The Four Threats…..and tariffs
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This may be, but the question is why they refuse to ship to the UK.
If the custom forms are correctly filled, it shouldn’t be stopped by customs. It may need a bit more work, but if 50% of the EU sellers can do it, it is a bit surprising the other 50% of EU sellers can’t do it. I don’t really know how their situation would be different.
To be honest, I am mostly annoyed because about 9 of the 10 times I asked the seller if any arrangement could be made to ship to my address, making it clear it was a rare item I couldn’t simply buy elsewhere, the seller did not respond at all.
I don’t know the exact reasons, so I’m just guessing, but if 50%(!) of the sellers do not do it, there are obviously very good reasons for not doing it. I mean, 50% is a lot. That is really a lot. So there are obviously hurdles. I mean, if you are a small scale seller who sells his inventory anyway, and the UK or any other country is more bureaucratic or has problems, you might just cross this off your list. I’m sure it is not because sellers specifically want to annoy UK citizens.
My best guess is that it’s due to the extra work when setting shipping rates, without good prospects of increasing sales. Since the UK (like Norway) is not part of the EU, most carriers charge higher rates. So the seller would need to go through the hassle of defining one additional shipping area, with a higher shipping rate which could make the total item price too high.
Yes, my best guess is extra work when setting shipping rates. Which is why I am a bit disappointed since if that is the case, it shouldn’t be that difficult for a large neighbour (the UK).
I don’t see much correlation with the volume of items on sale, but there is a correlation with the type of items on sale: those selling French or Italian language DVDs or LPs will have much less chances of offering international shipping, while those selling rock music will most likely offer international shipping.
But is it more expensive with the new tarrifs, or have they been like that for a couple of years?
It’s been like that as far as I can tell. US releases are more expensive at Music Box Records, European ones are cheaper. But shipping is much cheaper for me from Music Box Records… in fact, it’s even gone down a bit.
An irritating thing I’ve discovered is that while one could make use of Amazon’s “free shipping for minimum orders at $49” to cross off ONE of the four threats, titles on sale are NOT eligible for this offer. So you’re left with only full-price CDs, and a full price that is off the charts these days.
And they strike again, Intrada has to raise prices due to increase CD pressing material costs: https://www.filmscoremonthly.com/community/general-discussion/intrada-price-hike/
Ugh. As if prices and shipping weren’t prohibitive enough as it is. Getting CDs has become science fiction to me.
I’m guessing the material in question is the aluminium or whatever CDs are made of.
Here is an article from HiRes Audio Online that gives nice overview of the rise and fall of the compact disc. Now I have “followed” the rise and fall of the compact disc both as someone who is very interested in developing audio technology as well as a collector and buyer of compact discs for most of my life, and this here aligns with my experience.
The sales and use of compact discs peaked at the turn of the millennium. That’s when they were totally mainstream, and by far the best and easiest way to listen to whatever music you wanted.
Then came a sharp decline. The Internet, MP3, Napster… these all had considerable impact. However, there were still so many CDs pressend and in circulation, which means in the years of the decline of CDs, CDs reached their lowest price in history… they were a mass product that was still manufactured and widely distributed, but people were also starting to dump their collections right and left and throw them on the market. So lots and lots of CDs were either “redistributed” on the secondary market, or ended up as garden tree deco or whatever. Now the situation is different. Very few CDs are still manufactured, they have become a niche product like vinyl. The secondary market is no longer a “deals and steals” market anymore, but one that looks and caters more to collectors and afficionados who look for certain editions or want to complete something.
CDs on the whole — new or used — will never be as cheaply available anymore the way they were maybe 10 years ago.Indeed. I just wish I were aware of the ‘golden era’ I lived in at the time, and had taken more advantage of the low prices and wider availability. I mean, even more than I did (I obviously did take advantage of it and bought CDs left and right, on both primary and secondary markets, but as Oskar Schindler said, “I could have done more…”).
Interesting stats, thanks for sharing!
Here are some stats about the German music market:
https://www.musikindustrie.de/wie-musik-zur-karriere-werden-kann/markt-bestseller/musikindustrie-in-zahlen-2024That doesn’t mean you can’t still make some great deals now and then. Last years, I found on Amazon (it was a reseller in the USA) used but in very good condition, a copy of Intrada’s release of DAMNATION ALLEY for $0.01. Now that’s something you don’t see every day, a sold out highly collectible album offered for a cent. But what did I have to loose… so I ordered it. And what can I say? What arrived about two weeks later was a copy of Intrada’s DAMNATION ALLEY in excellent condition. For a cent. Probably the best deal I have ever made on a CD. 🙂
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