Im not sure about in other parts of Europe but here in Britain high street music retailers do have a couple of genuine excuses for charging so much. First of all, we pay a ridiculous 17.5% V.A.T. (point of sales tax). I worked in CD shop about 10 years ago and I remember how much adding the tax effected the prices. Also, on this over-populated island land is at a premium and property is extremely expensive. Having said that, there really is no excuse for the blatant stupidity that Efren outlined in his posting. In the Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street in London the Jazz department has 4 copies of Steve Beresfords Signals for Tea (Avant) at an unbelievable £35.99 each!!! They must have been in the racks for 8 or 9 years now, and theyve never once put them in the sale. Im also increasingly frustrated by the abysmal service Ive been getting on the high street. They simply dont know anything about what theyre selling. I think the arrival of the internet is splitting the field. The big shops are now only interested in turning over stock as rapidly as possible; the competition is extremely stiff and prices are actually coming down. I've seen assistants in shops like Virgin and HMV turning customers away who wanted to order something that wasn't in the store. As I dont want the latest dross by Robbie Williams I am thankful that I can get pretty much whatever I want at relatively reasonable prices on the web, from Canada or the States. By the way, has anyone used www.splashdvd.com? They seem to be offering a lot of Tzadik stuff for £10 delivered. Seems too good to be true. Dave _________________________________________________________________ Tired of 56k? Get a FREE BT Broadband connection http://www.msn.co.uk/specials/btbroadband
Hi, Of course, I forgot to mention our 16% V.A.T (I.V.A for us) which is the additional tax added to "luxury items". Cds, books and DVDs/VHs are categorized as deluxe products here. Ironically I cannot charge that 16% to my clients when I translate a literary book. I can do with any other type of text, but not with literature based on who-knows-what grounds. You don't get that discount when you go to a bookstore, of course. Thankfully there's Downtown Music Gallery, Squidco, Verge Music,... who really have affordable prices. As far as record-store employees, I gave up a long time ago. I prefer to make my requests here or check allmusic or whatever. At least nobody's giving you a bad look for asking!! Best, Efrén del VAlle --- David Evans <davidcerievans@hotmail.com> escribió: > IÂm not sure about in other parts of Europe but here
in Britain high street music retailers do have a couple of genuine excuses for charging so much. First of all, we pay a ridiculous 17.5% V.A.T. (point of sales tax). I worked in CD shop about 10 years ago and I remember how much adding the tax effected the prices. Also, on this over-populated island land is at a premium and property is extremely expensive.
Having said that, there really is no excuse for the blatant stupidity that Efren outlined in his posting. In the Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street in London the Jazz department has 4 copies of Steve BeresfordÂs Signals for Tea (Avant) at an unbelievable £35.99 each!!! They must have been in the racks for 8 or 9 years now, and theyÂve never once put them in the sale. IÂm also increasingly frustrated by the abysmal service IÂve been getting on the high street. They simply donÂt know anything about what theyÂre selling.
I think the arrival of the internet is splitting the field. The big shops are now only interested in turning over stock as rapidly as possible; the competition is extremely stiff and prices are actually coming down. I've seen assistants in shops like Virgin and HMV turning customers away who wanted to order something that wasn't in the store. As I donÂt want the latest dross by Robbie Williams I am thankful that I can get pretty much whatever I want at relatively reasonable prices on the web, from Canada or the States.
By the way, has anyone used www.splashdvd.com? They seem to be offering a lot of Tzadik stuff for £10 delivered. Seems too good to be true.
Dave
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participants (2)
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David Evans -
Efrén del Valle