Evansville a Hotbed For Used Media

I’ve mentioned on this online blog and on the radio numerous times that I love pop culture and entertainment.  I like a good story – no matter what the medium is.  Movies, books, video games, music, it doesn’t matter.  As a collector of all things media, I am constantly on the look out for great deals and rare items.  And believe it or not, Evansville is city for media collectors like me.

Over the past decade I’ve lived in six different cities in 4 different states, and I have found Evansville to be by far the best place to score some great deals on used media.  So it doesn’t matter if you’re looking for a book you loved in high school or your husband’s Valentine’s Day gift, you can probably find it cheap here in the Tri-State, and I’ll tell you where.

Here are 4 used media stores I frequent and what their strengths and weaknesses are:

#1 – Book & Music Exchange: If I’m looking for something out of print or hard to find, I usually start my search here.  I usually visit the store on Washington & Boeke, but only because it’s closest to my home, I actually slightly prefer the store on Diamond Ave.  I have recently learned that there is also one in Henderson, and would put that third on the list, but I still think highly of it.  All of the locations are very big and spacious compared to other stores on this list.  They carry ALL forms of media I could possibly want (including VHS!), and their prices are fair…  Not great, but fair.  Their strengths are books and video games, they have really good games for every system you can think of.  Their catalogue of everything besides music is very organized too, so if you’re looking for something specific, it’s easy to go right to it.  I find their weakness to be music.  Their CDs are usually organized by letter, but inside that letter there’s no organization at all.  You probably won’t find anything too modern here, and the used CD prices are enough to make you not even want to look.  I also find their staff to be the least helpful in town.  They really seem to not care if you buy anything or not, almost bothered if you do, and don’t have the know-how to help you find what you’re looking for.  Still, I like BME best here in town.

#2 – Book Broker: Their name limits them, they do a lot more than books!  Book Broker on Covert Ave. has a great SELECTION.  Like me, they have not turned their back on VHS and I’d be really surprised if you were looking for something on DVD that they didn’t have.  The store has no organization, so expect to spend some time here, but their selection is very deep and if you need something hard to find, I would start here.  Their prices are probably the best in town, their reputation is phenomenal, and their staff is very informed, friendly, and helpful.  Their video game selection is weak, and if you want to find anything older than 1997 you need to be escorted into a secret vault which I don’t like, but for movies specifically Book Broker is a gold mine of good deals.  Highly recommended.

#3 – McVann’s Video Games: All the way out past the movie theater on Green River Road, McVann’s does more than video games, but they do games REALLY well!  While they carry DVDs, don’t go there for movies.  McVann’s has a deep catalogue of games dating back to pre-Nintendo days, and if they don’t have what you want, they’ll offer to order for you and even price it out for you and tell you when to expect it.  Their staff is very qualified and happy to be there.  You can find old and current consoles there as well.  One downfall about McVann’s, in my opinion, is that they use a “price-tiering” system, where games have a colored sticker on them and then you can look at the price each sticker costs.  Sometimes this means you’ll be paying more that you might pay somewhere else, but they do a pretty good job of keeping their tiers up to date.  If video games are the only thing you’re hunting for, you can probably get it all done at McVann’s.

#4 – Joe’s Records: A local favorite, there are numerous Joe’s Records scattered throughout the Tri-State.  While they carry things like movies and video games, their specialty is obviously music.  This is definitely the best store to find out of print music and VINYL, which although I don’t buy vinyl, many people do and their selection for records is the best around.  You can also find cool music accessories like posters and paraphernalia.  Their employees seem to be music-lovers and often happy to converse with customers about bands you may have never even heard of.  A record store through and through…  Just stay away from games and movies in my opinion.

As always, I welcome your thoughts and disagreements on the comments below!