Re: CD prices

Jakub Kulesza (jkulesza@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca)
Fri, 30 May 1997 16:27:41 -0400 (EDT)


For some weird reason, Canada has really good CD prices. If you buy from
the cheap chains in Toronto or Vancouver, you can usually find new
releases for 13-15 dollars Canadian, which translates to about 10-12 US.
(HMV _always_ has new releases at 15.99 or less to prevent people from
using their CD Club cards which require that a CD cost 16.99) UK imports
range from 20-27 CDN for a single CD, Japanese imports from 30-40 CDN.

In the jazz section at Sam's in Toronto, stuff like the Blue Note Rare
Groove releases go for 10-12 CDN.

I'm working in Seattle right now, and Tower seems to average 12-14 US on
new releases. When I first moved to San Fran last September, I had visions
of cheap CDs dancing in my head and was rudely awakened by the prices in
the bay area. The only positive aspect is that the selection in the better
US stores is much bigger than what you'll find in Canada.

On Fri, 30 May 1997, elson trinidad wrote:

> At 05.13 PM 5/30/1997 +0100, Daniel wrote:
> >I live in Plymouth England now and I'm quite curios...the CD's here cost=
=A315
> >which equates to about $20 or so. I wanted to buy Sneaker Pimps CD but =
I
> >think it is far to much for my meager student account. I usually resort =
to
> >get CDs when I go to the US or home to Sweden. Is all of England this
> >expensive or is it just here?
> =20
> I know in Europe in general, CD prices are expensive. I did some travelin=
g
> there two years ago.=20
> The average *non-sale* price of a CD in the US is about $15. In the UK, i=
t
> was about =A315! (about $24);
> In France (Paris specifically), about 135 Francs or more ($23+). In the
> Netherlands, 42 Guilders ($21+) gets you a CD. I don't know whether it's
> manufacturing cost, overhead or VAT, but I've learned that for example
> buying a UK-made album via import costs just as much as buying it there,
> perhaps even less! I got Jamiroquai's "Travelling Without Moving" via
> import back in October '96 for $27, which came out to =A316 or so.
>=20
> Elson
> -30-
> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=20
> Elson Trinidad
> Los Angeles, CA, USA
> elson@westworld.com * http://www.westworld.com/~elson=20
> =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D
> =20
> =20
>=20