Has the internet been good for audio?

That's probably why Walmart diversified a few years back and expanded into the grocery business. Once they got into the grocery end of it, half the grocery stores in our town either closed-down or down-sized dramatically. It's tough for a small, home-owned store to compete with the buying power of someone like Walmart. Which reminds me of a time not so long ago, when Home Depot and later Lowe's moved into town, putting out of business most of the mom-and-pop hardware stores, some of which had been passed onto the grandchildren. The times they are a-changing...

Cdc,
Yes, I understood you initially that Walmart was competing with itself. I'm not sure of their philosophy in doing this. To me, the store-bought item would be more expensive since there is more overhead involved. Bottom line is, do they insure themselves that either way, they keep the competition out and get the end business.

I also wanted to mention that the internet, in particular Audiogon, "has been bery, bery good to me". I have been able to audition many expensive components over the years and currently have a very nice system, mostly purchased used here on Audiogon at a substantial savings from new. Note: Some of my cables were purchased new, however, directly from the manufacturer, only possible through the internet.