Half Price Books

6/3/2012

Sharon Anderson Wright, CEO
Half Price Books, Records, Magazines Inc.
5803 East Northwest Highway
Dallas, TX 75231

Dear Ms. Wright,

I have been a long-time customer of Half Price Books, buying and selling books and music for years. The chain has been a source of good, affordable enjoyment for me, my friends and my family. However, I am sad to say that recently the chain has taken a noticeable turn for the worse.

It used to be that budget used CDs would sell for $1.00. Now, it is more common to see them at $3.00, even though the value of CDs is actually decreasing. The regular-priced used discs are now showing up more frequently with prices in the $8.99-$10.99 range, a price I would expect to see for a brand new version of the disc at Best Buy. CD stores that sold discs new at these prices have closed everywhere. I mostly frequent the Bethel Park, PA location but have found similar situations at Robinson and McKnight Road.

Additionally, the offers for trade-in CDs are becoming more and more insulting. Yesterday at the Bethel Park location, I traded in about 22 CDs for $10.00. I paid more than that for each one of them. I couldn’t stomach the idea of purchasing anything after that low blow. In the future, I will donate my CDs to Good Will. I feel like too much of a sucker trading in at HPB anymore.

I thought the chain had this sort of indie, hipster feel but now it seems to operate like Bain Capital. I saw a used Blu-Ray copy of Farscape: The Complete Series the other day for $99.99. I checked after I got home and it sells for $81.99 brand new on Amazon.com. I guess it’s a good thing I can’t afford a Blu-Ray player because I can’t afford the used discs at HPB either.

Ms. Wright, I like your chain. I mean, I have liked it in the past, but I don’t like being a sucker, and that’s what I feel like shopping at Half Price Books.

Sincerely,