WHY AMOEBA ROCKS – A Massive CD Selection
Yahoo!, my employer, sent me to Santa Monica last week. While there, my brother Gabe and I went to Amoeba Music in Hollywood where we bumped into the comedian/actor Emo Philips upon entering the enormous store. Emo was friendly and good natured. My brother just saw him perform recently so that’s what most of the brief chat revolved around. I also added that I loved a picture on his web site where
Emo comes face to face with an emu. Anyway, if you’re not familiar with Amoeba this top 10 list tries to describe the company’s winning formula and how it successfully differentiates itself from so many bland retailers that are falling like dominoes. (Just last week, Sam Goody’s parent company filed for bankruptcy.) Perhaps Amoeba’s greatest draw is its unrivaled selection. According to the company it has more than one million new and used CDs in stock! It also often has multiple copies of even somewhat obscure CDs.
Vinyl, DVDs, Posters and More!
Throw in 200,000 slabs of vinyl, and thousands of DVDs, VHS tapes, laser releases and collectibles and you truly have a “no-brainer” destination. Amoeba also has a store in San Francisco and one in Berkeley.
Great Prices
I picked up a new copies of Introducing the Sonics by The Sonics for $14, Let Go by Nada Surf for $11, Head by The Monkees for $9 and A&M Years, a used double album on one disk, by The Dickies for $10. Including tax, the tab was less than $50. Tres fair.
Sales Incentives
Amoeba rewards its customers for buying more. Imagine that! If you buy three clearance CDs you get a fourth for free. It’s surprising that more struggling retailers don’t do the same.
Live Music in Stores
Spoon, the Violent Femmes, Antony and the Johnsons and Aimee Mann have all played at Amoeba in the past year. Why doesn’t every self-respecting retailer do this? Even if they can’t lure big names they could nurture if not create something resembling a local scene.
Connects with its Customers
At the store I picked up a free copy of a relatively thick booklet aptly titled Amoeba Music Presents Music We Like that’s stuffed with staff recommendations of 2005’s best releases. Not only is it a great way for Amoeba to drum up new business it also helps cement its relationship with its customers. After reading the often spirited and colorful album plugs, the otherwise anonymous store clerks no longer seemed so faceless. The booklet even contains a huge crossword puzzle (unfortunately for one busy bee without a byline!) that boasts 140 music-related questions.
Has a Knowledgeable Staff
We’ve all dealt with bubble-gum chewing, bubble-popping bubble-heads inside plastic bubbles who haven’t the foggiest notion about what they’re selling. Not here.
Helps Those in Need
In the aforementioned booklet Amoeba sadly writes that Dax Pierson, a Berkeley buyer for the company and keyboardist for the band Subtle, was partially paralyzed after an auto accident. Amoeba asks for donations to help pay for medical equipment. Go to
www.daxpierson.com to learn more.
Gives Back to the Community
Unlike many businesses that couldn’t give a rat’s arse about the communities they serve, Amoeba often recommends, and features, unsigned musicians both in its stores and on its web site. In fact, Amoeba sponsors CD compilations of unsigned local artists, sometimes including its own employees.
It Has Soul
When you add it all up a strong impression emerges—this place is too good not to support. Full disclosure: I have nothing to disclose. I simply think the stores are fantastic. Please come to NYC!
