importcds.com Two questions

Read some of the positive reviews for these guys, going to place an order for the first time.

Couple of questions.

When a record has this :"Ships in 5-10 Days" have you guys found they are ok with stuff not in stock?

Also, I am overseas in Australia. How have you found them if freight goes missing?


I am thinking it might be wise to break up a bigger order into separate smaller orders so if one does go missing its not as big a deal as if it all went missing. If that makes sense

 

I'm in Oz too.

"Ships in 5-10 days" definitely means it's not in stock. Often means they're waiting for a repress. If it doesn't come into stock within 30 days your order will normally be cancelled.

You'll pay an extra US$5 for each separate order. They ship items as they come into stock and don't charge extra.

Note: unlike Amazon, there's no pre-order price guarantee, you pay the price at the time you ordered, even if it is higher/lower when shipped.

I've ordered 25+ CDs/SACDs, ~12 LPs and 3 Led Zep super deluxe sets. None have gone missing. A few CDs have had cracked jewel cases, but no worse than Amazon. The LZ super deluxe sets shipped UPS express for no extra charge (US1.99!) and two arrived before the official release date. Other deliveries are typically at least as fast as Amazon's international expedited delivery, but much cheaper.

I wouldn't bother breaking up orders.

Don't pay by Paypal for items not in stock, including pre-orders - getting a refund if your order is cancelled if not filled after 30 days will be a PITA.

 

Yes - If there's one warning to heed with ImportCDs, it's that one. Only pay by credit card because if you use PayPal apparently they withdraw/charge the money immediately, even on pre-orders or out-of-stock items. Not so when a credit card is used.

Regarding out-of-stock items:
I've had an out-of-stock order with ImportCDs for months now, for about US$140, and even though I have tried multiple times and they refuse to cancel the order, at least I know I won't be charged as long as it's out-of-stock. (Still, I just wish they'd honor my multiple requests and cancel it!) Oh, and speaking of requests to cancel... The last time they honored one of my requests to cancel an order, they ended up canceling EVERY UNFILLED ORDER I had open at the time, including wiping out some pre-orders that were days away from release!

Best to only order items that say they're in-stock and ship in 24 hours. Best to only pay with credit card (never PayPal).

If they didn't have prices that often beat Amazon.com, I'd never ever buy from ImportCDs:

• Their customer service is nearly non-existent.
• Their inventory system is unreliable ("ships in 5-10 days" is simply a lie most of the time).
• Their shipping times are very slow.
• Their packages often (always?) lack tracking.
• You have to "do the math," especially with multiple items in your cart, to confirm that their prices actually beat the competition because they charge shipping and separate handling fees.
• Their packaging methods, especially for smaller items like CDs, are poor, so you should expect cracked plastic cases, crunched corners on box sets, etc.

ImportCDs vets, what else have I forgotten?

Other than that (i.e., price), they're often "great." And arguably, they do sometimes have/get some less common items in stock that Amazon ran out of or never stocked. That's kind of nice that they're a backup source for getting something that I missed out of on Amazon.

Craig.

 

Sorry to hear this, as every time I've called them on the phone, and requested an order be cancelled, they did so immediately, and courteously too.

 

Thanks for the tip. I didn't think about calling them on the phone. Maybe their online contact form is broken (i.e., it appears to have successfully sent my messages, but they end up going nowhere).

Companies like Comcast have trained me to avoid calling their customer service by telephone at all costs, but since you say they're courteous and efficient maybe I'll give them a try when I have a chance.

Craig.

 

Thanks for the tips.

I think I'll give the stuff not in stock a miss. Sounds like a pain in the ****. I suspected this which is why I asked you good people. I guess it would be ok if you were in the states, (able to telephone to cancel) but overseas in different time zones is more of a pain.

Thanks again

 

How did you find a phone number for importcds.com? As far as I can tell, they don't publish it on their web site.

I actually did find a number for them, but I had to do some fairly deep internet searching and to bark up a few wrong trees in order to get it. I have had several problems with an order I placed with them, and they have ignored all emails I've sent to them. I'll tell the whole story in another thread if I don't get some resolution tomorrow. Suffice it to say for now that I will never do business with this company again.

 

Another kind soul posted it for me. 855-258-9650

 

Just a quick perspective from me here. I just ordered 6Lps on 25th July. FedEx surprised me yesterday 28th July with a delivery! My LPs were in a large outer box. Inside they split them into two units of 3. Each unit had it's own protective mailer. Plus the box was also packed with the usual bubbles. Result, everything is perfect. Undamaged.

If you just buy 1 LP it would be sent in a different way, in like a corrugated card which is sort of shrink sealed. So I recommend buying a few. Firstly because you only pay a single $5 heavy item fee for the whole shipment. Secondly because you are more likely to get them sent together how I described. So less chance of tears.

I personally haven't tried a return with them as Australia Posts prices are too expensive. Also I always order in stock items. AVOID THE BACKORDERS. This way your items ship quickly and it one shipment. I paid with Paypal because I knew it was all in stock. If you do risk items on the 5-10 day BACKORDER avoid Paypal, else you'll be charged for stuff not in stock.

But if you use this company effectively you can get some great deals. They are the same business as blowitouttahere, SUPERD, and a few others all based in Irvine, CA. They also sell on eBay and Amazon. So it's worth looking at all of these as the price can vary. And the shipping varies to.

But to give you an idea, I just bought all these for $127 shipped! So that's about $20 each. Beats Oz prices hands down!


UPCTypeArtistTitleItem StatusStatus DateQtyAlcBkoShipCnclShip/EaPrc/EaTotalShipped
602517077294VinylKillersSam's TownShipped25-Jul-14 11:10AM10010$3.99$12.10$16.09$16.09
652637001013VinylPixiesBossanovaShipped25-Jul-14 11:10AM10010$3.99$16.76$20.75$20.75
652637090512VinylPixiesDoolittleShipped25-Jul-14 11:10AM10010$3.99$16.81$20.80$20.80
652637080315VinylPixiesSurfer RosaShipped25-Jul-14 11:10AM10010$3.99$16.84$20.83$20.83
652637101416VinylPixiesTrompe La MondeShipped25-Jul-14 11:10AM10010$3.99$16.83$20.82$20.82
634904608033VinylXXCoexistShipped25-Jul-14 11:10AM10010$3.99$18.94$22.93$22.93

Sub-Totals:60060 $122.22
Handling Amount:$5.00
Total Ordered:$127.22
Qty:Qty Ordered
Alc:Qty In Packaging
Bko:Qty Back Ordered
Cncl:Qty Canceled
Ship/Ea:Shipping Per Unit
Prc/Ea:Unit Price Per Item
Total:Total Line Price
Shipped:Shipped Line Price

 

Just to reiterate. Don't do lots of separate orders, it will cost you more, and they will be shipped individually in less protective packaging. All together is the way to go, plus you'll get them in a few days like I did if you are lucky. Individually they will just go via USPS and take a few weeks to arrive, and be more exposed to loss and damage.