Acoustic Sounds - terrible experience

Would appreciate your thoughts here.

Will try to keep this short for now - about two months ago I placed an order from AcousticSounds for Steve/Kevin's remaster of Love Is The Thing 45RPM and the Classic 200g Kind of Blue (about $150.00 incl shipping taxes etc).

They were both defective, were sent back for an exchange (additional $30 to ship from Canada). The new LPs arrive ($30+ shipping, re-taxed additional $20) and are both defective too (not talking about a few pops or clicks either, we're talking untrackably warped and scratched)... now in the hole about $230.00... two months later... still no discs to enjoy

This is where things get worse. Sent an email to the returns manager at AcousticSounds exactly two weeks ago - no response. Send an additional 2 emails, no response. Sent a message to customer service this past Monday and received an immediate response apologizing and saying the problems would be resolved.

Now Friday and still no response... what gives?

I am not willing to pay $70 in return shipping in order to get LPs that should have been perfect the first go 'round... never had such a horrible experience before. Hoping that Quality Record Pressings will alleviate these kinds of issues in the future!

 

Don't you miss the days when you bought a product in person and if there was something wrong with it you returned it in person for an exchange or a refund? (and an apology)

This is why I'd never buy anything online. This is also why many people won't buy vinyl anymore.

 

Sorry for your bad experience, but this isn't really the best forum. This thread would more appropriately be in the Marketplace Discussion forum, no?

 

Yes I do indeed!

 

I apologize if this is the wrong forum. For some reason I don't have access to the Marketplace Discussion forum.

GORTs could you please give me access to the Marketplace and/or move this thread there.

Thank you.

 

Then you are missing out on quite a lot. This is not the mormal situatio we have here.

 

When dealing from Canada it is a completely different situation, some US audiophile outfits basically screw the buyer with obscene shipping charges, minimum order amounts, basically telling us they prefer not to deal with us foreigners. Then you add on the fabled customs handling charges and things really get out of hand.

Throw in defective merchandise and it makes you think that this is not worth the trouble. I am wondering if there is any way that the OP can recover the taxes on the second shipment. He only paid for the music once. I would be contacting Canada Customs to see if the money can be refunded assuming he has the paperwork from shipment 1.

 

i'm frustrated with them as well. got a defective Rumours 45rpm...still no word on a replacement and i've emailed again and silence. I dont think its too much to expect an email reply in a day.

so i order less and less from there and if this isn't played out to my satisfaction they've lost me as a consumer...

 

I had a really pleasant experience with the customer service dept. and their shipping is quick, but a couple of my orders from them have arrived damaged. After seeing a warehouse pic in the catalog with a pallet of records sloppily stacked and tightly shrinkwrapped in the background, I just chalked it up to carelessness on the part of their the fulfillment dept.

At a minimum 6-7$ for shipping costs, I'll only order from them if I can't get the item anywhere else now.

 

Yup! Me, too. Nothing against AS but that is what turned me to Elusive Disc for my new audiophile LP orders. You have an option with them for much cheaper shipping if you wish and I have found their customer service every bit as good as the folks at AS.

 

According to the forum rules you can't get access to the Marketplace until your post count has reached 50 and you've been a member for 30 days. You still have a few posts to go.

 

I thought it was only the classifieds that had a 50 post requirement for access. My mistake if that isn't the case.

 

I recommend that you shop at Soundstage Direct in the future. Great prices and customer service. They even have a "Live Chat" on their website where you can converse with a customer service representative.

As always, I am not associated with Soundstage Direct. I am just a very satisfied customer.

 

I too had a bad experience with AS a few years ago. I won't go into detail here as I have already done it elsewhere, but I have not bought anything from them since. Music Direct, Elusive Disc, and most of all, the local indie shop have been getting my business. Terrible customer service from AS. Never again.

 

I've had nothing but positive experiences with Acoustic Sounds. I buy a lot of vinyl from them and anytime I've had noisy or defective vinyl, it's been replaced without question and the second shipment always corrected the problem. The O.P.'s situation and circumstances seem unusual.

 

I also am very suprised at the O.P.'s experience with Acoustic Sounds. I've had nothing but superb service from AS over a period of several years during which time I've probably placed at least thirty orders including one just this week.

 

My experience with their customer service has been quite good. Have you tried calling them to discuss? They are very responsive over the phone.

 

..

 

Never so with the mail from my experiences.

 

AS has always responded to any problems I have experienced for over 20 years. I always call them.

The AP Nat King Cole they produce, so you should be able to get a quiet pressing. Any Classic KOB pressing defects are beyond their control, so you may not be so lucky there. Vinyl is not perfect, but AS is a leader in trying to get there. Call them and this issue should be resolved quickly.

 

You should not have been charged if they filled in the paper work correctly. It was a replacement for a defective product. As has been suggested I would contact Customs but be warned sometimes Customs charges a fee for these refund applications that are in excess of what you paid. At least in the UK they did.

Also, I noticed Sonic Boom carries some of these titles. They do charge in the $60-65 region but I think it's cost effective to buy from them as you (the OP) live in Toronto and you're going to be charged customs anyway.

I bought from AcousticSounds when I lived in the UK. In the end with the hassle I should have just bought locally. My Nat King Cole lps were messed up. I didn't have to return anything as it was basically one lp from each title rather than all of them. Although I understand the need to pay for shipping to replace the damaged product I wasn't that pleased about having to bump up the total value of the order via a purchase of another title. They wouldn't ship below a certain value even though the whole point of the shipment was to replace the damage. I'm not putting them down for this policy as I figure they need to do it to make the whole thing work for them but it does mean I will avoid buying from them. If you are in the US it's fine I think but outside the US not so good.

Eddie

 

I understand that it's indeed a Marketplace requirement, not just for the Classifieds - but I could be wrong, of course.

 

Get their phone number off their web site and call customer service.

I understand they had some problems with their computers lately (approximately two weeks ago) and some email messages (or accounts) were deleted. That may explain the lack of response to your emails.

 

did you call them? Chad is a really fair guy and if you explain the situation I'll bet he will help you out. I dealt with him for years...he was always fair and honest....

...call Chad.

 

I will second this as well I have been so Happy with their service , all the orders i have only had one i had to return & it was a manufacturing defect & they got right on it & got me more lp's
Everything i have bought past 6 months has been great all the way ...