Posted on 05/14/2014 7:26:34 AM PDT by Zhang Fei
On his last day as a company man, Marty Singer braced himself for the final drive to the office. It was Friday morning. The clock was ticking. But he couldnt bear to go.
So he answered another phone call. He tapped out another text. He composed another email. He sat down at his kitchen table and wept.
At 10:30 a.m., he finally picked up his keys. Be strong, he told himself.
Then he walked out his front door, into a world without J&R Music.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
They were also BIG players in the early days of PC clones. In general had great deals on consumer electronics.
Stan’s Record Shop is still cooking in Shreveport...
IMO, Amazon and Best Buy killed them. In the online world, they couldn't match Amazon's prices because they were based in high-cost NYC. In the B&M world, they couldn't match Best Buy's inventory, prices or liberal return policies.
I bought my “boom box” through their catalog as a 15th birthday present way back in the mid-1980s. I always enjoyed reading through the catalog, checking out all the expensive audio gear I couldn’t afford (as a musician, I was always looking for better “sound”).
Some will never know the joys of browsing the cd (and before that record and lp) racks.
I have been buying records, CDs, and instruments from there for almost 30 years - since I was a small child.
I know their electronics department always had a "Crazy Eddie" style reputation, but the music shop was always great.
It will definitely be missed.
While the march of technology certainly had an impact, the store was located one block from Ground Zero. A lot of businesses in the area saw their traffic get crushed for months.
I’m sad. Never visited their physical location, but shopped them online many times.
Courage is fear holding on a minute longer. ~ General George S. Patton
Thanks for posting Zhang...great story on a great store...[sigh]
I wonder these types are doing for work these days. Oh yeah, they are down at the Starbucks. Well, I guess they are safe until Amazon.com figures out a way to deliver lattes and cappuccinos.
They were largely African-American students at nearby Pace University, who wore the J&R uniform shirt and were usually very helpful and respectful.
I bought headphones from them via mail before the age of Amazon. They just couldn’t compete with the internet mega-companies AND pay high New York costs of doing business, too.
Sad news.
I already have a machine in my office that makes single-serve lattes and cappuccinos using packets. Why go to Starbucks?
cool cats who spoke only among themselves
Good riddance!
I tried to buy a camera there several years ago and the manager lied to my face repeatedly even after I told him that I had caught him lying. I walked out and never went back.
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