Jon Johanning wrote:
>I have yet to buy any CDs on-line (or much of anything else, for that
>matter, except for software), but what I am seeing on this thread tends
>to corroborate my general impression of Web commerce at this point: it's
>not quite ready for prime time. The attitude of a lot of on-line merchants
>seems to be: what we're doing is so hot, trendy, now, and way cool (as is
>"e"-everything) that if we treat our customers rudely and give lousy
>service they have no right to complain.
I've dealt twice with internet stores in England and six times with the
Berkshire Record Outlet, and would want to discourage this perspective,
lest you sell yourself short, close off possibilities needlessly, spend
more than you really need to on CDs per year, etc.
The two great things about Internet CD shopping are availability and price
competitiveness. The clear drawbacks are the risk of being defrauded by
giving out your credit card info, and, yes, the lack of face-to-face
contact and all that that may involve.
There are ways around the chance of fraud, as I noted in a recent posting
about the Berkshire Outlet: send a money order; or, better yet, e-mail
your order and phone in your numbers.
The rudeness and poor service are seldom so considerable as to discourage
the practice. The Berkshire people, well-known to be let's say grumpy, are
not all that insufferable. The Canadian BMG people, I found, were. Also,
their selection is laughably limited (to the current CM 'hits' and the
usual suspects. I simply don't deal with them any more.
>Dealing with off-line storekeepers at least allows you to be a real person,
>even though you may have to pay a little more for the privilege.
True. And you also see what you get, can touch it and discover relevant
things about the CD that may swing it for you to take it home or put it
right back. Often, you can even sample it. Besides, one often finds
unexpected items, and in a short while can be at home enjoying what you
bought. These are some of the reasons why I still shop in (newtonian?
einsteinian?) non-cyber space. Another, incidentally, is that my local
store has a very decent returns policy. None of these, you are quite
right, ought to be downplayed in terms of in-person shopping.
All the same, the advantages to on-line buying should not be overlooked,
since it too can enhance our music listening ...if only by saving us money
to buy even more!
Hope this goes some way to support not giving up on the prospect,
Bert B, in Ottawa
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