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Best/Worst Customer Service from a Distro/Label?


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4 hours ago, underwaterzoo said:

I know a lot of people don't like merchnow, but I just now had my first issue with them. So I received a record I ordered on May 31, but it was the wrong variant. They were quick to send me another one, I received the correct one by the first week of June. However, they never sent a return label for the incorrect variant. The last email I got from when was asking if they could email a return label, this was on June 26. They still haven't emailed me a return label. It's kind of annoying to have to set this record aside for over a month, I haven't contacted them again, but are they going to end up charging me for the second record if they don't receive it in a certain time?

Keep an eye out when you look at your bank/credit card/whatever statements, but I highly doubt you'll get a charge.

 

I'm not 100% they CAN'T do that, but I doubt it. If they CAN do that, I doubt they will. Your record is most likely just some shit that's gonna fall through the cracks.

 

So like...don't flip it just yet. But at a certain point don't bend over backwards trying to let them let you give their shit back.

Edited by Bladewillisisdead
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Just now, Bladewillisisdead said:

Keep an eye out when you look at your bank/credit card/whatever statements, but I highly doubt you'll get a charge.

 

I'm not 100% they CAN'T do that, but I doubt it. If they CAN do that, I doubt they will. Your record is most likely just some shit that's gonna fall through the cracks.

This is kind of what I figured, it's not a record they're selling a ton of that's for sure lol. Thanks for the input! 

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On 3/29/2017 at 9:27 PM, Oldmusicbidnessguy said:

SRC has been the worst buying experience I have ever had purchasing music before, in my entire life.  I purchased 3 exclusives, one being a pre-order, the other two are in stock, the original street date for beautiful letdown has come and gone, it has been marked backordered multiple times on their site over the last three weeks, and changed back to pre-order to released on the 24th.  Needless to say my order has still yet to ship.  I have created tickets and one of their customer service people promised to split the order for me to ship the other two titles out, yet that never happened and went unaddressed through multiple exchanges of tickets.  The phone number on their site is never answered via a customer service person or even at their retail store.  I have never received an email update on my order, being delayed, changed or otherwise.  I wanted the gin blossoms from them but refuse to order based off this experience.   Currently traveling and came across it at a shop, just couldn't pull the trigger based off this experience.  Just bad, I have no idea how they stay afloat ignoring customers.

SRC is by far the worst customer service experience I've had in many years. There are 4 employees (online and both retail stores combined) including the manager (owner?) who is never there but controls everything the people who are there do. The customer service number is a joke. We got someone to contact us by calling the Canadian retail location and sending messages Morse code. They had sent me a damaged item, made me send them different photos twice. The lone online customer service worker is also the one employee at the US store and took days to answer each email. When they decided they would bless me with a replacement, the album was out of stock but they didn't ask or offer credit or a refund, they just said it would ship as soon as they got more with no estimate of when. I asked for a refund. Then she started answering emails very quickly! We already shipped your replacement, when all they had done was made a label. Two days later a package actually shipped, "Oh look we just got one copy in!" Wait, I thought the story was you already shipped it? Funny how it was the same day my returned copy made it there (seriously).  

Sometime during the lying about shipping, I went ahead and filed a PayPal claim WHICH I LOST because the manager lied in his reply to the claim and used the original tracking number to prove they had shipped me something and paypal hadn't connected the emails I forwarded them with the claim. Then I had to appeal the ruling while the customer service is still telling me that this is a misunderstanding and she'll talk to her manager about a refund. Finally, I won the appeal and I will NEVER deal with them again. This took a month and a half BTW.

 

If I want an exclusive they have, I'll get it second hand, even if I end up paying more. It's worth it not to deal with them and to not give them any profit.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Don't want to go too far into detail, as it will enrage me, but....
Worst distro goes to... BASICK Supplies. 

 

Long story short:

1. Shipping is very expensive, and they do not provide tracking info.
2.  Records packaged very badly, no bubble wrap and flimsy cardboard means multiple orders came damaged (badly bent corners, seam splits)

3. THREE TIMES! (across two separate orders) they advertised a specific limited press & sent the wrong variant, or in one case a standard black press. :angry:

4. For all of these issues, including when they sent me the wrong record, the best customer support could do was give me a 10% off coupon for my next order. They refused to refund me unless I paid return shipping, and said they were unable to make the order right. As in they didn't even have the record they had purported to sell. The people were nice, but the company policy is to treat the customer like garbage and they are fine with false advertising. Terrible distro.

 

Edited by V3XED
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  • 3 weeks later...

They have probably been mentioned already, but Pledge Music  Is the worst by far, they make SRC look like a well run company. Plenty of other ways to crowd fund and all are superior to Pledge Music. I've ordered 4 times from pledge and this is the last straw? Customer service is nonexistent and noBody who works there seems to know anything. I don't know how many times I've been told" we're looking into it" and never hear anything back. They will accept your $$$ with the quickness, but fulfill an order or answer customer questions with more than the company phrase " I don't know" just is not gonna happen. I still hold out hope I'll get my order, but I'm sooooo done wIth Pledge Music. Never Again! Although with such a bad run business, I doubt they will last.... Thank God!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I am having a heck of a time canceling and order with SRCvinyl.  I preordered the Brand new record coming out in October and then requested to cancel the next day.  They responded trying to give me store credit, I requested a refund to my paypal and haven't heard back from them.  I opened a case with paypal on the transaction.  I will defiantly search for other sources before I ever order from them again

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I know Best Buy isn't a label, but they are a store that sells records, sooooooo

 

I ordered 2 records from Best Buy back in the beginning of July. It said the items were available and ready to ship, but as soon as my order went through, it changed from "available" to "back order." It said it'd be here by August 8th though, so I didn't stress it. Well August 3rd rolls along and my order still hasn't shipped, so I contacted their customer support and talked with them for about 15 minutes. I was told that everything looks good with my order and it should be here by August 8th. A week later, the 8th rolls along and I get a notification saying that my order has been delayed and will be here on September 9th. I contacted them again and told them that I would just like to cancel my order and get my money refunded. The customer service representative talked me in to waiting because my "order has arrived at [their] warehouse and is just waiting to ship out." He told me that it should ship out within the week, so I waited. 

Well, about a week ago I get an email saying that they've canceled my order and refunded the money back to my PayPal. The refund was hassle free, but I was pretty pissed that I was out 50 bucks for the past 2 months. Especially since two separate people told me that everything looks good with my order and it will positively, most definitely arrive at my doorstep. I was pretty bummed and frustrated with them. 

I try to steer away from getting records from big retail companies like this, but for the right price, I'm willing to chance it. Never again, now.

 

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16 hours ago, jonahharper said:

it took me literally years to receive all the copies of The Phantom Menace soundtrack from I Am Shark. They never responded to any emails either. At least I got them though.

If you don't like how long it takes to get your order and zero correspondence then fuck you.

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On 8/10/2017 at 8:29 PM, B-dosia said:

They have probably been mentioned already, but Pledge Music  Is the worst by far, they make SRC look like a well run company. Plenty of other ways to crowd fund and all are superior to Pledge Music. I've ordered 4 times from pledge and this is the last straw? Customer service is nonexistent and noBody who works there seems to know anything. I don't know how many times I've been told" we're looking into it" and never hear anything back. They will accept your $$$ with the quickness, but fulfill an order or answer customer questions with more than the company phrase " I don't know" just is not gonna happen. I still hold out hope I'll get my order, but I'm sooooo done wIth Pledge Music. Never Again! Although with such a bad run business, I doubt they will last.... Thank God!

Was one of them the Team Sleep record? Learned my lesson with that one. If it doesn't say limited to the crowd fund, just wait because it'll be available at retail before backers get theirs. 

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On 9/12/2017 at 7:39 PM, Sanspants said:

Was one of them the Team Sleep record? Learned my lesson with that one. If it doesn't say limited to the crowd fund, just wait because it'll be available at retail before backers get theirs. 

Yes one of their short comings was def that Team Sleep sorry excuse for a record.

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  • 1 month later...

Had a pretty shitty experience with Matador and the QOTSA Villains deluxe vinyl.

 

One night after a few drinks I discovered that Villains was being released as a deluxe package and I thought shit, I gotta get that before it sells out. So I browsed a few sites which were all sold out and then I discovered it was still for sale direct from Matador so I jumped on it. Cost me a total of $94AUD to get it shipped.

 

It arrives and I give the record a spin and the record isn't completely flat.. it's ever so slightly warped. Still plays fine. But then I notice the cover has been bent in transit, so there are some decent crease and bend marks on it.

 

I email Matador with photos and they reply 'we will mail you a new cover'. 5 minutes later they email again, saying 'didn't realise you are in Australia. It would cost us $20 just to mail that cover. We tell customers just to buy locally if they are worried about cosmetic damage, damage like that is unavoidable with international shipping'.

 

Bullshit. I have bought hundreds and hundreds of records from overseas, and I could almost count on one hand the number that were damaged in shipping. Maybe 6 or 7. So now I'm stuck with a damaged and slightly warped Villains deluxe record. Pretty shitty.

 

The final kicker was that last week I DID discover it for sale locally, for $54. A full $40 cheaper than what I paid. God damn it.

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On 10/19/2017 at 7:18 PM, Mikizee said:

Had a pretty shitty experience with Matador and the QOTSA Villains deluxe vinyl.

 

One night after a few drinks I discovered that Villains was being released as a deluxe package and I thought shit, I gotta get that before it sells out. So I browsed a few sites which were all sold out and then I discovered it was still for sale direct from Matador so I jumped on it. Cost me a total of $94AUD to get it shipped.

 

It arrives and I give the record a spin and the record isn't completely flat.. it's ever so slightly warped. Still plays fine. But then I notice the cover has been bent in transit, so there are some decent crease and bend marks on it.

 

I email Matador with photos and they reply 'we will mail you a new cover'. 5 minutes later they email again, saying 'didn't realise you are in Australia. It would cost us $20 just to mail that cover. We tell customers just to buy locally if they are worried about cosmetic damage, damage like that is unavoidable with international shipping'.

 

Bullshit. I have bought hundreds and hundreds of records from overseas, and I could almost count on one hand the number that were damaged in shipping. Maybe 6 or 7. So now I'm stuck with a damaged and slightly warped Villains deluxe record. Pretty shitty.

 

The final kicker was that last week I DID discover it for sale locally, for $54. A full $40 cheaper than what I paid. God damn it.

Nah what they said is perfectly acceptable and they wouldn't have said it if they weren't sure it would be stocked locally. When I order something from overseas it comes damaged more than half the time and as long as it's playable I can't complain about what shipping did to it. If it legitimately costs $20 for them to ship it to you why do you think that's fair? Not their fault you couldn't wait...

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16 minutes ago, Sunshine said:

Nah what they said is perfectly acceptable and they wouldn't have said it if they weren't sure it would be stocked locally. When I order something from overseas it comes damaged more than half the time and as long as it's playable I can't complain about what shipping did to it. If it legitimately costs $20 for them to ship it to you why do you think that's fair? Not their fault you couldn't wait...

Hmm idk, I've ordered all my records from overseas (over 70) and most have been transported from the US and have sometimes taken over a month to get to me. None have ever been damaged, let alone warped. Sounds like the packaging was pretty poor. If you genuinely are getting damaged records half the time from overseas I'd be asking some questions if I were you...

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2 hours ago, MrMatt767 said:

Hmm idk, I've ordered all my records from overseas (over 70) and most have been transported from the US and have sometimes taken over a month to get to me. None have ever been damaged, let alone warped. Sounds like the packaging was pretty poor. If you genuinely are getting damaged records half the time from overseas I'd be asking some questions if I were you...

I just don't order them unless I have to. The way they described the record as not being completely flat is an instant flag that they're new to vinyl and the sleeve damage probably isn't consistent with what most of us consider severe damage. Corner bumps, seam splits, and cover creases are pretty common even when I order within the US... I really find it hard to believe it's such a rare occurrence constantly ordering overseas.

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10 hours ago, Sunshine said:

I just don't order them unless I have to. The way they described the record as not being completely flat is an instant flag that they're new to vinyl and the sleeve damage probably isn't consistent with what most of us consider severe damage. Corner bumps, seam splits, and cover creases are pretty common even when I order within the US... I really find it hard to believe it's such a rare occurrence constantly ordering overseas.

Yeah idk, I'm on the fence. I've honestly always ordered from overseas (such is the case living in AUS and being into reasonably non-mainstream music), often straight from the label and 99% of the time they turn up in pristine condition. I've also shipped half way across the globe and have never had any complaints from buyers. However, having said that I wouldn't really be bummed or take it out on whoever had shipped it if the record did turn up with splits etc. because as you say, that's part of the deal when shipping overseas. I'm also not sure what he has to gain from getting a new sleeve sent to him, especially when it probably isn't even in catastrophic condition, and I also don't think the label should have to pay for it. If the record is warped though, that's a bigger concern and I'd probably be annoyed, though as you say again I'm not sure what the dude is talking about re. 'completely flat'. Oh well!

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19 hours ago, Sunshine said:

I just don't order them unless I have to. The way they described the record as not being completely flat is an instant flag that they're new to vinyl and the sleeve damage probably isn't consistent with what most of us consider severe damage. Corner bumps, seam splits, and cover creases are pretty common even when I order within the US... I really find it hard to believe it's such a rare occurrence constantly ordering overseas.

New to vinyl? No. I am 36, and started buying records in 2002. A great majority of them shipped from overseas simply as the selection is so much greater, and usually it is still cheaper than buying locally. 

 

And I mean it when I say it.. out of the hundreds I have bought, less than 10 have arrived damaged. I received 3 records just on friday from Amazon US, all perfect.

 

Coincidentally, one of them was a regular US pressing of Villains... it is dead flat and sounds better than the deluxe -go figure.  

As for the record not flat comment... is it too much to expect that when I play a record, the tonearm doesn't visibly and quite substantially move up and down with each rotation? Especially for something pressed at Pallas, which is regarded as one of the better pressing plants. Records should be flat man. Of course they aren't DEAD flat, but I shouldn't be seeing the tonearm move so much.  This is why I find that 180g pressings aren't always better... lighter pressings seem to suffer from less defects in this regard. 

 

Matador were more than happy to take my money and ship overseas but tell me to fuck off when it's on their dime... Had they packed it properly there would have been no damage. Or, like I said, just say no from the outset, not offer a replacement to some people and not others, simply because it will cost them more.

 

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  • 1 month later...
5 hours ago, erasedtapes said:

What's everyone's experiences with Merch Connection? Ordered the new Gleemer LP on the 17th and there's been no update yet. It could just be the holiday rush, but they didn't respond to my email either, and it looks like they're fairly inactive on socials.

I’ve ordered some stuff here and there, they seem pretty run of the mill. I don’t think that those Gleemer LPs are in yet (nothing on IG that I can find, my preorder from August hasn’t shipped), probably delayed and unfortunately no info is being trickled down the pipeline. 

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15 hours ago, dantheriver said:

I’ve ordered some stuff here and there, they seem pretty run of the mill. I don’t think that those Gleemer LPs are in yet (nothing on IG that I can find, my preorder from August hasn’t shipped), probably delayed and unfortunately no info is being trickled down the pipeline. 

Got an email in from them that said just this! You are truly a vinyl wizard of some sort…

Edited by erasedtapes
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  • 2 weeks later...

So pissed off right now. I know you guys shit on SRC a lot but I've placed dozens of orders with them over the years and never had a problem.. until now.

I ordered a copy of Darrin's Coconut Ass as a Christmas present and it arrived today. And it was just an empty jacket. No outer sleeve or nothing. Just the jacket. I know they recently switched to a new distribution center in KY but this is just fucked up. And I'm sure trying to get ahold of customer service is not gonna be easy.

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More than 48 hours later and this still hasn't been resolved. I tweeted at them with pictures right away and they told me to fill out a support ticket (which I already had done at that point) and still no response from them.  If I don't hear back from them by Friday, I'm just gonna file a PayPal claim and see if I can order it elsewhere. I was looking at the package again and the shipping label says it's 9 ounces so it's not like it was stolen after the fact. How the fuck does this happen?

 

EDIT - Finally heard back. They’re sending me a new one with 2-day shipping. 

Edited by marc32137
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Best: Drive-Thru Records

I've ordered a hundred records from them in the last couple years and received them almost too promptly (like within a day). Their office line did call me once in the middle of the night, but it must have been a computer glitch. Also, they use a weird shipping service, like there delivery guy wears this weird oddly vintage overcoat and those tiny circular glasses and a long shaggy beard (it doesn't seem like any of the major shippers would allow that dress code). He also doesn't say you're welcome, but gives a weird wave.

Edited by Ironclaw
Mistake
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  • jhulud changed the title to Best/Worst Customer Service from a Distro/Label?

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