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HMV-Current Sale

 
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Mark Mayhew



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PostPosted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:32 pm    Post subject: HMV-Current Sale Reply with quote

Visited my local HMV store today.

They had a massive sale on-I bought some cheap CD's-£5 a throw etc.

Picked up a copy Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road CD- had forgotten what a great CD this is-have just finished playing it and intend to put it on my iPod.

Could not help notice that just down the road from the HMV store that the local Virgin store was also advertising a major sale on starting today.

Is it any coincidence that both stores are having sales at the same time.

Cetrtainly the time to pick up some bargains me thinks.
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firewirefred
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:45 pm    Post subject: Re: HMV-Current Sale Reply with quote

Mark Mayhew wrote:
Is it any coincidence that both stores are having sales at the same time.


Given that they're both in the EMI (or whatever it is now) group it's probably no coincidence.
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Mark Mayhew



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PostPosted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Firewirefred-Had not realised this.

Better pop in my local Tesco superstore also and see what thet have on special offer re their CD's etc.
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gfloyd



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PostPosted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

all stores have summer sales. At least we still get the sale, despite summer being absent.
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Mark Mayhew



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PostPosted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Anyone picked up any good bargains in these "summer" sales then.

Always interested in people's recommendations etc.
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Ian Robinson
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:20 pm    Post subject: Re: HMV-Current Sale Reply with quote

firewirefred wrote:
Mark Mayhew wrote:
Is it any coincidence that both stores are having sales at the same time.


Given that they're both in the EMI (or whatever it is now) group it's probably no coincidence.

Are they really? I know Virgin Records is part of EMI but I though the "Megastores" were no longer connected. Branson's whole schtick is building a brand and selling it off - but not necessarily to the same people.
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firewirefred
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 9:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dunno to be honest. Usually when several retail groups all jump in with similar price cuts it's because the major distributors have cut their wholesale prices across the board to clear out the warehouses or the individual chains are price-matching (or price-beating). The fact that the sales of music on CD are dropping dramatically year-on-year can't be coincidence either. It's reckoned that the stores that are dedicated to CD music sales are going to be winding down their operations soon anyhow - and inside the industry, analysts reckon that the music industry has one, perhaps two, years of CD-dominated music sales at best.

So it's no wonder they're all clearing out as fast as they can.
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Ian Robinson
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 11:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Oh, indeed. With MVC, Tower, Music Zone and Fopp all going bust lately there can't be much life left for the dedicated mega-retailers. The problem with Virgin and HMV is they've always been vastly more expensive anyway and the internet has caught them out.
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 9:11 am    Post subject: Re: HMV-Current Sale Reply with quote

Ian Robinson wrote:
firewirefred wrote:
Mark Mayhew wrote:
Is it any coincidence that both stores are having sales at the same time.


Given that they're both in the EMI (or whatever it is now) group it's probably no coincidence.

Are they really? I know Virgin Records is part of EMI but I though the "Megastores" were no longer connected. Branson's whole schtick is building a brand and selling it off - but not necessarily to the same people.


HMV (the retailer) used to be owned by EMI but was demerged some years ago. It has subsequently bought the Dillons and Waterstones and Ottakars book chains, but since neither books nor CDs/DVDs are growth markets and the likes of Tesco and Asda are creaming off the bestsellers, it's struggling and the venture capital vultures are circling ready to make a takeover bid.

Richard Branson sold Virgin Records to EMI some years ago (so long ago that the clause prohibiting him setting up a new label has expired - V2 is his). The shops, megastores, whatever, are still his (W H Smith owned 50% for a while, but sold it back to him) but they don't make any money and they appear to be running stocks down. Periodically there are press reports that suppliers aren't getting paid promptly and the Telegraph reports today that yesterday a rumour circulated the City that he was ready to hand them over to HMV.

Fopp hasn't gone yet http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/06/24/cnfopp124.xml but their problems appear to be a classic case of overtrading (expanding too quickly) and by buying businesses that were struggling themselves - they bought Music Zone from administrators, which bought MVC from administrators. MVC was sold off by Woolworths to its managers, because it was losing money.

Earlier this month there were newspaper articles about the number of independent retailers also closing down. Selectadisc in Nottingham is still going, though they've shut down their secondhand business and no longer sell CD singles. The fact that the interior of the place, and the threadbare floorcovering, hasn't changed in the last 25 years might indicate that it's not exactly a gold mine either.

So the future of these outlets, for those of us old-fashioned enough to want them still, looks bleak. It's the supermarkets, online and downloads, chaps.

As for the "sales" which have just started, I didn't see much in them that hasn't been heavily discounted already. Much of Elton John's back catalogue has been available for £5 or £6 for a long time, ditto Bob Dylan's (even his latest is in the "2 for £10" section).
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Ian Robinson
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 9:26 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Cheers for that, Ron. Now I remember, Our Price was a joint venture between Virgin and WHSmiths too. And that went down the tubes long ago...

I do have fond memories of MVC - always a good selection, and the 'membership card' scheme was good value. Everyone I knew went to MVC first for stuff. And then they changed the cards (with the phrase "improved to offer MORE value") and of course it was rubbish, everyone stopped going, and it quickly collapsed.

There's a new Waterstones and HMV just opened up the road from my work in Wigan, but despite many a good wander round I rarely find anything I want to buy.
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 9:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

The change of name to MORE for the MVC loyalty card came when Woolies got rid. Unfortunately it also coincided with the time that Marks & Spencer changed the name of their charge/credit cards to "&MORE".

When they were there I used to use MVC quite a lot - they would have some back catalogue and specialist stuff that HMV or Virgin didn't.

The trouble with the HMVs (for those of us who already have a sizeable music collection) is that they're not big enough. Only the Oxford Street store (the one between Oxford Circus and Tottenham Court Road tubes) has an extensive range. The main Birmingham one is a pale shadow of its former self, in terms of stock range. In Nottingham there are two (one in each of the main shopping centres) but they're the same size selling exactly the same range. Could do with one big one, but it will never happen. Probably just as well - I'm more likely to impulse buy in a big store (rather than online, at Amazon, for instance), so I might actually be saving myself money!
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iwarburton



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PostPosted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 3:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

HMV in Northumberland St, Newcastle, meets most of my needs--but I must admit that I buy much of my stuff online now.

Ian.
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 4:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fopp was deserted of customers today - they're only taking cash transactions. It's a sure sign and an ill wind, and all that Crying or Very sad
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Shaky Fan



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PostPosted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 8:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

HMV is vastly overpriced!

I did get a couple of things in their sale as I happened to be in last Thursday for the Ash in-store performance and signing in the Belfast branch. Got Marillion's Clutching At Straws CD for £6, Boomtown Rats - Best of CD for £3 and a Bill Bailey 3 disc DVD set for £12. Also spotted Thin Lizzy's Live & Dangerous album at £3.
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Ian Robinson
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 9:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shaky Fan wrote:
Boomtown Rats - Best of CD for £3.

You know you can get blank CDs for 20p down at Tesco's? Wink
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iwarburton



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PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 11:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Fopp was deserted of customers today
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Does John Marsh work part-time for them?

Ian.
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2007 1:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

HMV's full year results and trading update were out this morning - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6247962.stm

There's the inevitable talk of cost-cutting, simplifying the supply chain (reducing stock), closing some marginal stores and "making the stores more engaging... dynamic and interesting". Is that a euphamism for "even brighter and louder"? And as for selling MP3 players and DAB radios - well, Marks & Spencer have already quietly shelved that idea as a dead duck in the current competitve market.
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 3:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's as good as the football chairman's vote of confidence

"I can categorically state we are not going into administration" - Gordon Montgomery, chairman of Fopp, last week.

And today:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6252300.stm
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Mark Mayhew



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PostPosted: Sat Jul 07, 2007 9:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I popped into HMV in Oxford Street last Friday.

Could not help but notice that more and more of their stock is included in their current sale-certainly lots of bargains to be had.
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Cherskiy



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PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 2:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Can't remember the last time I bought something from a HMV shop - I do occasionally buy CDs from their website if they're cheaper than Amazon Marketplace as I get Quidco discount as well.
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Mark Mayhew



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PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 3:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm old fashioned.

I like to buy the CD of the artist I'm interested in-whilst I do download certain songs for my iPod I find it more rewarding to enjoy a "customer experience" of going into a music store and coming out with a bargain.
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Cherskiy



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PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 5:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I too like to buy the CD of the artist I'm interested in - I currently buy around four or five CDs a week, but I'm not daft enough to purchase them at full price or even a couple of quid off full price from a shop. Amazon Marketplace means I can buy three or sometimes four for about a tenner every few months, or bite the bullet and pay the same for two most months.

I don't download anything - although I have been known to check artists' websites to listen to various tracks in advance of buying albums.
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Lord Evan Elpuss



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PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 7:35 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mark Mayhew wrote:
I'm old fashioned.

I like to buy the CD of the artist I'm interested in-whilst I do download certain songs for my iPod I find it more rewarding to enjoy a "customer experience" of going into a music store and coming out with a bargain.

I'm with you all the way on that one, I too would much rather buy a CD. I'm just not interested in downloading. Having something of the technophobe about me, I'm not at all sure how to do it anyway.

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Ian Robinson
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 12, 2007 8:36 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

There was an interesting article in The Guardian last friday (inspired by the demise of Fopp and the decline of HMV) that made a very good point about the value of a CD.

It said that if you buy an iPod for £229 and fill it with tracks downloaded from the iTunes Store it will cost you about £15,000 but it will essentially still only be worth £229. At least with a CD you have something tangible that can be flogged on eBay (and is still the best option for playing anywhere, on any machine, with better sound, and credits if you want them). It's also cheaper to buy a CD album in sales than to legally download.

Full article here: http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/story/0,,2119630,00.html
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nod



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PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 3:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Lord Evan Elpuss wrote:
I'm with you all the way on that one, I too would much rather buy a CD. I'm just not interested in downloading. Having something of the technophobe about me, I'm not at all sure how to do it anyway.


With downloading and how do you archive it ?. CD's seem to last longer than quoted times for CD-R's / DVD-Rs etc.

If you have downloaded a track (and paid for it) and then your ipod (or other mp3 player) fails or your PC crashes can you then get the track again for free ?.
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Shaky Fan



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PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2007 8:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

As far as I know most sites give you the chance to "re-download" tracks for a limited number of times. When you register with them you have a username and password (similar to this board) and you have to sign in to see your personal details and a list of tracks you have bought. You can then click on individual tracks to download them again. I always find it best to wait until I have enough new tracks to fill a CD and then burn them onto a blank disc.
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Mark Mayhew



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PostPosted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 3:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I see today that HMV have bought the old Fopp Stores and taken over their brand-this is an interesting development.
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 8:10 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

They have bought the name and just six profitable stores, which will reopen in time (the stock has only just been cleared out of the Nottingham one) and trade independently of HMV. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article2173726.ece

So long as the sourcing and pricing remains more or less the same, should be a good 'un. We already have two HMVs and don't need a third.
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Cherskiy



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PostPosted: Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't HMV have permanent sales on? It always seems that way to me, every time I pass the one in Northumberland Street in Newcastle or the one in the Metrocentre, they're trying to offload stuff a little bit cheaper.

I still buy 95% from Amazon Marketplace, the rest from Play.com or the HMV website.
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Fri Aug 03, 2007 8:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

All the chains (there's really only HMV and Virgin left) always have some promotion or other going on, be it a Sale or "2 for £10" or "3 fr £20" etc. and, by and large, it's cheap back-catalogue or newer stuff that hasn't sold as well as expected that the record companies want to off-load.

Robbie Williams, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Pink and Norah Jones have been noticed in the latter category.

Fopp had a simpler structure and you didn't have to buy two, three or four to qualify for the "sale" price. They did also stock some full-price titles that the majors didn't (eg Juliet Turner, Jellyfish (other than Best of), Rosie Thomas, Roddy Woomble) and appeared to be particularly good for jazz and modern r&b (not my liking, but still...)
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 5:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

HMV's Summer Sale has finished and, although they're still running their "2 for £10" promotion (they do seem to have an awful lot of Scissor Sisters and Kasabian albums on those shelves) it did strike me that a lot of back-catalogue, particularly the Greatest Hits/Essential etc packages, have been jacked up in price to ludicrous levels.

My mother-in-law dropped the hint that she might like some Tony Bennett or Barbra Streisand for birthday or Christmas. Their Essential... double albums, which had been in the sale for a tenner have suddenly shot up to £18 Evil or Very Mad

I should co-co! No wonder they're losing out to the online market.
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Mark Mayhew



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PostPosted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi RockitRon-I was back in the big HMV store in Oxford Stret earlier this week.

They seem to be extending the floor space for bargain CD's-4 for £20 etc.

Bought a load-don't tell the wife-she won't be happy as she thinks our CD shelves are already too full.

On a serious point it certainly struck me "still plenty of bargains to be had".

I bought for example (I think) all of The Led Zep album collection in one go-how does the expression go "currently happy as pig in s.it" following that purchase. Should keep me quiet for a while.
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Sun Sep 02, 2007 10:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mark Mayhew wrote:
Bought a load-don't tell the wife-she won't be happy as she thinks our CD shelves are already too full.


Laughing I have the same problem!

Nottingham's Fopp re-opened quietly last weekend, had a look yesterday and topped up some of my Scottish section (Capercaillie and Shooglenifty) which were going cheap-ish.

They've retained the simple pricing policy and most of the stock, and allowed the staff free reign with their appearance and dress.
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 18, 2007 3:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sign of the times?

HMV (or at least the Victoria Centre Nottm one) have today relegated their CDs to the back of the store.
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Ian Robinson
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 12:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

RockitRon wrote:
Sign of the times?

HMV (or at least the Victoria Centre Nottm one) have today relegated their CDs to the back of the store.

All of them? In Wigan there's a few at the front but 90% are at the back (with games and DVDs up front).
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nod



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PostPosted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 1:21 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Our nearest store, Woolworths, have relegated CDs to the 'can't be bothered to stock anything not in the Top 30' or '£3.79' sections Crying or Very sad
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RockitRon



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PostPosted: Thu Oct 25, 2007 7:55 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ian Robinson wrote:
RockitRon wrote:
Sign of the times?

HMV (or at least the Victoria Centre Nottm one) have today relegated their CDs to the back of the store.

All of them? In Wigan there's a few at the front but 90% are at the back (with games and DVDs up front).


They have relented, a bit. Top 30 and a line of the "2 for £10" range (which doesn't appear to have changed much over the last 6 months) left at the front.

CD singles chopped back to just Top 30 and half a dozen new releases. The funeral for this format cannot be far distant now.
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Ian Robinson
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 20, 2007 5:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

HMV Wigan have a special offer on: buy an iPod Nano and get £15 of vouchers for the iTunes Music Store!

Which, to me, is a bit like the traditional local pub selling pint glasses and free vouchers for beer at the shiny new Wetherspoons down the road...
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