Foetusized's Page o' CD Shopping

CD Stores on the Internet

places to find cheap and/or collectible discs

This is a list of where I like to shop for compact discs on the Internet. All of these sites are ones that I have ordered from & shop regularly, and I base my reviews on my personal experiences. I receive no "kickback" or store credit from an associates program for sending customers to any of these sites; I am strictly a customer of the CD stores or sales forums listed below.

Buying Direct from the Label or Artist

Buying from the website of a small record label or a musical artists can have several advantages. First, buying direct cuts out a middleman, which can mean lower prices. Even buying from overseas, the higher postage is balanced out by the high prices of discs that have moved through the hands of an importer. Second, you get the satisfaction of helping out your favorite artist or label, as they will often see a higher profit from these direct sales. And finally, they may offer limited editions, mailorder-only releases, autographed editions, and promotional discs not available anywhere else but direct from them.
The list of where I have bought is obviously influenced by my musical tastes, but might give you some ideas:

Alma Road Distribution Direct sales for Beggar's Banquet and affiliated labels from England. Offers some promotion-only recordings for sale, as well as releases exclusive to their mail order service.
Chris & Cosey / CTI Mailorder I was able to buy a CD that was only to be given away to concert attendees at a recent festival; they were selling off extra copies from their website. The duo are also selling used vinyl records from their own personal collection, as well as a complete line of C&C and Throbbing Gristle CDs.
The Choir / Century 21 Dan Michaels of The Choir operates this independant label featuring releases by his band and other related bands such as Daniel Amos. They offer pre-orders, sale prices, and special promotional items not for sale elsewhere.
Negativmailorderland Recordings for sale by Negativland, other bands on their Seeland label, and other related works. The cassette tapes of their "Over the Edge" radio show are only available here.
Ralph America - Buy or Die! The Resident's record label offers the most complete selection of recordings by the band, including limited edition numbered mail-order only releases, imports from Japan and Europe, marked down clearance items, and the remaining stock of hard-to-find out-of-print pressings.
Soleilmoon This US record label offers noise, industrial, and ambient music. Their web site offers their own music, as well as music from similar and related artists, including World Serpent imoports from the UK.
Head Heritage Pretty much the only source for music by Julian Cope is his own web site.

Ebay

I started bidding on items on Ebay in 1999, and have bid on many items and won quite a few. I have gained some insight on how this popular auction site (and it's many imitators, which generally don't have the quality nor quantity of Ebay's listings, at least in compact discs) works.
Many rare & collectable CDs are offered for sale on this site; I have seen discs offered for sale that I have never seen in years of shopping for CDs using the Internet. If you cannot find the CD you are looking for elsewhere, try Ebay every week or so (it may take some time for it to show up) or sign up for their Personal Shopper service (which will email you when an item meeting your search criteria is offered) and if price is no object you will be able to get it.
If price is a concern (as it is for me; I enjoy being a smart shopper), from my experience making reasonable bids on items that catch your fancy will win you some CDs. Here's some things I have learned that one ought to consider:

The price at the end of the auction is not determined by the maximum bid of the winner, but by the maximum bid of the second place bidder. If there is no serious contender for the item you want, you'll get a good price. I am the second place bidder more often than not, and as such I determined how much the winner paid.
Items sometimes sell for more than they are worth; I was nearly guilty of this error. After bidding $11.23 for the Tones on Tail "Something!" promo disc, I discovered it was available direct from Beggars Banquet in England for six pounds (shipping included), which was around $9.60 at the exchange rate at the time. Fortunately for me, someone else topped my bid and paid the inflated price of $11.73 plus shipping. The lesson is to research the items you are bidding upon so you know how much they cost elsewhere; looking at the recently completed auction listings will also give you some good price data.
Just because the seller says it is rare or out-of-print, don't believe them. Research it for yourself.
Remember shipping. Consider the cost of shipping when figuring out your maximum bid for an item, or in the end you'll pay more than you wanted. Most listings will let you know how much they will charge; email sellers that don't list the shipping cost.

Half.com

Half.com is the fixed-price exchange service that was bought by eBay in 2000. Instead of having CDs up for bid, discs are listed by sellers at a set price. The system only allows credit (or debit) card payments with shipping costs added automatically, but is simple to use for buyers. The only problem is that Half.com controls the list of available titles, leaving off many odd-ball releases, which limits the sales of some rare and hard-to-find releases. It is a very good place to check when looking for a disc, because if it is available here, the price will likely be quite reasonable.

The CD List

This is not really a web site store, but a free mail list. If you subscribe, once a week you will receive several emails listing CDs for sale. I've ordered several times from the CD List Guy and have always been satisfied.
The latest subscription information can be found on the web site.

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Find any typos or have any questions, let me know.

All email asking me to sell or to make
illegal copies of my CDs will be ignored.

Last updated 2 March 2006.