The posts about the different Internet and mail order services are very
helpful to me.  Mr. Gotthelf, in a recent message, mentioned that some of
the Phillips volumes from the Great Pianists of the 20th Century series are
on sale at about $16 per set from Total E, and that is a fantastic price,
especially with the 99 cent shipping charge that Total E is currently
applying.  I scarfed up all of the $16 sets that I didn't already have.  At
the same time, I'd like to make a few more comments about EveryCD, because
I've been very happy with them and I'd like to recommend them to others.

Mr. Gotthelf, in the message below, states that Total E is cheaper that
EveryCD because Total E charges only 99 cents shipping & handling right now
for the entire order.  First, I understand that Total E's shipping charge
is a temporary special, and their regular shipping charges that they post
on their site are actually more expensive than the normal shipping charges
from EveryCD.  Still, the Total E 99 cent shipping special is a good deal
right now, but it still doesn't necessarily mean that Total E will be
cheaper than EveryCD.  For example, I recently ordered 22 CDs from EveryCD
and got all but one within a week.  EveryCD is usually (but not always)
$1.50 per CD cheaper that Total E.  If that is correct, I saved, before
shipping, $33 over what Total E would have charged on that order.  Then,
Total E would have charged 99 cents for shipping, and EveryCD in fact
charged me $12 for shipping.  However, I net out a savings of $22 with
EveryCD over Total E.  Of course, EveryCD charged an annual membership fee
of $39, but with the mathematics I have applied, it won't take very many
orders until, even after consideration of shipping and membership fees
(neither company charges tax), EveryCD ends up being cheaper.

Of course, one has to buy a fairly significant volume of CDs to make
EveryCD's substantially cheaper CD prices offset the membership fees, but,
with a certain volume, EveryCD is unquestionably the cheaper way to go.

Keep in mind that Total E's shipping special is exceptional, and all other
mail order service shipping prices are either about what EveryCD charges or
higher than EveryCD.  EveryCD, unlike BMG's club, does not shaft you with
excessive shipping and handling so that they can post artificially low
prices.

Neither Total E nor EveryCD have particularly good Internet sites.  I
think CD Universe and Amazon are much better on web site "browsability"
and friendliness.  EveryCD's web site is particularly limited and sometimes
slow, and Total E clearly has a better web site than EveryCD.  At the same
time, if you have a good idea of what you want, the limitations in the web
sites are not a big problem.

It appears to me that Total E does not have as extensive a catalog as
EveryCD.  There are some esoteric labels that Total E does not have, but
Total E appears to have all the more mainstream labels, as well as most but
not all of the more esoteric labels that EveryCD covers.

EveryCD offers some helpful member services that won't be offered by the
"non-membership fee" companies, and I'd encourage people to check out the
page on their web site that discusses the member services.  They send you
an 800-page catalog with your membership, and the catalog has pretty much
every CD around, and you can also place phone orders (in addition to over
the internet).  I've found the catalog to be very helpful.

Finally, EveryCD has been damn near phenomenal in being able to deliver
everything within a week.  I've had some disappointing experiences with
other companies where a lot of things get backordered and it sometimes
takes weeks to get everything you ordered.  So far, I've placed and
received 3 orders for about 40 discs with EveryCD, and I got absolutely
everything within a week except for a single disk that I found out had not
even been released yet.  Two of the three orders involved mostly esoteric
labels covering Ligeti, Berio, Carter, and other 20th century composers,
and I've found it particularly hard to get those types of discs from other
companies.

After all of my proselytizing for EveryCD, it is still clear that other
companies might offer the better combination of price and services for
others or in particular circumstances.  I'm really looking forward to
getting from Total E some of the volumes from Phillips' Great Pianists
series--at fantastic prices!!

Drew M. Capuder
Fairmont, West Virginia USA
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