Moral Dilemma: Electric Fetus vs. Best Buy (at least it’s not Amazon)
For the last several weeks I have been awaiting the release of Miles Davis’ MILES AT THE FILLMORE – Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3. Pre-release on Amazon it was $38 – a reasonable price for a 4 disc set. I decided to hold out for my local independent record store (Electric Fetus) knowing it would be a little more, but I wanted to support the local guy.
Yesterday (release Tuesday) I called up the Fetus and asked if it was in stock and how much. Yes it was in stock – $49. Ouch – no new release discount of 10% to 20% like there commonly is on new releases. No 10% discount (the Fetus has a standing three title discount of 10%) even though it was 4 discs at full MSRP.
So I took a peek at Amazon – they had lowered their price to $32.99 (nice two bucks shy of free shipping). One third less – really? I peeked at BestBuy.com (no way was it going to in one of their stores – their in-store battery selection is better than their in-store music inventory) and it was also $32.99, but with free shipping (cheaper than Amazon even paying sales tax).
Well I thought about it a good six hours – do I pay full price and support my local independent store or do I support my local Fortune 500 mega retailer? That was not the real question: did I want instant gratification for a 33% premium? I was tempted, but I held out and ordered it from BestBuy.com – sorry Electric Fetus. A few months ago I did the same thing with the Bob Dylan box via Amazon – only in that case the 33% premium amounted to $100 – a little easier to justify.
I feel a little bit guilty, I can afford the 33% premium. I want the Fetus to be in business for a long time to come. Funny thing is I ordered the Miles release while listening to it on Spotify (instant gratification – however intangible gratification – at $10 a month). Consumerism is a bitch man (and check out the WordAd – ironic?).
Axl's Catch Groove 
I always feel a little guilty after spending too much at the fetus. Once everything is flac’d and I’ve poured through the credits I remind myself how amazing it is that it’s still there and I’m even able to browse the bins. Even the one in Duluth. That usually allows my sense of self satisfaction to overcome and I forget about it.
For what it’s worth though, if I still lived up there if be constantly feeling like it was an expensive habit that I really need to kick someday.
My thought would be if you shop there enough to be a known face to actually say something to the store manager about. “I really want to support you all I can, but 33% is 33%…”
Amen brother