buy music on-line in the UK

CDNow is probasbly the largest and most well know internet music store, and they do ship music cd's and video tapes world wide. It would be nice if CDNow followed the lead of Amazon.com in establishing a UK or European presence. However, so far they have not done this, and there are several dis-advantages for UK users in dealing with the US based CDNow:-

CDNow prices are in US dollars
(Roughly, two thirds gives you the UK pounds equivalent)

Shipping costs to the UK can be quite significant
(about 4 UK pounds on one CD)

There can be a considerable delay between ordering and delivery
(2-5 weeks)

I am not suggesting that UK residents should avoid using CDNow for music cd's. They provide an excellent service, and in some cases can offer music cd's cheaper than UK suppliers, even when considering the cost of carriage, if you do not mind waiting a bit longer for delivery.

However, videos are another matter. You will often find top rated movies on sale at CDnow long before they appear in the UK, and at better prices, but beware. The videos supplied by CDNow are in NTSC format to suit the USA market and cannot be played on normal UK video recorders which are designed for PAL.

So, what other options do UK users have?

Well amazon.co.uk, having established themselves in the on-line books field are rumoured to be extending their range to cover music cd's. If they provide as good a service with cd's as they have done with books, it will be an excellent choice for UK users. But that is yet to come.

WHSmith have already started up an on-line division, where UK users can buy books, music cd's, videos and video games. They have a good range of products to suit most tastes, and with a well know name like WHSmith you know that you can shop on-line with confidence..

Another site worth visiting is WebLines UK, offering a wide range of music cd's , minidisks and vinyl records, together with movies on video tape and DVD and a range of video games for Playstation, Nintendo and PC's. See the First Time Visitors Guide for information on how to use this site.