On-line Stores & Sellers

[listener]

I ordered a box set from BaySide Books an Amazon MP vendor.
They sent one totally different CD. They say a refund is not available and the item I ordered is out of stock.
So I will have to complain to Amazon.

And do the customer feedback link with a zero rating and comment so others will know.

[NJ Joe]

I ordered a box set from BaySide Books an Amazon MP vendor.
They sent one totally different CD. They say a refund is not available and the item I ordered is out of stock.
So I will have to complain to Amazon.

That is utterly ridiculous.  I've been in that situation as well, though not with that seller.  I was able to return the item and get a refund, no questions asked.  Def complain to Amazon. If you're not getting anywhere, post a loud and clear review about your experience.

[Ken B]

Absolutely! I have never had someone refuse to refund when they sent a different item! Crazy.

Ain't it? I left the lowest rating and the comment
"sent wrong item won't replace won't refund. Worst vendor I have dealt with."
And arranged a refund from Amazon.

[king ubu]

Never had much luck when trying to get refunds from marketplace vendors - always going through amazon in the end. The worst is, they still often don't refund the shipping costs, only the cost of the item. Amazon itself got worse and worse over here though, they obviously outsourced customer service to India and I wrote some mails lately where from the answers it was clear they didn't understand a single word of what I wrote. Mind me, when ordering from amazon.de I'd not even think of NOT writing in German ... but when I then wrote in English, explaining things very clearly and in simple words, suddenly I got real answers again ... it's getting ridiculous, but it's all politics, capitalism, shareholder revenue, maximising of profit and all that sh*t ... actually I hate myself for supporting all of this, but the surviving local stores are themselves to blame, they often ask fantasy prices and what they have on display isn't really making me want to shop there ... however, I try and order as much from venors like prestoclassical, JPC or discplus, which to me seem much less "evil" 

[amw]

If I made $5000+ a month and thus could afford it I'd buy all my CDs at the local brick-and-mortar shop; the people are friendly, they'll order things I want and you always know what you're getting. Plus, principle. However, since I'm poor I'm limited to cheap marketplace vendors (usually in "Used - Very Good" condition), 1 or 2 full-price CDs a month, and pirating whatever I can't find/the library doesn't want to order. >.>

[king ubu]

Oh, I'm not blaming anybody! It's just that "brick and mortar" shops in my town have mostly closed store already and the lone large one to remain is the least inviting there was - the good ones have long been gone. I buy nearly all of my books at a local shop that's paradise to me - I don't even check online prices, since I just love that shop so much, it would be plain wrong to buy anywhere else 

I'd actually love to have a good local shop, I'd certainly not ming paying 20% more there, but as it it, it can be anything from 20% to 200% more, as a rule of thumb I'd say 100% (but the Richter ICON is selling for something like 200$ - dig that!) and that, paired with not-so-great selection and not-so-nice atmosphere mostly rules it out.

[amw]

With international shipping rates, the in-store prices are not too far off from what I'd pay for a full price CD or double on Amazon—it's going to be somewhere in the $30-to-50 range either way. Haven't looked at box sets (not really my scene) but I doubt there are any mega-bargains. However online it's easier to find things that cost $10 or $15 w/shipping, if one's willing to wait the 3 or 4 weeks. (The cheapest CD I've ever bought in kiwiland came out to about $9, from Amazon UK at a 1p list price.) So that's what I do more often.

[EigenUser]

If I made $5000+ a month and thus could afford it I'd buy all my CDs at the local brick-and-mortar shop; the people are friendly, they'll order things I want and you always know what you're getting. Plus, principle. However, since I'm poor I'm limited to cheap marketplace vendors (usually in "Used - Very Good" condition), 1 or 2 full-price CDs a month, and pirating whatever I can't find/the library doesn't want to order. >.>

*whispers* interlibrary loan

You can thank me later.

[amw]

*whispers* interlibrary loan

Abused already—I think all of the libraries in New Zealand (and some of the ones in Australia) know me by name by now. "More Ferneyhough, Juilliard Quartet and... who the hell is Tarnopolski? It's amw again, isn't it?"

[EigenUser]

Abused already—I think all of the libraries in New Zealand (and some of the ones in Australia) know me by name by now. "More Ferneyhough, Juilliard Quartet and... who the hell is Tarnopolski? It's amw again, isn't it?"

That's hilarious.

I studied engineering in college, yet not one (of my many) ILL orders had anything related to engineering or math -- it was all music (scores).

I have ordered some pretty cool stuff from there, though. I got this Ligeti folder with some reprints of manuscripts a few months ago. The bottom corner of each page had his signature in pencil! Then, I saw this picture later. I guess he signed each one!

[North Star]

Abused already—I think all of the libraries in New Zealand (and some of the ones in Australia) know me by name by now. "More Ferneyhough, Juilliard Quartet and... who the hell is Tarnopolski? It's amw again, isn't it?"

You think the librarians know who Ferneyhough is?

[amw]

You think the librarians know who Ferneyhough is?

They've hunted down 3 or 4 CDs of his for me already, so I'd certainly hope so....

[king ubu]

Ha ha!

The only useful library I'd know of here, alas, wouldn't let you borrow anything - they only allow you to listen there.

[Ken B]

That's hilarious.

I studied engineering in college, yet not one (of my many) ILL orders had anything related to engineering or math -- it was all music (scores).

I have ordered some pretty cool stuff from there, though. I got this Ligeti folder with some reprints of manuscripts a few months ago. The bottom corner of each page had his signature in pencil! Then, I saw this picture later. I guess he signed each one!

Oh crap. I thought that was just some idiot at work so I erased them.

[Ken B]

Oddbanana on eBay USA is offering The Real Chopin box at a very low price. This is a bogus listing, they only send one CD.

They have relisted this. It is a fake.

[Que]

They have relisted this. It is a fake.

This all stems from the mistake US Amazon made by listing the ASIN nr of the songs disc from that series as the whole box set. Something this has still not been corrected.... To make sure what you order, check the ASIN nr at other Amazons before ordering...

Q

[Steebo]

Not sure if it has been mentioned but I always use Presto Classical,good price and service plus a very useful database,cheers.

[Daverz]

Not sure if it has been mentioned but I always use Presto Classical,good price and service plus a very useful database,cheers.

I really like their download service.  It's typically $12 for 16-bit FLAC.

[Abuelo Igor]

I used to order a lot from Play.com, but I had a very bitter experience last summer. They listed "The All-Baroque Box" on their marketplace, PlayTrade, at the incredible price of €30. I ordered it from one of the sellers, MovieMars, and this is what I received:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mozart-Violin-Concertos-Decca-Collectors/dp/B008CYV02I/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1412378113&sr=1-3&keywords=mozart+violin+wind+concertos

I returned it at my own expense (which was only partially refunded in the end) and I was promised a replacement, which, on reception, didn't correspond at all to the bulk a 50-CD set should have and looked, without even opening the package, like a twin of the Mozart set. I refused it, eventually got a refund of my money, more than two months after my original order, and tried it again with another seller, AllYourMusic. Yet again I received a slim package, returned it, and got a refund quite quickly.

By now I'm extremely reluctant to try it again with other sellers, since apparently it's Play.com's fault and I will probably receive the Mozart concertos set no matter who I order "All-Baroque" from. What really angers me is that, as of today, AllYourMusic lists the set at €32.47:

http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/33414024/The-All-Baroque-Box/Product.html?searchstring=50cd&searchsource=0&searchtype=musicall&urlrefer=search&strefer=musicall&searchfilters=s%7b50cd%7d%2bc%7b34%7d%2b

I cannot believe I've been the only one to be enthusiastic and then bitterly disappointed about this bargain, but, apparently, it's a mistake that won't get corrected.

[Gurn Blanston]

I used to order a lot from Play.com, but I had a very bitter experience last summer. They listed "The All-Baroque Box" on their marketplace, PlayTrade, at the incredible price of €30. I ordered it from one of the seller, MovieMars, and this is what I received:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mozart-Violin-Concertos-Decca-Collectors/dp/B008CYV02I/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1412378113&sr=1-3&keywords=mozart+violin+wind+concertos

I returned it at my own expense (which was only partially refunded in the end) and I was promised a replacement, which, on reception, didn't correspond at all to the bulk a 50-CD set should have and looked, without even opening the package, like a twin of the Mozart set. I refused it, eventually got a refund of my money, more than two months after my original order, and tried it again with another seller, AllYourMusic. Yet again I received a slim package, returned it, and got a refund quite quickly.

By now i'm extremely reluctant to try it again with other sellers, since apparently it's Play.com's fault and will probably receive the Mozart concertos set no matter who I order "All-Baroque" from. What really angers me is that, as of today, AllYourMusic lists the set at €32.47:

http://www.play.com/Music/CD/4-/33414024/The-All-Baroque-Box/Product.html?searchstring=50cd&searchsource=0&searchtype=musicall&urlrefer=search&strefer=musicall&searchfilters=s%7b50cd%7d%2bc%7b34%7d%2b

I cannot believe I've been the only one to be enthusiastic and then bitterly disappointed about this bargain, but, apparently, it's a mistake that won't get corrected.

I'm sure that by now you have realized this is a UPC number error which some fat-fingered clerk caused by entering data incorrectly, and it will never be fixed. I have actually written to some vendors on the US AMP, and asked them to look at their product and see if it is what they are advertising it to be. In most cases when they have done so, they realize it is incorrect and thus save me and themselves more headaches. I wouldn't say this is common, it has happened to me perhaps 4 times in 14 years of buying from Amazon, but it has never been resolved correctly a single time. Apparently, once it is entered incorrectly, this is forever!  -\