New take on online buying

In home entertainment — DVDs, video games and music — it's often hard to find what you want in local stores, especially if, like me, you have esoteric tastes. I am a big fan of progressive rock — Porcupine Tree, Spock's Beard, Fates Warning, Riverside — and much of this music is simply not available locally. In the past, I had to import CDs at great cost through a local retailer or process a bulk order with Amazon.com because of the high shipping costs.

Thankfully, local website Take2.co.za has solved my problem, albeit at the expense of my already drained wallet. Take2 imports products — including a wide selection of music — directly from the US. Much of the music I buy costs me between R100 and R150 per CD, compared with R180-R230 previously.

Because Take2 only imports products once it has received an order, it takes a few weeks to receive a purchase, but the wait is worthwhile given the website's good prices. Take2's estimated delivery times are usually spot on — about three weeks on average. And courier charges are a reasonable R29/order.

Take2 also stocks a range of DVDs (it has 164,000 in its catalogue), games (15,000) and books (1,7m). Its list of high-definition Blu-ray discs — the optical format slated to replace DVD — is also very good.

Must ... put ... wallet ... away.

Source: Financial Mail

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