Is Aldi's retro Mother's Day record player a bargain?

Aldi has launched a trendy retro turntable for Mother's Day. It has all the cool style of similar equipment from Very and Urban Outfitters - but at a vastly reduced price.

See also: Have you got valuable vinyl in your attic?

See also: Vinyl sales reach 1980s levels

See also: The worst Mother's Day presents

The turntable goes on sale on Wednesday, at £59.99. The discount supermarket has compared it the Crosley Bermuda Danseuse Turntable from Very at £299.99.

It has also compared it to the Urban Outfitters Danseuse Red Standing Vinyl Record Player at £250.

Is this a good deal?

It means canny Aldi shoppers could save £240 on their gift - and end up with a record player with the same kind of style as its competitors. All three models also have a three-speed turntable, built-in speakers, a rechargeable battery and headphone jack - so they are broadly comparable.

The gadget boffins reviewing the turntable suggest it may not be the ideal player for getting the best sound out of your records. However, it's not designed to be. It's a cool way for mums to reclaim their vinyl collection.

However, before you splash out, there are some things that no bargain-hunter can avoid considering.
First, vinyl is difficult to store for the long term. If your mum has had her collecting sitting in the attic for 20 years or longer, there's every chance it is scratched and warped, and she'll struggle to get a decent sound out of it.

This means she may need to invest in some new records, and here bargain-hunters will hear alarm bells ringing. Vinyl is alarmingly expensive. It's difficult to make, and it's fragile and heavy, so it's difficult to ship.

Let's assume you were going to buy the top five albums out at the moment, and snap up the Radio 1 top five from Amazon, what would it cost you?

Divide, Ed Sheeran - MP3 download £11.99, CD £11.99, Vinyl £19.99
Human, Rag 'n' Bone man - MP3 download £7.99, CD £9.99, Vinyl £18.99
Gang Signs & prayer, Stormzy - MP3 download £9.99, CD £9.99, Vinyl unavailable
X, Ed Sheeran - MP3 download £4.99, CD £5.00, Vinyl £18.00
+, Ed Sheeran - MP3 download £3.99, CD £5.00, Vinyl £15.27

That's a total of £38.95 for five MP3 downloads, £41.97 for five CDs or £72.25 for just four records.

What self-respecting bargain-hunter would choose to pay almost double the price for Vinyl?

But what do you think? Is it worth it? Let us know in the comments.