Musical Energi — Local services in Wilkes-Barre

My first experience in this store will probably be my last. I will admit, the store has a very good assortment of media whether it be vinyl, cassette tapes, and CDs, but everything was way overpriced. I bought an album that I needed for a collection of mine for $20 and to say that I was disappointed when I got home and listened to it is an understatement. I would also like to add that every album I looked at in the store was taped shut in plastic and had “DO NOT OPEN” written on the back. So, how are you supposed to rationalize a purchase there? The record I bought had scratches all over it and skipped from the very beginning. What I paid $20 for in this store, I would have paid $0.50 for at the record store I regularly visit. I know this to be true since I have bought a $0.50 copy of the $20 record. I was hoping to get much better quality for a $19.50 difference, but needless to say the $0.50 copy sounded much better. I’m sure I will be able to find a better copy at a considerably lower price and in better condition if I keep my eyes open at a different record store. If you’re shopping for records in the Wilkes-Barre area, you are better off going to the Gallery of Sound. They have a very good selection of records in very good conditions with fair prices. My last complaint is that the cashier couldn’t manage to give me my change or even correct change. A $20 record with a 6% sales tax in PA comes out to $21.20. I gave the cashier $22 and he looked at me as if I was crazy when I asked for my $0.80 change after he closed the register drawer. Overall, I probably won’t come back to this store. I’m all for supporting small businesses, but I cannot do so when they are asking for $30-50 for records that can be found much cheaper elsewhere. I pity the fools who go out of their way...

So I had 10 Beatles and a few other records to get a general price on from an uncles estate. I had to split it three ways for the cousins and just wanted a general idea of value so I could evenly split. A shorter young man with long black hair put his hands up in the air and said we don't do appraisals, we only buy. His attitude was very poor, he was clearly upset that I dared even show up and ask. I asked him for a reference to another place I might go to get help and in the middle of my sentence he just turned and walked away. I was with my dad and we were nothing but polite. The other worker who was nice saw the interaction and could tell how rude the first guy was and I could tell felt bad. He came over and gave us a few tips for how to look it up on the web.

I fully understand and don't blame the store for not giving appraisals now that I understand how time intensive it is. But he just could have been helpful and explained that, I had no idea how it worked. This guy was arrogant and not helpful. All he had to do was be a human and talk nice. I was in need of some guitar stings but my dad and I were so put off, we just walked out. Bottom line, don't be a jerk, train you employees to be helpful for repeat...

It's a decent store, lots of selection. Lots of cool equipment and gear. However, there are a few caveats. Sealed records are priced MSRP, but some of the more popular used selection was way overpriced. I believe Pink Floyd The Wall was priced something like $80. Maybe $60. I saw The Final Cut posted with $50. Definitely more than I would be willing to pay. I am aware of the rarity of certain pressings, however I could not verify said pressing because all of the inner sleeves had "do not open" written on the inside, so I could not verify the condition posted for said record. A lot of the equipment was also marked as "do not touch." I believe a lot of the Rolling Stones and Beatles records were like this, and maybe a few Led Zep? Lots of overpriced British invasion. My friends found some decently priced Jazz records, blues and rock records. A lot of the cassettes were quite cheap. I'd say if you're in the area it might be worth the stop to see if they have anything obscure you don't have yet in your collection, but if you are looking for used records from huge bands like Floyd, Stones, Zep, Rush, etc. I wouldn't bother. Like I said, new sealed LPs run MSRP, depending on the album, $20-40, very reasonable for...