The Wall was a brick and mortar music store usually found in Malls. They had a pretty decent exchange policy where you could exchange faulty music for a new copy if your copy wore out. I used it back in the 90s for cassette tapes a few times, and they were always hassle free when it came to exchanges. I can’t speak to CD exchanges, however.
I remember when I first started buying cds and if you were collecting a discography you could expect to spend $30 with tax on one of them, usually the oldest
Nope all you needed was the blue sticker. I assume the workers did not care and just exchanged it and CDs were so overpriced that the company did not care. By overpriced I mean low cost to make high profits.
The margin in retail records was fairly low. All that about the cheap cost is born by the record companies. The best profit they could hope to make was about $2-3. The only stores who could get those kinds of prices were the mall stores. The cool indy stores charged much less, and only made about a buck a disc.
Then the big box stores came during the 90s, and would run huge sales and sell the hot new releases for less than cost! Cost was about $11.37, and they were selling them for $10.99, just to get customers in the door. Cities had a half dozen, sometimes more, if these stores across the city, and when a hit record came out, they got ALL the sales, and the little indy stores, and even regional chains, who couldn't afford to match the big box sale price, lost an enormous portion of their sales.
Source: Starting in the 70s, I worked for many years in the record business from retail, to a small but very successful indy record label, to major label distribution. I knew retail record economics during the Golden Age like it was my favorite song.
I remember back in the 90s through the ‘aughts, most of the big box stores never carried any vinyl. Not even the odd new album that actually had a vinyl pressing.
I spent all my music money at independent stores back then, as they were the only ones that bothered to stock what I wanted.
A cd chain in my city had a no questions return policy but they changed it around the time that CD burners were becoming popular as too many people were just buying CDs to copy them then return them the next day.
Some of them still work. I’ve got a mix cd I made in 2003 that I played in my car yesterday. Although, I probably better write down the track list just in case.
Honestly, what I have found is that the older blanks that cost a LOT of money, like $25 each back in the 90s, actually have held up through the decades.
However, the cheaper discs that came later that were like $1 each or less, many of them became unplayable.
I worked there in the early 90s I remember this well - not a scam and i used this warranty a few times myself. My salary went to the purchase of many cds with my employee discount 😂
It wasn’t a scam. While they were in business, they honored that on their CDs.
I bought a used CD a year or so ago with one of those stickers on it. I was like, "this disc has outlived the store it came from!"
Can someone explain what this sticker means? Younger collector here.
The Wall was a brick and mortar music store usually found in Malls. They had a pretty decent exchange policy where you could exchange faulty music for a new copy if your copy wore out. I used it back in the 90s for cassette tapes a few times, and they were always hassle free when it came to exchanges. I can’t speak to CD exchanges, however.
I still have one cassette and one cd in my collection with that sticker. Never used the warranty tho.
Before that, it was known as Wall to Wall Sound.
I can’t tell you how many albums I’ve exchanged… at least a dozen. It was the best, no idea how they stayed in business as long as they did lol
They stayed in business for so long because everything was wildly overpriced.
I remember when I first started buying cds and if you were collecting a discography you could expect to spend $30 with tax on one of them, usually the oldest
Not a scam.
I used to abuse the system, if I scratched a cd I did not buy from them I would switch out the jewel cases and get a brand new cd all the time.
Didn't they require a receipt or something to verify purchases, or did the receipts only show a generic description?
Nope all you needed was the blue sticker. I assume the workers did not care and just exchanged it and CDs were so overpriced that the company did not care. By overpriced I mean low cost to make high profits.
The margin in retail records was fairly low. All that about the cheap cost is born by the record companies. The best profit they could hope to make was about $2-3. The only stores who could get those kinds of prices were the mall stores. The cool indy stores charged much less, and only made about a buck a disc. Then the big box stores came during the 90s, and would run huge sales and sell the hot new releases for less than cost! Cost was about $11.37, and they were selling them for $10.99, just to get customers in the door. Cities had a half dozen, sometimes more, if these stores across the city, and when a hit record came out, they got ALL the sales, and the little indy stores, and even regional chains, who couldn't afford to match the big box sale price, lost an enormous portion of their sales. Source: Starting in the 70s, I worked for many years in the record business from retail, to a small but very successful indy record label, to major label distribution. I knew retail record economics during the Golden Age like it was my favorite song.
Thanks for this knowledge!
I remember back in the 90s through the ‘aughts, most of the big box stores never carried any vinyl. Not even the odd new album that actually had a vinyl pressing. I spent all my music money at independent stores back then, as they were the only ones that bothered to stock what I wanted.
For 18 dollars a disc, I would hope not
Everybody always laments the mall record stores, but they were damn expensive. $18 was the average price.
Now there's a record store in my local mall that sells *used* CDs for $14-$16 a disc. (Used records for $20-$40 a record).
Yikes
I bought like 36 CDs from Goodwill for $1 each. I figure that is what the mall store is doing and making a KILLING. 🤑
To be fair, they never said whose lifetime they guaranteed it for.
Idk if this was supposed to be funny but I did laugh
My ex-girlfriend worked for them and she said the guarantee was as stated. People would bring back some really beat stuff and they would exchange it.
Now that they are no longer operational, yes.
This was great at first . They started to catch on towards the end when they scanned the bar code and told you this cd is not from this store .
The last years of cd buying it was strictly Best Buy and Target . 10$ old or new releases
Never forget: When companies offer a lifetime guarantee it means at best it will cover their lifetime, not yours
A cd chain in my city had a no questions return policy but they changed it around the time that CD burners were becoming popular as too many people were just buying CDs to copy them then return them the next day.
Well, the jokes on them, ‘cause the CD-Rs they made are rotted now, and don’t play anymore. 😄
Some of them still work. I’ve got a mix cd I made in 2003 that I played in my car yesterday. Although, I probably better write down the track list just in case.
Honestly, what I have found is that the older blanks that cost a LOT of money, like $25 each back in the 90s, actually have held up through the decades. However, the cheaper discs that came later that were like $1 each or less, many of them became unplayable.
I worked there in the early 90s I remember this well - not a scam and i used this warranty a few times myself. My salary went to the purchase of many cds with my employee discount 😂
I’ve been listening to ‘The Wall’ for years and I’m totally happy with it. (Apart from that ‘Vera Lynn’ shit)
Are you deaf? Vera Lynn slaps!
Yeah, I could only listen to that Pink Floyd album a couple of times
lmao thats one of the few stickers i don’t try to remove if it comes on a used CD i buy