For many years now I have purchased new cds from MDT in Derby rather from a local record shop for the simple reason that the cds were cheaper that way ;D
I have occasionally used Presto for Dutton cds because MDT does not sell cds from that company(although in truth cds ordered directly from Dutton are even cheaper).
I was about to order the Royal Flemish Philharmonic Orchestra release of the Meulemans Concertos for Orchestra and the new Ondine release of concertos by Rautavaara last night from MDT at a combined cost of £25 plus postage. Before I did so however I checked the HMV site online(as recommended by another member here) and found that I could buy the same two cds for £18 postage free.
This sort of saving is really quite substantial and at a time when I have a shopping list of 12 cds to buy and another half dozen scheduled for release at the end of March plus, these days, a more limited budget it makes a huge difference to purchasing potential :) :)
Add 2.50 pr disc in P&P from HMV and the fact that they don't deduct VAT for orders outside the EU; and this suddenly don't seem so attractive for us Norwegians at least.
Quote from: erato on Friday 02 March 2012, 13:44
Add 2.50 pr disc in P&P from HMV and the fact that they don't deduct VAT for orders outside the EU; and this suddenly don't seem so attractive for us Norwegians at least.
Well.....if Norway will stay outside the EU ;D
The EU? Never heard of it!
Morten
My wish would be that more retailers would go with online downloads. It seems to me that would be an ideal situation. Especially for someone smaller like Records International. No need to tie up large amounts of cash in inventory which may sell or may languish on the shelf for years. And you can offer it much cheaper. Plus, we live in the "instant gratification" age.
As the alternative, I love Amazon's Prime deal. $79 a year and everything is shipped 2 day. Order it, wait a day, and it's here. I don't make long treks over to WalMart often, just order it......Plus you now get instant streaming of movies from them, similar to NetFlix. Ah, but I digress. Sorry, Alan....
Jerry
I'm a businessman and in business you say that a new contact has only one opportunity to make a first impression as a business partner. So make sure the first contact is perfect.
On 4 February I ordered as a tryout my first CD (Raff Piano Works Vol. I) from HMV (it should be cheaper than mdt, £8.99 + £2.50 P&P). This evening I've got an email message saying that the CD is out of stock. Well, I'm flabbergasted. I'll cancel my order. This was my first and last contact with HMV.
I'll keep loyal towards mdt.co.uk and jpc.de. They have never disappointed me. And I buy some 150-200 CD's each year, so I'm not a poor customer.
I've had the same e-mail!
However, my experience with HMV is that they soon get it in again. So, if one wants to save money, one sometimes has to wait. And if the problem is universal, then other retailers may have the same problem anyway.
And I have also had the same e-mail - so at least there is some consistency in the world!
Actually I had two from HMV almost simultaneously - the other telling me that the new Toccata disc of Karel Reiner is also out of stock.
Despair not, young Peter. I obviously have no insight into the interior workings of HMV. However over the last year or so (when they've probably had between £50-100 a month of orders from me) I've noticed a number of these 'out of stock' e-mails arriving on a Sunday afternoon / evening. Peculiar, and not, I'm sure, for any reasons to do with the sabbath!
My guess - and purely a guess - is that any orders left unfulfilled by the end of the week are rounded up, the customer notified 'out of stock and we're trying our best.....', and a new request made to the distributor waiting for them at the start of the new business week.
I have learnt that the Sunday e-mail is not a cause for alarm. In just about every case, there then follows an e-mail two or three days later telling you that the item is 'on the way'.
The only exception to that general rule was about 6 months ago when HMV was unable to complete any orders for CPO discs. It coincided with the time when some distributors were not supplying to HMV for the reason that the company was unable to raise financial backing for loans to buy new products. However in that 'dark' period they continued supplying Chandos, Hyperion et al.
Thankfully all now seems to be well - and for the past few months CPO discs (and others) have been delivered a very welcome few days before their official release date - and at any extraordinarily generous price. Secret confession: on quite a few occasions I've had a cheeky smug grin on my face reading someone on the forum saying they're itching with excitement waiting for Monday morning when a certain CD should become available.... and I've already had mine for a couple of days thanks to HMV!!!
Sadly, as Peter has already discovered, the advantages of ordering from HMV (at the cost of navigating one's way through their dreadful website) can only be enjoyed by customers in the UK - who get free postage and no other charges.