Originally posted by: FreakyGuy
I used to be a BMG member and always ordered when they had special deals similar to this. Every few months they offered deals like buy one get 2 for free or something similar. With S&H I paid on average about $7.50 per CD. I've never had any problems with their CD's. It's the same CD you buy in the stores except they don't have UPC barcodes on them.
It's a little like book clubs, but less so ... they often publish their own versions to take out production cost. Except there's more they can do with books to cheapen them up - materials and printing and paper, etc.
- The music on the discs is going to be the same. It will not and cannot sound any different from the originals (for those who need a clue about digital audio).
- Some might debate whether they are as sturdy as the original releases, hard to say but not likely enough to matter. They are still pressed CDs.
- The printing on the discs and inserts probably won't always be quite as nice.
- The main difference is that they are completely uncollectible - a commodity product. Little resale value. If you do resell them, you might make it clear it's a BMG release.
But none of that will matter for most people, since reselling CDs isn't an issue. And singles and imports are more the issue on collectibles, anyway.
Also, for older albums make sure there isn't a better version around - often the back catalog stuff has bonus tracks, remastered, etc. for some artists.
I do wonder if you'd be better off signing up for the club, if you wanted to get a bunch of discs. The average price per disc can be pretty cheap if you quit after getting the minimum.
Thanks for the post.