That's not right tho. I don't want to, or have the time to monitor twitter 24/7.. Then only to feel like a scrub as I rush to my computer to buy it before everyone else. Their business model sucks. I've been a member for a long time and I feel like that doesn't matter. The people who end up buying the desirable releases just flip them. Those who actually want them are left hanging. Even with their swaps. They put limited swaps up right away, but it's virtually impossible to get one of them. the site crashes and by the time you get it loaded again, the good swaps are gone. Every month, same thing. If they had any appreciation to their customer, they would change the swap system. Those who have not swapped in the longest amount of time would have priority. If you swapped last month, you move to the bottom of the line. They need to do something because it's getting out of hand.
It's NUTS how fast these are marked SOLD OUT before I even get emails alerting me to their existence. Happening over and over... There has to be a better way..
I don't mind the limited nature of some of the releases. Sometimes I'm able to snag a copy of something I would covet (ordered the White Stripes 7" last night after browsing the site by chance), and sometimes I'm not (Madlib - Flight to Brazil), but thus is life. I'll never be able to get EVERY record I desire, but I make an effort to stay on top of the artists that really matter to me and I don't tend to miss out on their releases. To me, the subscription entitles you to the monthly shipment and the VMP store exclusives are like a lottery. I don't feel entitled to anything else. Sometimes you get what you want because you're following closely, and sometimes you get what you want because of luck (White Stripes 7"), but sometimes you miss out and have to either pay the price or accept that it's not in the cards (for the moment, at least). There's nothing in the subscription agreement that states you will get every release that you desire. There's so much music in the world that I can't bring myself to get angry over missing out here and there.
Erroll Garner arrived and ran through RCM, spinning as we speak. Came in tight shrink wrap, which is a change from their nice sealable covers Pressing looks nice, quality QRP/sleeve city style inner sleeve. Sounds fantastic! RKS can do no wrong in my book, whether it’s AAA or from a digital source. Speaking of which, the piano is absolutely top notch quality and I’m getting a nice wide soundstage to boot as well. Cranshaw’s bass, especially his electric sound, is awesome, plenty of meat on the bones. Really happy with this title and the classics line in general.
Saw the White Stripes 7” for sale one the site yesterday, but I passed. Still have my copy of the picture 7” from Vault #6, which will probably hold value better than the new pressing anyway, if I ever decide to sell (I won’t).
I saw their tweet today (I think it said it was from 16 hours ago at the time) and bought one right away and I swear less than a minute later came the announcement email. So it seems as if it was available basically right until they announced it. I shouldn't complain, but that's a pretty crappy way to release it if you ask me. They make no sense a lot of times...
It must of nearly been sold out at that point because less than 5 minutes after the email arrived in my inbox, I went to buy and it was already gone. My main gripe is making it the focal point of the email they sent out when it was already sold out or very close to it. Kind of a tease.
I don't truly believe anything is sold out on Vinyl Me Please until after a good while. At one point, the Stooges title from 2 months ago was 'Sold Out' right after it was released as the Record of the Month. People on Facebook were complaining about this. I saw it was still available for swaps when I got on yesterday. The same goes for Aretha's I Never Loved A Man. At one point I wanted to buy it separate as I was on hiatus from the subscription and it was sold out. Then I got on a few days later and it was available again. I eventually did the 'Add A Track' bit and swapped out to get it recently. I think it was available for a swap also this month. Now.. some older titles are sold out and no longer available for swaps. I have a feeling that the Hello Operator 45 will suddenly become available again.
FYI. The White Stripes was on their site almost a day before they announced it. I had it in my cart but decided I didn’t want to spend $10 for two songs. If it had different mastering and was pressed at Third Man— I would have jumped on it.
Only peripherally Vinyl Me Please related, but I joined the frenzy a few pages up thread to order the last remaining copies of the Grateful Dead Cornell ‘77 box from amazon.ca and it arrived safely finally. Listened the whole thing tonight with my girlfriend and what a rollicking great listen it was! 5 stars. Maybe one errant tick over 9 sides of wax and everything sounded so good. If I had a complaint it’s that the crowd is mixed a little low. One of the great things about that show is the energy the crowd brings and they are mostly inaudible. A minor quibble, and otherwise fantastic. Now considering ordering the new VMP box in a fit of GD mania
Because it's record collecting, not "music" in general. The scarcity / preorder / get the twitter notification / rare color pressing etc thing is, for better or worse, the current paradigm.
Saw on a Music Direct email that there will be a pressing of Albert Ayler's New Grass. That seems perfect for a VMP variant. hopefully more then 300 copies.
I’m new to the subscription part of this. How long does it typically take to get monthly selections sent out? My Stevie Nicks is still unfulfilled.
It can vary. My advice would be to email VMP. They usually respond promptly. I contacted them last week and had a reply within the hour.
it can vary, that's totally true. my latest inquiry regarding records ordered in april that i still haven't received took 3.5 weeks to get a vague response. and the records still haven't been shipped to me 2 weeks later. they used to be excellent on the customer service front, but nothing's been the same since november of 2019.
As people said, it varies, but most of the time now it says"unfulfilled" as it's sitting on my front porch. You can't trust what their site says. Edit: Which is strange, come to think about it, after all of that nonsense in November when they switched systems. It's now actually less reliable for me.
you'd think after 7 months they'd have learned how to use their systems, but alas, they clearly have not.
So I signed up today backwards on the Aretha “I Never...” LP as I hadn’t been paying attention, and had to have it. A question on swaps - can you do it for of the available previous ROTM, and what’s the deal with stuff in the store - can you swap just some select items, or anything if you pay the difference? Either way, looking forward to some great new music!
If copies of the previous ROTM are still available, typically they'll be available in the swaps from what I've seen. I don't think everything in the store is available to swap, although there was quite a bit from it available this month - I think having to do with the delay of the White Stripes title. Not sure if that's always the case or will hold true going forward.
Hints for July Essentials: 2006 Classics: 1972 RHH: 1999 Essentials: This artist/band has played with/recorded with/ or produced a band/artist/label that VMP has featured in a previous Anthology release. Classics: This artist/band has played with/recorded with/ or produced a band/artist/label that VMP has featured in a previous Classics release RHH: This artist/band has played with/recorded with/ or produced a band/artist/label that VMP has featured in a previous Essentials and Rap & Hip-Hop Release.