[Ham-Computers] Is Amazon.com a "good guy"

[Paul]

Phil Atchley wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Sorry, I have no idea where else I could have asked this question. To
> prevent list clutter, please reply off list to beaconeer at sbcglobal.net .
> 
> I wanted to buy my wife a replacement CD for a tape that she loves
> dearly and "wore out" years ago (Best of Andrae Crouch & Deciples). 
> This tape was in such bad shape I couldn't retrieve it with the computer
> (released in '93).  Anyway, both the local Bible Bookstore and one of
> the local big chain music stores said it was "out of print" and no
> longer available.
> 
> So I checked amazon.com and they show it as still available with 29
> copies in stock, delivery time 3-4 weeks.  I ordered it as the Price was
> reasonable too!
> 
> HOWEVER, I got to wondering.  IF it's in stock, why the 3-4 week waiting
> time?  Is "Ching-Li" going to burn a copy in his garage somewhere in
> China and send it over by slow boat (you hear so much about Music Piracy
> in China now days), or is that just Amazon's normal shipping time if you
> don't pay for 2 day air etc?
> 
> In any case, it's too late this time, but I may be looking for more
> special music in the future and don't want to support the black market!

Even though it is out of print, there are going to be unsold copies
lying on shelves somewhere.

The tape you bought is unlikely to be sold by Amazon per se, but by a
small store under the Amazon umbrella. I recently bought a copy of a
cassette tape from a U.S. supplier, a new (but dusty) tape arrived, in
(I believe) it's original shrink-wrapping.



-- 
"Victory means exit strategy, and it's important for
the President to explain to us what the exit strategy
is." --Texas Governor George W. Bush, April 9, 1999, on
the US intervention in Kosovo