Kevin wrote:

>On the other hand, if there is a specific piece I want, which is more
>often than not the case these days, or a specific artist, it is much
>faster to go online.

And cheaper.  My recent buys from eBay:

1.  The Skrowaczewski box of the Bruckner symphonies.  Now available
only from Oehms in the mid-$80 range -- much of it used to be available
at mega-budget price on Arte Nova, but I don't think AN ever released
the whole cycle -- I picked up a box in the mid-fifties, including
shipping from Europe.  It is unavailable at the largest Tower in the
Washington, D.C., area, but you can buy it at the Tower site for $81.99.
It happens to be on sale today; the usual price is in the high eighties.

2.  The Barshai box of Shostakovich symphonies on Brilliant.  I got
this for $27 including shipping.  While not the screaming bargain that it
used to be (still is?) in the UK, where at one point it sold at a grocery
chain for something like 5BPS, it's still better than the mid-$30 dollar
range that Tower sold it for during the several weeks it was available
at a bricks-and-mortar store.  It does not appear to be on their site.

3.  Boehm's Ring was a screaming buy in the low-$70 range, including air
shipping from Germany.  This usually lists for $159 in a Tower outlet,
but I once found it on their site for $119.  I have seen this set sold
even cheaper at eBay.

True, eBay can have its own problems, but I have not run into them yet.
I rarely go into a Tower these days, and when I do my stay gets shorter
and shorter.  Much like the size of their classical section.

Mitch Friedfeld