The original and best (HMV)

Member Name: MichaelR

Product:	HMV
Date:	27/04/01 (1816 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great range of products. Superb service. Only high street chain with listening posts for vinyl

Disadvantages: Expensive sometimes

Ah, HMV. The faithful dog and gramophone...

I love HMV. These guys have been in the business of selling music since it was first recorded really - and consequently they do it better than anyone else.

It's not just music that HMV sells now though. His Masters' Voice has expanded to sell more or less every entertainment product that you could think of. You've got your CD's, your tapes, your vinyl, computer games (and consoles to play them on), videos, posters, T-Shirts, and the list really does go on and on and on.

If HMV doesn't sell it, then you probably don't want it.

HMV has outlets more or less everywhere now and even the small ones are absolutely bursting with entertainment goodness. I'm always amazed at the tardis-like quality of small HMV stores. Neither of my local stores (my year is split between Dundee and Exeter) are exactly huge - but there is a great illusion of space once you get inside and there are seldom problems finding what you want (unless it's a vinyl record, but I'll come to that later).

I think the best way to go about this review is probably to divide up everything that HMV sells. That's a pretty impossible task, but I'll take you through some of HMV's "most wanted" items:

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Compact Discs
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Probably the thing that most of you will be visiting a branch of HMV for.

Chart CD's are nicely organised and easy to get to - typically being stacked against a prominent wall and organised into chart order with big numbers next to them. Many branches stock the tapes next to the CD's in the chart section too.

Charted CD's vary in price but are typically £3-4.

Chart albums/compilations are usually around £14 and are equally nicely organised.

More specialised offerings such as 'proper' dance
compilations (such as my personal faves - the Global Underground and Northern Exposure series') will cost a hefty £16-£17.

Everything is nicely organised amongst the non-chart CD's too though. CD's are organised into categories, such as Dance, Indie, Rock, etc and sometimes subdivided within this. Each section is then organised alphabetically by artist.

There are listening posts with popular CD's loaded into them, and if there is something that you want to 'try before you buy', then you can ask a member of staff if you can have a listen to it, and they will gladly oblige you.

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GAMES
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Games in HMV are expensive - make no mistake. The prices for games in HMV are probably higher than anywhere else and you'd be much better off going to a specialist games store such as Game.

Having said that though, there are often good offers on stuff that HMV can't shift. These tend to be the sort of games that no one really wants (ones that got really bad reviews and are best used as coffee coasters) but there is the occasional good game on sale.

Every now and again there are also good multi-buy deals where you can buy three Playstation games for a knockdown price (about £40-45) but generally both console and PC games are full price in HMV.

There are pods for you to try out some of the latest console games - although you don't seem able to try before you buy on anything in store as you can with the CD's. Staff seem unwilling to open games up for you to play...

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VIDEOS
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Again - expensive when on 'normal' sale.

HMV does have fantastic offers on videos quite frequently though where you can buy two videos of the same series and get the cheapest one for free. A
lot of older titles are also on sale at insanely low prices.

Boxed sets is where HMV really seems to excel though. They seem to sell these at prices much lower than most of their competitors.

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VINYL
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Now, this is why I absolutely LOVE HMV!

It is the only major high street chain that carries an excellent selection of (mainly dance) music on vinyl and provide facilities to listen to it.

Even the smallest branches of HMV have a vinyl section and at least one good solid deck with a pair of headphones for you to listen to your selections.

Vinyl is well organised into different, very specific in some cases (although often not) categories and contains a good mix of catalogue titles, new releases, imports, promotionals, everything.

It's obviously not as great a selection as you would find in an independent record shop - but I have made some great finds in HMV.

The records are generally in good condition. I have picked up the odd badly scratched 12" but that's more down to idiots taking them out and not treating them properly whilst listening. Said idiots also often return records to the wrong section.

So please, if you do pull out vinyl, put it back in the right place and do handle it with care. You can ruin them AFTER you buy them if you really feel the need. It would be a great shame if HMV removed the listening posts for vinyl, so people should treat the unsold records with more respect.

If unsold goods get ruined, then it costs HMV money and they may rethink their policy of allowing free access to their vinyl.

Expect to pay around £6-7 for a good UK single, £9 or more for an import (especially Dutch), £6-8 for a Promo depending on demand.

Popular (i.e charted) records are much cheaper than this and can be bought for as little as £3-4 sometimes.

><br>They can find you anything not in stock, although you generally have to pay more for records that are ordered in for you. The service is really good though. Simply ask for the record you want and a member of staff will tap the details into the HMV computer and order it for you. You'll receive a small card with your order on it, and then they'll either mail you or phone you when the record comes in.

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There are many, many more things that can be bought in HMV, including concert tickets, posters etc, but I've only really commented on the things I have bought myself through HMV.

HMV offers a number of good services apart from the order service that I mentioned too - the best being the "new releases" sheets that are kept next to the tills.

There are lists of upcoming releases on CD, Video, Vinyl etc, etc. Everything in store basically.

HMV also offers a 10% discount to students through their "Student VIP Card". These are free to obtain and come with a number of offers for other high street stores. All you have to do is hand over a valid NUS card with your HMV card to claim your discount.

The current 10% discount program ends on August 31st, but it has been extended many times already...

The card can be used to get 10% off anything except multi-buy offers, concert tickets, and gift vouchers. I think they also prevent you from using it on Games Consoles (because that would lead to a whopping great discount!) and top-up cards for pay-as-you-go mobiles. You'd have to check out the terms and conditions in store though.

HMV also has a great on-line service called "HMV Direct" which can help you to find anything that the shop can't get you. I've used this quite often to find rare vinyl.

The prices on HMV Direct are frequently lower than in the retail stores, but you don't get the same multi-buy
deals as in the HMV high street stores.

Overall, HMV is a great place to shop for all your entertainment needs. It is a tad expensive - but the service and range of products is pretty much unrivalled.

Summary: