Record Store: ‘buy it, burn it, return it’ Policy

Wednesday, Sep. 21 2005 | Author: Dave

A weird concept with some pretty big legal issues, a record shop chain in New Jersey now has a policy where you can buy a cd bring it home, rip it and bring it back and get 70% of its value back in your picket. Meaning if you don’t want the CD, you can get it for 30%.

Times have been hard at Scotti’s Record Shops in northern New Jersey. For a while customers weren’t coming in like they used to — too busy, most likely, downloading music onto their MP3 players. The teenagers who did show up would often whisper to each other, “Don’t buy that. I can burn it for you.”

But co-owners and brothers Jeff and Gary Scotti didn’t want to simply ignore the changes digital music was bringing to their business. “We don’t want to “butt heads with iPod owners,” as Jeff Scotti puts it. “We have to embrace them.”

So, earlier this year, the four-store chain announced its new “Buy It, Burn It, Return It” policy. Customers can buy a used or new CD, take it home, listen and, if they want, burn a copy to a computer. Within 10 days, they can return the CD for 70% store credit.

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7 Responses for "Record Store: ‘buy it, burn it, return it’ Policy"

cliche

September 21st, 2005 at 11:19 am
1

From TFA:
“But right now, times are tough. Sales fell to $4.5 million last year from $4.7 million in 2003.”

Boo-hoo. A whopping 4% drop! Times are really tough for these two millionares.
Jason Marble

September 21st, 2005 at 1:21 pm
2

Is that exactly legal?
David

September 21st, 2005 at 3:10 pm
3

How does sales revenue equate to net worth of the owners?

As far as this being legal or not, I can certainly see some legal ramifications coming to light in the next few days.

I’m trying to think of the argument the store may have. But I can’t find any solid legal ground for them. If they weren’t as up front with the concept, it might work. They could not be “responsible” for what the consumer does with the product and could legally institute a 30% “restocking” fee of some sort. But when you say, “Buy it. Burn it. Return it.” (Emphasis mine) that’s when you see legal problems for encouraging the theft of intellectual property.

I would imagine it’s the initial sale of the CD that artists and record companies make money on. So if a retailer orders 10 CDs and “rents” them out–which is basically what is happening–and never orders more CDs, then the record companies and artists would view this as theft and I would imagine a judge would rule similarly. FWIW.
Griffith

September 21st, 2005 at 4:56 pm
4

cliche: you don’t understand. Don’t you know that those rappers and record label owners are in fact starving? Where do you think the Redcross funding money goes to?
cliche

September 21st, 2005 at 5:31 pm
5

“How does sales revenue equate to net worth of the owners?”

Oh, I donno. Common sense maybe? It’s been their family business for 50 years with multi-million dollar annual cash flow, and there’s still doubts about them being millionares? I don’t see how they can’t be millionares unless their profit margin is ridiculously–and I mean really ridiculously–small. Even then, stores with cash flow like that is probably worth millions despite the actual profit. So yeah, I’m willing to bet they’re millionares.
alvino

September 22nd, 2005 at 1:23 pm
6

i heard abot this theres talk about that one organization that deals with music pirates or something like that, instead of aboloshing three policy there willing to work with, with a few changes of course
Serious Career

February 12th, 2006 at 6:59 am
7

what changes?