Web Development and Consulting:
Tom Marshalek
(812)333-6721
E-mail at:
|
|
  
Tom's Bloomingfun Shopping Mall
Save Money on Music and Much More!
Recorded Music | Satellite Radio | Cellular | General Shopping | Musical Instruments | Satellite TV | Webhosting | Domain Names | Travel | Save the World by Shopping?
Welcome to the shopping mall at Bloomingfun.com. Here you will find recommendations for getting the best out of online shopping. Many online stores are represented here, so we call it our online shopping mall. This is an especially great place to find music in any format -- downloads, CDs, even vinyl. Also, satellite radio, satellite TV, electronics, musical instruments; it's all here!
 If you're looking for inexpensive ways to add to your music collection, no matter what format, I'd say this is your lucky day. I know of no or better ways than the ones below. Also check out the info on cellular phones and satellite TV, a great alternative to cable. If you have or want a website, read about domain names and cheap, reliable web hosting! BTW, I also design websites. I personally just booked a trip using this link. Also, here are some ways to give a little back while you're enjoying yourself as a consumer. Please note that I am just here as an advertiser who throws in his own two cents - I'm not the actual seller for any of these companies! I have used many of these services myself (indicated in my comments), and picked out the other advertisers on the basis of my perception of quality and value. Hope you enjoy our online shopping mall!
New! Discover Great Movies with William Shatner! Own Rare & Compelling Sci-Fi Movies every Month: Join Now to get your Free DVD!
If you find my shopping tips helpful, please
Recorded Music
 A whole new way to buy music...yourmusic.com . Dude, the Bloomingfun online shopping mall loves this program. After you sign up, you just maintain a queue, like it was Netflix, and you receive a CD a month for your $5.99 monthly membership fee, postage included. Except it's not a rental, you keep it. And if one CD a month isn't enough, you can order more at that same price and free shipping with yourmusic.com's shopping cart. I don't see how anybody can still charge fifteen bucks an album with services like this around. As a mobile DJ, I'm using my queue to collect "greatest hits" CDs to use at weddings and the like. A Bloomingfun online shopping mall top pick!
 You can also get 12 CDs for the Price of One! with membership with the BMG Music Club, with nothing more to buy after that. I am a member there, but have to admit I have quit and rejoined later a couple of times. The initial offer is the only one BMG offers that beats yourmusic.com, which by the way is an affiliated company of theirs, but this is in itself a great way to start your collection off (probably averaging out to around $4/CD, including shipping, for the introductory offer). They do have frequent specials that are still very good deals. Continued membership with BMG may also be a better offer if you don't want to have to pay $5.99 for a CD every single month, since there isn't any ongoing membership fee nor any ongoing purchasing requirements. BMG has always been a better program than the old Columbia House program, which in fact has now folded its music club and refers its members to BMG.
 I also love Rhapsody .
A Bloomingfun online shopping mall top pick! While I use yourmusic.com and BMG to buy whole CDs in the package, Rhapsody allows you to cherry pick songs for downloading to CDs, for $0.89 each, a shade cheaper per song than iTunes. This is great for a DJ, or just for anyone who wants certain songs but doesn't want to collect whole albums. Once you own the song, you can legally reuse it on different media. What differentiates this service from iTunes and makes it worth the $9.95 a month for Rhapsody Unlimited, however, is that you have access to listen to a couple of hundred thousand albums in their entirety right there online (now including in a web browser), without individually purchasing them. (Unfortunately, a few artists, mostly really huge old rock stars, still limit some of their songs to 30 second previews unless you purchase, and there are still a few artists, notably the Beatles, that don't seem to want to make their music available online at all.) But I'm still hooked, because most of the artists don't do that, or just do it for a few songs, so I can hook up my computer to my main stereo with my iRoc (small FM transmitter) or a cable and just explore a vast world of music without committing to owning it. Click here for Rhapsody or Compare Online Music Services.
There's also a $14.99/month Rhapsody to Go version that's geared more specifically toward portable devices. I've written Real Networks to make sure I understand the differences. With "To Go", you can download all the music you want to a portable device as long as you maintain the monthly fee, no per song charges, unless you want to make a CD. Otherwise, it should operate just like the "Unlimited" service. The catch is that the portable device has to be from Rhapsody's list of compatible devices, which does not include the jealously guarded iPod. Having narrowed down my list of moderately priced, subscription-compatible devices with 40gb, I'm currently keeping my eye on eBay for a good deal on a Toshiba Gigabeat or a Dell DJ. Note that not all devices that are compatible with Rhapsody in general are compatible with the "To Go" version that includes free downloads. Click here for Rhapsody. Also click here for a list of supported devices.
BTW, the Rhapsody to Go program is very similar, and probably a reponse to, the one offered by Napster , which has "gone straight" and now offers legal downloads, in case you want to compare "to Go" programs.
 Let's not forget analog. Are you still addicted to vinyl? An inveterate collector? Visit www.recordsbymail.com . I have not tried this service, but they've been around for over 30 years, and vinyl may be your cup of tea. This is for the collector; the prices are not garage sale, but the condition is supposed to be excellent. As a matter of fact, I'm one of those people who thinks vinyl sounds better, but I'm cheap and don't have space in my house for the collection to get any bigger, which is why I'm going the opposite direction! But here you go!
Satellite Radio
 I haven't gone satellite yet, but I like the idea of lots of channels of your favorite music, especially in the car. None of the FM channels in my area really make it for me, although I loved the radio as a kid. And then, of course, there's Howard Stern, back again for your ride to work.
Cellular
FREE Verizon cell phones with FREE shipping - I signed up with Verizon three years ago, choosing them because Consumer Reports evaluated them as having the best coverage in the United States. I've had no trouble at all with my service, other than the fact nobody has quite perfect coverage, but the one thing that disappointed at the time was that they didn't offer much in the way of free phones. Now you can have it all, it seems. LetsTalk.com will help you get a deal such as a free camera phone with mp3 capability (or a great deal on an even more advanced phone) with your cellphone subscription to Verizon (or many other carriers, allowing you to do some comparison shopping). Info on switching carriers is also available -- you should be able to keep your old number in most instances!
General Shopping
Musical Instruments
Since I used to work in a local music store and I really like those guys, I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I do most of my guitar and DJ related gear shopping at Musician's Friend. There, I said it. They have lots of great deals and Free Shipping on Orders Over $99! And I never have to leave the house, which after all, is the goal of being a modern technology geek -- just kidding! But often it is convenient. I do check eBay as well, but sometimes I'm pretty sure eBay sellers are trying to re-sell at a markup the same stuff they got on special at Musician's Friend; that's how good some of the deals are, making it a Bloomingfun online shopping mall top pick! Hopefully, I'll have a chance to post info on some specific gear that I use (or lust for), in the near future. HOWEVER, if you're out and about in Bloomington, do stop by Vance Music. They're great guys, and they'll work with you to get you a good deal. Also, save a tree and consider a used guitar. Remember, they say a "solid top" acoustic only gets better with age! Some of the nicest guitars I've ever played were built in the 50's. Unfortunately, I don't own any of them, but I do own some from the seventies and eighties. For everything else, there's Musician's Friend.
Save the World by Shopping?
OK, let's end it up with one I don't make any money on. That's not what it's about! For years I've tried to make a daily visit to the Rainforest Site, the Hunger Site, and their other affiliated sites, which make donations to these and other causes in return for your clicking a button that leads to some sponsored advertising. For example, the Rainforest Site uses the proceeds to buy and protect Rainforest land, and the Hunger Site buys food for hungry people. You don't have to buy anything for this to happen! But, I've also done quite a bit of my Christmas shopping in their stores (visit the site of your choice and click on "Our Store"), which enables even bigger donations; according to their numbers, I've saved an area of rainforest twice the square footage of my house this year, just by spending around $50 bucks, not to mention all the other good my index finger has done over the years! If everybody joins in, this is a nice beginning for enlightened capitalism. The other sites are the Breast Cancer Site, the Child Health Site, the Literacy Site, and the Animal Rescue Site. The store offers jewelry, clothing, calendars, ornaments, and all sorts of site cause related trinkets from around the world. Definitely a Bloomingfun online shopping mall top pick!
Recorded Music | Satellite Radio | Cellular | General Shopping | Musical Instruments | Satellite TV | Webhosting | Domain Names | Travel | Save the World by Shopping?
|