I called MusicDirect a couple of days ago and they said they were not taking pre-orders yet on the BS&T.
They let me pre-order Mingus Ah Um and Stevie Ray Vaughan Couldn’t Stand the Weather, both of which were also shown on the back of the new catalog along with BS&T.
Wait a minute here. If I'm reading the above correctly, "Shaft" had his PIJ One Step order shipped to a U.S. address initially And now, you guys berate Mofi for NOT shipping the replacement to Sweden? If the order originally went to Sweden, then by all means Mofi needs to send it to Sweden. But that wasn't the case. To expect the company to ship a replacement to an international address that was not the original address is ludicrous! That's like someone moving after the fact and expecting Mofi to ship replacements around the world on their nickel. C'mon man!
Sure and fair comment, at least in this specific instance. Just that MoFi, by their own admission don't, won't support overseas orders with correction to their own fault at their cost. Customer has to pay for that "privilege" on top of the already high price point.
That's a fair complaint IF that happens. Mofi should stand by the product and free ship to the original address. If MD didn't honor their product, I would be on the phone asking to speak with a manager at MD. If they can't honor overseas, then don't sell overseas. That's bullsh*t!
I see your point, and in many instances I would be with you as a business owner myself. But in this case, and their careless history to very basic elements, I see it this way. They screwed up and they seem to be doing that too often. Buyer had a right to expect what he paid for. In this case, they need to make it right imo. They aren't even going to lose money on it even if they pay the shipping. MFSL needs to get it together with this product. Their issues have been arrogance in staying with sleeves that were known to scuff up in a premium product for far too long (I view that as a big up yours to buyers, even though they replaced them) and for packing the wrong records inside the boxes. I’m sorry, but for $125 plus, those are two things they need to make right for folks. Those should never have been shipped that way in the first place. I have no patience for companies that operate this way and then make things inconvenient for the buyer to fix the problem. Why not appreciate that you have buyers in other countries instead of penalizing them because they received a defective product. Sorry, I see no other way to reconcile this. Don’t sell a premium product at a premium price if you won’t provide the same level of service if there is a problem. That goes for any business. Yes, including mine. That’s what you sign up for if you want a successful business.
I must say that I agree with you and your reasoning now that I think about it. "Do the right thing" should be their motto, especially since these records have been very popular for them. By the way, they have corrected the sleeve issues. Check out the latest design. As far as wrong sides being pressed, yeah, someone had their head up their ass when it comes to $100 records. It's happened before in mass production records way back when, but somewhat understandable when your pressing tens of thousands of records back before CDs and such. But yes, how many overseas replacements can they be shipping? Make the customer happy, apologize profusely, and they will have a returning customer in the future.
As i have said before, with the One Step releases from MoFi, I think a ton of the cost ( must be about 80% + of the wholesale factor) goes into the creation of the box. While I like the box...and I think the quality is high, along with the various inserts, the true worth of it is a little questionable. Personally, i would much rather have the increase in SQ from the process and maybe do away with the pricey packaging/box and so-called collectibility of these releases. A simple cover with a larger release number at a much lower price would suit me just fine. Plus, i would suspect that the overall appeal to the consumer really wouldn't diminish...and in fact it may increase due to the lower buy in cost and the fact that the same SQ will be obtained from the record.
Are the Mingus and BS&T still being released? Another user posted the 2020 upcoming list and neither were on it
The printed catalog, unfortunately, are printed far in advance. These One Step releases can change more quickly. The only way to find out is to ask MD or MoFi.
Not sure this was posted he, but I now know the reason why my Monk One Step is delayed (until January 2020): This title has been delayed due to damaged artwork/packaging that occurred at the pressing plant which resulted in having to remanufacture. A small amount of copies were shipped before we realized the issue, unfortunately. We are in the process of remanufacturing and hope to have full stock soon. Unfortunately, it’s unlikely to arrive before January!
I wonder what kind of damage - I received mine and noticed nothing except the audiolicious superbness.
I also find it hard to believe that they can’t fix the scratched sleeve issue. Pretty obvious that the sleeves move around in the box during shipment. Might be as simple as placing layers bubble wrap around the sleeves. I will say that MOFI replaced my scratched Blood on the Tracks sleeves immediately.
i fully agree with this. i was financial controller for 20 years. Customer is KEY . The problem is that this market ( high end vinyls ) becomes a nonsense. Prices are too high now . i bought the Santana. In euros i paid roughly 150 and i ended selling it back 600 eu. i could not resist to that silly market LOL and some people sell over 1000$ . That's why a glitch on the box or any other pb is a consistent loss of money. And when u live in europe; that's a pain in the A..... because it can look strange to ask for a replacement for any box item and shipping back is damn expansive. When you know that buying such a box costs aver 60$ shipping and same amount for customs . INSANE ... So we MUST be tough with these guys because they CREATED this situation. We are not just stupid guys crazy enough to buy their products ... a little like Apple ..
It is MOFI's/Music Direct's right not to cater to European customers buying form 3rd party sellers. I agree that the product should be done right the first time. Music Direct has sent me replacements for all of the faulty one step vinyl and covers with no charge, no returning, and no questions asked. The Dire Straits 45rpm vinyl packages have been exemplary. I hoping this is a sign of improved product overall from MOFI.