Acoustic Sounds - terrible experience

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by FashionBoy, May 20, 2011.

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  1. sonnysin168

    sonnysin168 Forum Resident

    I ordered all of CCR's sacd (minus the box) from AS last year. Two were defective. I informed them and they asked me to return them. Afterwards, they refunded me. No problem after that.
     
  2. delacey

    delacey Forum Resident

    Location:
    london
    In evaluating reliability a bunch of reported positive experiences is not necessarily going to re-assure when there are a potentially significant number of examples where something goes wrong, like my experience and the post above from the Fleetwood Mac thread - 2 examples reported in one day...
     
  3. SergioRZ

    SergioRZ Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Portugal
    AS shipping cost to Portugal in Europe is much higher than Elusivedisc, for no reason that I can understand.

    On the other hand Elusivedisc has a recent order of mine on hold for more than a Week with a status of "Pending Item Scan"... this is the first time this happens with me.
     
  4. Sam

    Sam Senior Member

    Location:
    Rochester, NY
    Always pick up the phone. Never waste time with an email!!! No way, you have spent too much money. Me, I want to talk with someone asap if I had that kind of problem. They should be most helpful as they have been with me. Now, charges to Canada I know nothing about. That sucks if you have to pay a high tariff every time.
     
  5. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    :confused:
     
  6. Satrus

    Satrus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Cork, Ireland
    I only ever order from AS if I am actually visiting the United States and I never had a problem. ED gets all of my business and I have used SSD also, but I haven't ordered anything much recently because shipping from the U.S. to Europe is pricey even with a weak dollar! I can vouch for very positive shopping experiences with Bob Bantz and his colleagues at ED. They're a very decent bunch of guys.

    You must pay a lot of import taxes in Portugal? I sold some Transparent interconnects to a University Professor in Lisbon many years ago. He told me that there was no way he could buy these from outside the EU because the import taxes would be crippling!

    Lately, I have been ordering a few LP from CD Wow so the import tax issue does not arise. I find their service really good, their packaging is first rate and you get your LP in about 7 working days. The shipping is free so it is a far better cost option than ordering from the U.S. Very tough times here in Ireland right now!
     
  7. I just learned this the hard way - I'll be staying with elusivedisc and MD going forward. :shake:
     
  8. I've had nothing but bad experiences with Acoustic Sounds. They pack discs in packages that are a lot larger than what is necessary, leading to ridiculous shipping costs and taxes. They are also never clear about release dates when it comes to upcoming releases. After 3 orders and no good experiences they lost a customer, I've decided to get my audiophile titles from elusive disc instead.
     
  9. rodstone

    rodstone Forum Resident

    I bought a VPI Classic 3 turntable from them earlier this year and the turntable guys have been great with answering questions and helping with set up. Very responsive and knowledgeable. The turntable was packed really well. Also, I buy all my Analogue Productions CDs and LPs from them, and I've never had a problem. I like Music Direct, too, and I buy from them as well. I bought my Esoteric CD player from Music Direct and they were very helpful as well. I wouldn't consider one any better than the other, other than MD is better for Mobile Fidelity releases and Acoustic Sounds is better for Analogue Productions. I have no experience with Elusive Disc.
     
  10. MikeT

    MikeT Prior Forum Cretin and Current Impatient Creep

    Location:
    New Jersey, USA

    I see you are in Europe, but here in the U.S., Acoustic Sounds shipping charges are about the same (maybe even lower) than Elusive Disc (and Music Direct).

    I have had nothing but great experiences with Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct and Elusive Disc - I have no problems ordering from any one of them.
     
  11. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    I have had very good experiences with Acoustic Sounds. I bought the Bill Evans Complete Riverside recordings over the summer and found problems with 3 of the 22 LPs. They replaced them quickly without requiring me to return the bad disks.

    Recently they dropped the ball on an order of inner sleeves that I needed for record cleaning. They made up for it by giving me a 20% discount and free shipping. I live in St. Louis so I usually get my shipments within 2 days of placing the order.

    I spring I'm planning a road trip from St. Louis to Fort Collins and plan to stop in Salina to see the operation. They have promised me a tour of QRP.
     
  12. pbda

    pbda Forum Resident

    Location:
    London, England
    I've never had a bad customer experience with AS. That having been said, they are not a low-cost provider, and they have a very "commercial" approach to the business. I don't ever expect to receive a favor from them.
     
  13. mcenters

    mcenters Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta
    I am not a fan of bashing companies online, but with AS recently, I feel that I should give everyone here a heads up on their recent lack of customer service. 5 weeks ago I ordered the Optimal pressed Beatles Blue/Red Lp's. The red set came with a scratched record. I called and got Jay on the phone and was given a RMA number and instructions to return. When giving me the information, Jay was really rushing me off the phone sounding annoyed. I chalked that off as he was most likely really busy and didn't think much of it at the time.

    Fast forward 3 weeks. The item was shipped back and in their hands 2 weeks prior. I currently don't have my replacement record so I called back a few days ago and got Jay back on the phone. He said he was really busy and would get my replacement shipped out with an email notification. He sounded even more annoyed this time! 1 week later....not record and no email. I made 3 more calls to AS and Jay was out of the office each time while I called at 3 different times. I resorted to sending them emails....still no response. I left multiple voice mails that were not being returned.

    My frustration is peaked. I feel robbed of $30. I really liked ordering with them in the past and it is a shame that I am getting backhanded by them.

    For the first time in my life I will have to file a charge-back with MasterCard, and also file a complaint with the better business bureau. I am writing this complaint to warn others about returning item with AS. Also, I hope this post gets their attention somehow and they do the right thing and mail me my replacement record set.
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2015
    mikeyt and stinsojd like this.
  14. ggergm

    ggergm another spring another baseball season

    Location:
    Minnesota
    ^ You know there is a forum for complaints like this? It's Marketplace Discussions. You don't need to bump a 4 year old thread.

    The one time I had a problem with a bad pressing from Acoustic Sounds, after exchanging the record once with no success (bad Classic Records pressing), they refunded my money and solved my problem at their expense. Good experience.
     
  15. mcenters

    mcenters Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta
    I did a search for AS and bad customer service and this is what came up. Even though it is a 4 year old thread, it dealt with the same issues I have. Better to bump than start a new thread.
     
    Romerovm and AnalogJ like this.
  16. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    Call Acoustic Sounds and ask for Nate. He should get you straightened out. He has provided me exemplary service over the years.
     
    mcenters and mikeyt like this.
  17. jh901

    jh901 Forum Resident

    Location:
    PARRISH FL USA
    I posted a complaint thread and the membership personally attacked me. Thread deleted.

    It took about 4 weeks at least, but AS gave me 'store credit' for the defective SACD that I returned to them. Anyhow, they are VERY difficult to deal with.
     
    phish, mcenters and AnalogJ like this.
  18. JRJ

    JRJ Forum Resident

    I live in Ottawa and buy my albums from a Toronto on line company called Diamond Groove, Alternative Audio.
    Never had an issue in the last ten years.
    John
     
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  19. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    I'm not interested in reading a separate thread. I don't come on here to intentionally read problems. I'm not looking for the better business bureau of record shops.

    I DO want to know if there might be a batch of bad pressings of a particular title, or a bad mastering, or a bad customer experience. I DO want to hear about good pressings, GREAT mastering, and great customer service experiences. I want to hear about all of it. It is precisely this sort of forum where I SHOULD be able to get the low down in stuff like this - good and bad.
     
    stinsojd and mcenters like this.
  20. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    I've placed 123 orders with Acoustic Sounds and have had nothing but positive experiences dealing with them.
     
    RobCos02330 likes this.
  21. AnalogJ

    AnalogJ Hearing In Stereo Since 1959

    Location:
    Salem, MA
    I will also say that I have had good experiences with all the major online retailers, though some bend over backwards a bit more than others. That being said, every interaction is an opportunity for the retailers to show their appreciation for their customer support. Repeated bad experiences will eventually bite them in the tush.
     
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  22. mcenters

    mcenters Forum Resident

    Location:
    Atlanta
    Must be nice. Also with that order history of yours they should send you each order via unicorn. Jokes aside, glad they take good care of you.
     
    ssmith3046 likes this.
  23. Josquin des Prez

    Josquin des Prez I have spoken!

    Location:
    U.S.
    They have gone above and beyond for me on several occasions, especially when a phono-stage I bought from them went bad and couldn't be repaired properly.

    Salina is the mid-way point between St. Louis and Fort Collins, CO. My wife and I are visiting Acoustic Sounds next month on a road trip to FC. We'll have lunch with Nate and he plans to show us all the new pressing facilities they installed since the last time we were there (three years ago). It's a cool place to visit.
     
    ssmith3046 and mikeyt like this.
  24. Complier

    Complier Senior Member

    Location:
    Harrisburg, PA
    They addressed my bad copy of Rush's "A Farwell to Kings" pronto.

    I too have had nothing but positive experiences with AS.
     
  25. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    123 orders didn't happen overnight but as long as I keep getting good customer service I'll keep coming back. I've ordered from Elusive Disc, Music Direct, and Soundstage Direct also and have had no problems with any of them either. I can order from AS on Thursday and have my order via FedEx on Saturday which works out well for me.
     
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