Doom for CD-Wow & end of cheaper CD's?

Tesco are promoting chart CDs for £9.85.

They claim in store to be able to get any UK released CD.

I might try them for the next Sunn(((OOO))) release?

DS

Tesco have never failed me, but are they up to the David Slater test? I'm sure I'm not alone in reading your lists of purchases and thinking who the hell are they or do you just make them up?

Please report back...

The greedy b*****d UK record companies are at it again.

Actually shouldnt a law be made insisting independent retailers such as Fopp et al. sell their retail outlets to HMV for 5% of their true worth too

Alan,

You're not alone

Chances are that any independent store you go to will be chepaer than a major.

The other good ploy is buy CD's direct from the record label.
Earache for example:
The Haunted - One Kill Wonder
HMV £13.99 Earache Web Shop £7.86

There was a wonderful irony in an edition of Kerrang the other week.
Someone got letter of the week for saying buy CD's off the net cos they're a lot cheaper.
His prize? HMV vouchers...

Gary

Sorry Guys, I don't agree. I have bought CD's over the internet only once from CD-WoW, there was a signifcant gap between the money leaving my bank account and them arriving on my doormat and they arrived in dribs and drabs. Overall an underwhelming experience.

I can understand why the majors are criticised, but they put a store in every major town which stocks 80-90% of what most of us want to buy and you can walk out of the door and put it in the CD player in your car. That's what I call convenience and in my book it's worth an extra 90p a disc.

The biggest contribution the on-line retailers have made is driving high street prices down, but, unless you are in specialist niche areas, the high street majors offer a combination of value, choice and convenience that neither independents or on-line retailers can compete with.

Like the supermarkets that's what people resent about them.

Seagull - it all depends what you want...

Today Tesco was the perfect shop for me, as what I wanted was the new Danni Minogue CD.

Here is my price comparison

Virgin Express £12.99
Woolworths £12.99
WH Smiths £12.99

So that was all the places that sell music near where I work, so down to Tesco £9.97 !


Just to clear up a couple of misconceptions:

Every single one of the things I listed was a genuine purchase, for a wide variety of physical shops and over the net. I buy a lot of singles / albums / CDs a month!

Unlike a lot of the old farts on the forum, I actually like and listen to new music. I like the boundaries being pushed, new genres being created and mashed up. But I still listen to and enjoy music of all ages (except Country & Western and Molovian shepherd songs).

Keep the faith, enjoy the music.

DS



DS

Slightly off-topic, but I wonder what increase in sales volume the record companies would experience if releases were priced lower? I for one would buy more new releases.

In the meantime I am quite content looking out for that good old vinyl - there is an awful lot out there.

Mike

Please provide more information about the Monkey Butlers. They sound quite cool.

Matthew

Of course we mustn't say whose is the best customer service you've ever experienced, lest it go to their heads

Customer Service

I recently gave priase to StudioSpares for their customer service.

I ordered some gear over the net, and found I ordered two shelves for a rack unit that only accepted one. My mistake.

I asked them what they could do about it, and they said sent it back, and claim the postage from us as well. A credit for the full amount of the gear and postage appeared on the credit card in a day.

Not only that, I was told that the bloke who processed my order had been given a clip round the ear, for not coming back and chacking why I would want two shelvs on a thing that could only take one shelf, and that they would alter the next catalogue to make the single shelf issue clearer!

The only thing I didn't get is an mpg of the assistant being chastised, o the rest of my order free, but there you are.

DS

I spend my working hours drawing. I would be pretty upset if someone said my work was worth 10p - the cost of the paper it was printed on. Come on - pay for what is on the CD. Have you spent 60 minutes listening to a blank CD?

Use 101cd.com instead...

quote:

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The music industry last week won an important legal battle in its bid to prevent discount etailer cd-wow from selling imported CDs in the UK.

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Typical pompous greedy sods - they're quite content to rip off their artists as well - weak useless c*m buckets...

FOPP are a great high street independant - most of their stuff is a tenner or less. As mentiond, Tescos are OK for stuff as well...

As for lower CD prices, well the Commons think it's perfectly fair for us all to be ripped off - but then they would, since they get the VAT off of UK sales...

Certainly *I'd* buy a LOT more music if CD albums were 7.99 - most of the crap the majors put out isn't worth *POINT*79p if you ask me. This is why I like vinyl - I can explore loads of older music I've never heard (like a lot of classic rock albums) for around a quid a go

Yeah - the record companies have to ask themselves WHY they're losing money - it's not through copyright theft - it's 'cos they charge too much for a mediocre product. If they sold cheaper and better than they might see massive increases in sales - personal copying isn't a real factor as almost everyone I know goes and gets the original if they like it. Home taping didn't kill music did it??

When the music's over turn out the lights

The point being made Rasher was..... How come cd-wow.com can sell cds at £8.99 inc airmail FROM HONG KONG that uk shops sell at £14.99.

The same royalty goes into the Artist's pocket, and presumably cd-wow operate @ a profit so how much markup are UK companies making.

I think cd-wow are the best e-retailer bar none I buy as many as there limited range allows and have recieved many on the day of release, Monday, others usually by Wednesday.

The reason why multiple orders are despatched individually is to avoid VAT which is only applicable on imported goods valued over £10 nifty eh?

All right I admit at 90p I was exaggerating .........but not by much. The following list is selective I'll admit, the criteria being stuff I might buy,and they are currently available in Virgin Megastore for £10 (if you buy 2,4,6,8 etc) vs £8.99 on CD-Wow a difference of £1.01.

At these prices if CD-Wow are saving you VAT they are in fact taking more from you for these discs than Virgin, who get only £8.51 of the sticker price.

Feeder - Comfort in Sound
Moloko - Statues
Dixie Chicks - Home
Foo Fighters - One by One
Radiohead - OK Computer (I lost my original)

In HMV for £8.99 and not available on CD-Wow

The Kills - Mean Side
Joan Armatrading - Lovers speak

On the £13.99 to £8.99 price difference, £2.08 is accounted for by VAT and since most discs are pressed outside the UK the difference in freight costs underlying the different business models are minimal. Just think about the costs of owning/leasing and staffing a store in most major towns in the UK as compared with the costs of operating a warehouse and a website and ask yourselves - are the profit margins really so different.

If you said to me I buy my CD's from CD-Wow because I don't want Gordon Brown getting his hands on £2 for every CD I buy I can see that. Tell me that it's because there is a fairer equation of value between the customer and the retailer and I'm very sceptical, AND I don't want to live in a country with no record stores on the High St.

Sorry to go on but, Monkey Butlers -

They can be found in every town - in Royal Mail uniforms .

< £8.99 seems to me a more than fair price to pay for a product that costs around 10p to press. >
Sorry. It was this remark that I was responding to.

This thread and what seemed to be a buying experience out of kilter with others, together with the fact that they had the new Rush greatest hits CD and bonus DVD available for £8.99 inspired me to give CD-Wow another try.

I have to report a much happier experience the CD and Ibrahim Ferrer arrived separately but together within a few days of my order. They have obviously got the monkey butlers sorted out!!

I think the Rush CD is a particular bargain - £16.99 on the high street, and I would be more inclined to use CD-Wow again after this experience but I still think most of the time they are cheaper because they have a different business model and lower costs rather than lower margins.

Olly

The best internet source of CD's I have found is A&B sound (http:///www.absound.ca).

A&B have about 20 stores across Western Canada and you can buy the full range of their complete music selection off the net and including shipping costs they come in at better than 60% of high street prices.

Buying from overseas you are buying at better than Canadian prices (which are the cheapest anywhere) and also not paying Canadian sales tax.

Never had a problem and have ordered about 150 disks. Ideally only order 2 disks in a shipment so that the total package value doesn't attract the attention of UK Customs.

Highly recommended.