Price Tracker: Beatles Mono Vinyl box set

Discussion in 'Coupons, Discounts & Sales' started by ptijerm, Jun 18, 2014.

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  1. Vinylsoul 1965

    Vinylsoul 1965 Senior Member

    Welcome to the issue Canadians face: getting parcels shipped from the States is VERY costly now. We get hit with duty and taxes all of the time - heck, the government even charges $6 for a handling fee - yes a HANDLING fee, which means someone TOUCHED a parcel...not opened, not inspected, simply touched it.

    If I lived in the States, Bullmoose would have gotten my order as they had a great price PLUS they included the free t shirt. For me, amazon.ca was the cheapest way to get this box living in Canada. The taxes on the box, if I had ordered it from the States, would have been at least $52, plus duty which would have been I am sure another $60...then your $6 handling fee and taxes ON the taxes. Then convert the dollar, so then you are probably paying another $40 in currency exchange...we just added over $150 in charges. If all I was charged was $38 importing this HUGE set into my country I would be thankful!!!

    I am not sure why the sets are leaving in such strange locations - one would think that the Bay area would have left from BC and the ST Louis one ship from Toronto - that again is partly UPS' doing too.
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2014
  2. grsmnkey

    grsmnkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    U.S.A.

    This is interesting, did you guys choose standard shipping or expedited? Was it UPS or some other carrier?

    Did you check out the thread in Market Place Discussions? Someone got hit by a customs fee from CD Japan (not the Box) delivered by Fedex
     
  3. ronbow

    ronbow Senior Member

    Location:
    St. Louis MO
    This was Standard International Shipping, which I have used a number of times before. And it was always a real quick ship, from Mississauga to St Louis, so that the expense of expedited was not warranted. (Always, except for the CSNY74 set this summer, which also took a week to get here.)

    And I did see a discussion on this, suggesting it might be carrier- specific. (I think my stereo vinyl box was shipped via DHL.)

    It is curious but it's all amazon's doing, as they determine from which facility to ship. Other than trying to penalize folks who select the cheapest shipping option (which is NOT a rational reason) all I can think of is that inventory levels may have something to do with the ship location.
     
  4. The Beave

    The Beave My Wife Is My Life! And don’t I forget it!

    I've dealt with this exact issue and I'll never do it again.
    There is NO 'Customs' charge for US citizens period. Refuse the package or you'll be putting out some big money to send it back. Get the refund and get a set from MusicDirect or ElusiveDisc for $336. The be done with it.
    I used to Love Amazon.CA,
    Not anymore.
    the beave
     
  5. grsmnkey

    grsmnkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    U.S.A.
  6. mrjinks

    mrjinks Optimistically Challenged

    Location:
    Boise, ID.
    Interesting. I ordered the stereo LP box from Canada two years ago and didn't get hit with any fees. Looking back at my order, it looks like they used DHL to ship it. Good thing my other pricey amazon.ca orders are under $200, just to be safe...
     
  7. sethICE

    sethICE Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    I don't remember being charged customs for the stereo box either, though I could be wrong. My mono box just arrived in NY today and should be delivered tomorrow. I hope there's no COD.....

    BTW, mine was shipped from BC too, even though last time it came from ON.
     
    Last edited: Sep 16, 2014
  8. sethICE

    sethICE Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    September 16, 2014, 3:14 pm, New York NY USArrival Scan
    September 16, 2014, 2:44 pm, Secaucus NJ USDeparture Scan
    September 16, 2014, 12:39 pm, Secaucus NJ USArrival Scan
    September 11, 2014, 3:43 am, Portland OR USDeparture Scan
    September 10, 2014, 10:56 pm, Portland OR USArrival Scan
    September 10, 2014, 7:30 pm, Seattle WA USDeparture Scan
    September 10, 2014, 7:10 pm, Seattle WA USDeparture Scan
    September 10, 2014, 2:52 pm, Seattle WA USArrival Scan
    September 10, 2014, 2:50 pm, Seattle WA USArrived at destination country
    September 10, 2014, 12:53 pm, Seattle WA USCompleted customs clearance process
    September 10, 2014, 9:40 am, Seattle WA USInitiated customs clearance process
    September 10, 2014, 9:00 am, Seattle WA USArrival Scan
    September 10, 2014, 5:36 am, Seattle WA USInitiated customs clearance process
    September 10, 2014, 12:58 am, RICHMOND BC CADeparture Scan
    September 9, 2014, 10:15 pm, RICHMOND BC CAArrival Scan
    September 9, 2014, 10:15 pm, RICHMOND BC CADeparture Scan
    September 9, 2014, 10:11 pm, RICHMOND BC CADeparture Scan
    September 9, 2014, 10:11 pm, RICHMOND BC CAShipment received by carrier
    September 9, 2014, 7:32 pm, CAShipment has left seller facility and is in transit
     
  9. grsmnkey

    grsmnkey Forum Resident

    Location:
    U.S.A.
    Last time I ordered the stereo box, last year, it came from BC. The 1st box back in 2012 also came from BC. Both came DHL expedited and cleared customs in 5 mins.

    UPS is a whole different ball of wax, as is Fedex and USPS for customs clearance if not expedited.
     
  10. jim249

    jim249 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Utah, USA
    Order is still pending. They are out of stock. Go to the website page and it says in stock shipped within 24hrs. I am not so sure about BAM any more. May just cancel and go alacarte. Placed my order on 9-9.
     
  11. starbuck

    starbuck Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cloudy, UK
  12. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley...

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
  13. imarcq

    imarcq Men are from Mars, I'm from Bromley...

    Location:
    Sydney, Australia
    After VAT removal is a good deal for Australia. About A$330!!! Shall I get two lol?
     
  14. starbuck

    starbuck Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cloudy, UK
    Now back to £288.00 but worth checking in case it bounces down again. I noticed there was one available from the Amazon EU market place store for £198 at the same time which has now sold, so I wonder if the lower price of the marketplace item also brought the normal (new) Amazon price down with it, and now that the marketplace one has sold, the new price automatically jumped back up?
     
  15. mrjinks

    mrjinks Optimistically Challenged

    Location:
    Boise, ID.
    imarcq likes this.
  16. sethICE

    sethICE Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    Well, my box from Amazon.ca arrived today! I'm not home, but my wife did have to pay the UPS guy $38.28. (And this was on top of the fact that my wife doesn't think we have room for any more records....) I don't think there was an invoice for this C.O.D. charge -- he had it on his portable computer. I vaguely remember once having to pay such a charge before on a delivery, but I don't remember if it was the stereo LP box or even whether it was from Amazon.

    It would not have been worth it for me to refuse delivery and start over, and the price I got was good enough so that ordering from one of the US sources would have been about the same when tax and shipping are figured in.

    But I'm thinking of complaining to Amazon.ca (once I inspect the box to make sure there are no other problems), because this COD charge came as a complete surprise, and to my knowledge was not mentioned on the order page (unless it's in the fine print somewhere...or on a separate page...which would be pretty sleazy). Amazon charged me CA$ 9.98 for shipping -- there shouldn't be an additional shipping charge on the tail end! I realize that the charge has more to do with US Customs or UPS "customs processing" policies than Amazon, but Amazon is the party who chose to use this particular UPS shipping method!
     
  17. My order has just arrived to my country and sadly it ended being way more expensive than expected. Why? Because it was supposed to be shipped through USPS (or that's what I was expecting, at least), but Amazon shipped it through DHL. I guess they did it because they didn't trust USPS for this order to be shipped overseas. But I have a love-hate relationship with DHL. On one side, they are (in my limited experience) super fast, super secure and super effective. And surely they are! My order was shipped on Monday Sept. 15 (after a one week delay because of a mistake from Amazon*) and I'll have it with me tomorrow! I was expecting it by early October.

    But on the other hand, DHL is also super expensive. Aside from paying the shipping fee with my order and the high import taxes in my country, I must pay DHL a "handling fee" for them to deliver my package. Not a huge amount, but I don't understand why I should pay two shipping charges. That pisses me off but oh well, it's a good thing to have my Beatles box way before expected.

    *The Amazon mistake: My order was for two boxes (one for a friend), which I had on preorder since July 4. I had just the right amount to be billed from my credit card. When the box was released on September 8, Amazon charged one box first. When they charged the second one, I received a "transaction declined" message. I called my bank and my card didn't have any problems. Here's what happened: For an unknown reason to me, when Amazon made the second charge, it was for two boxes instead of one, as if they never charged the first one. In other words, I was being charged for three boxes instead of two. My funds weren't enough for that (fortunately) and that's why the transaction was rejected. The solution? Cancel the order, wait three working days for the funds from the already authorized charge for one box to be released, and place the order again. Argh! This is my first not-so-good experience with Amazon in sixteen years of being a customer.
     
  18. ronbow

    ronbow Senior Member

    Location:
    St. Louis MO
    Yeah, this is pretty strange stuff. I was awaiting delivery of my box yesterday afternoon, fully expecting the $38 handling charge that my buddy in California had to pay, and preparing for a Plan B (refuse & purchase elsewhere) or Plan C (work w amazon, per below). However, by the time I got downstairs to answer the front door - the dogs were barking so I figured it was UPS - he had already left the package on the doorstep and was heading back to the truck. No mention of any additional handling fee.

    Had the charge been levied, tho, I was prepared to go back to amazon.ca, with the argument posed above by sethICE, which is a valid one. My friend did this Monday night, via chat, and amazon agreed to a credit, "as a one-time exception". So amazon did the right thing, but they really need to manage - on the front-end - for how items are shipped and processed, so that customers do not see these unexpected hidden fees. This specific fee really seems to be arbitrarily-imposed by some - not all - shippers for some - not all - shipments, inconsistent and opportunistic. And it does raise the concern that if amazon is starting to "score" customers on returns and credits, that this kind of thing can cost you, even if you get the immediate credit.
     
    Last edited: Sep 17, 2014
  19. mrjinks

    mrjinks Optimistically Challenged

    Location:
    Boise, ID.
    Just out of curiosity, go into your 2012 orders at amazon.ca and look at the detail to see who shipped that one. I was starting to think that UPS shipments would get the fee added regardless, but ronbow's post would show otherwise. I was also wondering if, since my 2012 box came from amazon.ca via DHL, maybe that's why I didn't get hit with a fee. But it looks like Hail Vinyl! had the exact opposite experience in his country...

    Part of the reason I'm so curious about this is because I got killer deals on the Dylan 6cd set (~$100) and the upcoming Wings sets (both boxes & vinyl: ~$160). Of course, even though these puppies were ordered separately, they may be released the very same day, in which case amazon.ca could combine the orders, and I'd get hammered for exceeding the $200 value. And I can't cancel either order, because the prices have been jacked up significantly since I placed my order!

    [Note: Amazon.ca still has not updated the release date on the McCartney archive sets, but I'm assuming they won't be shipping next Tuesday]
     
  20. jim249

    jim249 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Utah, USA
    Emailed BAM last night about the above, received reply today saying the box set shipped. Of all things, it was sent media mail with no tracking! Something that costs $300.00 sent media mail with no tracking????????? This is going to be a long wait!
     
  21. sethICE

    sethICE Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    I just checked amazon.ca, and sure enough, the 2012 stereo vinyl box was shipped by DHL International, not UPS.
     
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  22. sethICE

    sethICE Forum Resident

    Location:
    NYC
    After checking out my box -- which looks perfect -- white album # 11613 -- I listened to parts of Please Please Me and Revolver -- I tried the chat thing at amazon.ca to register my unpleasant surprise about the customs duties. Bottom line, they are refunding the money (in the equivalent CA$ amount) as a "one time exception". Thanks for the tip!
     
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  23. berlinerpunk

    berlinerpunk Record Collector

    Location:
    Berlin/Brooklyn
    I received an email tonight from BAM that my box has shipped via USPS, it was most likely sent media mail. The email said: "We thought you’d be happy to know that the item(s) below from your Booksamillion.com order has shipped on 09/17/2014." There was a tracking # included in the email but the package has not been scanned into the USPS system yet. I know from sending many packages through USPS that they often don't get scanned into the system until either the end of the day when it leaves the post office for the next point OR when it arrives at the next point (usually a large regional facility that has the authority to inspect media mail) OR at the end of the day when a postal worker returns to the PO from their route (if you gave it directly to a delivery person or dropped it in a mailbox). I have a very good relationship with my mailman - he scans my packages in WHEN I GIVE THEM TO HIM which is pretty much unheard of these days because we both agree that this what we expect when we pay for tracking services - the recipient or sender shouldn't have to wait 1, 2 or sometimes even 3 days before it shows up in the postal tracking system.
     
    jim249 likes this.
  24. enocaster

    enocaster Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Berkshires, MA
    I guess it's foolish to check this thread looking for a good price.
     
    Last edited: Sep 18, 2014
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  25. lightbulb

    lightbulb Not the Brightest of the Bunch

    Location:
    Smogville CA USA
    BooksAMillion has the mono box for $299.98 as of this morning.
    That's $75 cheaper than Amazon!

    (Several weeks prior to 9/9 release date, there was mention of a website with a price tracker matrix, but I didn't use it so perhaps someone else can post the link.)

    You can read posts on the forum regarding BAM shipping, and whether the various shipping rates/turnaround times suits your needs. (That's where detailed posts re: various issues may help you when you decide where to place an order, despite causing a "detour" from the OP)
     
    Naughty Chord likes this.
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