Gift card exchange

While gift cards are traditionally used at the store from which they were purchased, Landlocked Music will now accept cards from any major chain store that sells media items.

“The point is kind of to get people to think about where they’re shopping,” co-owner Jason Nickey said.

Nickey hopes Bloomington residents will focus more on supporting locally owned businesses like his own.

“It’s not about the money, really,” he said. “It’s about raising the point. If it gets anyone to think of it at all, it’s a success.”

By supporting local businesses Nickey said residents can keep more money within the Bloomington community.

The big chain stores  have no reason to care about how much money stays in the local economy, he said.

“They don’t care about life in Bloomington,” Nickey said. “They don’t live here.”

Because the store has already been paid by the person who bought the gift card, the chain isn’t actually losing any money, he said.

The owners of Landlocked reuse the cards as they see fit, Nickey said, so they do not suffer a loss due to the program.

Nickey also cited the unique atmosphere each store contributes to the town, such as the cats in Pygmalion’s Art Supplies or the interior design of Soma Coffee House & Juice Bar. He said independent stores add character to Bloomington.

For students like freshmen Leah Antonoff and Kimmie Marshall, it’s inconvenient to walk to Landlocked, located at 202 N. Walnut Ave., when they could easily catch the Bloomington Transit 9 bus to College Mall. But they said they liked the concept.

“A lot of people are going home for Christmas, and in their areas are Targets and Wal-Marts,” Marshall said. 

She also said that she likes stores like Tracks Music & Videos, another locally owned record store, because there is a larger variety of music sold at cheaper prices.

“They have all the stuff that’s not mainstream,” Antonoff said.

So far, no other small businesses in Bloomington have adopted Landlocked’s idea, although Rachel DiGregorio, retail manager at the Wandering Turtle Art Gallery & Gifts, said it is vitally important to support local businesses – particularly during the economic recession, when so many are in danger. She said the unique approach of Nickey and Landlocked co-owner Heath Byers is interesting.

“I think it’s a fantastic idea,” DiGregorio said.

While the holiday season did inspire the idea, Nickey said he plans to continue the program for the foreseeable future.

“It’s an experiment,” Nickey said. “I don’t expect it to be huge, but we’ll find out.”