Which mail-order source do you use the most for your new vinyl purchases?

I'm surprised more folks don't use Forced Exposure. It's not even on your list. Maybe I love them so much because Byron Coley and crew seem to share similar uber-eclectic tastes as myself. No free shipping, alas, but reasonable prices and a great selection of always interesting stuff. They are my number one, with Soundstage a solid second. Light in the Attic is also good, as they carry a lot of Euro-label soundtrack titles.

I've been checking out Bull Moose too. Looks promising.

 

If my local record shop can't supply a new title I use Picadilly Records in Manchester.

 

Soundstage direct
Bullmoose
Amazon
Elusive disc

are my main places to buy .

 

If im preordering a MOV release, I always oder from www.newonvinyl.com Always on time and in fantastic shape

 

Amazon here.

 

I've been a steady Acoustic Sounds customer for the last six years. Chad has done a lot to promote the vinyl format and their customer service has always been great to me. Excellent packing and I prefer FedEx for delivery. I can place an order on Thursday and it's delivered on Saturday which works out well for me.

 

Thanks for reminding me of them. I remember stopping at their Portsmouth store several years ago when I was traveling in the area, cool place. I think I will start ordering from there even though it's far away from me, I really want to stop supporting Amazon.

 

Newbie here. Thanks all for the list of suggestions. Having recently started purchasing "new" for my (recently inherited) vinyl collection I had found myself limited to Amazon due to prime shipping and Deep Discount. I've already had to return an LP to DD because I swear the "new" record (Appetite For Destruction) I purchased was used. Album arrived with creases in the cover and then I pulled out the record to find blemishes throughout the vinyl itself. Back it went.

 

I recently did my first order with Music Direct for 6 records that I had shipped to me when i was on vacation in Florida.
When I got home to Canada and opened the box, I discovered they packed the wrong copy of Dexter Gordon's "Our Man in Paris",
the basic Universal copy, when I ordered the Music Matters reissue. I was a bit bummed because I thought getting
it sorted out would be a bit of a pain, because of the cost of shipping it back to the USA would be more than it was worth.

I emailed Music Direct through the website, and within an hour got a very pleasant reply from Emily in customer service.
She'd send the correct copy out to me no charge right away, not to worry about sending the wrong copy back. She went to
the warehouse and pulled a copy herself to make sure it was the right one, and sent a confirmation email on Wednesday last week
that it would be coming my way. It arrived today (monday) priority USPS, the perfect resolution to my problem!

Everyone makes mistakes, but how they deal with them really sets some companies apart from others. I would highly
recommend Music Direct, now knowing that if there is a problem they are prepared to make it right.

 

Amoeba because of free shipping.
Amazon because you can sometimes find a great deal on OOP but still sealed from secondary sellers.
Bullmoose because they often have LP's that have sold out elsewhere (great luck with Record Store Day releases).

I absolutely prefer going into a physical store and going through the racks.
Lucky for me Amoeba Hollywood is blocks from where I work.

 

Forced Exposure (the best!)
Norman Records in the UK for hard to get imports
Direct from bands/labels on Bandcamp
Soundstage Direct

 

Why buy from only 1? For new LPs - whoever has the best deal at the time based on shipping charges etc. If I can get free shipping from Soundstage at $49, they get my business for orders that size.

Rarely Amazon because I don't trust them although their packaging has improved. I try not to feed that beast too often and give the business to companies that have a clue about vinyl and don't just see it as another product to sell.

For used stuff, E Bay.

 

I've been buying from Bomp Records for years (since 1978 actually)
Excellent service and a great selection of 60's garage, psych and obscurities.

 

Amazon. I have prime so it works out to be cheaper and quicker.

 

Amazon.ca and Northern Volume here in Canada.

I used to buy lots from Ebay and Soundstage Direct before the shipping prices went crazy.

 

Ive ordered 3 or 4 Black Keys albums from Bomp. Great prices and fast shipping!

 

Based on the comments (and my experience) the poll would have been more accurate by allowing multiple picks.

Amazon (despite the guilt)

Soundstage Direct (great people)

tied for third (shipping $$ yikes):
Music Direct
Acoustic Sounds

 

i always try local first, and if they don't have what i want in stock i search for the best price.

 

I've done a few orders with Northern Volume, they seem like another very good option for us up here.
They have a good balance of audiophile reissues, and they (for the most part) provide the right
amount of pressing information to know exactly which version they have. That's my biggest
pet peeve with Amazon.ca, sometimes you don't know what specifically they're listing.
I think Acoustic Sounds still sets the bar for that, but Music Direct is very good too.

 

There are tons of record stores in the East Bay. They are popping up all over the place these days, especially in Oakland. Some are literally pop up stores, and record swaps are becoming popular, too. Rasputin in Berkeley has a huge vinyl selection and is only a block from Amoeba.

 

I buy a lot from both Amazon CA and UK, and sometimes the US site. I find shipping to be very expensive from US mail-order houses so I hardly ever order from them.

 

No Light in the Attic on the list? That's where I get most of my vinyl.

 

For most of my on-line vinyl purchases- I have used both Music Direct and Acoustic Sounds.
Back in December- all the on-line majors began having their sales, and I wanted to get some titles before the AP Catalogue was raised in price from $30 to $35.

The only vendor with stock in what I wanted was SoundStageDirect- who I had never dealt with. I knew they'd been on here for a while, and did not remember anyone having any issue with them. Myself I had never had an issue with what I had ordered anyway.

I ordered Herbie Hancock- HeadHunters and Brubeck- Time Out from AP, as well and Allman Bros Fillmore East(MFSL), and a Speakers Corner Title.
The Headhunters LP had a label way off center, and appeared to have some of the label shaved where it hit the leadout groove.
The Time Out Title had the same issue- although not as bad.

I worked with Alex at SoundstageDirect- who promptly shipped me out another HeadHunters copy, and said there would be a USPS label to cover the return of the bad one. This was great I thought! Got my second copy- and it was just as bad. In the end- I got 3 pieces of AP Titles- and the labels are way off center. Alex was willing to find me another alternative- but in the end I said my fight was NOT with SSD, as the problem was really Chad's (at Acoustic Sounds) to fix.

Bravo to SSD for going above and beyond to help out- even if the problem is not completely their issue. In the case of Headhunters- I have to assume that a batch of these was defective in applying labels off-center to. I have purchased LP's that have slightly off-center labels- but these were crazy off-center, and for premium product as well. I've purchased other AP titles(RCA Living Series) that were perfect.

Again- bravo to Alex and SSD-
Hiss to AP for their horrible quality on that batch.

Chris

 

Lately I've been using juno.co.uk Great prices and shipping (under $5 to USA)
I like to order from UK to secure a UK copy, when available.

 

I haven't seen them before but they have a great selection and prices. How are their mailers for 12" records? Have you had any issues with damaged records?