I think I know one reason why Coumbia House went broke.  Forget about
the ease with which you can quit, then rejoin after a decent interval
and get all those free CDs.  One time I did that, and ordered the blue
Horowitz boxed set.  I think that's 14 CDs in ten volumes.  I got that
for free or for a very modest cost, maybe the equivalent of one CD. But
for some reason they sent two of them, and in the same mailing!  I kept
one, sold the other for a substantial discount from list, making a buyer
very happy indeed, and had enough left over to fulfill my requirements
and then some.  Columbia in effect was paying me to be a member.  No
wonder they're out of business.

Mitch Friedfeld