their trade-in values are a relic of what they used to be, they are still the only option to sell back your DVDs at a B&M store, at least in my local area.

Moleman1138

I went to them when I didn't know what the word SALE meant. Between them and Suncoast I never paid so much for a movie. That was 01-04

The past 2 years have just been to get Steelbooks and USED disney platinum editions. I will miss the steelbooks though if something happens.

ernestrp

My mall had a Movie FYE and a music FYE. The Movie FYE had a sale and closed. The Music FYE is still open and is about 1/2 cd's and 1/2 Dvd's. None of the people who worked at either store around christmas are around anymore. There has only been one person working at a time in the FYE that remains open.

I would say real soon with the way the economy is going.

hindolio

thats interesting, in that "wtf?' sort of way imho.

in any case, if or when fye goes under, you will read a big "noooooooooooooooo!" from me, because there will be no other used dvd/music stores left.

jjcool

It wasnt really too uncommon, especially after they acquired other stores, due to time remaining on leases and other factors. My local mall had a Suncoast and a Sam Goody for a while.

My Other Self

The mall I used to go to where I grew up at two KB Toys. Now THAT was odd.

yrly

I've been following them very very closely due to their local presence with the superstores here in Buffalo NY and the potential for a bargain in the stock market. Their conference call went surprisingly well in my opinion. In the recession they lost substantially less money than they had the previous year. They got their losses down to $9.4 million if I recall which is a fraction of what they had lost previously. If a company is at serious risk the insiders would be dumping stock, but virtually every insider trade is a buy. With Circuit City out of the picture their only real local competition is rentals, Wal-Mart and Best Buy. FYE's advantage seems to be the depth of their catalog, and the fact that they sell used. Despite the underperforming stores they've shuttered they still operate well over 700 stores, so their buying power isn't exactly small. They seem to be pushing to lure former Circuit City customers by offering backstage passes to former gamers and pushing video games. While they've certainly made mistakes in the past they seem to be heading in the right direction. Call me crazy but if the recession subsides I expect them to turn a profit by the end of the year. Their balance sheet seems more than workable. Their inventory alone is worth more than twice the debt. CDs and DVDs are subject to sales but not subject to depreciation quite like say Easter candy, sure some stuff is but the bulk majority of the stuff isn't. If a DVD is worth $10 now it probably will be worth $10 3 months from now at least in more obscure catalog titles which they seem to have and no one else does. My take is this assuming they can outlast the recession they'll be in a rather decent position, one of the last retailers of their kind, if you want an obscure DVD where else will you be able to obtain it the same night if you want to watch it? Their Superstores here in Buffalo are a sight to behold. The selection is spectacular, you can get things you can't get anywhere else. The stock almost twice the Blu-ray titles Best Buy does. Their CD selection shames anything except what you can get online. Their DVD catalog is nothing short of amazing, especially with the used stuff taken in trade. To top if off their prices are actually very good with the promos they run. I'd guess 2/3s of my Blu-rays and HD DVDs were purchase used at their Superstores, mainly because no one else carried the titles and the prices were unbeatable locally or online.

I don't see their position as that bad, one of the last of what they are, they're doing what seems to be the right things, focusing on ex Circuit City customers, reintroducing video games, trimming their unprofitable stores, expanding Blu-ray selection, etc. The stores always seem to have a steady stream of customers around here, even the smaller ones. To me if I was an executive of this company I'd see this as a land of opportunity, survive the recession, use your strengths and it would be a goldmine. I just hope they don't blow it. To see one of those Superstores go under would be a shame, I'm pretty darn sure no B&M could touch that selection.

Trevor

One local mall had two TWEC chains literally across the hall from each other.

Another had two pretty much on top of each other, 1st and 2nd levels.

3 of those 4 are closed up now.

JckRbbitSlim

On a slightly related note, does anyone still have the "Lifetime Gurantee" stickers plastered on various cds bought at The Wall? I think as long as there is a mall, there will always be an overpriced/ niche music/movies shop.

UAIOE

No overpriced music/movie shop at the mall here.

When Sam Goody left, that was it. I miss it more for the figures than the music.

reverie

Yep! Heck, I've got one predating The Wall.. a sticker from a store called "Wee Three Records" I believe. They were valid at the Wall, so I assume they were bought by them. By "lifetime", I'm guessing now that they meant the lifetime of The Wall.

JCWBobC

I'm proud to say that it's due to myself & my assistant manager, at the time, that FYE carries Anime in their stores and usually has a full section devoted to it.

Back in 1992 I took over the Saturday Matinee in the Garden State Plaza mall in NJ. I was a big fan of anime, called Japanimation back then, but no one except Tower Records carried any and if they did it was only the 30 minute tapes for $9.99. We started bringing in as many anime titles as we could even though a lot of them were in the $40-$50 range. I can't remember the company but they were in a black hard plastic case, instead of the normal slipcover, and had titles like Guy, Black Magic 66, and Vampire Princess.

Noone thought that people would buy tapes at such a high price but they were selling out so fast we couldn't keep any in stock. My disctrict manager started telling other stores to stock them & by the time I left the company every store had an anime section.

Just wanted to share a little history with everyone.
Bob

islandclaws

I don't care what the reasoning or excuse is, sell your product for a comparable price to other media retailers or close up shop. I think that FYE has a better-than-some selection, but I'd never buy anything that wasn't on a major sale simply because I refuse to pay MSRP for anything. I remember I found a long OOP copy of the Halloween 2-disc LE set from Anchor Bay at an FYE years ago and it was $48.99! Still, I made an exception for that and bought it, but that's a ridiculous price for something like that.

DeanoBKN

I don't think it's that FYE's prices are "overpriced", it's that places like Best Buy often "underprice" in order to get traffic in their stores, so that hopefully they remember them when it's time to buy that big screen TV.

hindolio

good point. and lemme add that fye also "underprices" a lil themselves but its more of a hassle:

- bsp costs $25 per year (lately cheaper though) and saves 10% off everything.
- a lot of new releases are discounted to around the same as bestbuy
- mir do work

jjcool

Im surprised more people dont go for this. I ahve done many many rebates with FYE, and never had a problem. Plus I end up getting new releases on the day of release, for under $10.