Fye

Staying alive in the digital age.
FYE has definitely been through some changes over the years. Gone is the massive «mega store» with overflowing inventory crammed into every nook and cranny. Nope. This is the «new» FYE that has managed to survive the epic downturn of both the music industry and the overall economy of the past decade. Hell, we even had three stores under what is now the FYE umbrella in this same mall all at one time! Over-​saturation, perhaps? Probably. Wow, how times have changed.
Despite its many name changes over the years and various incarnations in this mall– i.e. Tape World, Record Town, Music Land, and finally FYE– this store has managed to persevere. Granted, it’s about half the size it once was during its heyday, with the entire back half of the store closed off and lights dimmed. It was a huge store and now to see it dwindled so much in size is kind of sad. It’s strange to see the entire back half of the store shuttered, blocked by music and media ads, where the cash registers and additional merchandise were once housed. The back half of FYE is out out of commission (for now), but what remains of the store isn’t half bad.
Capitalizing on the recent resurgence in popularity of vinyl records, FYE seems to be making a bit of a comeback. Gone are the throngs of CD’s from the shelves. They have a small collection, but there is much more in the way of «old school» vinyl offerings, including both new and used releases, than those pesky compact discs that epitomized the 90’s. Yep, it’s old school vinyl, new record players, DVD box sets of every series to grace our TV screens in the last 30 years, The Walking Dead collectibles, calendars, posters, and accessories for every digital streaming device on the planet these days. I’m not sure how they did it, but there is a lot to see crammed into a small space in the front half of the store.
Paring down and focusing on the revival of vinyl, mixed with digital/​tech accessories and devices, with pop culture collectibles thrown in for good measure, seems to have been the right direction to take in order to stay alive in today’s cut-​throat market. I’m just glad FYE is still around. It brings back memories of high school. Ah, memories.
Personally, I love the addition of both new and used vinyl records. Clearing out the glut of CD’s was a good thing. Overall, the selection is nice, the layout is tight and tidy, and the prices are competitive on most items, particularly the vinyl and DVD box sets. I’ve scoured the stacks of vinyl records and found a few real gems, mostly remastered special editions (Amy Winehouse, etc) and a few rarer, mint condition David Bowie and Blondie titles. I’ve found most of the records run the gamut, from $ 5.99 up to $ 40, with most in the $ 12 range. Pricing on wireless/​streaming accessories are marked a bit higher than what is found at electronics superstores, but not much, though.
If you want good customer service, I’m afraid that was abandoned years ago, along with the back half of the store, but if you know what you want, then it’s no problem. If you’re looking for something specific, it could be a challenge.
I’m still kind of surprised that they didn’t just relocate to a smaller space within the mall (I mean, they must still be paying the same amount of rent, regardless of how much footage they are using and for what purpose they’re using it), but maybe they have plans for the back area one day. One can hope, right? Perhaps they’re just getting a great deal on the lease. Who knows? Overall, a solid 3.75 with some room for improvement.