Best Online Record Stores for New Vinyl

bummer to hear about Music Direct. I've never had them tell me "too bad, so sad." I HAVE received MoFi seam splits from them but there have been times where i'm too lazy to try and exchange. However, for all MOFI's now (and anything else when I remember to do it) I give the instruction to open and take out the record to prevent seam split during shipping. I don't think i've had any problems since I started doing that.

also: i started using amoeba.com more because they charge flat retail pricing shipped. No taxes or extra shipping fee. Takes out the need to order more than 1 record to combine and get free shipping with some of the other web stores.

 

Good selection but they don't tell you anything about what pressing it is.

 

I like The In Groove for new vinyl. For used and vintage vinyl Palm Beach Vinyl is doing record drops from vintage collections on their website pretty much every week.

 

I can recommend Casavinyl. Its unique because its a subscription and a vinyl store. Great website, records and service.

 

I love ElusiveDisc ... no sales tax ... and I hate the whole concept of online sales tax now

 

Trying to order from acoustic sounds for the first time but I’m short $3 on in stock music for free shipping and having a serious struggle figuring out what to buy haha. Is Roger waters amused to death worth it? First track I turned it off to be honest…

 

If they generate enough sales in your state, your reprieve will be temporary. Google Wayfair and Sales Tax for all the sordid details.

 

It’s a mixed bag. Some days I like it, on others your money may be better spent on the shipping.

 

G

Gotcha… so it’s the reissue of Lou Reed Transformer from speakers corner I’ve got in cart. Everything else I’ve wanted is backordered or wrong mastering etc. ah well

 

I use a few, all for different reasons, since each has their perks/drawbacks...

The In Groove: Great selection including preorders, and one of the best places to find jazz and record store day titles. Mike runs his store as mom and pop as it gets. Actually I believe his wife helps out a lot around the store too. I love to support a small mom and pop record store, even if it's across the country and I have to order online. Used to not be charged taxes, now you are charged taxes but they're very low. Pretty much market prices, so don't expect to see anything priced under MSRP.

Plaid Room: Great selection and lower than most prices, but unfortunately no preorders. Good place to find recently OOP stuff, and a great return/refund policy. A lot of times if you get a split seam or something, they will offer either a generous partial refund, or you can send the record back for a refund/replacement. Their customer service is top notch and they'll try to make it right every time. They also have a few sales per year of 15-20% off. One of the few smaller record stores online that does this and I always find something during these sales.

Target: GREAT for preorders, almost always under MSRP, best return policy I've ever encountered IF you use a credit/debit card and NOT paypal. Seriously, they will just send you refunds for almost any reason and not even ask that you send the records back. Great for if you got a defective, in-demand title which has gone out of stock since you ordered and it's not possible to replace, at least you get to keep a copy and not go completely without. And I mean, then the record is free, which who's gonna complain about that? Also, the buy 2 get one sales rarely apply to music anymore, but still about once per year, they'll offer it and it's a great time to stock up on all kinds of great stuff. You can even cancel items in the order and keep the discount, so it's really more of a 33% off sale.

uDiscover/Sound of Vinyl: They do an amazing back friday sale with I think 40% off everything. They also give you generous rewards/points if you open a free account with them. Last black friday I bough around 20 records for what was almost half price, and got a bunch of free gift cards for them while doing so through their points system.