Slackers CDs and Games

Type	Private
Founded	Columbia, Missouri, U.S., 1993
Founder(s)	Kurt Jellinek Paul Zacharias
Headquarters	1010 East Broadway Columbia, Missouri, USA
Number of locations	10 stores (2009)
Area served	Midwestern United States
Industry	Retail
Products	Video Games Music Movies
Website	http://slackers.com/

Slackers CDs and Games or simply Slackers is a chain of entertainment retailers located in the Midwestern United States. The store specializes in video games and music. It was founded in 1993 by Kurt Jellinek and Paul Zacharias in Columbia, Missouri. The store is known for selling local independent music, its extensive collection of classic games, and giving the most credit for trade-ins.

In 2007, the store raised some controversy for stockpiling Nintendo Wiis. As of 2009, there are 10 locations in the midwest.

[edit] History

Slackers CDs and Games in Columbia, Missouri

Slackers CDs and Games was founded in 1993 by Kurt Jellinek and Paul Zacharias in Columbia, Missouri.^[1] Jellinek and Zacharias opened the store after graduating from Saint Louis University using only their own collection of 1,500 music CDs.^[2] The name originated from their generation being considered slackers before given a chance to prove otherwise.^[2] The first store was located in the historic E. W. Stephens Building on the corner of Broadway and Hitt streets.^[3] Although, business was slow at first with the store sometimes only making $30 in a day, business eventually increased and after 2 years they were able to open a second location in O'Fallon, Illinois.^[2] As of 2009, there are 10 locations in the states of Missouri and Illinois, eight of which are in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area and two of which are in Mid-Missouri^[4]

[edit] Praise and criticism

Slackers CDs and Games won an award for best used CD store in 2006 from the Riverfront Times for its collection of vinyl records and independent and rare music CDs.^[5]

Since the store buys video games from all consoles, it is known for its extensive collection of classic titles. While the prices are considered to be fair for most of their old titles, some are considered to be too high when compared to other stores. In addition, they only require the game for catridge based games.^[6]

The store is also known for giving more credit for trade-ins than its competitors. In 2005, Vox Magazine had the same four games (Halo, Metal Gear Solid 3, NHL 2004, and Madden NFL 2005) priced at EB Games, Game Crazy, and Slackers CDs and Games, with the trade-in value being $16.50, $26.82, and $45 respectively.^[7]

[edit] Wii Controversy

On December 20, 2007, the store raised some controversy when Ars Technica reported that the chain was stockpiling Nintendo Wii systems to sell at a higher profit while telling retail customers that the chain did not have any systems in stock, and were not expecting any.^[8]

On December 21, 2007, Kurt Jellinek responded on the Slackers website, saying that the article was sensationalist and misleading. Jellinek stated that of the 44 units the chain had, five were sold on eBay for $399.99 with a couple of units still in stock, 35 were held for specific customers and sold at the MSRP, and the remainder were given away.^[9]

Some sites believe this may violate Nintendo's enforcement of the Wii's $249 retail price,^[10][11] and may prevent the store from receiving future products from Nintendo.^[11][12][13] Nintendo has refused to comment on the issue.^[14]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official site