Music & Video Exchange

I just walked by the store on my way back from work and decided to buy something for my boyfriend, who is a huge music lover. Although the shop look like a huge mess the clerk was really helpful in explaining the order. You can’t imagine my astonishment when i found a limited edition Iron Maiden vinyl, which my boyfriend was searching for. I recommend visiting this little shop.

Compared to the Exchange in Soho, this one in Greenwich is better for DJs and most dance music. You’ll find cheaper and greater selection of techno and house.
In fact, it’s probably because the bins in Soho are dug thoroughly multiple times a day whereas those in Greenwich are less searched. But then again, it’s in Greenwich, a place that offers little beyond history.

The Music & Video Exchange in Greenwich is another in the Exchange group based around London. I find that this one is not as bargainous as its cousins elsewhere but there are still some good finds to be had here.
Cheap second hand and promotional albums are there for the taking if you fancy sifting through the racks. Most albums are individually priced and are all guaranteed to work. The shop is quite small and if someone is looking through the promo/​collectables section you may find that you have to wait your turn which can be frustrating. Promo albums (the ones radio stations are given by record companies which come in plastic or cardboard sleeves) are normally around £2 and albums start from £4. The problem can also be the quality of stock. Sometimes the racks aren’t as full as I have seen in other Exchange stores and are full of artists I’ve never heard of before which normally wouldn’t be a problem but at £2 a go, buying an album blindly can feel like a waste of money if there are no tracks you like.
DVDs and vinyl are also available at slashed prices. The main stock is upstairs with more downstairs if you have time on your hands. There it little organisation to the CDs downstairs it is pot luck with regards to what you come across.
Looking around this shop can be a pleasurable way to kill an hour or so but compared to the other Music Exchanges, it lacks something which in my opinion is the quantity and quality of stock. Still worth checking out and going out of your way to visiting but if you only have time to visit one exchange, make it one of the others.

It’s one of the weird signs of the way the music industry has changes in recent years that you can can buy a secondhand CD or DVD at Music and Video Exchange, marked down from £12, to £11, to £10, to £9, and congratulate yourself on your bargain and then the next find the same CD or DVD being sold new for a fiver.
This has happened to me several times. I love the shop. I love the pricing system: every week they knock a pound off the price of every item, so the longer it has been sitting around the cheaper it gets. So if you think something’s too expensive, you can leave it and come back later when it’s cheaper though of course you take the risk that someone else will have taken it away in the meantime.
What this all means though, is that they can put pretty high prices on their stuff (or what count as pretty high prices these days), knowing that everything will sell eventually, in it’s own time.
That’s why you need to be careful. You will find stuff here that is or that is cheap, or that is out of print, or that is old and hard to track down. But you will also find stuff that you can get cheaper new on Amazon or in HMV.
So think once think twice, but I defy you to go in and browse and come out without buying anything at all.
And apart from anything, these days thank God there are still some independent record shops left, even if they do only sell secondhand.

Part of a decent chain that have a few branches around London and the UK dealing in second hand music. Records, CD’s, DVD’s all at prices cheaper than your usual music outlet and get this, when something doesn’t sell they lower its price. It’s true. This means you can play cat and mouse with them for weeks until that Sonic Youth LP you’ve been yearning for is about £3. That is of course provided noone else gets there first.

This small second-​hand music shop in the Greenwich town centre looks like someone’s car boot sale. Posters adorn the wall, CDs and DVDs are stacked in rows on counters and shelves, and there’s barely enough room for more than five customers to browse at the same time (not to mention the guys who work there look like they’re on a permanent tea break).
However, what looks like disarray isn’t really: stock is meticulously ordered depending on genre and price. The categories put any conventional music store to shame. Example: you don’t just have «urban» music, you have «classic hip-​hop», «UK and indie hip-​hop», «mainstream label hip-​hop», «hip-​hop compilations», «soul», «nu-​soul», «funk» and «r&b». Phew! You get the point.
This shop is an excellent place to search for bargains — CDs regularly get priced down to £2, even £1. Brand new albums are sometimes available for a quid or two cheaper than their retail price. The DVDs are varied and affordable and there’s also an LP section in the basement.
If you want an even bigger selection, though, check out their Camden branch.