Best/Worst Customer Service from a Distro/Label?

[jase]

The spraynard bigcartel site should be avoided at all costs.

I ordered two copies of funtitled about a month ago, they finally arrived. In a pizza box crushed to shit. Needless to say every corner on both copies is dinged, and both also have seem splits. I've emailed them, and posted on their Facebook and I'm awaiting a response.

[mrnubnub]

I like Paper+Plastic. Some people say they are a little slow but I've never had any real issues with them.

I like them enough. I dig the whole music and print angle they have going, and their packaging is pretty cool.

I ordered 3 records from the footlong sale they had. Came in a week, which wasn't bad. However they lowered the shipping costs the day after I ordered (they were really high for the sale), which is beat.

But, BTMI Everybody That You Love 7" was warped badly like a frisbee and they sent me a replacement. Only problem is this ones even worse, so I had to contact them again. Still, I liked how quickly they got back to me and sent a replacement.

[mkatn]

I have to give some love to Chisel Records! Quick turnaround, great prices for what I wanted, and tossed in some extra stickers for free.

I haven't ordered from too many distros, but I'd gladly order from them again soon.

[mrnubnub]

Anybody order from Six Feet Under records?

Just ordered 3 weeks ago because they put the Title Fight Kingston Demos 7" up, and Dean Dirg's ...Raus! was only $2. However, my order is still pending, never got a shipping confirmation, and no response to my email. What gives?

[toxicity]

I have to give some love to Chisel Records! Quick turnaround, great prices for what I wanted, and tossed in some extra stickers for free.

I haven't ordered from too many distros, but I'd gladly order from them again soon.

Same here, and I had to pay shipping to the US to boot. They had quite a bit of hard-to-come-by stuff, and I ended up placing an order for about $100. The order showed up in about a week and they threw in a couple of free CDs and a thank you note as well. Rad dudes.

Edit: Oops, forgot I got in on their "free shipping to Canada/US" deal they had about two weeks back. Still, prices were absolutely reasonable and my stuff arrived quickly and in great condition. I'd definitely order from them again no matter what.

[brandonsd]

Ordered from a few places the last couple months.

Midheaven - Ordered the new Sidekicks record. Shipped reasonably fast and showed up well packaged and in good condition. No complaints.

Hellfish - Preordered the second press of Joyce Manor. Expected shipping date was mid-march and it showed up early and in good condition.

In Vinyl We Trust - Placed a couple orders with them in the last 2 months. First order shipped super fast and showed up packaged great and in perfect condition. Was so happy with my first order I placed another a few days later. My first order shipped so fast that when four days had passed and my order was still showing not shipped I emailed them to see if there was a problem. Brian responded very quickly and said he would look into it. An hour later he wrote me back and said he had no idea why it hadn't shipped yet and that he would get it out first thing the next day by Priority Mail. I ended up receiving it three days later which was actually faster than what my original expected delivery date was. When I opened the package one of the records I ordered wasn't in there but I emailed Brian again and he quickly responded and had another sent out. Really can't say enough about these guys. From what I've found they have the best prices around and although they aren't perfect they quickly work to resolve any issues that come up and have fantastic customer service. Highly recommended.

Clifton Motel - Ordered the second press of Avalanche United. Realized the day after I placed the order I didn't put in my apartment number and emailed them to give it to them. Turned out that the record had already shipped, which was crazy since I ordered it the day before, that's how fast they ship. Jon told me it should be ok unless my mailman was an asshole but if the record didn't show up in a week to let him know and he would send another out. A week passed and no record so I emailed him to let him know I still hadn't received it and he said he'd send out another. Got it about a week later. A couple days after that I had to go to the post office to pick up a package and to my surprise they also brought out the first shipment Jon had sent. Turned out since they didn't have the apartment number they just left it there to be claimed and I told them to send it back to the sender so he could get his record back. Overall impression was really great customer service and they responded fast and fixed the problem. Would definitely recommend.

Rev - Albums were a little pricier than other sites but they shipped super fast and I guess because I'm in CA my records showed up three days later. They also tossed in a promo of the new Rotting Out vinyl. Looking for the right prices to order from these guys again.

Hottopic.com - Ordered the new Menzingers record. Best price I found online and shipped and showed up fast. Record sleeve with the liner notes and lyrics was a little beat up with multiple rips on the sides, but I don't think that was there fault.

SRC - Not sure I really have much to say about them that hasn't already been said. Placed four or five orders with them in the last two months and had a problem with everyone of them except the one that was for record sleeves. Said they had records in stock when they didn't, said they shipped things when they hadn't, lied in emails about when things would be sent out, stopped responding to emails altogether. It got to the point where I had to dispute the charges with my bank because it had been more than a month since a placed my order and nothing had shipped and they stopped replying to my emails. As soon as I told them I had disputed the chargers with my bank they started replying to my emails in which I told them not to suddenly find these records and ship them out because I didn't want to deal with them anymore. Of course two days later they magically have these records and ship them even though I asked them not to because I had already ordered them from somewhere else. So now I'm sitting here with a package of records I already bought from somewhere else and they are refusing to tell me how I should go about shipping them back to them because for some reason they have to wait until they receive the official dispute from my bank until I can just send them their shit back. Every time I have dealt with someone there they have always been very nice, but they are fucking terrible at running their business. I may use them again if I'm not worried about getting my records within a month or two but if there's something I want in a timely manor I will find somewhere else.

[ocrockabilly]

Best:

Taiga

Interpunk

RevHQ

worst:

Amazon

[ocrockabilly]

Oh yeah, did I mention Amazon was the absolute fricking worst?

[alexschelldorf]

Insound's prices are inflated.

I've been ordering from Interpunk for a decade now. Good stuff.

I can't say enough good about In Vinyl We Trust. Great prices and service and communication.

I didn't have an issue with SRC when I ordered from them but from the looks of this board, I won't be ordering again.

Now Topspin... I ordered a Warpaint record. I had gotten a big bonus from work and spent about $100 on records. Realized I had forgotten about this one ~3 weeks later. Hadn't shipped. Hadn't even been processed. Could be partly my fault for not keeping up with it but I sent an email. Got a response 3 days later apologizing for delay. Shipped regular shipping, no explanation for delay. I asked about compensation for terrible service, they offered to allow me to return the record for a refund but not for shipping. Pretty miffed about the whole transaction.

[drewshannon]

Clifton Motel - Ordered the second press of Avalanche United. Realized the day after I placed the order I didn't put in my apartment number and emailed them to give it to them. Turned out that the record had already shipped, which was crazy since I ordered it the day before, that's how fast they ship. Jon told me it should be ok unless my mailman was an asshole but if the record didn't show up in a week to let him know and he would send another out. A week passed and no record so I emailed him to let him know I still hadn't received it and he said he'd send out another. Got it about a week later. A couple days after that I had to go to the post office to pick up a package and to my surprise they also brought out the first shipment Jon had sent. Turned out since they didn't have the apartment number they just left it there to be claimed and I told them to send it back to the sender so he could get his record back. Overall impression was really great customer service and they responded fast and fixed the problem. Would definitely recommend.

I totally agree with you on Clifton Motel. Awesome label.

[degenerex]

Anyone ever placed an order with Matador online? I placed an order last Monday and it hasn't moved from processing...

[taylo234]

Honestly, Hopeless Records has been really awesome. I ordered the new Used album Vulnerable with the two red 180 gram LP's (unfortunately the album wasn't that good :/) but anyway, it had a horrible skipping problem (and i mean horrible, skipped half of 3 songs) so i emailed them and they sent me another and said don't worry about sending the other one back. That already was pretty cool, but anyway, received it a few days later and it still skipped in the same spots, but on only 2 of the songs rather then the 3. I figure it's some sort of printing issue since its the exact same spots (tried on 3 record players). I emailed them again frustrated, and they offered me a refund or a test pressing of the record (180 gram black out of 5) so I took that. Whether you like the band/label or not, that's some awesome customer service!

[sjb2k1]

not the first time hopeless has shipped messed up records. lots of problems with the dangerous summer's last record too.

[taylo234]

It's fulfilled through Merchnow so i wonder if they have something to do with it.. I just bought another record from them and the sides were chipped and there was a huge scratch through it..

[breathingliquid]

I had a great experience with 20buckspin.com I ordered the latest pressing of Kylesa's Static Tension and I really wanted a Kylesa patch that they were giving away as a bonus for the earlier pressing. I asked them if they happened to have an extra around. They couldn't find one but when I ordered LP when it arrived their was the patch. Really meant a lot to me that they took the time to look for it for me and included it free of charge.

[skytop]

I've had nothing but good experiences so far -

Interpunk - No problems

Fat Wreck - No problems

Dr Strange - No problems

SideOneDummy - Got a warped record and they sent me a new one right away, their order manager is a great guy

Paper + Plastick - Slow but good. Sold a record that wasn't I'm stock and emailed me two weeks later. Let me order a 7" of greater value which was sick

Beach Impediment - Small local label, Mark is am amazing guy.

Feral Ward - No problems

[uniquestyle88]

BEST: Amoeba.com

WORST: bluecollardistro.com

Paid $42 for two LP's exclusive to their store, plus $11 for ups shipping.

The LP's arrived in an oversized box, with three scraps of cardboard thrown in. The items were very loose inside the box, and arrived with four dog ears, and numerous gouges between the two covers.

Vinyl was fine, but still kinda bummed that they have the following disclaimer on their site: "even though these records are pristine please be aware we DO NOT issue refunds or replacements for minor cosmetic damage, such as corner dings, bends, split inserts, and so on. We pack our vinyl very securely and carefully but in some cases this type of wear is simply unavoidable in shipping."

Literally the worst packaged order I have received in years. The complete opposite of "securely and carefully".

[mionehymnal]

Most merch sites I deal with are usually very good, and I have very little to complain about.

That being said, however, there is one in particular that is a complete piece of shit:

Merchconnectioninc.com

I ordered the 2xLP Periphery s/t album/Poster/Icarus Lives EP back in May of 2011. I had called and written prior to receiving any notification from the store to cancel said order as I found a better alternative that was more domestic ('cause shipping to Canada is a fucking pain in the ass). I asked them to cancel the order in both my written and verbal communication, and two days later received word that there was a delay in shipping and that the poster was no longer available, and were now shipping the product; completely ignored my concerns.

When I wrote back to them expressing that I was attempting to cancel the order, and that I required a refund. I was written back stating that as soon as I received it, that I "RETURN TO SENDER" and once it was received I would be refunded (minus restocking charge).

Well, in short, I sent the package back and have YET to receive a refund for the transaction. I've attempted numerous times to contact by phone and by email and have not received a response. I even went so far as opening a case with the Better Business Bureau and even they were unsuccessful at reaching the company in any capacity.

So, therefore, don't purchase from those fuck-holes.

[searos]

I know SRC gets a bad name but I have never had a single issue with them. Not sure what kind of emails some people sends cause normally I get responded to in at least 2hrs and they have helped me with one that apparently was damaged before they shipped so there was a delay. I honestly think people just send angry emails and they try and avoid those or something cause when I have questions about my order I provide the info and get an answer.

[postvillasblues]

I know SRC gets a bad name but I have never had a single issue with them. Not sure what kind of emails some people sends cause normally I get responded to in at least 2hrs and they have helped me with one that apparently was damaged before they shipped so there was a delay. I honestly think people just send angry emails and they try and avoid those or something cause when I have questions about my order I provide the info and get an answer.

Pretty much this.

Jenna has been exceptionally nice through the few emails I've exchanged with her. My preordered items arrived a month after their release date, but that is my fault for ordering them with backordered items (hard to find, oop ones, I should add, like Fireworks All I Have To Offer. I'm new to collecting :-[).

I don't know how SRC operates or how many people work there, I know of Jenna and a Danny and that's it. If it's a really small operation, some of the comments people have posted on their FB are total bullshit. I cant imagine how fucking rude the emails sent to that company are, no wonder they never reply.

It took a little longer than expected for my order, but they were nice to me and it arrived per what I wanted. And unless they have a huge staff, I cant fault them for anything, especially during the pressure RJ dumped on them this month.

[degenerex]

I'm gonna go ahead and put Matador on the "bad" list. Placed an order on 4/16, my credit card was charged and that's the only form of contact I've had with them. My order still says "processing" on the site, and I shot them an email and never got a response.

[sinisterkidd]

yea well ive sent two emails to SRC in the last ten days and havent heard anything back and ive been waiting on a package for like 3 weeks that hasnt even shipped yet. there starting to piss me off especially with there stupid number that doesnt even work

[jhook]

The Best:

Grave Mistake: Every time I order it is shipped super fast. He stocks his distro regularly and releases some really good stuff. He sends out Email updates on what will be coming in stock or what is almost sold out etc,etc on an almost weekly basis. If he is leaving on tour he updates everyone that items might not ship until he gets back. Grave Mistake is highly highly recommended by me.

Bridge Nine: They are only an hour or so away from me so I usually get my orders fast. The only problem I ever had with them was a along time ago and it was cleared up fast. ( To date myself it was the Holding On, No Warning lp pre-order). I have never ordered from the distro tho, so I cannot speak on the turn around time for that.

The O.K.:

Matador: The shipping takes awhile and the communication is lacking a little. But every order I have placed with them has come and was packaged perfectly. Whenever I order from them I take a " sit back and wait approach." It will come in the mail,eventually.

RevHQ: Kind of similar to Matador. Everything was packaged perfectly and arrived on time but the prices were high. Rev is my "last resort" distro. I don't order from them unless its an exclusive item or other distros have sold out of what I looking for.

Interpunk: Same as above. The prices are kind of high only order if its an exclusive item.

I have never really had any super bad experiences with distros. I have always bought most of my records from stores or at shows.

[julianisdead]

Best:

Insound

Deathwish

Sideonedummy

Bridge 9

Worst:

Shop Radio Cast. My girlfriend and I have made about 10 orders from them, and I would say about 5 of those were fucked up in some way. The last straw was when I ordered 2 LPs from them. One of the jackets to one of the records had an extremely bent corner, however the other LP and the box showed no signs of damage. Meaning it was damaged when they packaged it. I emailed them, and they essentially said there's nothing we can do about it. Fuck these guys.

[longgoneloser]

I had huge issues with Shop Radio Cast. To the point where months and months went by and then they turned around and said "oh we somehow overlooked your order" um, after my repeated emails they still overlooked it? I made 2 orders. Got one and one of the records wasn't in there and when i wrote about it they said "yeah, we sold out of that" like they knew it was out of stock and yet only refunded me when I brought it to their attention. I gave up on them until they offered the self-titled Blink double LP and Enema Of The State. I ordered both of those and got them sent to a USA address and they both arrived. Still, they fucked up my first order and didn't bother to send the second one and I just demanded a refund cos I was sick of waiting. They advertise too many items on their site that aren't even in stock. Someone needs to update that shit regularly.

Best ones:

Robotic Empire (they even tell you how many copies they have of an item left on the site so you can see before you order)

Relapse

No Idea

Panic

Bridge 9

Tiny Engines

Deathwish

Soundflat

No Sleep

Run For Cover takes ages to ship stuff but they do send it so they're ok in my books.