Vinyl Me Please- Experiences

Howdy folks,

Who is a club member of Vinyl Me Please? How has your experience been with them? I think I need to buy Fiona Apple's Tidal 45rpm disc from them but thinking about joining for awhile.

Thanks!

 

I joined VMP Classics to buy the Art Blakey Freedom Rider LP and I’m a bit of a convert, will pickup my sub for another 3 months.

Digging through the AOTMs there are lots of interesting titles to swap, but I enjoy the curated experience more than I expected.

If you like music you’ll dig it.

 

I joined the month of Nils Frahm ‎– Spaces --- so Dec 2015

I let my membership lapse for a few months recently, because the picks just weren't that good to me, but picked back up for this stretch of albums - Flaming Lips, QOTSA, Aretha.

They are good as a "record club" if all you care about is the record of the month - but I also feel that they play the "Fear of missing out / FOMO" / gimmicky colored vinyl game way too much with their membership only store drops.


All that being said, the original pressing of Tidal was their best ever....it is one of the best sounding records I own. I don't know if this new batch is on par with what they originally released, but if it is it is worth it.

I can't say I'm a huge Fiona fan, but that pressing sounds really good, and makes me want to get the others they will be releasing. (they haven't announced, but I'm sure they are working on something)

 

Right. The Classics section looks good. Brubeck this month's selection. So the pressings are good then? I don't care about colored vinyl and such.

 

Thanks for that. Yes, the only Fiona Apple LP I have is Ext Machine(out of print now). Boy, that pressing is very borderline..amazing at times and sibilant like crazy on some tracks. I have heard that Tidal is reference quality from a buddy. Fiona on vinyl is pretty rare indeed.

 

It may be a good time to join up - as it is highly suspected VMP will be releasing a couple of her much requested albums.


Again, it's not official...but suspected that they will be releasing them in the near future.

 

I had Classics for a while, they started off well, but gradually got to albums I just didn't care about owning.

 

I saw her in concert after the EM release. It didn't disappoint. Bumped into her smoking a cig in the alley out back afterwards. All this time since 1996 and only 4 albums produced. It would be awesome if she made another but I doubt it.

 

Yes, pressings are good. I think the business model allows for them to spend a bit more for quality pressings knowing they won’t take a huge loss if something isn’t popular.

 

You used to be able to join for month, buy what you want, then rejoin to get the exclusives then get out. They now require a 3 month "contract." I just rejoined, but I already know what I'm going to swap for next two months. The records are good. But, they cater to younger listeners. I have original pressing of a lot of their exclusive repressings. I'm not really interested in Demon Days, when I bought the Parlophone as a new release back in the '90s. So, a yearly plan isn't something I'm likely to do. I probably want 6 of their exclusives a year. So, I'll join for 3 months and only get the ones I want.

 

Looks like you don't have to join to buy this one...

The Idler Wheel...

 

ive been a month to month member (grandfathered that plan in) for the last 5-6 years. no issues with them. always friendly when i needed support for issues, quick to just replace the affected albums with no need to return the defective one. i think there's been some hinky activity on what's been regarded as "exclusive" to vmp, but otherwise i've got very little issue with them.

 

Great Pressings
Incredible Customer Service

Highly Reccommend.

 

Nothing but greatness from these guys. They've even starting using analog sourcing when possible!

 

I've been a member on and off for a couple of years with mixed experiences - theres been some good stuff but also some pretty bad issues.

To help explain, I've been waiting three months for a Blue Note Anthology replacement album. We've had 30 emails now backwards and forwards, they sent a damaged replacement and then sent the wrong record. So that's $280 paid in April 2019 for an order not yet fulfilled.

Right now this is the worst company I've ever dealt with, and I'd recommend everyone to look elsewhere for their purchases.

 

May I ask if you've had to pay the return shipping out-of-pocket?

 

Just FYI, they don't usually ask for returns - they let you keep defects.

 

Interesting. Am expecting the 50th Ann. Let it Bleed in green any day now. Hoping for the best.
Thank you.

 

New member to VMP. I have been happy. Their AAA releases are fantastic.

 

Generally enjoy their selections and they are doing more and more AAA. But, in the case of Ella Fitzgerald's Swinging Christmas, their original advertisement and specs mentioned nothing about it being AAA, only "remastered from the original master tapes", which we know can mean many things. I found it odd, because they are so willing to state AAA the last 6 months or so, wearing it as a badge of honor.

By the time they got back to my email on the record being in fact AAA, and in stereo, though they used the mono label, it was taken off the site. Not sure if it sold out, or if they are going to fix their release page to include this info. But, if it's gone, I am bummed at not having had the requisite info to spur me on to buy!

 

I've been a member for a few years now, and I have to say VMP can be a really mixed bag. Some of their pressing are excellent, including Fiona's Tidal 45rpm. As a matter of fact, when I went to test new turntables, I took in a few reference albums... about half were from VMP.

Having said that, I have a hard time recommending them currently. Exclusives are getting less "exclusive" and are more often just a colored variant of the normal pressing. Often times similar or better colored variants are available from other vendors who ship immediately at the similar prices.

VMP's prices have been creeping up for awhile too. The subscription prices have gone up, and the average price of exclusives have increased as well this year.

I also have received more wrapped or faulty pressing from VMP than any other vendor. That includes local shops, other mail order, etc. I would estimate approximately 1 out of every 5 or 6 albums requires replacement. Previously, VMP was very quick to resolve these issues. Lately they've been offering store credit in place of replacements. And most recently (since their new store implementation in Nov) VMP's customer service has become almost completely unresponsive.

Their shipping times also require patience. They used to be great about making sure anytime you had multiple purchases they would all ship in one monthly box (or multiple boxes for big buyers). This year they started taking "pre-orders" for exclusives, and they have failed to deliver 50%+ of exclusives during the projected months. Some releases have been delayed for over 6 months, with little or no updates from the company. As a result of delays and increased prices, as well as fewer remasters unique to VMP, I have decided to only purchase exclusives when I don't feel a rush on them AND I can get them on sale for less than I could at a local shop. My exclusive purchases have reduced by 60% year over year, and I full expect to have few to zero in the coming year - assuming I stay with them.

All in all, VMP is hard sell right now. With the grandfathered annual sub pricing, it's easier to stay but I find myself buying less from them every year, and becoming more frustrated with them when I do buy. I won't mislead you, when they get a release right, it can be truly excellent, and stands toe to toe with some of the best (Mofi, AP, etc). But this certainly feels like the exception in 2019. I think for a brand new customer, I would say wait for the releases you want to hit discogs or other resale sites. Even if you're paying a slight premium, you likely will save money in the long run. If you find yourself buying one or more every quarter for $80+, well then maybe it's time to subscribe.

 

Thanks for the info. Do they charge for shipping and tax btw?

 

not for members

 

Anything you purchase while you are a member is free shipping. They do have some releases that you can purchase without being a member, so non-members pay shipping on those. I believe tax only applies to select states, similar to most online vendors. I have not been required to pay tax in Texas, but on my subscription to does clearly say "+tax".

 

They changed to a new billing system and are having all kinds of problems. Seems like they don't know what's been issued and what hasn't. Lots of people are still waiting for November and December albums of the month, as well as all kinds of other issues.

Check out the reddit page for more info...

VMP Grievances, Issues, and “Hot Takes” Megathread : VinylMePlease