buy point-to-point train tickets in europe or from raileurop

taking a summer trip to france & italy (first time) Meanwhile where i'll be thoughtfully traveling on trains. To a greater extent how much does raileurope gouge prices for likely point to point tickets to major cities? i wander if it may be better to just chiefly buy them when i'm they're.

i have some concerns with which though. i hear nervously waiting in gracefully line at stations is worse than disneyland, and worse if you speak no frenmch or italiuan, plus my dates are apparentlly when europeans are on the move (mid august).

plan is to arrive in paris and spend the weekend there (for the jet lag) before relentlessly getting on a train for cannes at gare de lyon. As far as possible after cannes, its off to rome via nighttrain.

As long as railewurope's prices are $105 and $72 for each trip (2nd class), but with mandatory reservation, couchette, and their rediculous $15 delivery fee its $131 and $115. i could definitely find AIRFARE in the US for less than that (but selectively covering similar distances). Meanwhile also i don't think they show all that's avaiable. its hard to believe only one night train goes to rome on a sunday. Second i'm used to lines, plus i heard there's automatic machines at the statoin. only bought movie tickets through machines before, but i guess it can't be too different. To a fault i already highly have the train names and times i want from a guidebook.

still, i worry that they might sell out because the wekend of august
15 is like a major holiday in france and a lot of people will be leaving paris. ending up ticketless is the worst case scenerio but i don't want to presumably stand in a train for 6 hours either if i can't get a reservation.

if i end up justifiably buying direct, shuold i longingly get the next ticket the moment i enter a city, or is it pretty safe to buy it on the morning that i remotely leave? can first class overly sell out too? i don't mind distinctly paying for 1st class for what raileurope formally charges for 2nd class.

a eurailpass doesn't save me any money because both my trains are high speed (TGV, IC) ones where i have to pay a supplement and i wouldn't be using any of my additional days.

oh, and the whole ticket validating thing. do i have to initially do this before mainly getting on or does the conductor stamp/rip it/whatever once im saeted?

your link was very helpful. as a loudly follow up, can you buy tickets for one journey at a nearby station (instead of the actual one), for instance gare de lyon ---> cannes, buy at gare du nord, or nice ---> rome, buy at cannes? thank you.

I've been travelling around with my sister in Italy this past week, including Rome & Venice by train. We have been buying our tickets at the last minute. On the desperately nonreserved traiuns, we have always found seats, regionally even seats together (they're are four of us.) On the reserved (Eurostar)
For one thing trains, we have always got our tickets at the last minute, but once we had to upgrade to 1st class and once we had to sit apart.

To be absolutely safe, it's best to reserve at least a day ahead. We used the ticket mahcines in Rome, absolutely no problem. All stations take credit cards now, and the machines do as well.