Friday, August 15, 2008

Music: Easy Street Records Hates Vinyl Buyers

This week I went to Easy Street Records in Seattle in hopes of getting that new Pierre de Reeder album. They did not have it.

I was able to pick up the latest releases from My Morning Jacket and Son Ambulance on vinyl. While checking out I asked if I needed a different frequent buyer card than my CD one. My CD stamp card says, "Buy 15 CDs, GET ONE FREE!" My cashier informed me that there isn't a vinyl frequent buyer card and that she couldn't stamp my CD one for this purchase.

I was dumbfounded, "But, this is more expensive than the CD version....and I would think you have a more difficult time in 2008 moving vinyl, so you should want to encourage it," and finally I just asked, "But, why?"

She said to me, "I have no idea."

3 comments:

aperock said...

I feel your pain. I myself have never been able to get a stamp for a vinyl purchase either. Also, Easy Street usually does not give you a stamp for CD's that are on sale. I once however got Easy Street to give me a huge discount on a pricy vinyl instead of a free CD when my card was filled -- as the cashier told me I could apply $18.99 off any one item. I picked up a Boards of Canada - Music Has the Right to Children 3xLP that was priced at around $25, for $6 or so, which definitely made my day. I feel like I may have tried that another time, and it did not work… If Easy Street did allow vinyl purchases, I think I would have filled up 3 times as many cards by now. Do you have a KEXP donor card? I think you still can get a 10% discount (maybe it is 5% now) on all non-sale purchases, including vinyl… plus they still give you the stamp on CD’s! I wonder how they treat DVD’s, as I am sure they are more profitable than CD’s .

aperock said...

Easy Street hate DVD buyers too. I asked this last weekend. I must have talked to the same person, becasue she said she didn't agree with the rules... It seemed like they must get asked the question a lot.

the_dutch said...

I guess it depends which clerk you get. They're usually indifferent when I buy and will stamp away.

PROTIP: do not show your KEXP card when redeeming your free CD. They will take 10% off that too so you will only get $17.09 off one item.