I get my CDs free at after-Thanksgiving-Day sales.

Anyhow, the markup comes from several places. The artist, the artist's owner, the writer, the producer, and the manufacturer all make part of the wholesale price. Then, the CDs are shipped to a store to be bought. New CDs that sell for $17 usually (I've got 2 friends that work in this area.) cost the stores about $13. The store's markup is about 28% on those numbers, which is actually not that high in comparison to some other products.

What is it they say about silence being golden?