Amazon, CDNOW and Barnes & Noble compete for music, literature fans
Kate Steer
Scene Writer
With the explosion of Internet services, online shopping has become wildly popular and widespread. Today people can shop for virtually anything without leaving home, from groceries to clothing to entertainment to cars.
Perhaps the most popular genre of online shopping is music and video shopping. There are countless sites devoted to bands, actors and movies, and most of them feed into any one of the numerous related shopping sites.
One of the first sites for CD buyers was www.amazon.com. Amazon.com began as a relatively small service, selling only music, videos and books. Now the site is a hub of Internet commerce, selling practically everything imaginable.
Following on the heels of Amazon.com's success, www.CDNOW.com developed a music-centered site offering the newest releases and marketing itself to a younger crowd.
Bookstore giant Barnes & Noble has established a site — www.barnesandnoble.com — for book-lovers to not only browse the books available in the store, but to purchase online. Since most of the retail stores have expanded to include video and music sales, the web site also offers these items.
With the popularity and success of each of these sites, the question arises for eager shoppers: which one of these three sites is the best one to use?
Merchandise
CDNOW specializes in music, but also offers video, DVD, laser discs, apparel and Custom CDs. Custom CDs are priced slightly higher than regular CDs, and contain tracks that the buyer selects.
Amazon is most well-known for their music and video selections, but the site also markets a huge range of other items. The categories of merchandise include electronics, kitchenware, camera and photo, toys, software, computer and video games, tools and hardware, lawn and patio, and new cars.
Barnes & Noble offers the items available in the retail stores, including books, music and video, and has expanded selections to include college textbooks, out-of-print books, software, prints and posters and magazine subscriptions.
Searchability
CDNOW's search categories include artist name, album name, song name, record label, video name, actor and director. The search is easy to use and produces relevant results.
The site also offers a browse option, allowing customers to select a category of music, a movie genre or a letter of the alphabet to browse. Music is not always easy to classify, however, so the browse option is less useful.
Amazon's search format is similar to that of CDNOW. Customers can search or browse using any of the categories of merchandise available.
Along with the results of a search come recommendations in a section titled "Customers who bought this title also bought…" This feature is helpful for those new to a type of music, or those who are die-hard fans of a certain genre.
Barnes & Noble offers a search of each category on the main page. On the books page, the search is by keyword, author or title, and the music and movie pages function similarly.
Purchasing
To make a purchase on CDNOW, it is necessary to register with the site. This includes providing a credit card number. Prices of CDs are comparable to popular media stores. Shipping and handling charges for CDs are $2.99 for the first CD and $0.99 for each additional.
State tax is added in Florida, California, New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. For example, Madonna's "Music" CD is listed at $13.28. With shipping and handling, a customer would pay $16.27.
Amazon's system is similar, requiring registry and a password to purchase. CDs are priced similarly to those on CDNOW, but shipping and handling is less — a sure bonus.
The same CD on Amazon is also $13.28, but shipping and handling only adds $1.99.
Overall, because CD prices are almost always the same, Amazon is a better deal than CDNOW because of the higher shipping charge.
Barnes & Noble's CDs are slightly more expensive. Here Madonna's "Music" costs $16.49. Shipping and handling for orders containing music and/or movies only is $1.99 per order plus $0.99 per item.
Sales tax is applicable in Tennessee, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. The total cost for this CD is $19.47 — meaning that CDs and shipping rates are more expensive at Barnes and Noble than at any of the other three sites.
Other Services
Each of these sites offers additional services such as discounts and recommendations.
On CDNOW's site, there is a discount of up to 30 percent for any item listed on the Top 100 list. CDNOW also sends out emails to registered users containing discount codes to enter on the next purchase. The site offers additional mailing lists for Music News, Sales and New Releases — keeping shoppers updated and connected.
Amazon features a Recommendation Center in which there are lists such as top albums from a given year and top albums in category. The homepage showcases new releases and top sellers, which are offered at a discount rate.
Amazon also provides a customer rating system, sample CD tracks to preview, a bargain section, and pre-ordering services for upcoming releases.
Barnes & Nobles' amenities are similar to Amazon's, but not as extensive. Customers can read reviews of albums and offer their own comments, but sample tracks aren't available. Biographies of artists are listed with selections, and a bargain section is available.
The Winner
Overall, the best deal for your time and money is Amazon.com. With the cheapest additional charges and competitive prices, a user-friendly design and great selection, this site offers the user the most perks and benefits.
All Scene Stories for Wednesday, November 1, 2000
