On-line Stores & Sellers

Started by Expresso, July 02, 2007, 09:09:12 AM

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Mirror Image

Quote from: KeithW on January 07, 2012, 04:23:42 PM
If you want an early present, Presto are shipping late January for $135, compared to Amazon's $200.

Thanks, Keith. I've never used Presto and I hardly ever buy from overseas. Is Presto a safe website and have you used them?

KeithW

Quote from: Mirror Image on January 07, 2012, 06:04:35 PM
Thanks, Keith. I've never used Presto and I hardly ever buy from overseas. Is Presto a safe website and have you used them?

Absolutely my favorite. I used them when I lived in Australia, and I do so now that I am in the US.  Their website is very secure, and I have never had any problems with transactions.  Their packaging is very high quality, and I have had no problems with damage, unlike Amazon shipments.  I have twice had problems with wrong discs in box sets - one due to EMI and once to Brilliant.  Presto have sent replacements quickly at no cost.

their special offers are often worthwhile, for example 25-30% off sepcific labels or 50% off box sets, and their shipping rates are sensible - a slightly higher price for the first disc - around $3 I think, and then  fixed $1 or so for each subsequent disc.  Box sets count as a single disc.

Highly recommended.

Mirror Image

Quote from: KeithW on January 07, 2012, 06:25:54 PM
Absolutely my favorite. I used them when I lived in Australia, and I do so now that I am in the US.  Their website is very secure, and I have never had any problems with transactions.  Their packaging is very high quality, and I have had no problems with damage, unlike Amazon shipments.  I have twice had problems with wrong discs in box sets - one due to EMI and once to Brilliant.  Presto have sent replacements quickly at no cost.

their special offers are often worthwhile, for example 25-30% off sepcific labels or 50% off box sets, and their shipping rates are sensible - a slightly higher price for the first disc - around $3 I think, and then  fixed $1 or so for each subsequent disc.  Box sets count as a single disc.

Highly recommended.

Thanks for the information, Keith. This is most helpful. I'll check them out.

Que

Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on January 07, 2012, 06:30:08 PM
And speaking of Presto. I've ordered from them several times in the last few months, and (knock on wood) so far have no problems with them.  I've got two orders en route to me now from them (one of them seems to have gotten delayed in the Christmas rush, but I'm expecting it to land any day now).  The only criticisms I have of their system is that it's not possible to keep a wish list, and no way of keeping track of an order while they are processing it.  Also, you will get charged Visa transactions fees for overseas purchases if that's how your card operates, so that needs to be calculated into the purchase. Shipping charges are like Arkivmusic--order more than a few and it works out to about 1USD per item.   But their sales are often good deals (usually by brand, and lasting a month or more).

Wanderer

Quote from: Mirror Image on January 07, 2012, 06:04:35 PM
Is Presto a safe website and have you used them?

I can vouch for Presto, as well. Shopped from them many times, not a problem, ever.

mc ukrneal

Quote from: Wanderer on January 07, 2012, 11:21:52 PM
I can vouch for Presto, as well. Shopped from them many times, not a problem, ever.
Same here - shipped to the US with no problem. They have better prices on some companies, for example Dutton (and that magnifies if they go on sale). They usually have 1-3 new sales added each week, so it pays to drop by periodically.
Be kind to your fellow posters!!

KeithW

Quote from: mc ukrneal on January 08, 2012, 12:11:45 AM
Same here - shipped to the US with no problem. They have better prices on some companies, for example Dutton (and that magnifies if they go on sale). They usually have 1-3 new sales added each week, so it pays to drop by periodically.

Or sign up for their weekly newsletter which advises of new sales, and those about to end, as well as headlines of new releases.

Opus106

+1 for Presto. It was there that I placed my first overseas order online. Despite my low frequency of purchases compared to the average GMGer, they have never let me down in the three or four  years since my first order with them. They're shipping rate has increased somewhat during the time and can get costly if it's a small order, but among the UK e-tailers, they are the only ones to consider a box as a single item*, as Keith already mentioned, which is a plus in my book.


*If there are others, I'd like to know.
Regards,
Navneeth

North Star

Navneeth, Amazon's Super Saver delivery is free for orders over £25, and, for normal deliveries, they consider box sets as single items.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200039400


Amazon UK marketplace seller dodax-online-uk won't be getting any of my money in the future. I ordered James Ehnes: In Recital over two months ago, and since it hadn't arrived well after the ETA, I emailed them through Amazon, it took almost a month before they admitted that the item was late. Now it has been five days since they e-mailed me about the item being unavailable and the refund, which they should wire to me through Amazon, hasn't been wired yet. The only good thing is that I might actually earn a few cents since Euro has weakened during the time they've had my money.
"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." - Confucius

My photographs on Flickr

Opus106

Quote from: North Star on January 08, 2012, 05:29:27 AM
Navneeth, Amazon's Super Saver delivery is free for orders over £25, and, for normal deliveries, they consider box sets as single items.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=200039400

Thanks. I had those specialist places in mind, but yes that's another UK seller who in the past year, due to their Free Shipping offer and some good discounts, has become my first choice for 'classical' purchases. :)
Regards,
Navneeth

Opus106

#590
WTF happened to my shopping cart, Abeille Musique?!!! >:(

Here's a bad experience even before I made a purchase: The carefully selected list of items that had been part of my cart for the past few days had vanished when I checked earlier in the day. Without logging in I was scouring their lists (for the umpteenth time!) this morning when I noticed that the Brahms' chamber music box from Hyperion was no longer on sale, and this was an item I had added to my cart last week. But when I logged in immediately to see whether they had left me a message ("We have reserved the one just for you, sir." or "Sorry, no longer in stock, slow-poke!"), all I saw was an empty shopping cart!

Be warned, people!

Regards,
Navneeth

Karl Henning

Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

Gurn Blanston

Quote from: Opus106 on January 25, 2012, 05:16:39 AM
WTF happened to my shopping cart, Abeille Musique?!!! >:(

Here's a bad experience even before I made a purchase: The carefully selected list of items that had been part of my cart for the past few days had vanished when I checked earlier in the day. Without logging in I was scouring their lists (for the umpteenth time!) this morning when I noticed that the Brahms' chamber music box from Hyperion was no longer on sale, and this was an item I had added to my cart last week. But when I logged in immediately to see whether they had left me a message ("We have reserved the one just for you, sir." or "Sorry, no longer in stock, slow-poke!"), all I saw was an empty shopping cart!

Be warned, people!

French, you know... :)

8)
Visit my Haydn blog: HaydnSeek

Haydn: that genius of vulgar music who induces an inordinate thirst for beer - Mily Balakirev (1860)

Opus106

Regards,
Navneeth

DaveF

Has anyone had any experience of Play.com?  (A search of these forums fails to find it, so I guess not.)  I wonder whether they may be what might politely be termed "a waste of time", since they appear to list on their website items that have long been deleted from the catalogue which they have no means of supplying.  In July last year I ordered A Sei Voci's 6-disc set of Josquin - deleted as a bargain box but listed as available by play.com.  In mid-December an apology arrived, saying they were unable to supply in time for Christmas, and hoped I hadn't ordered it as a Christmas present!  (Not even my wife begins preparing for Christmas that early.)  Stocks would be arriving in the new year, apparently.  So when I spotted another deleted goody on their site (one of the Clerks' Ockeghem discs) I thought I'd e-mail them first to check they were able to supply before I ordered.  A few days later a reply comes back: they are sorry my order for the Ockeghem disc is taking so long, but they hope to be able to supply within 28... something.   Days?  Years?  So, not good to far.  But I'm quite prepared to hear that others have received excellent service.

DF
"All the world is birthday cake" - George Harrison

Karl Henning

Nom d'un nom d'un nom . . . .
Karl Henning, Ph.D.
Composer & Clarinetist
Boston MA
http://www.karlhenning.com/
[Matisse] was interested neither in fending off opposition,
nor in competing for the favor of wayward friends.
His only competition was with himself. — Françoise Gilot

The new erato

Quote from: Opus106 on January 25, 2012, 05:16:39 AM
WTF happened to my shopping cart, Abeille Musique?!!! >:(

Here's a bad experience even before I made a purchase: The carefully selected list of items that had been part of my cart for the past few days had vanished when I checked earlier in the day. Without logging in I was scouring their lists (for the umpteenth time!) this morning when I noticed that the Brahms' chamber music box from Hyperion was no longer on sale, and this was an item I had added to my cart last week. But when I logged in immediately to see whether they had left me a message ("We have reserved the one just for you, sir." or "Sorry, no longer in stock, slow-poke!"), all I saw was an empty shopping cart!

Be warned, people!
Putting a disc in a shopping cart doen't mean you have one reserved. I simply cannot see how that could be. keeping the copmntent of shopping carts is another issue however, and I consider it bad practice to delete them without warning, though there certainly are technical scenarios resulting in a shopping cart being deleted (in connection with cookie deletion and other mishaps on the computer).

Opus106

#597
Quote from: The new erato on January 25, 2012, 06:02:05 AM
Putting a disc in a shopping cart doen't mean you have one reserved.

I didn't say it does. As you should be able to gather from my post, all I was expecting from them at the least was a notification of some sort -- nothing more, nothing less. (The part about reservation was just me hoping against hope. ;))

Quotethough there certainly are technical scenarios resulting in a shopping cart being deleted (in connection with cookie deletion and other mishaps on the computer).

But this is a case of persistent storage. In fact, when I saw this I was at another computer (i.e. not in my home).

As an aside: If you have taken part (or even read the T&C) in something like Amazon's Black Friday Lightning Deals, you may know that once you have added something to your shopping cart, it is reserved for you for the next 15 minutes (or some other fixed amount of time).
Regards,
Navneeth

SonicMan46

Quote from: Opus106 on January 25, 2012, 05:16:39 AM
WTF happened to my shopping cart, Abeille Musique?!!! >:(

Here's a bad experience even before I made a purchase: The carefully selected list of items that had been part of my cart for the past few days had vanished when I checked earlier in the day. Without logging in I was scouring their lists (for the umpteenth time!) this morning when I noticed that the Brahms' chamber music box from Hyperion was no longer on sale, and this was an item I had added to my cart last week. But when I logged in immediately to see whether they had left me a message ("We have reserved the one just for you, sir." or "Sorry, no longer in stock, slow-poke!"), all I saw was an empty shopping cart!

Be warned, people!

Well despite the tremendous bargains offered (just put in an order last week!) at the French site, I rarely visit that website (No English options - UGHH!  And except for 'wine terms' I don't speak/read French -  :D).  In fact on my last order, I had a French-English dictionary site opened on another page and w/ some copy-pasting efforts I was able to understand the choices, esp. when checking out.  I did receive email confirmation so hopefully my order will be arriving in the near future.

Opus106

Quote from: SonicMan46 on January 25, 2012, 07:51:22 AM
In fact on my last order, I had a French-English dictionary site opened on another page and w/ some copy-pasting efforts I was able to understand the choices, esp. when checking out.  I did receive email confirmation so hopefully my order will be arriving in the near future.

I have installed BabelFish for Firefox which can either translate the selected text (from many languages to other languages from the set and not just English) or the whole page using Google Translator. It's currently not available at AMO and incompatible with latest release of the browser, but I have it in a decent working condition under Firefox Compatibility Reporter. :)
Regards,
Navneeth