? for those who order from Soundstage Direct

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Budysr, Jun 24, 2013.

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  1. NapalmBrain

    NapalmBrain Forum Resident

    Location:
    Kansas City, MO
    They have no problems advertising black friday sales, but can't be bothered to answer emails. Could have saved money if I just waited, since they can't process records as advertised, I may as well have waited for the black friday sale. I don't think I'll ever order records through this company again
     
  2. Coricama

    Coricama Classic Rocker

    Location:
    Marietta, GA
    Don't worry, they will take good care of you. They have always been great with me. You can always use the 'online chat' option on their web page to check on an order.
     
  3. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    Wish Id have read this thread before ordering.
     
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  4. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    I think what pisses people off isnt the fact that they are really slow. Its the fact they dont make things very clear that "Hey, your stuffs not kept in our shop. We will do the foot work and make sure your record isnt defective by inspecting it. But, its gonna take some time. We operate differently in order to offer more variety."

    Update the site so people know what they are getting into and with that honesty youll get satisfaction and loyalty. People do not like "surprises" concerning this hobby.
     
  5. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    You are right, but people don't want to see ships in 4-5 days. Most people would go somewhere else and order. Too bad because the people at SSD seem to really great.

    I ordered a Speakers Corner lp from Music Direct, got 10% off/free shipping with order and received the lp in 3 days. SSD would have likely taken 2 weeks, because they would have to wait for the lp to show up from the overseas distributer.
     
    mpayan likes this.
  6. I've just placed my first ever order with SSD. I didn't know about the SHF discount :sigh: but I did receive the 10% discount the site offered when initially browsing there so I guess that's okay anyway? Given it's an international order and UK Customs will get involved and ask for more money on any item declared over $18 (no thanks to our soon-to-be-reversed EU regulations! :mad:), I can't expect delivery in the next 2 weeks! I'll happily post here again to let people know how it works out, if anyone is interested?
     
    Gooch041 likes this.
  7. Gooch041

    Gooch041 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I placed an order on the 3rd of March both albums said in stock on the 8th I received an email that they were shipping and tracking number. There hasn't been a single update since on the USPS website and now it's the 18th. I sent an email to SSD waiting to hear back now I am also waiting on a pre-order to be filled I hope it won't be too much longer.
     
  8. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    I stay far away from "pre-orders". I've learned that you can (pre) order an album and be left waiting virtually for months before the album is actually "there" and ready for shipping. The OMR of Layla has been on Pre-order for over two months. No way am I going to shell out 50 bucks for that kind of wait. It's bad enough when you order an album in-availability and it takes an initial two weeks for THEM to receive it from overseas or whatever. years ago, I swore by Soundstage and in certain ways (such as their packaging) is still top rate. But coincidentally or not, as they started expanding into other areas (to which I wish them all the success), their "LP service" has suffered.
     
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  9. Gooch041

    Gooch041 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    It will probably be my last order with them
     
  10. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    I try every once in a while to order from them as I do appreciate their email updates, but I am disappointed every single time and I gave up. The fastest I ever received anything from them has been 13 days, even for titles everyone has. I am convinced they don't actually stock much, as most titles took 3-4 weeks. That is ridiculous in this day amd age. And I don't understand all the comments about their amazing packaging, and some even giving them a pass about ridiculous shipping times just because they pack well. Geez, they certainly give themselves enough time to! In all seriousness, I buy from three sources and every single one of them (Elusive Disc and Amazon primarily) pack just fine. I don't need it packed like Fort Knox. It's appreciated, but not at the expense of waiting 2-4 weeks. It is in their best interest as you can return it anyway if damaged, and I have never had a single album damaged in shipping from amyone amyway and I received at least 100 of them. Maybe I have just been lucky.
     
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  11. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Absolutely! I honestly don't understand how they are even still around. You can get this stuff all over the place these days and the prices are virtually identical. Here's what really hurts them, and I don't think they realize this...I would never even consider buying any hardware from them based on the length of time they take shipping vinyl orders. I think they would be better served sticking to one or the other and doing it well. Can't tell you how many neat things I have seen in an email from them that I ordered ten minutes later from someone else!
     
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  12. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    I ordered from them once. Each time I think about doing it again, I decide "Nope, waiting around for weeks for something to show up or arrive isnt a hassle I need hanging over my brain." Its too bad, because Id rather do business with the underdog.
     
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  13. vinyl_puppy

    vinyl_puppy Der Weaselschnitzel

    Location:
    Santa Rosa, CA
    I also ordered once from them. The order took 3 weeks to arrive, which was a replacement for a previous order which was lost by USPS. Seth called me himself, reassuring me that the 1st order had been sent, and that USPS media mail was more prone to getting lost. I'd ordered from SSD because at the time they had Alice In Chains' 3 legged dog album which I'm still looking for to this day (I don't trust eBay). The 2nd order didn't have the AIC album. I do like the fact that the owner himself took time to call me. How often does that happen? I do receive emails from them, but use Music Direct or Elusive Disc for online LP purchases, or head on down to my beloved Last Record Store for both new and used records. I do think I will use SSD again, someday. Just not sure when.
     
    DK Pete likes this.
  14. DK Pete

    DK Pete Forum Resident

    Location:
    Levittown. NY
    Seth is the reason I still order form them when I do. I've also received calls from him whenever there was a serious issue and he comes across as a very nice and sincere individual who loves the service he provides. But as I said, i think once he spread out into audio equipment and such it affected things on the LP end. I will continue to be a customer; I'm just staying away from pre-orders.
     
  15. Johnnson

    Johnnson New Member

    Location:
    Coalfields, SWVA
    Yeah just to add to SSD tales of whoa, or is that woe. Ordered 3 albums that said 2 to 4 business days to ship two weeks ago. Called customer service after 8 business days. Was told 1 album(which was plentiful on Ebay and other record websites) took 9 days to acquire by SSD. They finally shipped on a Friday so their local USPS distribution center in Jersey City has now sent my package to the midwest instead of a direct shipment to the south where I live. A timely shipment from the northeast often arrives here in 3 to 4 days.

    I have ordered around 30 records from SSD after I started collecting vinyl represses of classic rock albums to augment some of my played out collection. Five to eight years ago SSD was my go to online record store. This is the second slow fullfillment I had in last two years, and also had to cancel an order a few months ago when an advertised in stock album was unnattainable by SSD. They are very polite, but just too much phone time with their customer service lately for me.

    Well at least I can hope that they still use their very sturdy packaging if my albums are off for a jaunt around the country.
     
  16. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Since posting a few months ago Seth has become a friend of mine (he is the owner) after I met him following purchasing some pricey equipment. He is aware of this issue and has just taken some steps to alleviate the shipping delays we have all experienced periodically (I personally only experienced one delay and it was due to one album being an import...had no issue with my two hardware orders). As you said, at least they are pleasant to deal with and I get the sense that every customer is important to him. So, perhaps give them a couple weeks as I think they are just finishing their new shipping protocol. Also, they get some pretty neat imports I don't see elsewhere. I was impressed he admitted being aware of this problem instead of pretending it wasn't an issue. That's the kind of attitude that gets things done in my experience.
     
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  17. Tullman

    Tullman Senior Member

    Location:
    Boston MA
    Music Direct and has taken a page from SSD's delivering policy. MD now has delayed shipment. See, leaves our warehouse in 3-7 business days. I have purchased from AS just because of the delay policy at MD.
     
  18. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    Yep, not to go too far off topic but I wont order from Music Indirect again. The last order I placed that stated "usually leaves blah blah blah in 3 days" or whatever had every item on backorder. Not worth the worry. Either have the stuff or dont. I use to kind of split my patronage between AS, MD and ED. Now I just go with Elusive Disc. Eventhough they might not have the absolute best prices, it is worth it to me to know that what I buy isnt going to come in 3 months later. I dont care for Acoustic Sounds new look at their site. Half the time I search for an item it goes to some advanced search crap. I dont like the way their site functions.
     
  19. bmh5879

    bmh5879 Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal
    Long time lurker, first time poster. I hate for my first post to be a complain, but it is what it is.

    I've been ordering from SSD for years now. Today I received an order of 3 records (2 which were double LPs) tightly packed into your typical record mailer. No oversize mailer we’re all used to, no cardboard pads, etc,. I should have known something was up when I saw the message they were no longer unsealing records to avoid seem splits due to “upgraded” shipping methods – but I assumed they upgraded their packaging even more! Boy was I wrong. All 3 records arrived damaged. I have contacted SSD to express my disappointment and request an exchange for undamaged records.

    My last order from them was about 6 weeks ago and it was business as usual. Has anyone else recently experienced this with them? If you had taken advantage of their 15% sale this weekend and are awaiting your records, you maybe be in for a disappointing surprise.

    It’s so out of the norm and uncharacteristically bad I almost want to believe this is a freak one-time deal. Have the constant 20% off sales hurt them? I find that hard to believe considering the records are grossly overpriced to being with - I am unaware what their profit margins are, but even at 20% off I'd think they're making up for it in volume.

    Anyway - cheers!
     
  20. easyge

    easyge Senior Member

    Location:
    Sioux Falls, SD
    Yes I noticed that too. My records were shipped in the same mailer that Amazon uses with no box around it. Fortunately my records did not have seam splits but both albums had a label on one side where it was stamped on the groove portion of the record! What is the chance of that happening? Two different artists, two different record labels and each double album had the same problem. I suspect each record was pressed at the same pressing plant. I also noticed the message at checkout about no longer removing records to prevent seam splits. How funny as just a few months ago they created a box underneath the special instructions field specifically for removing vinyl from the covers for that same issue. One of the titles had clear windows over the labels. They would have seen one of the labels was not where it was supposed to be and could have fixed the problem before shipping the record to me. And to the benefit of the retailer removing the records allows no returns (except for defects) so I don't understand why they would not benefit from the policy.

    I just received a large vinyl shipment from Acoustic Sounds and the packaging was impressive. All my records (7) were removed from the jackets and houses in a box with 2 outer boxes. There was a green bubblewrap between each record cover. I think at least 12 of them were used.

    If SD continues this it will be easy to shop elsewhere. Now on top of MFSL and Analogue Productions not allowing discounts on their products it is time to limit my purchases of their products. I don't need their stuff. There is plenty of competition out there.
     
    Last edited: Nov 18, 2017
  21. bmh5879

    bmh5879 Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal
    Well they certainly aren’t doing much to help matters. Contacted them Thursday and haven’t heard back from them. Have they laid off staff? Are the under new management? Anyone know?

    You’re right though – it’s very easy to shop elsewhere. Elusive Disc, Music Direct and Analogue Productions are out there and I’ve actually had the best luck buying from Import CD’s / Deep Discount lately – especially when buying 3+ LPs. Price + Packaging has made it well worth it.

    I’m still curious if anyone else has had recent issued with SSD.
     
  22. grsmnkey

    grsmnkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    U.S.A.
    I've been trying to contact them since Saturday. No response through emails and no answer from Live chat (I waited 5 minutes for a connection). Not sure what is going on there. I'll try to make time to call today.

    Other people have indicated no problem.
     
  23. grsmnkey

    grsmnkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    U.S.A.
    I just got in touch with them via LiveChat . Thaey said they are getting a high volume of emails. So oLiveChat or Phone may be your best bet. Please note I could not get through via LiveChat yesterday.
     
    bmh5879 likes this.
  24. bmh5879

    bmh5879 Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal
    I have been in touch with SSD. It took a little longer than I'd expected but that's okay.

    The representative was very apologetic and explained that they recently expanded and are experiencing some growing pains.

    She further explained they have been having issues with the packaging, and "are working tirelessly to get it back to high standards and will being going back to the boxes we used to use and have been in contact with our warehouses to make them aware of the shipping damages that have occurred."

    She actually called first but I missed it so she left a voicemail and emailed. I appreciate that she called.

    When you go to SSD's website it now shows them as being located in "PENNSYLVANIA • NEW JERSEY • ILLINOIS • NEVADA", which is also why I bolded "warehouses". My shipment still arrived from Doylestown for what its worth so I would have figured there wouldn't have been an issue.

    Hopefully they turn things around soon because I'd hate to NOT want to buy from them. Especially since I received shipments quickly to NJ.
     
    JPagan likes this.
  25. keithdylan

    keithdylan Master of His Own Domain

    I have a bit of an issue with them. My Beatles X-Mas and SGT Pepper picture disc combo is still on backorder, even though I ordered it when they were first announced. I spoke to them once about it and they said they were going to be in "later this week," but that was a couple of weeks ago. I also ordered some sale items on 12/30 that are still "processing." But the biggest bummer is I have left multiple messages with their answering service and have yet to receive a returned call. They have always been so great. What is up?
     
    DK Pete likes this.
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