I’ll be honest and say the happiest thing about dropping them is that I’ve built a really good relationship with my local. They’re really sound and because the amount of custom a nutter like me gives them they look after me too with things. Also I kinda get the good feels putting money into a smaller local business.
Yeah, I wish I could support my local more but they're over an hour away. They're awesome in every way and I wish I could support them more. I unfortunately live in too expensive of an area with not a young enough population for for a record store to survive for long.
So I usually stick with Bullmoose and Plaid Room for most of my local purchase while only going to my local for RSD and an occasional stop (never fucking Amazon).
But I know this sounds ridiculous and you'll disagree with me, but I look at VMP as an Indie company who I'm happy to support as well. They are doing an awesome thing in getting records pressed that are OOP, and their curation has certainly exposed someone like me to alot of new stuff (and Im certainly someone who does my own curation as well).
I truly feel none of their issues are vindictive or trying to fuck over their customer base either. I just think they are a bunch of Music Fans that are not very business savvy which has led to some big issues that have not been the best for their customer base. Not making excuses for them or saying it's ok because they should have fixed this alot quicker and better, but I also don't take it personally. And they have certainly hooked me up a couple times in the past as well, not to the extent of Nathan, but I have definitely had examples from support that show they appreciate my loyalty as a customer.
I mean, the implication there is still "If I bought the products they tend to have more issues with and/or took them at their word, I'd be more frustrated."
Not saying you shouldn't be satisfied with your choice, just that it's more indicative of how you've decided to engage with VMP than it is of their actual ability to deliver.
I mean, I understand how their shipping model works and that bundling means orders are held up sometimes by delayed items. By removing items that are out of their hands, it limits the chance of delays. I still definitely buy a good amount of exclusives (My box is between 5-8/month usually) but the more you add the more chance there is for delay. This is how ALOT of stores work, so I don't hold it as a personal criticism again VMP directly or their ability to deliver at all.
This is probably my main thing. Most of the criticism of VMP seems to be for the same things most other stores also have or little grips.
Expensive? Certainly common, especially for exclusive colors. (Newbury comics, Urban Outfitters, Artists/labels/musictoday with ridiculous shipping). And don't get me started on MMJ.
Shipping Delays? This is an industry wide issue. The fact that you pay a the time of purchase may make it worse, but they are certainly not the ones guilty of that either. Bullmoose and Rough Trade are the only non-big corporate stores I can think of charge at shipping.
Snark on twitter/Storf hatred? I don't get the Storf hate at all. He's a good dude. Definitely may have a chip on his shoulder from high school (same as many people), and now has his dream job and is a bit snarky, but I don't know why people take it so personally. Maybe it's from being a New Yorker with an Irish family married into an italian family, but Snark/Sarcasm is just part of everyday talk for me.
Curation? This is the dumbest criticism I see. There is no way to please everybody when you pick a monthly record. You have to be open for curation to an extent, and have somewhat diverse taste. Every month there is a mix of people complaining that a record is available everywhere, or that its not the best pick from the artist.
Swaps? They are one of the only subscription companies that even offers as extensive swaps as they do, and store credit. Magnolia, Secretly, Third Man. Nowhere near as flexible.
Their website does suck though for sure and the CS response times was not excusable.....
I guess I'm just surprised to always see so much VMP hate from people who quit awhile ago. If I got fed up with them (and I dont blame anyone who did, especially after migration fiasco), I would have quit and forgotten about them. Probably never even drop into the VMP threads more than every once in awhile.
I personally hate MMJ, and despite their products being outstanding, think their business model and pricing is despicable and have no idea why someone would spend the money they do on products that will almost definitely get great audiophile releases for cheaper in the future. But people can spend money how they want. No sense in getting stressed about company that doesnt effect me at all.
