Music kiosk

If you want to find toilet paper, you have to remember which kiosk at which station has it, and see if they have any left. And you can only get it in single rolls, not in bulk. If you want bulk, you can't go to a warehouse like Costco. Instead, you get a catalog that lists all the dealers in town that sell a particular type of product, and you investigate one by one.

I do think if Costco opened up in Russia, it would clean the business out. Although now after the ruble crash, it's too late, because people can't afford Western stuff anymore. I went during the zenith of the "good days", which lasted a few years.

This is a music kiosk. Pirated and real tapes/CDs sell side-by-side with each other, the real ones being more expensive. So you can take your choice. It's the same with software. Several of the pirates eventually became real record companies and started releasing their own stuff. The funny thing is, they can still afford to sell tapes for $2 each. If they can do it and still stay in business, why do CDs cost $14 in the US (or $21 in the UK, ugh)? It costs less than a dollar to make a CD, and the band gets what, 25 cents? So they could sell them for $5 or $7 and still make a profit. Remember that the next time you buy a new CD, and get a used one instead. (Or buy them at concerts, where you can get them directly from the bands. :)

St Petersburg, Russia -- September 1995