Only twenty years ago online shopping was unheard of, but now most people have used the internet for shopping of one kind or another. Online shopping has in fact made certain types of stores more or less obsolete, mainly because online stores can offer lower prices than their off-line competition.
Although this is disastrous for the merchants, it is great news for all the consumers looking to buy these particular products. Finding the same products at a much cheaper price is, of course, very nice indeed, but one needs to have some patience to find the best and cheapest shopping online.
Music is a good example of a business that is exploding online, while the off-line alternatives are getting fewer and fewer and smaller and smaller. Where large record stores could once be found everywhere, the record stores of today are mainly small, often niched, stores with little or no customers. Of course there are exceptions, as with most things, but more and more record stores are forced to shut down.
Online, on the other hand, the music industry has virtually exploded. Even though the record companies complain over piracy and illegal downloads, music has never been as popular as it is today. Leaving legal matters aside it seems like music is far easier to find today than it was only a few years ago. New to the online music scene are sites such as Spotify, where almost all music is available to the listener, making it even easier to enjoy music and artists from all around the world.
Although this might sound as the buyers market, it isnt always the case. The music business are fighting new technology with everything they have in an effort to protect the music business and its profits.
This means that many online record stores are more or less forced to sell the records for a price similar to that in regular stores even though the should be able to cut off a good chunk from that price because they have little or no costs for rent, employees and such.
Despite the music industrys effort to keep the prices high, there are ways of buying records cheaper online. Many if not all online record stores lower their prices on selected records to make customers interested. Because there are so many different websites selling CDs, odds are you can find more or less any record at a lower price if you just look long enough. One should always buy more than one CD though; otherwise the shipping cost will eat up all your savings.
Some online record stores only sell discounted CDs, but of course they will not have every new record in stock. But for music buffs looking for older CDs, these websites can be a virtual gold mine.
No matter where you buy your music online or off line the music industry will get their fair share of the profits. Hopefully they will use some of that profit to find more and easier ways of buying music online. It is after all about time.
Although this is disastrous for the merchants, it is great news for all the consumers looking to buy these particular products. Finding the same products at a much cheaper price is, of course, very nice indeed, but one needs to have some patience to find the best and cheapest shopping online.
Music is a good example of a business that is exploding online, while the off-line alternatives are getting fewer and fewer and smaller and smaller. Where large record stores could once be found everywhere, the record stores of today are mainly small, often niched, stores with little or no customers. Of course there are exceptions, as with most things, but more and more record stores are forced to shut down.
Online, on the other hand, the music industry has virtually exploded. Even though the record companies complain over piracy and illegal downloads, music has never been as popular as it is today. Leaving legal matters aside it seems like music is far easier to find today than it was only a few years ago. New to the online music scene are sites such as Spotify, where almost all music is available to the listener, making it even easier to enjoy music and artists from all around the world.
Although this might sound as the buyers market, it isnt always the case. The music business are fighting new technology with everything they have in an effort to protect the music business and its profits.
This means that many online record stores are more or less forced to sell the records for a price similar to that in regular stores even though the should be able to cut off a good chunk from that price because they have little or no costs for rent, employees and such.
Despite the music industrys effort to keep the prices high, there are ways of buying records cheaper online. Many if not all online record stores lower their prices on selected records to make customers interested. Because there are so many different websites selling CDs, odds are you can find more or less any record at a lower price if you just look long enough. One should always buy more than one CD though; otherwise the shipping cost will eat up all your savings.
Some online record stores only sell discounted CDs, but of course they will not have every new record in stock. But for music buffs looking for older CDs, these websites can be a virtual gold mine.
No matter where you buy your music online or off line the music industry will get their fair share of the profits. Hopefully they will use some of that profit to find more and easier ways of buying music online. It is after all about time.
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