Vinyl Me Please (store, exclusives, swaps, etc)

Stringthing75 said:
My international 12 month sub is up to $499 from $399.
I dont think anyone here or at VMP could even attempt to justify that.
I am out.
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I was pondering this on this mornings walk with poocho. The discounted yearly is $374 for international which at the current exchange rate is about £284. That works out about £23 a record per month posted which is honestly not that bad given you can swap into classics. In fact its on par with some shop prices... but in the middle of a pandemic who has that sort of money to chuck straight at this and there is a nagging feeling that this is the start of the the proper full helter skelter slide into oblivion for VMP so I'd question whether you'd actually get the full years worth.

|There is also the very questionable picks in essentials and classics of late that are all things than make you go hmmm. In fact they're things that make you go hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmmmmmmmmm. Its actually a really solid deal but feels like a mega, mega gamble in fairly challenging times.
 
Rowan said:
I was pondering this on this mornings walk with poocho. The discounted yearly is $374 for international which at the current exchange rate is about £284. That works out about £23 a record per month posted which is honestly not that bad given you can swap into classics. In fact its on par with some shop prices... but in the middle of a pandemic who has that sort of money to chuck straight at this and there is a nagging feeling that this is the start of the the proper full helter skelter slide into oblivion for VMP so I'd question whether you'd actually get the full years worth.

|There is also the very questionable picks in essentials and classics of late that are all things than make you go hmmm. In fact they're things that make you go hmmm, hmmm, hmmm, hmmmmmmmmmm. Its actually a really solid deal but feels like a mega, mega gamble in fairly challenging times.
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Discounted price? How do you get that?
 
Bluecloud777 said:
I've just learned about that VMP price increase bullshit an hour ago and spent the last hour reading through the last 15 pages of this thread.
There's no way I would pay about 45€ for non- audiophile records. But what really kills VMP for me is the price increase of add-ons to $33. The add-ons have been the real deal, and if they would have kept them to the former price, I even might accept the subscription price increase. But with both imcreases there's no way I would want to continue my membership. I will get Spiritualized next month and then I'm out. I just canceled my add-ons.
There are so many other places to buy vinyl for a good value, also limited editions.
I really enjoyed @Joe Mac 's comments by the way, especially in regards to @NathanRicaud. Very true what Joe said.

I'm pretty sure that VMP will loose a very high percentage of their customers due to this. It actually even feels like it's their plan, maybe as a result of the BVSC problem. I also doubt they still exist in a year. I don't feel like wanting to support a business further that constantly pulls such things.
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Out of the loop what's the BVSC problem?

I've always been surprised they can afford to ship internationally for so cheap and especially recently when they've been doing individual packages. They must have been taking a big hit on that and that could have caught up with them.

The international prices now kind of reflect what you normally pay for an import - usually like 20 usd shipping on a $25 record, but that's also the reason I pass on almost all imports and in any case can end up picking them up through a local distributor.

I think the worst is that they actually convinced themselves they're a premium product like AP or MoFi.

I'm slightly worried about open pre-orders I have with them that won't get shipped until October. Does PayPal cover you in cases like this? I fear they could also go under as it looks like they also have cash flow issues.
 
duke86fan said:
i dont care if my orders will be on backorder for months at a time unless VMP does a full on perfect 3 album streak i am going to only use monthly and only subscribe for a single record
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I've been comparing to some other clubs for internationals. These the ones I've looked at.

- Third Man Records (which I subscribe to for the Tidal discount as much as anything) $85/ £65 per quarter but gets you a big bundle of stuff and premium Tidal for £5 a month. So $340/258 a year gets you 4 records and £318 a year gets you 4 records and Tidal HIFI (which would normally be £240 on its own).

- Magnolia - $45 per month, $132 every three months or $516 every 12 months which is £34/ £33/ £32 a record respectively. You get a record and a print

- Secretly Society - $90 (£68 at the current ER) for three months, $170 (£129) for 6 months or $300 (£228) for 12 months which in sterling is £22/ £21/ £19 a month equivalent respectively

- Wax Buyers Club 120 euros (£116) for 4 months or 374 Euros (£337) for 12 months so in sterling your looking at either £30 a month or £28 a month

For an international sub the yearly discounted VMP rate is decent when compared to the others (apart from Secretly is a nuts deal and TMR is more than just the vinyl) but their monthly has completely fucked a goat now. And once their new pricing kicks in post discount the rest is pretty knackered too.

Just for comparison the international discounted ('one time offer') prices and new standards are

$52 for (£39) one month/ $149 (£113) for 3 months/ $279 (£212) for 6 months and $499 (£380) for 12 months which would work out (in sterling) at £39/ £38/£35 and £32 (ish) per record

At the discounted rates (which you only get one shot at they are

$52 (£39) for one month/ $112 (£85) for 3 months/ $209 (£159)for 6 months and $374 (£284) for 12 months which would work out at £39, £28, £26 and £24 (ish) a record respectively.
 
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Rowan said:
I've been comparing to some other clubs for internationals. These the ones I've looked at.

- Third Man Records (which I subscribe to for the Tidal discount as much as anything) $85/ £65 per quarter but gets you a big bundle of stuff and premium Tidal for £5 a month. So $340/258 a year gets you 4 records and £318 a year gets you 4 records and Tidal HIFI (which would normally be £240 on its own).

- Magnolia - $45 per month, $132 every three months or $516 every 12 months which is £34/ £33/ £32 a record respectively. You get a record and a print

- Secretly Society - $90 (£68 at the current ER) for three months, $170 (£129) for 6 months or $300 (£228) for 12 months which in sterling is £22/ £21/ £19 a month equivalent respectively

- Wax Buyers Club 120 euros (£116) for 4 months or 374 Euros (£337) for 12 months so in sterling your looking at either £30 a month or £28 a month

For an international sub the yearly discounted VMP rate is decent when compared to the others (apart from Secretly is a nuts deal and TMR is more than just the vinyl) but their monthly has completely fucked a goat now. And once their new pricing kicks in post discount the rest is pretty knackered too.

Just for comparison the international discounted ('one time offer') prices and new standards are

$52 for (£39) one month/ $149 (£113) for 3 months/ $279 (£212) for 6 months and $499 (£380) for 12 months which would work out (in sterling) at £39/ £38/£35 and £32 (ish) per record

At the discounted rates (which you only get one shot at they are

$52 (£39) for one month/ $112 (£85) for 3 months/ $209 (£159)for 6 months and $374 (£284) for 12 months which would work out at £39, £28, £26 and £24 (ish) a record respectively.
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This is a push to get people to sign up for annual subscription but they must recognise that with people departing the service it might not last a year. This feels like one final cash grab. I thought they were in money trouble before Christmas but this action has made it very clear.

Bluecloud777 said:
They apparently sold a lot more Buena Vistas than they've expected and have asked people who have picked this record as their main track to change it to swap credit and have added 20 % value to that credit.
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And that 20% is worth nothing with the 50% price increases. They knew this was happening too when they offered it. If you accepted the 20% ‘offer’ you should email in and ask for a proper refund rather than credit
 
Rip_City said:
1) Julia Holter - Loud City Song
2) Kendrick Lamar - To Pimp a Butterfly
3) Grimes - Visions

Perhaps unconventional choices, but they are the ones that have impacted me most.
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I absolutely love this list! This is a very arty/hip, tasteful, left-field, inner city indie, adventurous person kind of list! I am absolutely in love with list! ♥️♥️♥️

This is the most good-looking list yet! If I was to want to date a top 3 decade list, this would be it! 🎯💯
 
Signing up for a year feels like a bitter pill even with those discounted rates. Swaps will be a bunch of records that used to be available for either £10 or £20 cheaper (depending on if you swap an add on or your main) so I'm not sure how I'm supposed to find those appetising and add-on tracks that seem interesting bump to £30 a choice. This is alongside a general raise in store prices too, so buying fewer records and add-ons to make use of that ""free"" shipping.

If it was just the base track or the add-ons hiking then perhaps could see an argument to be made but they've really managed to uproot most of what made the proposition both attractive and valuable in the first place.
 
Kyuuji said:
Signing up for a year feels like a bitter pill even with those discounted rates. Swaps will be a bunch of records that used to be either £10 or £20 cheaper (depending on if you swap an add on or your main) so I'm not sure how I'm supposed to find those appetising and add-on tracks that seem interesting bump to £30 a pack. This is alongside a general raise in store prices too, so buying fewer records to make use of that ""free"" shipping.

If it was just the base track or the add-ons hiking then perhaps could see an argument to be made but they've really managed to uproot most of what made the proposition both attractive and valuable in the first place.
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Out of interest @Kyuuji are you being offered a discounted rate on your account? The reason I am asking is because I believe you are a relatively new customer? I haven't had anything to offer up a discount even after being with them for several years. I would be intrigued to do the maths on a discounted yearly rate compared with what I am currently paying.
 
Selaws said:
Out of interest @Kyuuji are you being offered a discounted rate on your account? The reason I am asking is because I believe you are a relatively new customer? I haven't had anything to offer up a discount even after being with them for several years. I would be intrigued to do the maths on a discounted yearly rate compared with what I am currently paying.
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I haven't yet but believe I read that you're supposed to receive the offer on the final month of your subscription (mine is due to renew end of September, and the other October).

The post by @Rowan has a breakdown of the new rates (discount and non discount) in GBP at the top of the page if it helps.

It's so counter intuitive though. Free shipping was a large boon but records being hiked in price means a double whammy of ordering less (and paying more) while also getting less use of that original delivery perk as a result. So they not only raised prices but the knock on effect is diminishing the only other incentive people had lol

Totally bizarre and jumping in blind for a year feels like a large gamble knowing their issues to date and with the prices of buying additional records in mind.

Interested to know your thoughts!
 
I had been a member from November 2017 till May 2019 and again since March this year. I had the email, but no mentioning of any discounted prices. My membership is still up until end of August, so it could have to do with this. However, I think it's not a good idea by VMP to send out these price increase and add-on increase emails without at least offering discounts to long term members.

I certainly wouldn't go for a year. Too dangerous. I'm not sure if monthly subscriptions will still be available. If I really wanted a certain RotM I would just do monthly. The worst is that add-ons have become so expensive, it takes away the best part of the membership in my opinion.
 
Kyuuji said:
Signing up for a year feels like a bitter pill even with those discounted rates. Swaps will be a bunch of records that used to be available for either £10 or £20 cheaper (depending on if you swap an add on or your main) so I'm not sure how I'm supposed to find those appetising and add-on tracks that seem interesting bump to £30 a choice. This is alongside a general raise in store prices too, so buying fewer records and add-ons to make use of that ""free"" shipping.

If it was just the base track or the add-ons hiking then perhaps could see an argument to be made but they've really managed to uproot most of what made the proposition both attractive and valuable in the first place.
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It's kinda where VMP was when I started with it 5 ish years ago though. Im pretty sure that swaps weren't vast at the time (mainly because they had less exclusives other than the RoMs) and the cost was ball park £25 ish for the sole sub. Most the store was curated picks at decent prices and they were churning out stuff like Ben Webster's Soulville (possibly still my fave all time RoM) Big Bill Bronzy, Wells Fargo, lesser known Weezer and Wilco albums... It was cool. The community was cool, the customer service was always a bit ropey but they got there in the end (as my pile of Carseat Headrest C/D sides show) Indie Me Please.

I think one of its staff basically didn't like the direction the company was about to take and buggered off. Then the forums went, and then it quickly became Vader Me Please. All in 5 years. Crazy
 
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