Online CD and Vinyl LP stores what are the best and worst ones?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by Francophile50, Jun 30, 2020.

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  1. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    Well I received my CD today. Less than a week, very efficient. The only problem is they sent me the wrong disc. The listing had a picture of Sammy hegar's 1977 album on the cover it's says Sammy Hagar so they listed it as the Sammy Hagar album. I sent them a message asking if this was the album I was getting and I got no response. I went ahead and ordered it thinking what's pictured is what I get but what came in the mail was the 1987 solo album. so now I got to file a claim and try to get my money back and return this because I already own this.

    So my verdict on decluttr is one and done. Communication is nil and and attention to detail is non-existent.
     
  2. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    Okay I have an update. I sent a message to them to tell them what happened thinking nothing would come of it. To my surprise I was wrong. This morning I received a message from them apologizing for sending the wrong item. They promised to send me the right item today. Again I will wait and see if they do this I take back what I said and I will purchase from them again.

    Their initial communications was bad but their conflict resolution is much better.
     
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  3. Biittner Hair Flyin'

    Biittner Hair Flyin' Comfortably Dumb

    Location:
    USA
    I've bought three or four things on Discogs (record albums and one CD) and had great experiences every time. The used records and CDs were as described and packed very well.

    On the other hand, it's more hit and miss buying used CDs and records on ebay. Ebay has definitive guidelines on what is considered Like New, Very Good, Good, and Acceptable. For example, "Like New" means that the item looks like the shrink wrap was just removed. However, I have found that more often than not the seller overstates the condition. It frustrates me to no end that (apparently many) ebay sellers don't realize that they shouldn't list something as "Like New" when its case and/or booklet and/or disc look obviously used.

    One issue with many ebay sellers, too, is that they don't add any photos of the item they're selling and, instead, use the generic image that automatically gets included when the UPC is entered for that item. Or, they post just one photo and no more than that. I rarely purchase items any more unless the seller has included photos of the actual item being sold.

    But, there are some ebay sellers that do post several photos of whatever they're selling, whereas I can't recall any Discogs listings that included photos. In each case, if I wanted to see photos, I had to message the seller and ask for them. I really wish that Discogs sellers included photos with their listings instead of having to be asked for them.
     
  4. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    No mention of

    Bull Moose
    Acoustic Sounds
    Mobile Fidelity
    Music Direct
    Amoeba
    Deep Discount
    Barnes & Noble
     
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  5. Willowman

    Willowman Senior Member

    Location:
    London, UK
    Juno, Bleep, Honest Jons, all in the UK, all excellent for new LPs and CDs.

    Mostly I use Discogs for secondhand vinyl and CD.

    Amazon third-party sellers for cheap secondhand CDs.
     
  6. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    I'm gonna have to search discogs more. I wonder if they sell lots of CDs like they do on eBay. I can buy many CDs at once on eBay. That's what keep bringing me back to the Bay.
     
  7. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    What are your experience with these places?
     
  8. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    All positive, or I wouldn't waste my time typing their names.
     
  9. ScramMan2

    ScramMan2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland OR
    Just got another order today from decluttr. I've had really good luck with these guys. Just one order was hosed (wrong CD), they said to keep it and gave me a full refund.

    They now use DHL for shipping, and it seems they are pretty fast compared to UPS Mail Innovations. Both these use the USPS for the final mile/delivery.
     
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  10. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    decluttr seems like the kind of place that would be a nightmare, but like @ScramMan2 , I've actually had overwhelmingly positive experiences with them.

    For such a massive-volume, churn-and-burn operation, I've been shocked at how few incorrect CDs I've gotten from them, and at how decent the condition of both the disc and the inserts are in most cases. In fact, since they rebranded as decluttr (they used to be eStocks USA), they've only gotten better in my experience.

    And as others have noted, they have a great "return" policy for anything that's wrong: full refund, no need to actually return the item. Can't argue with that.

    I also echo @Myke 's recommendations of everything he listed (except Barnes and Noble because I just don't have experience with them), and discogs.

    As a CD buyer I don't have to deal with a lot of the headaches that plague online buying of vinyl. Beyond that, I would say never assume anything: if you're not entirely sure that a discogs seller has listed their item under the right entry, you're just asking for trouble if you order it anyway - instead, message them first to determine for sure if it's the exact item you're looking for. Ditto for eBay - if it's a stock photo, don't assume it's the right one. IMHO a lot (not all of course, but a lot) of bad experiences come from buyers hoping for the best because they don't want to miss out, or because they're unwilling to walk away from what they hope or wish the item really was. If the description says "VG" but the photo looks NM, don't assume you're getting a steal and it's really NM. If the title says "DCC Compact Disc" but the release date doesn't match the DCC's release date, don't assume it's going to be the DCC.

    Finally, I would put in plugs for CD Japan and Amazon Japan. CDs and SACDs remain more popular in Japan than pretty much anywhere else, and for hard-to-find discs these are great resources. These days especially, shipping can run $15-$20. But the item prices are often 10-20% lower than from domestic vendors, and there's no sales tax. And many of the Japan discs you find there you would have to order from multiple separate sellers domestically, if you could find them at all. So if you can find 3 or more discs to order at once, you can get very well-packed items delivered to the U.S. (and I imagine the EU) in just 2-3 days for basically the same out-the-door price as if you ordered them domestically.
     
  11. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    I looked at Bullmoose and I didn't see that great of a selection. Same thing for Amoeba. Their stores are good but they're closed right now. Deep-discount has a better selection but their prices are a little bit more expensive than average. don't know about Barnes & Noble there probably good for brand new stuff which I don't buy. I'll check out Music direct, Mobile fidelity, and Acoustic sounds but if they don't sell used CDs I'd probably not be interested in using them. But thanks for letting me know I'll check them out.
     
  12. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    Thanks for all the good info. I didn't know what to make of the glitter so I had an experiment I wanted a Sammy Hagar 1977 CD and they had a stock photo so I tried to check with them and send a message to them but they never responded. It was only $7 so I said what the heck and I ordered it. what I got in the mail was a 1987 Sammy Hagar CD instead and I immediately contacted them to let them know I received the wrong CD. I expected to be ignored but the next day I received a message that they're going to automatically send out the right CD with an apology.

    If I get what I ordered these people are good and I will buy from them again if they have what I'm looking for.

    As far as ordering from Japan I usually like the Japan for America CDs or the West German CDs. If something is unavailable no other way I may go there too so I appreciate you letting me know
     
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  13. Biittner Hair Flyin'

    Biittner Hair Flyin' Comfortably Dumb

    Location:
    USA
    Wow, 2 to 3 days delivery time from Japan? Seriously? That is incredible if so! And I'll have to take a look at CD Japan's website.
     
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  14. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    I can believe Japan to anywhere in 2 days. If things are done right it's almost like magic. When I bought things from Australia I was told it would take a month to get to me. I could believe that. And when it took eight days to arrive it blew me away.
     
  15. captouch

    captouch Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Been happy with the couple of experiences with them too.

    You’re in the Bay Area - have you tried Rasputin locally? I’ve got quite a bit of stuff from them, but the downside is you have to be able to recognize a unique CD you want by its case as they have those plastic security cases on everything. But I think they’re open now and they do tend to have an extensive collection, as well as a $0.50 or $0.99 section where they sell stuff that they have a ton of.
     
  16. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    There is a store a few miles from me which I could easily go to but it's still closed. When it reopens I will let you know. :)
     
  17. tmtomh

    tmtomh Forum Resident

    I know Amazon Japan shipments have reached me in 2-3 days - which floored me not only for the speed, but also because I'm on the East Coast of the U.S., not the West Coast. So I presume it had to go trans-Pacific and then across the entire U.S. The first time I tried it was when I was looking for Massive Attack's 2016 EP and single releases - the vinyl is everywhere but the CDs are near impossible to find. Found them both on Amazon Japan, ordered them on a Friday night (meaning Saturday morning in Japan), and they showed up in my mailbox on Monday!

    For CD Japan it's been longer but still very quick. My last order was the three Nick Drake SHM-CDs based on the 2012 (2013?) remasters. I ordered them late at night on May 6 (which meant it was already midday on May 7 in Japan), and I received them the morning of May 12. So basically 5 days. Shipping was not cheap - about $18, as per my prior comment above. But that's only $6 per CD for shipping. Add in the fact that the CDs themselves were $2 to $5 cheaper than I could find them on eBay or any other domestic site or vendor; that there was no sales tax (more than $2 per CD), and that CD Japan was the only place I could find all three in new condition from the same vendor, and the overall cost from CD Japan was actually less than any domestic alternative.

    To be clear, such fast shipping occurs only when you're paying for the premium, private-shipper airmail service. The reason I focused on that is because right now the cheaper, slower EMS shipping option isn't even available from Japan to the U.S. because of the Covid pandemic.

    And of course, if you're looking for more common CDs, used CDs, very cheap titles, or just one or two CDs, the shipping cost doesn't make sense. But for stuff you can't find elsewhere - or can't find in new condition or all together from a single vendor elsewhere - it's a great alternative.

    And no one packs like the Japanese vendors: You get a nice little cardboard box and usually some decorative tissue paper neatly wrapped around the CDs and padding inside the box. It's like getting a present in the mail. :)
     
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  18. captouch

    captouch Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    My local Campbell location is open, but I guess they’re not all open. Good luck!
     
  19. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    They reopening slowly. I hope mine does soon.
     
  20. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    Okay I take that back they are open Thursday to Sunday 11 to 8. So next Thursday I'll go visit them.
     
  21. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    Okay I went in today to look for a DVD season. They didn't have it but I started looking through their $1.00 bin and they had a blowout sale half off. So 40 CDs later I had to stop. I now see why people go to Goodwills . I have enough music to list to for quite a while. Phew
     
  22. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    I received my replacement CD for Sammy Hagar self-titled 1977 CD. I ordered it from Decluttr and they sent me the 1987 version. I emailed them thinking nothing would come of it they were going to just ignore me. They immediately send a message back saying they were sorry and they will send a replacement copy right away. I was impressed and within a week I received another copy replacing the wrong CD sent. Unfortunately they sent me the very exact same CD they miss sent me a week ago. So now I have two copies of the wrong CD they sent me. I emailed them again let's see what they do at this point.
     
  23. Francophile50

    Francophile50 The man with the satisfied ear. Thread Starter

    Location:
    Concord,CA
    Okay, I'm still trying to get the 1977 Sammy Hagar self titled album CD also referred to as Red. I see Deep Discount has several of them. They are a little more reasonablely priced than individuals. So, has anybody had experience buying from Deep discount? I fear that there going to be a lot like Decluttr which was a bad experience for me. I know someone said they bought from them before but has anyone had a bad experience with them?
     
  24. ScramMan2

    ScramMan2 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland OR
    I've had good luck with HPB, Half Price Books. They have retail stores in the midwest, and there are a few of them on-line at Amazon (as third party sellers). They buy used media at their retail stores and re-sell it retail and on-line.

    I see they have one in your area: Half Price Books - HPB Concord at The Willows - Concord, CA
     
  25. krisjay

    krisjay Psychedelic Wave Rider

    Location:
    Maine
    Ebay would be one of the last places I'd buy vinyl records. I don't buy or collect CD's, so can't speak to those. Discogs would be my top choice for finding specific pressings and doing some digging. When it comes to new stuff by bands I like, I try to buy direct from the artist when possible. Again, Discogs could come into play for new stuff also. Other decent places of mention. Bullmoose, Acoustic Sounds, Music Direct, and never forget the classifieds right here on SHF, I have bought many great albums right here.
     
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