Zia Record Exchange – Clearance Outlet Store

I’m surprised to see this store closed as i haven’t visited this place for over two years. I wonder if the newer store on Mill and Southern had anything to do with the closure. This store left a lot of great memories for me. I first came here in 1994 by a recommendation. It was smaller than most of the other Valley Zia’s and it had a tiny parking lot but that really wasn’t a deterrent to keep me from coming back. I’m really going to miss this place.

This location was amazing! At first I was completely thrown off because it said all CD’s $ 2 and I thought they were going out of business, but that is not at all the case.
This is obviously their clearance store and they have a TONE of the older music that I live for! They also a pretty nice selection of vinyl, which is honestly what I love the most!!!
They may not have the newer stuff, but they do have a lot of the classics for a price that you just can not beat. personally I would still rather go and buy a vinyl album over downloading a song any day. I have found that most of the time the best songs on an album are the ones you never here on the radio any way. So if you don’t buy the album and take the time to listen to it, you are probably missing out on one of you new favorite songs.
My mom would say that music is the heart beat of life, and she was right!

We used to live by this location so we went here often.
This is one of those amazing places where you can find something that stirs up crazy memories whather it be a movie you’d totally forgotten about, or an album that you’d long misplaced that played a pivotal part in your life.
Their prices are great, really they cant beat for most things. Ive watched their vinyl section grow over the years as well as their local section. You can find some really awesome stuff in there (Redfield!). My fave section was always the TV DVDS though. So much cheaper than the conventional places that youd usually buy things like that. Zias buyers really do a good job of looking for stuff that’s not too worn and in really good condition. Weve never had a problem w/​anything we’ve bought there and 90% of that has been used.
The staff here is great. They’re always very nice, and helpful. They may look like a bunch of punk kids… some of them actually are «punk» kids, but really, so nice.
Go here. Often. And if you sign up for their Z-​Card, don’t forget it like we always used to!

They do have some cool stuff, I’ll give them that much. The pay out for the top shape stuff I was selling them was laughable. I made waay more selling it on amazon than what they offered me. EVERYTHING is over priced and a good portion of the staff was rude. I won’t be coming back anytime soon. As for the guy that was a total jerk to me. Keep in mind that you’re a grown man working in a record store that you don’t own. Your parents must be proud.

I called their «corporate office» at the end of December and never got a response back. I figured maybe they would care that their employees are unprofessional and are probably losing money for the company. I guess they don’t.

Zia Records! I had no idea it had closed during my 12 year stint living in Washington DC, but since moving back a few months ago and working in Tempe… zia has reopened this location. I went in recently and bought 2 used Cds… yep cds. The guy at the register was friendly and although I have changed, zia still is the same. It’s awesome that a store of this nature still exists.

I shed a few tears when I saw this location close. It has been my music staple store since the 90’s (yes I am that old now). Good news though kiddos! They will be opening the doors again as a «Clearance Location» within a few weeks!!!

Great store! Not as much vinyl as I would have liked but they have every other type of media you could think of. Cool atmosphere. Open till midnight. Good vibes. Recommended.

Who is pricing this stuff now? Here is an example. KISS first album cover G record VG– Price $ 79.99 WTH? Big deal first pressing. not a $ 80 record. NEXT KISS Summer Tour date special EP. RARE record usually $ 100-​$ 150 only $ 24.99 PROBLEM it is unplayable and I mean every track and it would destroy a needle. $ 25 for a cover YIKES. Other bands throughout the bins hand $ 49.99 prices for records usually $ 5-​$ 15. Sorry Zia’s but the record buyer/​pricer is LOST. I’m not bitching because I cannot afford it, I can, I bitching because it is completely out of touch. Better be careful REVOLVER moved near by and they have their stuff together. I will say the service levels in ZIAS has gone way up. Super friendly staff and VERY HELPFUL.

The vinyl selection wasn’t too bad but there seemed to be more in bins on the floor than organized on the racks. The jazz section was pretty small but I did find a Vince Guaraldi record I wanted (black Orpheus) in great shape. The prices are reasonable. Parking was good. Return policy on new vinyl is a bummer but they were nice people so I imagine if there was a defect on the new stuff that they would rectify it. I didn’t want to take the chance though. I ended up getting a handful of LPs for a good price! My main gripe would be the fact that I wouldn’t last more than 15 minutes in the shop due to the heavy incense smell. Sadly, it made me nauseous. Otherwise a great little shop. I especially like how friendly these guys are. Thanks!

Wow, Zia records, this place has been here for such a very long time now. They even opened one in Phoenix.
The great thing here is you never know what you will find at a Zia location.
Since people bring in their own things to sell, and trade, you find all sorts of cool items here.
The staff is great and they will even order things for you if they do not have it in stock. I mean where else would this happen???
The parking has always been a little tight. But, the cool thing is they are open 7 days a week until 12:00am. Yes, midnight. Awesome right!!!

Perfect for music lovers of all ages who are on a budget. Lots of cool posters and huge selection of CDs, records, and DVDs.

I heart Zia. Always find what I’m looking for, no matter how random. For instance, last trip was in search of Bill Cosby on vinyl (my husband is an old guy, what can I say…) but they had it!

One thing you will notice about Zia’s, they really work to great everyone who comes into the store, and that is, I think, indicative of the overall spirit of service you can expect to find in this store filled with a surprising cast of beatnik, bearded, tattooed, and pierced staff that you will find at this emporium of music and cinema. Some items are a bit pricey but wonderfully fun to drift through the isles and see what you can find in the used section of the store. I’m more of a cinema person myself and just picked up a blue-​ray and a DVD video last night (sort of a payday tradition for me). Even better, when I’ve compiled too many movies in my personal collection, I can take them down to recycle them into the used section and have more credit to spend on other new items in the store.
Though I’m not remotely beatnik in appearance (firmly a member of the establishment in appearance) I’ve always been warmly greeted and welcomed by the delightful staff at Zia’s and consider it to be an important and unique part of the downtown Mill experience.
One thing I would like to see them do, and maybe I’ve overlooked it, is carry some actual vinyl albums, but there is only so much space, but that seems like it would fit with the overall ethos of this fine establishment.

I heard about this place a few months ago on the radio while at work. So i decided to pay a visit. It was pretty easy to find the CD’s i wanted, a few they didn’t have but i was super happy about the ones they did have! They have a bunch of funny/​unique toys, accessories.
The employees are friendly and fun to talk to. And everything is super cheap! Best part about this place. I could go to Best Buy and spend $ 20 on a new CD, or come here and spend $ 25 on 6 used but not damaged CD’s.
This place is awesome and I’d recommend it to anyone.

I’ve been living in AZ for 7 years now, and the Tempe Zia is about the only place I ever go to to buy music.
Their major label new cd releases are almost always over priced, but you can usually find a used copy pretty cheap. Same with the Blu-​rays and DVDs. Their used vinyl selection is. .. well, let’s just say it’s pretty garbage, but their new vinyl selection makes up for it.
Shopping there is a good hang. I like that there’s always a really eclectic mix of music picked by the employees being played on the overhead. Almost every time I’ve been there a song came on that I had to go up front to find out who the artist was
And as far as selling back used cds/​dvds. .. I think they’ve always gotten a reasonable and fair return.
They’re especially gracious when it comes to special orders. They’ve always been very cool and eager to have a cd sent from one of their other stores, even from their Tucson location

Zia always has the latest Ben Harper albums… so I go there when I know one is coming out… I can’t find his albums just anywhere unfortunately.
The staff would be much cooler if I worked there… but for the most part they’re cool. There are a couple of guys there that are very knowledgeable in movies and one in certain music genres… you just gotta find your favorite employee to help you out. The one that’ll give you an honest opinion before you buy.
I don’t like that there’s usually someone nearby getting ready to ask me for change when I leave the door. In downtown Tempe… It’s abnormal not to get asked though.
The one thing I’d like to see is more space or at least some more shows. I think they have enough room in the parking lot to hold a show or two out there… but maybe it’s a permit thing. It just seems that the other locations get the good shows.
It’s almost a weekly ritual for me to go there on Monday night @ 11:59pm and pick up the Tuesday new releases and buy them @ midnight. They’re very West Coast like that.

I had some extra time on my hands today so, being a huge music junkie, I decided to check this place out. I was overwhelmed upon walking in and received no help. It was really hard for me to find the used section. After searching I came to the conclusion that everything was mixed together. It definitely has nothing on Rasputin and I was extremely disappointed in the selection of used music. They did have some pretty good DVD deals and the guys that worked there were hot so for those reasons I’d return.

ZIA has a nice atmosphere, but they are just A-​OK. They have great deals on old/​used media, but I think most of the hype over this place stems from free thinking college students who want to like something ‘different’ so they over rate this place for the ambiance… not necessarily for the quality/​prices/​service in general.
I love you ZIA! You are A-​OK in my book :)

This store reminds me of what Zia’s was most like originally. It’s funky in a kind of college town type of mentality. They have never been cheap. They have a really interesting selection of used whatever. Truly there is something for anyone who might come in off the street-CD’s, magazines, DVD’s, videos… The service is surprisingly good and I always appreciate that. I never get the” you have gray hair and are old” attitude.
To give you an idea of why I appreciate this store in particular was what happened when I was shopping there. There was a college age guy waiting in front of me waiting to pay. Out of nowhere his friend ran up and pulled his pants to the ground. Ever hear of the word commando? The guy who at this point was blushing just slightly lighter than a red light, grabbed them and pulled them up. His girlfriend was laughing so hard I thought she was going to choke. He then paid and the three of them left all laughing. Standing behind me, a man my age-50’s-thought what had happened was shocking. I just smiled. I was at the Zia’s just off campus in Tempe. I graduated from ASU. I’ve seen worse.