An eBay purchase that was shipped from Luxembourg on 04/07 got delivered to my box on 06/26. Almost 90 days, of which probably all but 20 at the most was waiting to clear customs I suspect.
My CD purchases - unless I see an REALLY outstanding price - are on hold. Too much uncertainty in the supply chain. I’d have ordered a couple more items from jpc.de were it not for the current state of affairs.
I haven't considered an international purchase from anywhere since March. If it's not domestic, and in-stock, forget it. (Except for the Miles Davis OTC set which was a preorder, and took forever.)
I've been ordering a lot from MovieMars's own website. Everything has arrived correctly and on time. The only drawback is that you need to contact them in order to obtain tracking numbers for shipments, but they respond in a timely manner as well. Have saved quite a bit on box sets.
As someone said it's Horowitz "The Great Comeback". I'd read in some books that these concerts were anticipated but nothing like what the photographs in the set show (also the most number of photographs I've seen for any classical set I have). A little over four CDs into it so far and it is good fun hearing Horowitz various approaches in certain pieces, particular with Chopin. Fortunately they didn't include the same section over and over, but they're broken up starting at various points in a piece.
Just today, an order from Amazon.de came in after being three weeks in transit - extremely well packed, undamaged, only 9 Euro postage. Randomness I can live with. However: My other Amazon box has been refunded, is theoretically still at the DHL HQ in San Francisco since May 18th and Amazon has asked me to kindly ship it back to Germany should I receive it. Should I ever receive it, I am contacting them to re-pay them and keep it, if it's in good shape. Still out for the count are two JPC orders - last seen in DHL customs proceedings in Germany (!) - that are sandwiching a third order which made it in normal time and condition. I can only imagine the warehouse in Raiders of the Lost Ark ... this must be the current state of things at global shipping. Aye, I did that for the first time myself after someone suggested it here. Barebones site, but just about $85 for the Ashkenazy box was a steal.
For those still interested in the Complete Peter Serkin RCA Album Collection (especially if living in Europe), it can now be had for €62 from Amazon.de.
I got up to this message this morning: Your item has been processed through our facility in ISC NEW YORK NY (USPS) So, my box has made it half way! Still no delivery date though. Hopefully, your JPC orders will move soon enough too.
So I live in New York and mine was processed in Chicago, and you live in California and yours was processed in New York?
Good news! On my end, I just checked JPC - both orders from May are still in the hands of DHL in ... Germany. Oh, and DHL US contacted me about the Amazon shipment in their possession in SF since May 18th: "Since we have not received any updates we need more information so we can get a warehouse search done. If you have a detailed description, model #’s, colors and/or pictures of the shipment that is missing, please forward them to me as soon as possible." Hilarious - how am I supposed to send them a photo of the missing shipment when it is missing? I remembered I had ordered something four months ago from HMV in Japan. Says it's "In Transit" but no chance to see where the transit leads it. Adventures!
Sad to read the stories. Clearly this is the worst possible time to be making transactions with overseas vendors. If you are planning a big purchase, you're kind of doing it at your own peril right now. Here's hoping things normalize at some point in the not too distant future!
No problem - it looks exactly like this - just have them search the shelves until they run across it...
I cancelled my Presto pre-order for the Barbirolli box set and placed one with Amazon US - they have a price guarantee in effect which should lower the price from the original 179.98. I ship all US products to a US post address in Maine and then smuggle them across the border to Canada... which hasn't been opened yet and probably wont't be for a while.... but that doesn't stop me... I'm relentless... like a machine... except taller and better looking... I use a secret route back and forth across the two borders that was originally used during Prohibition in the 1920's... The smuggling involves two autos, a 15 metre power boat, an inflated raft, a surf board, roller blades, and my wife swimming across the Bay of Fundy... there and back... holding the package above her head with one hand and swimming with the other... The Bay of Fundy has an extremely high tidal range... Out of dozens of purchases she's only lost one when overwhelmed by a tide in late December... She replaced the package... grudgingly... but she did do it... She's no longer offering "Free Shipping" as a result...
I will have to do further research on this issue but I was going through Discogs (I periodically try to price all of my sets when I get so aggravated over "shelving" choices that I decide to sell everything that I have) and I noticed several entries in which two sellers from the Russian Federation had "Sealed - New" box sets for sale and underneath those entries would be a listing from someone in the States who would actually write - "Genuine legitimate releases - NOT Russian Federation counterfeit RIP-OFFS!" When given enough time I'll try to provide direct links to whatever it was that I was looking at but at no point in my life would I be tempted to purchase anything from the Russian Federation... with the possible exception of "mail order brides" which, for obvious reasons, Mrs. Brook would probably have strenuous objections to... especially after swimming across the Bay of Fundy... with my copy 9f "Herbert von Karajan - Complete Recordings On Deutsche Grammophon" which had a ding in the corner and so I had her swim back to return it... Has anyone ever actually purchased anything from the Russian Federation?
It convinced me to place an order - (Special thanks to Cartologist - )... This is just a thought but I have to wonder what the pressing count for the Walter box was in comparison to the Szell box - The Szell was available for about a month before it started to skyrocket in price and to then eventually disappear from sight and yet the Walter box is still available and more than reasonably priced. I'm not a fan of "Limited Editions" - a second pressing should be made when the first sells... I'm also quite bitter that almost every "Limited Edition" that I have sells for less now than when I originally purchased it...
I'm on an István Kertész kick right now (London+Vienna+Dvořák Decca boxes), plus I have DG Debussy Edition, Lisiecki Beethoven Piano Concertos, Eugen Jochum Icon, Karajan Beethoven '77 and a Markevitch (Gounod Messe Solennelle de Saint Cecile) and Fricsay (Berlioz Damnation of Faust) on the way. Like I've listened to the two Fausts I do have straight through yet. I'm a sucker for Odes and Masses for St. Cecilia, even though I am neither Catholic nor Episcopalian; her saint day is my birthday. I thought about the Bruno Walter box, but my interest in classical is very recent and I am drowning in unlistened sonatas, symphonies, tone poems, operas, requiems, quartets, quintents, sextets, madrigals, motets, masses, concertos and fantasias already. I doubt that even now I would buy the Szell box now at its former list price.
I hear you. That's what we get for bargain hunting. However! Today I got two emails from Amazon.fr re: the Alban Berg Quartet, pre-ordered on March 9th. One message that stated that shipping would regrettably be delayed once more and the box would arrive between July 20-23. Then, just little over an hour later, a shipping notice stating that it will arrive on July 13. Fingers crossed!
Beautifully crafted post - my compliments - and one that has altered my plans to purchase the Walter box. Try as I might, I cannot come up with a truly compelling reason to make the purchase other than "it's in a box"... I looked over the contents and despite acknowledging Walter's superb craftsmanship and artistry there is just far too much of what I already have in countless versions by other conductors to justify the purchase. Bruno Walter: The Complete Columbia Album Collecti ... - Sony: 19075923242 | Buy from ArkivMusic At some point I should probably take the cellophane off of at least one of these CM mega box sets and actually start listening to whatever is inside like one of the Mahler, Bruckner, Brahms, or Beethoven cycles instead of playing Rush's "Moving Pictures" over and over...
