Cheapo

Love this place. Always open. Great vibe. Uf you are a music junkie this is a place to be your go to time waster. Browse I have found things here that I didn’t know existed. Support it live it live it

Great store good for purchasing USED media especially vinyl. Employees can seem unapproachable but are generally helpful and nice if they aren’t preoccupied and you give them a chance. Vinyl selection is very good. The CD and vinyl listening stations at Cheapo are a great way to expand your musical horizons by exploring new music prior to purchasing. I go in here specifically to discover amazing and obscure used, older records from the 70’s and 80’s that I’ve never heard before. Great hours– being open ’til 10pm is a big plus. Pay with cash if you can.

I am updating my review due to an exceptionally positive experience I had last week being served by a guy who I believe was the manager. No nasty «Comic Book Guy from The Simpsons» vibe this time. A big plus for the discount bins where one can get three DVDs for $ 5.

This branch of Cheapo, along with its sister store in Minneapolis, was one of my key shops for record collecting when I lived in the Twin Cities.
The St. Paul store — located on Snelling Avenue — doesn’t quite match the Minneapolis branch in terms of CD and LP selection, but it’s still pretty good. As of this writing, it looks like a Cheapo is also open in the Twin Cities suburb of Blaine, though I’ve never been to that location.
Cheapo sells new (i.e., still-​sealed) CDs and LPs in several genres (rock, R&B, rap, country, blues, classical, etc.), but what makes the chain’s stores stand out is the used stock.
Cheapo has long been known for sorting its «new arrivals» of used CDs and LPs in bins with days of the week listed above them, letting you know when the products have been put out for sale. Many seasoned customers head to these bins first, hoping to score a freshly placed rarity before someone else can get to it.
Indeed, there tend to be some pretty good finds available in the used bins, especially for CDs as people in these times continue to dump them for cash. A few years ago, someone had sold off their Time-​Life «Sounds of the Eighties» collection at the St. Paul Cheapo, and I was able to pick up 20-​some discs (almost the entirety of the excellent series) at good prices.
Overall, the Cheapo stores in Minneapolis and St. Paul probably have the biggest and best stock of used CDs in the Twin Cities, and the selection of used vinyl (33 1/​3s and 45s) is among the deepest, if not necessarily of the highest quality. If you’re building a vinyl collection and want a decent copy of a mainstream pop/​rock LP from the 1970s and 1980s, Cheapo is your best bet. They have more of that kind of album than anywhere else in the Twin Cities.
As far as new product, Cheapo does have sizable amounts of still-​sealed CDs and LPs. The selection tends to be hit or miss and the prices aren’t always so great (despite the store’s name), but then again I’ve made some decent finds. One thing I like about the new-​CD bins is that used discs that don’t sell within a week get mixed in with the new stock.
The St. Paul Cheapo used to be housed in two separate buildings near each other. At one point, one of the stores was for vinyl and the other for CDs. The last time I visited in 2014, everything was under one rooftop on the west side of Snelling.
Bottom line: The St. Paul Cheapo branch has hung in there through some tough times in the record store business and remains a key source in the Twin Cities for CDs and LPs — especially of the used variety.

I have been to several Cheapo locations. I have always encountered pleasant service. This location is one exception. I was on a family vacation on 8÷23÷14. There was a fair amount of us in the store at about 1:00 in the afternoon. The clerk was eyeing up my two brothers and one nephew as if they were going to steal something. Very offensive and unnecessary. He was very unfriendly and hostile. There was no reason for him behave this way. We were quiet and just going about our business. We all vowed to never step foot into this store again. I know this man’s negative attitude doesn’t represent the entire Cheapo chain but next time, I will think twice before entering a Cheapo store. I would rather order from Amazon; a $ 4.00 CD is not worth the hostility. Please address this particular individual about practicing better customer service.

I want to like this Cheapo more but they make it hard. Anything that is decent and used will be sealed up in a poly bag with tape making it impossible to evaluate its condition until you bring it to the front counter. Depending on the employee and the day, this may be met with a helpful hand opening it with a razor blade, or general scorn as they watch you fumble trying to open it without completely destroying the outer sleeve. God forbid you don’t purchase the record you just opened as you will be scolded for holding up the line, of one person, to actually see the condition of a used record in a record store.
New records are generally priced on the high end compared to other shops, but not unreasonable and the selection is decent. A recent trend is an abundance of shady counterfeit pressings of classic titles. There is no way to identify them as such unless you are familiar with pressing variations of the particular title, so beware if you are buying new.
Despite the surly employees, the manager is very nice and helpful. I’ve found some good stuff here over the years so I’ll keep checking the recent arrivals.

WARNING:
When you round the corner excited to waste an hour (+) of your life browsing for music, you’re going to see a giant Buffalo Wild Wings where Cheapo used to be. You might panic. You may even shit your pants or start uncontrollably wiggling your limbs in frantic despair.
… I mean, I didn’t. Someone I know did, of course.
Ahem.
Clean yourself up, look to the sky and harden your heart; you’re going to need to head directly across the street to the other Cheapo that used to be reserved solely for vinyls. It seems much of the inventory has been relocated here. You’ll find CD’s, DVD’s and records all frolicking in close-​knit harmony reminding us all that co-​existing is indeed possible.
Who knew that some fuckwit buffalo* coming along and taking your land would initiate such peace? What a twist!
Not all is milk and honey in this new land, however; it’s tighter in here and it’s easy to tell that the inventory from the other place is ¼th the size it used be. It’s too early to know if they simply took the fallen location’s stock temporarily or if it’s a permanent solution. Regardless, there aren’t any signs up indicating this (I just took a chance and went inside) and I saw several people that pulled into the old parking lot and just left.
The rear of the building houses the vast majority of the records (though there are some displayed with the CD’s in the middle) and the front of the store is almost wholly comprised of DVD’s and posters. Having been a somewhat frequent visitor to the previous location, it’s clear to see that this new arrangement is sort of a clusterfuck; there simply isn’t enough room to house all the merchandise.
Also, the parking lot literally sucks Danny DeVito’s saggy chode.
It’s one of those angled spot deals and there’s only about ten to fifteen spaces; this may have been fine when the traffic consisted of a handful of hipster kids looking for ironic records, but I could see this being an issue in the future.
All this aside, however, this is still a good place to blow a couple hours, sample some CD’s and play the classic ‘try to avoid the guy that smells like a freshly mowed field of wild onions hovering around the new arrivals section’ game.
… Don’t look at me like that. You know what I’m talking about.
* Well played, buffalo. Well played.

if there’s one thing I want to say about Cheap-​o it is that it is super well-​organized. As a kind of OCD organizational person myself, it’s something I really appreciate. Everything is clearly labeled and priced. Things are put in the right category. Things are put in alphabetical order. And things are grouped together in a logical way. If only all stores were so well-​maintained. I imagine this has to be difficult given the amount of inventory and constant turnover Cheap-​o has… but they really do an admirable job.
We have found lots of hidden treasures here and enjoy the local music section very much. We also have found an impressive number of DVDs and Blu-​Rays to pick up on the cheap. It’s a lot of fun to browse and hear the clack-​clack-​clack of people sorting through the cases. Give yourself at least a half hour to look around — it’s a lot of fun to browse and see what you can see.
Prices are generally fairly reasonable, but note that there are brand new items mixed in with the used. The used can be a steal but the brand new prices are not discounted. The staff is friendly and helpful.

This place is closed. :(
It’s so closed, it’s a Buffalo Wild Wings now. :(
There are more Cheapos around the metro area; check their website.

This is a review of the vinyl shop, located on the west side of Snelling. If you want used vinyl, this is your location. If you want CDs, movies, or anything else, you’ll need to cross the street to the other location.
Cheepo’s strong suit is the breadth of its offerings. Oldies, classic rock, modern rock (plenty), jazz and a solid classical section mean you will probably find something on your wish list. Many non-​used offerings as well, both new releases and reissues. Prices are the lowest I have seen locally, things are reasonably organized and grading appears accurate.
Hymie’s has a deeper oldies section and better atmosphere, but for one stop shopping this is your place.

So this Cheapo is my local shop, for better or worse, but mostly for the better.
Their staff is a funny selection of typical music-​shop type dudes who are consistently helpful and engaging in shop talk behind the counter. They’ve got a crap-​ton of parking and great hours – something Cheapo is known for – so the structure is there.
The selection is pretty thorough for what appears to be (and what is, really) a run-​down strip mall business. They’ve got curated selections of all the hip new stuff, comprehensive jazz and classic rock sections, and a very complete local music area. It’s almost all there. I lament the absence of a bigger electronic music section, but otherwise there’s really nothing to complain about.
There have been some changes over the past few years I’ve shopped here, such as the relocation of the vinyl and the minor shortening of the hours, but it’s remained a reliable spot to support my highly destructive music collecting habit. The prices are neither too high or too low, I find. It’s certainly disappointing to find something you’ve been looking for and discover that it costs $ 19, but that’s mostly made up for by their pretty awesome collections of used stuff.
The Uptown store is a bit more filled out, but Mac/​Groveland certainly has nothing to be ashamed of. I lust for Electric Fetus every so often but Cheapo does the job just fine.

This place would get 5 stars from me if they carried vinyl.
I have a feeling that if I asked,
they’d probably special order it for me.
The employees have always been super nice and helpful
when I’ve been there.
It’s organized and clean.
Being that it’s in St. Paul,
I feel that I can usually find what I want
because it might not be too ‘picked over’ or sought after.
It’s sort of divey in appearance, but I like that.

«Click click click click click!» Ah, the sound of Cheapos patrons browsing through the ever-​changing selection. Not as big as the Uptown store, but not as busy either. Lots of colleges around, so some great stuff being hocked for beer money. The vinyl is in a separate store across the street. Only downside is nothing is cataloged (though sorted very well, to be fair) and new stuff is usually a little pricier than some other local independent stores.

Wow, I am absolutely stunned there are only a handful of reviews for Cheapo! This was my favorite record shop when I lived back home and I’ve even made a couple trips here since I moved away. I have many fond memories of coming here and the video store (that used to be?) next door. It’s a big store, though a couple reviews mention a coffee shop taking up the front now. That’s news to me. I always really, really enjoyed the used section; I think it’s superior to Easy Street’s here in Seattle. When I’d stop by I start there and could easily pick up 20 discs and then have to decide what I really wanted. I hardly ever needed to go to the new CDs! I sold CDs here a couple times too. The local section is good, though I suppose the Twin Cities’ music scene makes that pretty easy. The staff were always nice and helpful, not too hipster for thou. I would be very sad if Cheapo closed. It even survived a fire back in the day, so please do your part as a concerned citizen and patronize this local establishment! The Minneapolis shop is good too, but I have only been there a couple times.

I have mixed feelings about Cheapo. I like the fact that it is locally owned. The staff here seems bored and pissed off all the time. It is like they just walked out of «High Fidelity» and I expect John Cusask to be waiting in the back someplace. Also, trying to find anything in here is near to impossible. They categorize everything in this weird/​funky way. Siouxsie and the Banshees is in «goth.» Anything that is alternative and made in the 1980s is in the pop section. I’ve given up on Cheapo because their category scheme is just frustrating and wrong.

Cheapo on Snelling is radical. Discs are cheap (as the name proclaims)!!! Take that Uptown Cheapo!!!
Furthermore, you must be in ultimate browse mode to make a legendary Cheapo run. LUCKILY, the layout of the store promotes this. When I reach the end of an aisle, the only thing holding me from jumping to the next is whether the Cheapo date I’ve brought with me is: a) bored, b) a woman, b ½) a woman I want to have sex with (and if so, IF I have a chance).
Seriously, go to Cheapo discs, have a very loose «things to get» list and see what finds you. If you know more than thirty bands, I guarantee you’ll walk out with six discs under $ 40.

Can’t believe it took me a year of living in St Paul to set foot in this place. Well, the store front is uninspiring, the sign is bland, and I was never actually sure if it was still in business. It’s an annoying left turn across Snelling going south. Not to mention, a coffee shop takes up almost the entire frontage of the building. I just gotta get in there and OPEN THE DOOR.
As used CD stores go, Cheapo is top notch. Sure, it has all those staple albums nobody needs but you know you can always get (Phil Collins, REM’s Monster, N*SYNC) but so much more. Off to one side is a walled off jazz, classical, and world section with appropriate music being piped in. In the main section, there’s a full wall of cassette tapes, a couple rows of vinyl, and several rows of rock, pop, and hip-​hop. A large section of local music. You could spend hours browsing for stuff you forgot you wanted.
Of course, as one reviewer mentioned, looking for specific items may be frustrating, but that’s what amazon is for. This store is all about the spontaneous discount find.
You can preview the albums on headphones if you’re unsure. And the staff is very knowledgeable, yet they will let you shop without that annoying and automatic «can I help you find something?» An A+ experience.

So I stop into this place yesterday looking for a DVD of L.A. Confidential and I couldn’t believe that with thousands of DVDs not a single copy was available. So I resort to a back-​up disc, The Prestige, and what do you know, none. Sure this store has everything, but only when it doesn’t. My complaint is why not keep a stock of a classics like L.A. Confidential along with fourteen different exploitation flicks presented by Quentin Tarantino (a fan, by the way)? Hell, maybe I’m unloading on Cheapo for something many stores contend with…
I left with a CD selection from a local band, so I guess all is not lost. Now if they would only buy or contract listening stations that weren’t broken 99% of the time.

How obscure do you like your music? Chances are good that no matter what you like, and no matter how rare, obscure or indie it is, you will find it here. I’ve spent hours browsing through their dozens of rows, happily listening to the «click-​clack-​click» of CD cases being flipped through by patrons trying to locate everything from the most recent popular stuff, to a rare gem of a world music album they haven’t found anywhere else, to a dusty copy of an album they haven’t heard since high school. Cheapo has a vast selection of used and new CDs, and they recently added DVDs to their inventory (new/​used) as well. There’s a coffee shop in the front of this newly-​renovated location.
While I prefer to download most of my music from online retailers nowadays (because it’s easy and I can pick exactly what I want), there is something soothing and fun about rifling through the stacks at Cheapo on a rainy weekend afternoon that downloading just can’t replicate!