Internet shopping budget...

[George]

It isn't just the poor.

Indeed. 

[Steve]

I'd never delete Dittersdorf from my wish-list.

But then, that is because I would never add him in the first place 

You and I lack the appropriate level of intellectual aptitude to be able to appreciate such a composer, Karl. 

[beclemund]

My biggest problem is not overspending...

I tend to order impulsively tho' and that leaves me feeling a bit guilty in terms of online orders as I am failing to protect our precious environment by inefficient shipping demands. I really need to plan better so I get several months worth of shopping at one time (and buy more locally... but the stores are not nearly as dependable in terms of selection as online retailers) and reduce my impact on the environment with my purchases.

[Steve]

My biggest problem is not overspending...

I tend to order impulsively tho' and that leaves me feeling a bit guilty in terms of online orders as I am failing to protect our precious environment by inefficient shipping demands. I really need to plan better so I get several months worth of shopping at one time (and buy more locally... but the stores are not nearly as dependable in terms of selection as online retailers) and reduce my impact on the environment with my purchases.

Keeping up one's collection, while being conscious of the environment, can be very diffciult. Unfortunately, for us here in Chicago, there are virtually no quality retailers left... 

[Philoctetes]

Keeping up one's collection, while being conscious of the environment, can be very diffciult. Unfortunately, for us here in Chicago, there are virtually no quality retailers left... 

We still have some quality retailers up here?

[Novi]

My biggest problem is not overspending...

I tend to order impulsively tho' and that leaves me feeling a bit guilty in terms of online orders as I am failing to protect our precious environment by inefficient shipping demands. I really need to plan better so I get several months worth of shopping at one time (and buy more locally... but the stores are not nearly as dependable in terms of selection as online retailers) and reduce my impact on the environment with my purchases.

I hear ya, my friend. But sometimes it's hard to avoid.

HMV is one of the greatest culprits. It's free UK delivery but they still send orders item by item. JPC is a bit better - they tend to wait till most of your order's there, then courier a largish package, but then courier the rest in dribs and drabs. I appreciate their efforts, but really, I'm a little embarrassed  by the wasted resources. Likewise the caiman orders, which are never combined.

June 50 euros budget used.  What did I got?

J. S. Bach - Cantatas vol. 33 - Suzuki [hybrid SACD]
Elgar - The Starlight Express - Handley [CD]
Silk Stalkings - Season 5 [DVD]
Brahms/Mendelssohn - Violin Concertos - Mutter/Karajan [CD]

71dB, there's only 2 or so weeks till July ... 

[Steve]

We still have some quality retailers up here?

In Geneva, really? There are hardly any quality records stores in Chicago.

[beclemund]

HMV is one of the greatest culprits. It's free UK delivery but they still send orders item by item. JPC is a bit better - they tend to wait till most of your order's there, then courier a largish package, but then courier the rest in dribs and drabs. I appreciate their efforts, but really, I'm a little embarrassed  by the wasted resources. Likewise the caiman orders, which are never combined.

Fortunately, I can request Amazon combine orders, so that is helpful, but all of the resellers and non Amazon orders tend to make a mess of things. These days, I often opt to spend more for an item at one retailer if I have multiple items to order along with it rather than save a few dollars by ordering it elsewhere... but then, that means fewer total goodies to buy with my finite budget.

[Harry]

In Geneva, really? There are hardly any quality records stores in Chicago.

True, when I was there, I could not find a decent store anywere.

[71 dB]

71dB, there's only 2 or so weeks till July ... 

True but it feels a long time... 

[orbital]

True but it feels a long time... 

Not a big fan of the downloading game? Imagine how many puchases you could make with 50 Euros 

[Philoctetes]

In Geneva, really? There are hardly any quality records stores in Chicago.

Sorry, the question mark was meant to imply that there weren't any quality stores.

I know of none since Tower went out of business.

We do have a record store in downtown Geneva called Kiss the Sky, but their selection is not really the 'classical' genre if you know what I mean.

Nice store though.

[71 dB]

Not a big fan of the downloading game? Imagine how many puchases you could make with 50 Euros 

To my knowledge legal downloads are like 10 euros/CD. That's not less than what I spend on CDs. I don't like mp3s because they aren't "save". Hard discs can broke any time and if you burn CD-R:s you don't know if they last even 10 years

[orbital]

To my knowledge legal downloads are like 10 euros/CD. That's not less than what I spend on CDs. I don't like mp3s because they aren't "save". Hard discs can broke any time and if you burn CD-R:s you don't know if they last even 10 years

10? Those links that Mark gave were offering for much less (around 1-2 Euros?) and it should be perfectly legal within the EU.

[techniquest]

Yeah, but poor people need to prioritize more.

Absolutely we do! I buy from ebay and only use Paypal. If my balance gets too low, then I sell some stuff on ebay (again only using paypal) in order to get some more spending power. That way it keeps actual spending to a minimum.
There are no stores selling classical music in my town, so I have to rely on dwindling classical sections in HMV or Virgin when I go to cities. There is a dedicated classical music store about in my nearest city (15 miles away) and I do treat myself occasionally especially as it now has a growing second-hand section.

[Steve]

To my knowledge legal downloads are like 10 euros/CD. That's not less than what I spend on CDs. I don't like mp3s because they aren't "save". Hard discs can broke any time and if you burn CD-R:s you don't know if they last even 10 years

Sites such as eclassical and emusic offer legal, low priced classical downloads. Blank CD-Rs are so cheap right now, that backing them up wouldn't be much of an issue. You should really look into legal downloads.