Robert's Review of Ordering CDs at Music Boulevard / CDNow, 07/26/97

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When I was asked to set up a link to an Internet CD ordering site, I briefly looked over various companies. But then I decided to test it, I set up a link to a test page and went looking for CDs. After a successful test I added links to Music Boulevard.

First I looked for a new album. I searched by artist name (first name followed by last name). Music Boulevard had a long list of available CDs and cassettes as well as some Imports. The prices were good, for a new CD $11.99 (note - prices are subject to change.) Ordering the CD was easy I clicked on the CD and it added the CD to my shopping cart. The shopping cart shows an entry for each item in your order showing quantity, artist, title, and price.

Each artist on Music Boulevard has a discography with some cover pics, audio tracks (multiple formats), ratings (ok, good, best of genre), release dates, and track list. Also available are a list of related artists and influential artists. A separate link points to articles including brief biographies.

You can search my artist name, song, album title or enter their rooms which include MTV, VH1, Jazz, New Pop, and others.

I then searched for Van Morrison and found an older album for $11.49. I selected this one and my shopping cart was updated. I also checked out their sale section and found an old Neil Young CD for $6.49. Then I said that I was done. The system asks if you are a registered user and asks for your name. If not it prompts for your name, address, and credit card information (Mastercard, Visa, Discover, American Express, or JBC). You can also select to phone or fax your credit card information if you are concerned about Internet security. You can also pay by mail using a check.

I placed my order on a Sunday. Music Boulevard normally charges for shipping and mailing, they have three options; option 1 is the default with 4-8 days and for my 2 CDs 3.75, for 2-3 days it would be 4.94, for overnight 6.99. At the time I was ordering they had a special with no shipping charges, so I went with the default. I received an email asking me to phone in my credit card number (for this test I didn't leave it on-line) confirming my order on Tuesday morning. My order was shipped the next day and arrived on Saturday.

To complete the test I went to a local discount store for a price comparison, I couldn't find any of the CDs. They had a lot of other Morrison CDs (for $10) but not the one that I ordered. It would have been a wasted trip if it was for real. I received my CDs in about a week. My total cost for 3 CDs and shipping and handling was $29.97. They don't charge sales tax. In addition, Music Boulevard has a volume discount service where you get credit for a CD after buying 10 CDs.

Internet security seems to remain a concern for many people although reliable security does exist. Netscape 3.0 and others have the ability to encrypt transactions. Using older browsers you need to use the unsecured mode. Then you need to decide upon the odds of someone finding your transaction and account number. Another good option they have is for reorders you can specify "card on file" and they will bill the card number from a previous order. I suspect that you could fax the credit card number first time and then just use "card on file".

Pros and Cons are obvious -no instant gratification, no pretty CDs covers to pick up and touch, but the CDs are in stock and you don't have to go from store to store looking for a specific CD. The system was easy to use, has good security features, and seems to work well. A good service if you have the need. Try it and let me know what you think. 

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A review of ordering CDs at Robert's Review of CDNow

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