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

serotonein said:
Since others are seeing some inconsistencies with Just Coolin' shipping, here's my chain of events -

1) Open a CS ticket when my Classics ships but none of the Exclusives that are showing as in stock ship with it. Elli in CS tells me that this month's snafu was a "bundling error" (i guess another coding debacle in response to September's 'ship each in its own box' problem) and that my remaining Exclusives would ship in the next week
2) I respond to the email about Coolin' being shipped in November, saying that since I'm still expecting another shipment this month, please include it with those. Elli responds, telling me that she's marked it for release to ship now
3) I receive a shipping notice for Coolin' shortly after that, but nothing else. Elli has yet to respond to my follow-up.
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And it was Elli that told me it wasn't being sent out for me. Just gotta shake your head at things sometimes.
 
Honestly I was hoping to get my Just Coolin when they ship my Idles and Alfredo. That’s a really great box for me . I’m way more excited for those to get here then the next two months of AOTMS
 
Welp and shit, against my better judgement just signed up for the full year $25/month bridge deal. It's been what I've paid since 2015 but I definitely will never do another add-on since jacked it up to $33. I'm in it mainly for the Classics track because of how great the quality is and I dig the next few releases. Honestly not a fan of the previewed Essentials or RHH (POTS & Holiday are okay) but hopefully there will be some solid swap outs in the future.
 
Webb_615 said:
And it was Elli that told me it wasn't being sent out for me. Just gotta shake your head at things sometimes.
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Of course, after being told that I was not going to get Coolin' early, guess who got a shipping notice this morning? The left hand has no idea what the right is doing, but hey, I get my record "early"...
 
kvetcha said:
Received my final VMP order (Idler Wheel!) and am thrilled to finally kick the dust from my shoes.

I've never dealt with such a chimera of miserable company with good product.
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Webb_615 said:
Of course, after being told that I was not going to get Coolin' early, guess who got a shipping notice this morning? The left hand has no idea what the right is doing, but hey, I get my record "early"...
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VMP is okay at finding/curating music, pretty good at getting it pressed, and TERRIBLE at retail. That's pretty much it -- they're bad at selling a good product, but the product is just good enough that they apparently don't have to be good at selling it.
 
Indymisanthrope said:
VMP is okay at finding/curating music, pretty good at getting it pressed, and TERRIBLE at retail. That's pretty much it -- they're bad at selling a good product, but the product is just good enough that they apparently don't have to be good at selling it.
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I've been alot happier with VMP since I've accepted the above and just know my records will get here when they get here.
Luckily I buy albums I want as soon as they come up for sale and never swap so overselling isnt really an issue for me.

I'm not saying this excuses them from being so bad at the retail/shipping/fulfillment portion, at this point they should be alot better at it. But that feeling of relief alot of people seem to have from quitting forever? I have it from just accepting my records will eventually get here and I still get to enjoy the music.

The pricing doesnt bother me that much either. Im just happy they were so well priced for awhile. I think the quality almost always matches the mid 30s price point. The exclusives are overpriced alot of the time but generally I'll just buy an indie exclusive that is available instead (It also stops my FOMO). And if it's a true exclusive, the price is more understandable.
 
wynn72 said:
I've been alot happier with VMP since I've accepted the above and just know my records will get here when they get here.
Luckily I buy albums I want as soon as they come up for sale and never swap so overselling isnt really an issue for me.

I'm not saying this excuses them from being so bad at the retail/shipping/fulfillment portion, at this point they should be alot better at it. But that feeling of relief alot of people seem to have from quitting forever? I have it from just accepting my records will eventually get here and I still get to enjoy the music.

The pricing doesnt bother me that much either. Im just happy they were so well priced for awhile. I think the quality almost always matches the mid 30s price point. The exclusives are overpriced alot of the time but generally I'll just buy an indie exclusive that is available instead (It also stops my FOMO). And if it's a true exclusive, the price is more understandable.
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Hard disagree on the price/quality point. They have zero QC, the amount of warps and crackly pressings they send out is shocking! I’d rarely rate anything they press above the low to mid 30s on anything other than a FOMO basis.
 
wynn72 said:
I've been alot happier with VMP since I've accepted the above and just know my records will get here when they get here.
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That would probably be a lot easier for more people to accept if VMP didn't expend so much energy trying to convince them otherwise. It's not the timelines that are frustrating, it's the commitments to timelines they can't/won't honor.
 
Joe Mac said:
Hard disagree on the price/quality point. They have zero QC, the amount of warps and crackly pressings they send out is shocking! I’d rarely rate anything they press above the low to mid 30s on anything other than a FOMO basis.
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Maybe it's because I'm closer so they spend less time in transit. But I get all 3 of their tracks every month and can't remember the last time I had something with more than maybe a very slight warp (and definitely not crackly). Also for me the price is a the lower to mid 30s so my statement stays true. So this may be strictly from a US buyer perspective.
 
Indymisanthrope said:
That would probably be a lot easier for more people to accept if VMP didn't expend so much energy trying to convince them otherwise. It's not the timelines that are frustrating, it's the commitments to timelines they can't/won't honor.
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I also have a hard time taking alot of the complints seriously because alot (not all) of their delayed exclusives are out of their hands and the regular pressings are delayed as well, not just VMP. Especially lately, I think we're starting to see more of the effects of the Apollo Fire. I don't blame them for any issues with pressing timelines or Mail issues in receiving product since that is a mess all over the US.

The issue was more their communication which IMO has definitely improved as of late.
 
wynn72 said:
Maybe it's because I'm closer so they spend less time in transit. But I get all 3 of their tracks every month and can't remember the last time I had something with more than maybe a very slight warp (and definitely not crackly). Also for me the price is a the lower to mid 30s so my statement stays true. So this may be strictly from a US buyer perspective.
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Yeah we’re talking $49-52 (3 month and 1 month) for the AoTM and $33 on top for add on tracks. It’s steep even if they get the whale that they occasionally do. God you must be like the anti-@Mather, the luckiest man in VMPdom.
 
wynn72 said:
I also have a hard time taking alot of the complints seriously because alot (not all) of their delayed exclusives are out of their hands and the regular pressings are delayed as well, not just VMP. Especially lately, I think we're starting to see more of the effects of the Apollo Fire. I don't blame them for any issues with pressing timelines or Mail issues in receiving product since that is a mess all over the US.

The issue was more their communication which IMO has definitely improved as of late.
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That would suggest that this was a recent development and maybe COVID related. Massively delayed, beyond their promised date, exclusives has been going on since early 2019 when even I was still a member! The vast majority of them have landed in my local as standard or indie exclusives on release date.
 
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Joe Mac said:
Yeah we’re talking $49-52 (3 month and 1 month) for the AoTM and $33 on top for add on tracks. It’s steep even if they get the whale that they occasionally do. God you must be like the anti-@Mather, the luckiest man in VMPdom.
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Yeah, screw that. I'd pick and choose at that price point. I also have to say that I have a much stronger tolerance for minor Warps and seam splits. I order enough online where it I drove myself crazy before I just accepted (definitely not just a VMP problem)

Joe Mac said:
That would suggest that this was a recent development and maybe COVID related. Massively delayed, beyond their promised date, exclusives has been going on since early 2019 when even I was still a member! The vast majority of them have landed in my local on release date.
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For sure, and if you look at my history I use to be one of the most critical of VMP in the fulfillment and shipping department, I used to have an email out to them almost every month.

Since scaling back on variant exclusives, and accepting I would get my box at SOME POINT that month, Ive been pretty satisfied. And their shipping timelines and communication (for their own pressings) have been much better this year. Though lets see what Holiday season brings since we're going on 2 years of it all falling apart badly at that time. Maybe one reason their doing their Black Friday "Sale" early this year.
 
wynn72 said:
Yeah, screw that. I'd pick and choose at that price point. I also have to say that I have a much stronger tolerance for minor Warps and seam splits. I order enough online where it I drove myself crazy before I just accepted (definitely not just a VMP problem)


For sure, and if you look at my history I use to be one of the most critical of VMP in the fulfillment and shipping department, I used to have an email out to them almost every month.

Since scaling back on variant exclusives, and accepting I would get my box at SOME POINT that month, Ive been pretty satisfied. And their shipping timelines and communication (for their own pressings) have been much better this year. Though lets see what Holiday season brings since we're going on 2 years of it all falling apart badly at that time. Maybe one reason their doing their Black Friday "Sale" early this year.
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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.
 
wynn72 said:
Since scaling back on variant exclusives, and accepting I would get my box at SOME POINT that month, Ive been pretty satisfied.
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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.
 
wynn72 said:
Maybe it's because I'm closer so they spend less time in transit. But I get all 3 of their tracks every month and can't remember the last time I had something with more than maybe a very slight warp (and definitely not crackly). Also for me the price is a the lower to mid 30s so my statement stays true. So this may be strictly from a US buyer perspective.
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You really think a GZ DMM is worth mid 30s (the same price as an AAA MoFi or AP or Tone Poet) prices? If all GZ DMMs start costing that much, I will have to start buying a lot less new vinyl.
 
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