Amazon “On Demand” CDRs?

Discussion in 'Marketplace Discussions' started by crookedbill, Mar 29, 2019.

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  1. murphywmm

    murphywmm Senior Member

    Well I got a burned CDR from Amazon today. The release is "Sweet Insomnia" by Gallant. No indication on the website that it's a CDR (says "Sold by Amazon.com.ca Inc" in my order). There was no listing for it on discogs at the time (I just added one now). I honestly can't believe Amazon would sell something like this - it's so chintzy. It looks like something I could have made from my own computer. The CDR itself looks like it was dragged across the floor before it was put in the case. Sending back for a refund, obviously.

    I'll be leery about any new releases purchases from Warner since they seem to be the main culprit right now.
     
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  2. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    Well I just got burned by this.

    Ordered two "CDs" of same artist from Amazon, "Sold by: Amazon.com Services LLC."

    NOWHERE ON THE PAGE did it say the usual hidden code about being burned on demand or whatever, which I know to avoid.

    But both of these are CDRs. For $17 each (plus tax)!!?!? Are you friggin' kidding me?

    I am actually on hold with Amazon right now demanding a refund etc (actually been on hold about 10 minutes total already)...

    If anyone can find on these pages where it says these are CDRs please tell me where.

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004JKMQMW

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004KZPW5O

    Man this really pisses me off.

    What can we as consumers DO to let Amazon know (like they even would care anyways) how BAD a practice this is? How DECEPTIVE & WRONG it is? This is just going to go on and on and on and on until finally it will not even be worth ordering anything on CD from Amazon at all because of all the hassle...
     
  3. Dave S

    Dave S Forum Resident

    According to discogs, the second of those items was released by the artist as a CDr. Andy James seems to be a recent artist selling CDs in low numbers that go OOP. I should keep an eye out for his releases.
     
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  4. The only thing indicating it's a CD-R to me is that generic cover design for the album, which Amazon often uses on burnt copies.
     
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  5. Bruce Racket

    Bruce Racket Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington DC
    I'll still pick up CD's occasionally on Amazon. I'd be pretty disappointed if they sent me a CDr too. I haven't gotten one yet but this info will slow my purchasing habits.
    All the more reason to stick with Bandcamp for most of my physical purchases for new music.
     
  6. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    I sent those back & Amazon gave me a refund. The customer rep apologized for the issue and said he wanted to give me a gift certificate (I 4get how much - $30 or something like that) to make up for the hassle but then when he tried to do that it would not go through according to him. Whatever....anyways...

    To try to warn other prospective buyers of what they will be receiving I tried to post reviews of those albums saying they were good instrumental rock etc but that buyers should beware that what Amazon is selling are CDRs and NOT CDS despite there being no warning of such on the page/description.

    And what do you think happened?

    Amazon "declined" to post my reviews because "After carefully reviewing your submission, your review could not be posted to the website. While we appreciate your time and comments, reviews must adhere to the following guidelines".

    Of course there is nothing in those guidelines which I violated, but Amazon doesn't like owning up to their own mistakes I guess.
     
  7. ispace

    ispace Senior Member

    Location:
    Sydney Australia
    Exactly the same thing happened to me last week!! Not allowed to threaten their profits in any way, even if you’re helping fellow customers. Amazon want to keep their ignorant customers who don’t know/care about CDRs & also don’t care about damage from poor packaging. Caveat emptor!
     
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  8. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    Brand new copies of the recent Exile 1CD entitled "Hits" for sale on Amazon are MOD CD-R discs with pro artwork, although the listing doesn't explicitly state this in the product specifications. The pro artwork utilizes the same image as the official CD, but with what appears to be cheaper printing and a small notation on the back art that it was made by Amazon.
    https://www.amazon.com/Hits-EXILE/d...ords=exile+hits&qid=1583678264&s=music&sr=1-1


    The real replicated silver pressed CD version of "Hits" can be found through the band's online store and at their merch table during concerts:
    Exile Hits CD - Exile Store
    [​IMG]
    Track list:

    Kiss You All Over
    Woke Up In Love
    I Don’t Want To Be A Memory
    Give Me One More Chance
    She’s A Miracle
    Crazy For Your Love
    Hang On To Your Heart
    I Could Get Used To You
    She’s Too Good To Be True
    Super Love
    It’ll Be Me
    I Can’t Get Close Enough
    Keep It In The Middle of The Road
    Nobody’s Talking
    Yet
    Fun (Bonus Track)
     
  9. Thoughtships

    Thoughtships Forum Resident

    Location:
    Devon, UK
    Miles Davis
    The Lost Quintet

    Pretty recent release, on Sleepy Knight label. Bought from Amazon UK...

    It's a CDR. Sent back for refund. Wrote a review saying it's a CDR and Amazon have published the review, so that's good, at least.

    If anyone has this "CD" please check.
     
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  10. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    They will delete it once you've moved on thinking it's all fine.
     
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  11. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    Definitely. That's happened to me several times on Amazon where they deleted my honest reviews and the reason I posted those was to inform potential buyers and prevent them from being victimized by this deceptive bait and switch practice. Although some of their listings do indicate a specific title is MOD CD-R as they should, many other listings don't disclose this information and Amazon is at fault in those situations.
     
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  12. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    Happened to me as well. ALthough my reviews didn't get posted at all (to be deleted later). They simply refused to post them in the first place because I dared to try to warn others that what was being sold were not real/genuine CDs but instead burned CD-Rs. It is against Amazon policy to try to warn anyone that they are being ripped off....
     
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  13. BobbyH

    BobbyH Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    So any CD that you put in your Amazon cart that says "sold by Amazon Services, LLC" is a CDr? Before it would say "sold by Amazon Digital Services, LLC" and now it seems like they dropped the word "digital." I was trying to see if this CD was a CDr but I can't tell at all. It says "sold by Amazon Services, LCC" but how do I know for sure?

    https://www.amazon.com/Halloween-Cl...NKJCNFKNFWV&psc=1&refRID=18HGFGCP5NKJCNFKNFWV
     
    melstapler likes this.
  14. Hard to tell these days. If you check the one star reviews, someone in a review dated from last October said the family was disappointed the CD skipped. I have a hard time believing a pressed CD in 2019 would skip, but could see a CD-R skipping.
     
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  15. Geof

    Geof Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Miguel, CA USA
    From looking at titles where I ran into this, they are no longer stating on the page — formerly just below the price — "When sold by Amazon.com, this product will be manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media." There are some things that have never been on CD where they have done this: Blue.Fig, which is a collection of demos by vocalist Amanda Blue and drummer Anton Fig, both formerly of the bands Spider and Shanghai was one of these, and more recently, a great collection of songs by UK songwriter/vocalist Nicky Holland. She co-wrote a number of the tracks on the Tears For Fears The Seeds of Love release and some Fun Boy Three titles before releasing two gorgeous, jazzy solo albums. The compilation, Nobody's Girl is a sampling of tracks off the two albums, an alternate single mix, remixes of four album songs and a cover of "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself" from My Best Friend's Wedding. I have also ordered some titles that were definitely previously released as "real" CDs but then received these Amazon-manufactured versions.

    The thing I find really despicable about these releases is the virtual lack of ANY information. The 4-page single fold booklets they come with are literally blank on the inside. The back cover of the booklet and the jewelcase insert list just the song titles. No songwriter credits, no recording info, no musician info, etc... The Blue.Fig title had no info as to who was playing on it, where the songs originated, nothing. And on Holland's Facebook page, she herself lamented the lack of Sony not releasing a genuine CD of this set, and criticized the Amazon made-on-demand version as being disappointing specifically due to the lack of info as to which songs were remixes and the aforementioned lack of any credits. There is no excuse for not putting any info on the inner two pages. How much extra expense is it to include some text as to the recording, songwriting and musician credits?

    A recent purchase, All-Time Greatest Hits by "Paul Revere & Mark Lindsay Formerly of Paul Revere and the Raiders" is apparently a 2002 K-Tel Canadian release — according to Discogs, which oddly has no cover photo — where Revere and Lindsay re-recorded fourteen of their hits (I was aware of this but wanted it anyway), and although it has the K-Tel logo on the disc and cover and the inside of the booklet shows the covers of other K-Tel releases, it too has virtually no recording or musician credits as to who's playing on it, where it was recorded, no songwriter credits etc. and in letters smaller than this . just above the barcode, it says "Manufactured by Amazon.com, Columbia SC." There isn't any year listed or even a catalog number on the spine or the disc! On the back cover, it states, "All selections are new stereo recordings performed by the original artist or one or more members of the original group," but that's all the info you get. I can't help but wonder if there was an actual Canadian 2002 version in a pressed CD with info version.

    Given that they're removed the open admission as to titles being "made-on-demand," the only clue now that you might be getting one of these discs is when it states, "Usually ships within 10 days," on the right side in orange letters above the Add To Cart button. Regular CDs don't state that; it's a clue they have to allow time to manufacture it. The Blue.Fig, Nicky Holland and Revere/Lindsay titles all state that.
     
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  16. Geof

    Geof Forum Resident

    Location:
    San Miguel, CA USA
    One odd/interesting update to my post above in regards to the Paul Revere and the Raiders K-Tel CD-R of Paul and Mark re-recording their hits: I located a dealer in Canada that had an actual copy of the 2002 release, and unlike the current one made by Amazon, it does indeed have a catalog number on the spine and disc. It has a single 2-sided insert but as with the current made-on-demand version, it too has virtually no recording or musician info. Most interestingly? It only has ten songs. The current Amazon-made version has fourteen, adding "Ups and Downs," Birds of a Feather," "The Great Airplane Strike" and "Let Me."
     
  17. Platypus

    Platypus Forum Resident

    Location:
    Los Angeles, CA


    So I still sometimes buy CDs from Amazon. Do all the CD-R releases tell you that they are manufactured by Amazon on the back of the CD case like in this instance?
     
  18. Dave112

    Dave112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Carolina
    I saw this particular title at Wal-Mart a couple of weeks ago. I'll have to check their CDs next time I go back.
     
  19. rjh_54

    rjh_54 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    CT, USA
    Purchased this back when it was released at Target alongside the then-current Now release (I believe 71), and can confirm copies in stores are pressed, not CD-R. Unfortunately I can't provide photos because I have since sold my copy, but maybe I should rebuy it in the near future in case I find myself wanting it somewhere down the line so I don't have to order a burned copy from Amazon. Funnily enough, people who have ordered Now 71 complained that they received a CD-R of that from Amazon as well. I wonder if it's a Sony thing.
     
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  20. Dave112

    Dave112 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Carolina
    The reason that I remember it was that I picked up a copy of Now 75 and bought it for my wife (she's been collecting these since the first one). I have some CD-Rs from local bands, DJs, and when we can't buy a pressed copy so I'm not totally opposed. I would be mad, though, if Amazon didn't clearly specify whether a disc was pressed or CDR. If they are going to sell CDRs, Amazon should just sell a FLAC download of the album instead.

    I'm grateful to the one that started this thread. I have a few CDs in my Amazon cart. I will find out before I buy if these are CDRs or go to a more reputable seller. Are there any online retailers of CDs that always state if a CD is a CD-r that you can reccomend?
     
    Last edited: Oct 18, 2020
  21. rjh_54

    rjh_54 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    CT, USA
    I've been collecting since the first Now as well, and I've almost always gone to Target for them since maybe Now 16, as they're the only ones that really have them on sale during release week anymore. Of course back in the day you could also get them at Circuit City or Best Buy, but since those aren't options anymore, I've exclusively gone to Target for them for a number of years.

    I'm glad that I mostly stopped buying CDs from Amazon though, because I know I'd be mad if I ended up with a CD-R copy of an album that is readily available as a pressed disc from other retailers.
     
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  22. Joseph.McClure

    Joseph.McClure Forum Resident

    Location:
    Memphis, TN
    I bought this title (Now That's What I Call Yacht Rock) retail at Target at release and it is not a CD-R.
     
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  23. slipkid

    slipkid Senior Member

    Speaking of Target, I was just there a few days ago to pickup the new Eagles live album (I want it for the Joe Walsh songs more than anything else to be honest, but Target has the best price on it for some unknown reason) and as bad as their CD/music section was last time I was in there (when I bought the new Who album last year - or was that this year? anyways) now it is really ridiculous. There could not have been more than a dozen different albums there, and probably a total of 20 CDs of those albums (and one album on vinyl). And they did not even have that Eagles album out there. I had to ask about it and the young clueless girl who "manages" that section (& the just as pathetic section they have now for books) came over and was able to get it for me "in the back". I doubt it would even have been put out on the shelves.
     
  24. Within several months both Target and Best Buy are likely eliminating their media sections. It will be interesting to see how long Walmart keeps it around.
     
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  25. wendigone

    wendigone Forum Resident

    Sad part about not being able to buy CDs, or any media for that matter, in brick and mortar stores is that we will all have to rely on mail order. Which means it's a crapshoot as to whether your purchase arrives damaged or not. Sometimes the item arrives in a box --- good --- but sometimes in an envelope --- bad.
    Drives me crazy when I open the envelope and find a cracked jewel case or a bent digipak.
    When Amazon first started (yes, I am that old) they used to shrink wrap their CDs, DVDs and books onto a piece of cardboard, and then ship it in a cardboard box. Everything arrived in perfect shape! I would pay extra for that type of packaging again, if Amazon would offer it as an option.
     
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