HMV closing (again)

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Well Its not a Film thread as such but this is bad news for some

I am one who likes to have a physical copy of a film, I have them all on display

So the only retailers to sell Blu Rays/ DVDs are Tower Records, and Xtravision

Does anyone buy online using Amazon,Play?

Anyway a linky to the source - LINKY


Update July 2016:

They are closing again. See this post.

Rabidlamb

Sad to see jobs go, difficult to survive when your main product can be got so easily for free.
I'm as much to blame as any consumer can be for opting for the free model.

There was a track years ago which played when Mark Greene died in ER, it was a ukelele version of Somewhere Over The Rainbow.
My girlfriend at the time loved it & wanted a copy, HMV charged me €22 for the CD which was filler crap except to this one track.
I swore that day I'd never be rodded like that again.

The staff have my sympathy, hope nobody is left high & dry with vouchers.

RobertFoster

flowrider04 wrote: »

Does anyone buy online using Amazon,Play?

Amazon are good. Play.com, however, will be closing in March.

It'll be sad to see HMV go.

DjFlin

Never shopped in HMV myself, but people losing jobs is always sad.

Amazon is where I go for my blu rays. They're usually good value. Free shipping most of the time too.

Scar Tissue

Rabidlamb wrote: »

Sad to see jobs go, difficult to survive when your main product can be got so easily for free.
I'm as much to blame as any consumer can be for opting for the free model.

The staff have my sympathy, hope nobody is left high & dry with vouchers.

I'd almost blame those daylight robbery prices as much as the digital downloads.

While I don't have a source, someone told me UK staff were told not to accept vouchers from today onwards.

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Scar Tissue wrote: »

I'd almost blame those daylight robbery prices as much as the digital downloads.

While I don't have a source, someone told me UK staff were told not to accept vouchers from today onwards.

I have also heard that too luckily I spent my last voucher on Saturday.

Sad that over 300 jobs could be gone

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DjFlin wrote: »

Never shopped in HMV myself, but people losing jobs is always sad.

Amazon is where I go for my blu rays. They're usually good value. Free shipping most of the time too.

If you buy a few and they are dispatched from Amazon, do they come in one box or multiple boxes?

maximoose

flowrider04 wrote: »

If you buy a few and they are dispatched from Amazon, do they come in one box or multiple boxes?

There's an option at checkout to have everything dispatched together.

DjFlin

flowrider04 wrote: »

If you buy a few and they are dispatched from Amazon, do they come in one box or multiple boxes?

You'll be given the following options when you're at the checkout:

*Group my items into as few shipments as possible
or
*I want my items faster. Ship them as soon as they become available


So yeah, you can have sent in the one box. The second option is generally for if one of the products you're ordering is out of stock, and you want the other ones ASAP. Obviously, the second option will end up costing more, because you'll have to pay for shipping.


When you're buying on Amazon, try to buy from Amazon themselves, not a third party seller. That way, if your order is over £25, you get free Super-Saver Shipping.

Sad Professor

Amazon won't be so good if they get a monopoly. The demise of Play is particularly bad news in this regard since Amazon price matched with them. There's all the smaller online retailers, but I can't see them being able to stand up to Amazon. Of course, there's limits to how much Amazon can increase prices without pushing customers to piracy, but whatever way you look at this is bad news for people who buy films.

Anyway, it's important to point out that going into administration is not the same thing as closing down. Someone may step in and buy HMV or some of it. The place where I work went into administration a couple of years ago as well. It's still here and I still have a job.

Tipsy McSwagger

I only ever use Amazon. It's funny because they have so much competition in the US but hardly any in the UK/ROI. They are actually a decent company and I don't expect a big increase in prices.

Theboinkmaster

I buy all my stuff either on play or hmv so disappointed about this. No way will i ever shop in Tower Records. Dark Knight Rises was €27 on blu there before xmas, while €17 in Tesco.

Lack of options will actually push more people to piracy perhaps?

juan.kerr

Tipsy McSwagger wrote: »

I only ever use Amazon. It's funny because they have so much competition in the US but hardly any in the UK/ROI. They are actually a decent company and I don't expect a big increase in prices.

I use amazon very regularly, prices are competitive, this scaremongering sbout amazon increasing prices is ridiculous. I doubt HMV are even on their radar, they had become that irrelevant.

blue note

Scar Tissue wrote: »

While I don't have a source, someone told me UK staff were told not to accept vouchers from today onwards.

I imagine they have been told not to sell vouchers from today onwards. They'd be lynched if they were still operating and not accepting vouchers.

Sad news for the employees for sure. And also, I liked popping in for a browse. I don't enjoy browsing as much at home on the PC. I also think it takes an element of the randomness out of what you'll stumble upon, which is not a good thing.

Fysh

I'm kind of surprised to see nobody's mentioned Zavvi - they're not as good as Play or Amazon (by a good bit) but they're still a sizeable contender and an alternative option to Amazon once Play close down their retail option.

I feel sorry for anyone with vouchers, that's why I bloody hate the things.

I havent bought anything there in years. I get Blurays from Amazon mostly, Zavvi or Play the odd time when they're cheaper.

Zavvi sometimes have good value, I got some Bluray triple-packs for €8.10 shipped just before xmas, less than €3 per movie. Good ones too, Casino, Carlitos Way, Green Zone etc. At that kind of price i'll buy something even if i've already pirated it.

Paddytheman

blue note wrote: »

I imagine they have been told not to sell vouchers from today onwards. They'd be lynched if they were still operating and not accepting vouchers.

Sad news for the employees for sure. And also, I liked popping in for a browse. I don't enjoy browsing as much at home on the PC. I also think it takes an element of the randomness out of what you'll stumble upon, which is not a good thing.

Not actually accepting vouchers already, how the hell can a company operate if refusing?!?

I'd be walking in selecting my purchases and dropping my voucher on the counter on the way out, ridiculous!

Sad Professor

Paddytheman wrote: »

Not actually accepting vouchers already, how the hell can a company operate if refusing?!?

I'd be walking in selecting my purchases and dropping my voucher on the counter on the way out, ridiculous!

Let us know how that works out for you.

airplane1

flowrider04 wrote: »

Well Its not a Film thread as such but this is bad news for some

I am one who likes to have a physical copy of a film, I have them all on display

So the only retailers to sell Blu Rays/ DVDs are Tower Records, and Xtravision

Does anyone buy online using Amazon,Play?

Anyway a linky to the source - LINKY

It's sad to see hmv go, does anyone know
If anyone will take over.

Mickeroo

blue note wrote: »

I imagine they have been told not to sell vouchers from today onwards. They'd be lynched if they were still operating and not accepting vouchers.

Sad news for the employees for sure. And also, I liked popping in for a browse. I don't enjoy browsing as much at home on the PC. I also think it takes an element of the randomness out of what you'll stumble upon, which is not a good thing.

Yeah surely they have to accept vouchers still? Otherwise they've essentially stole money off people.

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Mickeroo wrote: »

Yeah surely they have to accept vouchers still? Otherwise they've essentially stole money off people.

HMV have confirmed NO Vouchers will be accepted.

http://www.newstalk.ie/HMV-confirms-they-will-not-accept-gift-vouchers

phasers

HMV definitely aren't accepting vouchers, there's a thread in Consumer Issues about it.

Will they still have an online presence like Zavvi I wonder? I feel bad for the staff but their prices just aren't competitive, especially on new release titles.

InchicoreDude

I'm a fan of HMV. I have picked up a lot of good movies for 3.99 in there down through the years. Most of these movies have been films that I did not intend to buy, but just came across while browsing. Something that I would not have bought by shopping online. When I buy things online, it is when I am looking for something specific.

Piracy is so easily obtained now by the average person, that it is going to eventually affect the quality of shows being produced. I am 29 and buy most products. But I see the interns in my workplace at the moment who are around 20-21. And they never buy these things. Downloading all the way for them. Quite simply, if you dont pay for it, how can you pay the actors / writers etc.? They dont come up with money out of thin air for these things. The internet is a great thing, but the piracy on it is the worst part of it. It should be clamped down on more to ensure the survival of places like HMV.

Mickeroo

flowrider04 wrote: »

HMV have confirmed NO Vouchers will be accepted.

http://www.newstalk.ie/HMV-confirms-they-will-not-accept-gift-vouchers

Wow, sounds illegal to me.

maximoose

InchicoreDude wrote: »

It should be clamped down on more to ensure the survival of places like HMV.

Piracy is an issue, but it was never the only one affecting HMV. Sure they had plenty of €1.99 bargains now and then - but they had a LOT of massively overpriced crap, ridiculous prices on TV box sets, inconsistent prices between stores, no online shop for Ireland, and regards to film were hardly ever the cheapest for new releases. If they can't compete on price, they were never gonna survive.

The only thing I'll miss if the stores close is their games dept, seemed to be going a good job there.

krudler

Fcuk! I have a 50 quid one

melekalikimaka

Mickeroo wrote: »

Wow, sounds illegal to me.

not if you read the t&c on the vouchers sadly, perfectly legal

max life

They should have given customers a few days to use up their vouchers when they went into administration

Sad Professor

It doesn't work like that. Secured creditors come first. Gift card holders just have to get in line. However if the vouchers were purchased with credit card get onto your bank and they can do a charge back.

Kinski

Like a lot of people, I enjoy browsing there more than buying there, which is the sad reality faced by high-street retailers of these sorts of products. Lately, whenever I find myself in these stores I inevitably whip out the phone to find out not if the same product is cheaper online, but by how much.

It could yet be bought out and survive a few more years, but in the longer term the likes of HMV are doomed anyhow.

Sad Professor

HMV's prices have improved a lot recently, though. They have an excellent selection of titles in their 5 for €35 deal, which works out far better value in most cases than buying online. Their exchange rate seems pretty good as well, less in many cases than the UK price.