Ahhhhhhhh walked my usual path today into some cd shops....nothing new to buy....and a small selection at that.
Leaves me envious of those living in places where you can buy decent cds and dvds and you know that when you go in there on a monday all the new stuff will be out. Don't have to dream of it.
The guy who works in the shop blames the record companies-they are not interested it seems in sending orders out to Asia. Then you have the dodgy customs officials who take what they can and by the time it gets here there is nothing left.
The odd treasure comes through but thats about all. Oh but the Bocelli's, the other cr*p gets here ok-the shop is full of "bond", "bocelli" and "watson". Can i get any wagner? Can i buggery.
I've almost stopped going to shops. I live in the country, and there are webshops enough in this world. I think I've forgotten how to browse properly in shops. I try when in Oslo from time to time, but it's not fun like it used to be, even when the shop is well stocked.
Quote from: Valentino on June 07, 2007, 01:00:31 AM
I've almost stopped going to shops. I live in the country, and there are webshops enough in this world.
My sentiments precisely. And online, you can sample music, too - no record shop anywhere near me (and that's 20 miles away) would take Timberlake off the PA system so I could hear a bit of Telemann.
I still feel a great swell of comfort walking through Tower in Dublin, arriving in and hearing the music change from the rap/rock/folk to the classical section at the back is like coming in from the rain (which is usually something else I've done moments before).
Still, for selection, the interweb is the only place to go.
Quote from: The Mad Hatter on June 07, 2007, 03:08:13 AM
I still feel a great swell of comfort walking through Tower in Dublin
Did Tower in Dublin somehow survive?
For me at least, there are really no places worth driving to shop for classical CDs here in the San Diego area. Even the last bastion, Lou's Records and Tapes in Encinitas, has been in decline over the last year. I've made a couple of pilgrimages up to L.A. to visit Amoeba and Record Surplus, but that's an all day round trip and $30 in gas.
Proper shops, like a couple of the big ones in London, are nice. Listening stations with club chairs, was it at HMV? Wonderful.
We have ONE shop specialising in classical music in Perth and it recently moved to a smaller, more out-of-the-way premises with what seems to be less stock. I fear it will soon go out of business. It's a nice shop and I do like to browse around there, but I do just about all my CD and DVD shopping on the web these days -- CDs usually cost significantly less.
The only thing I miss is the instant gratification of being able to play my purchases as soon as I have bought them :(
Quote from: Daverz on June 07, 2007, 03:12:25 AM
Did Tower in Dublin somehow survive?
Well, the classical section used to be most of the top floor, but now it's just a small room. Still, they play classical in there, and it's well laid-out.
Quote from: sunnyside_up on June 07, 2007, 03:22:05 AM
The only thing I miss is the instant gratification of being able to play my purchases as soon as I have bought them :(
Downloads, anyone? ;)
Back in the day, nearly every store around here had big classical selections. Best Buy even had a whole room set aside, if you can believe it. Now, no stores have a decent selection of classical music--if any. Not the chains, not the independents. So, online it is.
Quote from: Valentino on June 07, 2007, 03:32:50 AM
You modern, you!
Oh, but I'm not. I still love CD/SACD, but storage space is becoming an issue. And when I can get reasonable high-quality downloads quickly and hear them straightaway, it's sometimes better for me to do this rather than wait for some Amazon seller to finally get around to posting the CD to me.
Quote from: Mark on June 07, 2007, 03:25:56 AM
Downloads, anyone? ;)
Yeah, I know.....I don't know why, but I like having the physical CD, getting it out of its case, putting it on a decent system and sitting down with the liner notes in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. I guess I'm just an old fashioned girl. ;D
you know i do lots of net stuff, banking, flights, hotels but i have never bought a book, cd or dvd on the net. Yes, i am a virgin!
>:D
Can some of you more experienced guys help me out. I live in Kuala lumpur, so it might be different for you:
1. I am told not to buy more than 2 items at a time - the customs office here might take a shine to it.
2. People tell me to send it to my work as otherwise the guards at my apartment might nick-it.
I am always worried by the high price for p&p-does it really work out more expensive?
Quote from: sunnyside_up on June 07, 2007, 03:46:51 AM
Yeah, I know.....I don't know why, but I like having the physical CD, getting it out of its case, putting it on a decent system and sitting down with the liner notes in one hand and a glass of wine in the other. I guess I'm just an old fashioned girl. ;D
Secretly, so do I. Without the vino - I'm tee-total. :)
Quote from: sunnyside_up on June 07, 2007, 03:22:05 AM
The only thing I miss is the instant gratification of being able to play my purchases as soon as I have bought them :(
Yeah, but don't you get a kick out of getting packages from the postie? :)
Quote from: yashin on June 07, 2007, 03:55:12 AM
you know i do lots of net stuff, banking, flights, hotels but i have never bought a book, cd or dvd on the net. Yes, i am a virgin!
>:D
Can some of you more experienced guys help me out. I live in Kuala lumpur, so it might be different for you:
1. I am told not to buy more than 2 items at a time - the customs office here might take a shine to it.
2. People tell me to send it to my work as otherwise the guards at my apartment might nick-it.
I am always worried by the high price for p&p-does it really work out more expensive?
Yashin, it depends on what the tax-free threshold is for Malaysia.
Postage depends on where you buy from.
www.jpc.de (a German website) has a flat rate (14 euros to Asia). I think that's a very reasonable price, especially if you're buying a few sets (which is probably what they're hoping for ;D). This is good especially if you fancy some brilliant boxsets as they have really really good prices. Also cpo. Some of the more mainstream stuff might be found more cheaply elsewhere.
Also, if you're buying from the EU, you don't have to pay VAT, although Malaysian import taxes may well cancel that out.
Your second question ... hmmm, depends on your guards. Maybe you can ask the vendor to write on your packages, 'Arcane atonal stuff ... you won't like it, Guards.'
Quote from: Novitiate on June 07, 2007, 04:10:21 AM
Yeah, but don't you get a kick out of getting packages from the postie? :)
Sure do! I get them sent to my work, which breaks up the day nicely! ;)
Oh i misunderstood the JPC website-i thought it was much more expensive for p&p!
That site is great, and i prefer the euro sites compared to the UK which i find more expensive. I used to live in Holland and quite often the cds/dvd were cheaper (not always) there.
Thanks, will check it out again
I received an email last night from Tower.com telling me, as a valued customer, that I can, in the near future, shop at the new Tower.com.
Which was nice.
The downside is, but I need to check, it is an American site which means orders have to run the gauntlet of British Customs :(
Bah!
Quote from: Hector on June 07, 2007, 04:22:34 AM
I received an email last night from Tower.com telling me, as a valued customer, that I can, in the near future, shop at the new Tower.com.
Which was nice.
The downside is, but I need to check, it is an American site which means orders have to run the gauntlet of British Customs :(
Bah!
And the chances of a major operation like Tower writing the word 'Gift' on your packaged order (thus avoiding customs duty on arrival here in the UK) are zero. ;D
Declaring something as a gift does not, sadly, exempt it from import duty. The threshold for gifts (£36) is twice that for non gifts, thereafter the same rates apply. :(
What you need is a supplier who'll declare the goods both as a gift and value $10. That's unlikely to be Tower.
Quote from: Choo Choo on June 07, 2007, 05:01:54 AM
Declaring something as a gift does, not sadly, exempt it from import duty. The threshold for gifts (£36) is twice that for non gifts, thereafter the same rates apply. :(
What you need is a supplier who'll declare the goods both as a gift and value $10. That's unlikely to be Tower.
That's odd. I've had items worth over £36 sent to me from the States and marked as 'gift', yet I've not paid a penny in duty. Perhaps I just got lucky on the three occasions when this occurred.
Quote from: Mark on June 07, 2007, 03:25:56 AM
Downloads, anyone? ;)
Just about all of the downloads I've ever seen are compressed music. That's okay for Ipod, but it just doesn't stand up on the big speakers which magnify all the flaws. Also, there's that nasty problem with drm. EMI may be drm free, but that's about it, and EMI downloads are still compressed to 192 or 256 kbps MP3 -- not enough quality for speaker playback. No, Mark, I'll stick with cds until the sound quality offered improves [i/]substantially[/i].
Quote from: Mark on June 07, 2007, 05:05:08 AM
That's odd. I've had items worth over £36 sent to me from the States and marked as 'gift', yet I've not paid a penny in duty. Perhaps I just got lucky on the three occasions when this occurred.
The interesting thing about that is that "value" is not the same as price. The value of any item is far lower than the price charged for it. That lets in a lot of things that would be flagged. The "value" of a cd is actually pennies, not pounds (or dollars).
Bunny, there's no questioning that big speakers and good systems make MP3s a no-no for most people serious about their music. But as to the question of DRM, not every site sells tracks hampered by this evil technology. In fact, I won't give my custom to any site that DOES add DRM.
Quote from: Bunny on June 07, 2007, 05:07:04 AM
The interesting thing about that is that "value" is not the same as price. The value of any item is far lower than the price charged for it. That lets in a lot of things that would be flagged. The "value" of a cd is actually pennies, not pounds (or dollars).
Probably explains why I've got away with books, software and CDs without coughing up.
Quote from: Bunny on June 07, 2007, 05:05:13 AM
Just about all of the downloads I've ever seen are compressed music. That's okay for Ipod, but it just doesn't stand up on the big speakers which magnify all the flaws. Also, there's that nasty problem with drm. EMI may be drm free, but that's about it, and EMI downloads are still compressed to 192 or 256 kbps MP3 -- not enough quality for speaker playback. No, Mark, I'll stick with cds until the sound quality offered improves [i/]substantially[/i].
I haven't checked for DRM, but Linn Records lets you download uncompressed music.
Declared value is always very, very low and rarely reflects the price paid when goods are imported in to a country. It's some sort of blind spot or loophole. The value of a book can be only the cost of the paper, ink and binding -- pennies. Try and bring in a work of art and the ballgame changes. More factors come into play, as an example, age starts to matter. Antiques (defined as 100 years of age or greater) are usually duty free, especially if you are bringing back an item of historic value or returning an antiquity to its country of origin. Certain goods, such as unset and/or uncut diamonds, are also duty free. If they weren't, the diamond trade would wither up and die.
Quote from: Valentino on June 07, 2007, 05:20:13 AM
I haven't checked for DRM, but Linn Records lets you download uncompressed music.
That's a site I'm going to check out!
Quote from: Bunny on June 07, 2007, 05:21:56 AM
Declared value is always very, very low and rarely reflects the price paid when goods are imported in to a country.
This unfortunately is not the view taken by HM Revenue & Customs in the UK:
Quote from: HMRCDuty is charged on the price paid for the goods including any local sales taxes plus postage, packing and insurance costs.
Yes, but that is usually when you are reentering a country with goods purchased abroad. When something is sent as a "gift" its declared value does not have to represent the price. Take a used cd, for instance: the price at auction may be $100, but it's value is merely the cost of the cd, and a used cd is valued lower than a new cd. Customs officers have formulas for the value of certain items, and I'll bet that cds and books when imported or received as gifts are valued lower than the price. Without a sales receipt with a dollars and cents (or pounds and pence) bottom line, the value is what the sender assigns it.
Quote from: Valentino on June 07, 2007, 05:20:13 AM
I haven't checked for DRM, but Linn Records lets you download uncompressed music.
Linn downloads are DRM free. :)