The Black Friday vinyl deals are live – and I'm shaking my head in disbelief

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Amazon has an eye-catching vinyl offer and there are Record Store Day Black Friday deals, too – but I can't believe the prices

Rega Planar 6/Nd7 in white finish with blue vinyl record playing
(Image credit: What Hi-Fi?)

It's clear there's still plenty of interest in vinyl during the Black Friday sales period and in the run-up to Christmas.

The 'vinyl revival' is frankly old news and the popularity of records with young and old music lovers is clearly not a passing fad.

Amazon's vinyl records section is joining in the Black Friday fun, offering 3 for £66 on selected records. And that's what stopped me in my tracks.

Was it a typo? Should it actually be 6 for £33? How about 30 records? I'm exaggerating but as someone who has been buying vinyl for three decades, could it really be that 3 records for £66 represents a great deal?

To paraphrase Principal Skinner from The Simpsons, 'Is it me who is out of touch? No, the price of vinyl really does seem to have gone through the roof.'

Of course, the rise in prices hadn't completely passed me by, but now that that the regularity of my vinyl purchases has slowed from a steady stream to a drip, I really was shocked to see that the cost of a new album can be the wrong side of £30. This does make '3 for £66' seem more tempting.

And it's not just Amazon. The monster that is Record Store Day has now spread its tentacles into Black Friday and, while your local record shop experience may differ (and I'd urge you to go in and find out), a quick look on the Rough Trade website sees full-price releases at £40. If you have your eye on a double LP (let alone triple or more), then naturally the price rises further.

Rising production costs play a huge factor but it's hard not to think that record labels and artists are also making hay while the sun shines.

It's no surprise, then, that many people prefer buying second-hand vinyl – like my colleague, Chris Burke, who declared old is gold when it comes to record shopping.

Sites such as Discogs (which reported that vinyl was around 24 per cent more expensive than five years ago) are a mecca for fans of first pressings and checking matrix numbers, while auction sites such as eBay are also worth a look, though you need to take care when checking the quality of what you're buying.

Regardless of these inflating prices, I will always sing the praises of spinning vinyl. If you want the latest releases, it seems you're really going to have to pay for it, but for real bargain hunters, there's always the secondhand market – online and of course in stores.

And if you're completely on board with the cost of vinyl in 2025, then you might just want to take advantage of that 3 for £66 Black Friday sale after all. Meanwhile, I will probably dust-off something from my existing collection...

Joe Cox
Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is the Content Director for What Hi-Fi? and Future’s Product Testing, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for almost 20 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff and The Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).

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