Vinyl Me Please Rap & Hip Hop

roffle24 said:
Not sure if this has been said already, but I think a big factor in why this shit happens is because of the poor alternative options for their ROTM. As a huge Outkast fan myself, I know the magnitude of the release, but the other ROTM's are pretty meh IMO.

Take NTR for example. Loretta Lynn and Ivy Sole were the two options that month. NTR was touted as this amazing collection that was never before released and VMP partnered with them to finally put this product out and all this. I'd imagine that many people did not want Loretta Lynn or Ivy Sole, so they decided to swap to NTR. It sold out, and over sold, and fiasco ensues.

Outkast is the same situation. Phoenix and SRT are both pretty polarizing options as alternatives. I'm down with adding most classics to my collection, but SRT isn't up my alley and I'd imagine there's more switching off classics this month than for something like Al Green. Phoenix is something I've personally never heard and from what I'm reading, it has been widely available for less than half the cost on black vinyl. Outkast is consistently referred to as some of the best hip hop, period. Andre is one of the best lyricists of all time. It's the first time the full album is available on vinyl. It's coming in an exclusive color. The alternative options are pretty mediocre. Outkast sells out.
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roffle24 said:
It appears that they just let everything go fucking haywire until swaps close and then when the dust settles they figure out how many they actually need. Apparently all of the fulfillment is random on top of that so a new member could get it over a sub for 2+ years.

They should prioritize those who are already subscribed to the track > new add-on's/swaps > new members. As long as they account for everyone that's already subbed to that track, they shouldn't need to prioritize by seniority, as everyone is already accounted for. New add-on's/swaps would then be first come first serve, followed by new members.

All you would have to do in this situation for new members is provide warning that if the record sells out, it's possible that the record will be delivered months later, or that they would not receive it at all, and would receive a credit instead. Doesn't seem too difficult. Hopefully if they're data-mining our forums some genius over there steals my idea.

At the end of the day.... as long as everyone that wants the record actually gets it, is what really matters to me. I'm honestly okay with them overselling and promising it to come in a few months rather than them just saying you're beat or turning away new customers or whatever. I was in the Nat Turner group that had to wait and while I was very anxious, I did get the record and am happy.
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I've mentioned that before, myself. With Nat Turner, it was a more plausible excuse, but to not recognize that there was an overwhelming demand for Outkast over Sister Rosetta or a readily available Phoenix album that they sold a standard version of to members a few months ago doesn't add up. They'd prefer to oversell something than to risk overpressing it. This way, they can also force members to select something different in it's place, namely the other two tracks that they didn't really want, or to pull something from the archives for a swap. They do, actually, block you from swapping once it sells out, though. The option to switch, if you haven't already, vanishes. It simply isn't offered as a selection anymore. There really is no justifiable excuse for this fiasco. Especially, when it's become standard practice, at this point. These aren't flaws in the system anymore; they are the system.

BUT... consider this. Storf literally came on reddit and claimed that they were doing an Outkast repress, specifically, for all of those people that wanted it after the 36hr window that it sold out within. He claimed that the repress was for the extra demand, not for the people who already had it in their orders. When some people got concerned that this would, ultimately, unveil itself as being another Nat Turner situation where they didn't really receive it on time -- or even worse, something like Weyes Blood, where half the people don't get it at all -- random idiots started calling everyone whiny and paranoid again, while claiming that was why the forum got shut down. Jump to the VERY NEXT DAY and they are sending out emails telling people that their records are delayed, just as speculated.

SO... what does this mean for anyone who was forced out of selecting Outkast, because of a sell out? Well, I'd imagine that, along with whatever they selected as a consolation/alternative, they will need to purchase the Outkast album on top of it, rather than instead of it. Considering that VMP had proposed a system where the waitlisted items are sold for an increased price -- is it $40 for a double LP, again? -- that means that, by it "selling out" they are guaranteed a pressing number, when the represses/waitlists come through, and are avoiding overpressing them. Then, when they do push the repress, they can do so at a markup. Even if they don't, they have still managed to unload albums that they wouldn't have otherwise, in its place, and will be pulling in more than the $23 fee on a side sub, if nothing else. Nat Turner isn't a swap right now, but it IS an overpriced former ROTM in the shop, for example. Also, by having it sell out and "forcing" a repress, they funnel everyone through this system which perpetuates the idea that it is still limited and that their releases are in high demand.
 
Sanders said:
I never saw/got that email. Could you post it here? I'm wondering what artful language they used to drive the swap FOMO home.
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Try not to laugh...

5067

I'm guessing they sent that to everyone predetermined to be actually getting Outkast to try to lessen the pool. Which would mean they knew on May 30 when I got this email, but who are we kidding they knew.

Edit: Honestly they are definitely big enough to be substantially sued for bait and switch practices. I'm not saying I agree with suing most of the time anyway, I just...have seen some things to know that a fledgling attorney could make his first mark on the world by filing a class action suit.....I mean but like DON'T because lawsuits are never fun for anyone. Also note saying it would be warranted, but it might be a "colorable" enough argument to at least file something. Anyway, I'm more worried for them than anything.
 
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Dead C said:
-- random idiots started calling everyone whiny
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Both can be true. VMP can suck at customer service and people can be whiny.

I'm new, so I'm sure there's lot's of time to disappoint. What I don't get is the idea that some have had this experience repeatedly and are still here talking about leaving or having just left.

If that happens to me, I'll leave. But carrying on and on for some (not all) does seem whiny.
 
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People have explained the raw feelings toward VMP more eloquently than me but for a lot of people, the club wasn’t just another online vinyl retailer. People felt invested and there was a lot of staff/user interaction on the forums and it felt like this organic group of music lovers that went on a cool musical journey each month.

Then the mistakes started piling up and you started to see inadequate customer service responses or rude staff on the forums. Then you have a tone deaf response from the CEO when people were scrambling to try and find ways to salvage the relationships they built on the forums with a 48 hour notice.

I am probably guilty of not letting the negativity go on these new forums but I think people still feel burned and I don’t really see it as whining.

I have cancelled my membership and I do think you’re right that it’s probably best to just walk away but it’s hard not to be drawn back in when you’re seeing people get fucked over month after month
 
VMPKJ said:
Both can be true. VMP can suck at customer service and people can be whiny.

I'm knew, so I'm sure there's lot's of time to disappoint. What I don't get is the idea that some have had this experience repeatedly and are still here talking about leaving or having just left.

If that happens to me, I'll leave. But carrying on and on for some (not all) does seem whiny.
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Yeah. You're new. There's plenty that you don't get.

It seems whiny to me to rush to the aid of a company and complain about other customers, just because they ask legitimate questions about the status of their orders.

They were insulted for speculating that the repress might indicate that they oversold it for current customers, not just those wanting to be on the waiting list. That's what people were attacked and accused for. And they were right. So, in that context, both can't be true.

They oversold the Outkast. The people concerned were right. The people telling them that they were alarmist were wrong. There are people in this very thread who were concerned and others who chose to be optimistic and hope for a different outcome. Neither approach was wrong. If either had attacked the other one for their chosen position, that's where shit gets fucked up. You have a right to ask the only people with the answers, who are also holding your money, what's going on. They're being insulted for that. And they're right.
 
I didn't rush to anyone's aid. I just said they can totally suck at CS AND people can come off as whiny. It doesn't negate what I'm sure others have experienced or intimate that they shouldn't do something about it or expect more.

I already admitted that I don't know yet.

All that can be true and people can still be whiny. That's all I said.
 
VMPKJ said:
I didn't rush to anyone's aid. I just said they can totally suck at CS AND people can come off as whiny. It doesn't negate what I'm sure others have experienced or intimate that they shouldn't do something about it or expect more.

I already admitted that I don't know yet.

All that can be true and people can still be whiny. That's all I said.
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I wasn't accusing you of that. What I said was that the reason those people were attacked as being whiny, in this instance, was because, when they suggested the album might have been oversold, they were told that insinuation in and of itself was another example of an overreaction. It wasn't.

VMP just offered to replace all of the copies of Wayne Shorter due to a label error. That's what we used to expect of them, but haven't seen in a looong while. Most folks responded giving them props for that move. At least one person, however, chose to use that as an unprovoked opportunity to try and discount every other disaster they ever made and attack people for raising concerns in the past. That doesn't really add up. More people have created "sides" by telling the other people that they are ruining their experience by being frustrated in their proximity, just because they haven't experienced them, themselves. If you want people to ignore getting screwed over, why not just Ignore them when they speak up about it?

There's a lot of missing context for you, but also understand that we used to have a forum, previous to this one, where we could ask about these things. The more they'd pull sketchy shit, not answer questions, directly even fuck people over, the more they stopped answering these questions. And they were regular questions like, "Hey Storf. Any info about whether or not Weyes BLood is going to be delayed?" Crickets. Then, "Hey, any news about the status of the delay like what caused it, or how long it will take?" Nothing. There'd be an occasional, "Hey. Umm... I passed up the Loser edition; was that a bad idea? It's sold out now and going for a lot. The album is already showing up in stores." Eventually, a VMP copy that someone purchased in a store wound up on Discogs. Another showed up on ebay for $200. Meanwhile, the album has been out forever and the VMP copies aren't getting shipped to pre-order customers, but some ARE showing up in Amazon orders. Rather than answer anything, they shut the forum down. If you'd google search "Vinyl Me, Please Weyes Blood" the forum was popping up pretty high in Google searches. Solved that problem. Days later, after the forum closing, a number of things hit the fan at once regarding different issues. One Weyes Blood-related issues was the email to all of the people waiting for that album informing them that they might not get it. Half of the people who ordered it would be receiving it, half wouldn't. It was pretty much coming down to a coin flip. A repress? Not sure. Maybe, though.

My point here is that they cut off communication right in the middle of issues without answering anyone. It stands to reason that those people who were mid conversation are going to go ask for their answers on the only platform they appear on. Secondly, the fact that things like this have happened before, in a very similar fashion, indicates that there's a chance that it's happening again. Anyone who becomes concerned early on is justified in doing so. Especially, when, in almost every instance, they turn out to be right. Those who have no history or context of that see it as people freaking out for no reason. What's more confusing to me than the idea that people are riding out their memberships they've paid for, or wondering where any one of the delayed VMP preorders are -- currently sitting at no less than 5 -- is that, regardless of the fact that the people who raise these concerns are correct in their speculations more times than not, the people insulting them for it never retract their attacks, once proven wrong, and continue to accuse them of unwarranted outrage, even as it continues.
 
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I had thought about sticking around for this month because of OutKast - my favorite RHH group and it looks like an amazing package. But I had had enough with them in their declining CS and seemingly inability to go less than a month without a screwup I thought better of it.

I really feel for all of you that aren’t getting OutKast. Unfortunately this is the modus operandi for VMP and is starting to reek of less than savory business practices (as an attorney I’m hesitant to describe it in terms that may constitute giving legal advice to anyone). I would have been livid and you all certainly deserve to be as well.
 
I guess no one's really going to know if they're getting it till either they get the shipping notice or it arrives and you actually see it in your box when you open the top.
 
dhodo said:
Wait, what? People are on the list who haven't even received emails still?
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