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

Teeeee said:
Why do you think *this* screw up, out of the dozens and maybe even hundreds of other screw ups, is the one that is going to make them fix everything?
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I think *this* screw up will force *some* fixes. Like @Btsvinylfarm I don't think they are actually capable of fixing everything. But I agree with his point that this site migration is hitting their spreadsheets HARD. During what should be their money making season as well. I can't even imagine how much their execs are quietly sweating right now. They likely considered the new store and site a major investment, and now it's become a major unexpected expense that is going to hurt them visibly for at least Q4 and Q1. We may not get to hear about it, but someone will be fired. But given the way VMP is structured to our knowledge, it will likely be a 3rd party that did the migration, and they likely will have their contract terminated early.

Teeeee said:
Until we start impacting their bottom line, they will not fix their issues.
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First and foremost - PREACH! Speaking with your wallet is the most powerful thing you can do with a company.

However, I said before, this particular series of issues has to be hitting their books hard. And not just now, but it will continue to hurt them into next year. Between some dropping renewals, refunds, represses, excess shipping charges... you know the list. There is no way this doesn't make a major blip on the bottom line for this quarter and next. Honestly, if I was in their shoes I would be worried about some artists wanting to cancel exclusives or even a ROTM. There is no way they have been able to keep this from partners at this point. And that will REALLY show up when Q4 numbers come in (I do wish we could somehow see those). That is unless they did enough business pre-holiday shopping to somehow offset all of this. But I can't imagine they land anywhere close to their original projections.

Another point that's annoying about financials and the Q by Q view that tends to get hyper focus in VC backed companies... VMP might actually be avoiding some things so it doesn't hit the bottom line as hard this quarter.
Every refund request they move to the bottom of the stack until Jan 1, well that stays off the Q4 bottom line. It's not processed losses or debt yet. Same thing with anyone cancelling subs now. Will they hire new staff or temps to help expedite things or get packages rolling... not in Q4. It's a bad time to take on new expenses. It's actually possible that firing the migration company and not hiring a new one until 2020 is considered a "win" on a spreadsheet because it lowers a major expense. Strategic cost cutting. Can't go over budget in the home stretch. Just ride it out till Q1 and they can adjust their projections before hand. At the end of the day they still are dumping money they should have made, but when it's spread out "correctly" it's "good financial management" that helps "leaders" keep their jobs.

Ajax said:
CAN WE PLEASE GO BACK TO TALKING ABOUT RECORDS?
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Honestly, the VMP Shitshow is kind of becoming my favorite reality TV show, only it's on a forum on the internet. I hate being a customer, but purely from the outside perspective I have a bowl of popcorn and I'm just waiting to see what could possibly happen next. I thought 25 Mobb Deep records to one person was the season finale, but oh no, VMP decided to announce a mail-em-back raffle with nearly impossible logistics... while logistics is currently their biggest problem! And they they just stopped responding to customer emails? And most customers don't have shipping notices with only two business days left in the business window? How are these crazy kooks going to handle this one? And what about that unknown amount of unfulfilled Fiona orders that are also supposed to ship this month? What could POSSIBLY happen next? I don't know, but I'm kind of curious, lol.
 
panino said:
correct. @NathanRicaud is spot on regarding your position (which is identical to mine).
No idea where he saw @Mather love for VMP
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At this point I tolerate them because they are still the only game in town if you live in Canada, and their prices while high for the locals are still not that much higher than buying most new releases here. I will also say that despite all their f*ckups they haven't actually affected me too much as of yet. I had two items that were oversold in the fire sale last year that I never received, but other than that CS has generally made things right by me. When that stops happening, or they start overselling things out from under me, I will likely go.

Also I only have about 380 records as of yet so I will have lots of gaps in my collection that the occasional exclusive or swap can fill. I certainly don't love the way they're operating now vs when I first joined two years ago, but I'll freely admit that I would miss them if they were gone. I like getting a record in the mail every month and without their service in Canada there is no other choice.
 
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TimmahTao said:
I commented that it was useless to tag Storf in posts about payment, store, shipping, or QC issues, because all he does is says it isn't his department and leaves.
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That's not the sole reason you got banned...

Btsvinylfarm said:
Yup. That's me!

I had a 3 hour conference call and some time to kill. I apologize for incorrect usage of "metaphor".

Tried to kumbaya with the guy over a slice, but he was having none of it. Probably a Sbarros guy anyways. Not worth the time
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I didn't mind your pizza thread. I'm not the mod responsible for removing your shitpost. I'm a fan of the shitposts.

Dead C said:
Nothing against Matt, but the "go ahead and try me today and see what happens" rhetoric is... what's the word for it? Absurd? Cringeworthy? Not very threatening? What's going to happen, you can't participate in a trash fire anymore?
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Yeah... All those adjectives probably apply. I was feeling saucy. Fuck it. I'm not removing it. I personally don't remove threads unless I feel they really cross the line.
 
mdmost said:
There seem to be a lot of people who would probably be healthier if they removed their toxic relationship with VMP. At this point, you have to just accept them for what they are and not what you wish them to be.
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If you're waiting on a product you paid for, you're being charged for shit that you didn't agree to, and/or you're not getting your money back, then this doesn't really apply.
 
displayname said:
I think *this* screw up will force *some* fixes. Like @Btsvinylfarm I don't think they are actually capable of fixing everything. But I agree with his point that this site migration is hitting their spreadsheets HARD. During what should be their money making season as well. I can't even imagine how much their execs are quietly sweating right now. They likely considered the new store and site a major investment, and now it's become a major unexpected expense that is going to hurt them visibly for at least Q4 and Q1. We may not get to hear about it, but someone will be fired. But given the way VMP is structured to our knowledge, it will likely be a 3rd party that did the migration, and they likely will have their contract terminated early.


First and foremost - PREACH! Speaking with your wallet is the most powerful thing you can do with a company.

However, I said before, this particular series of issues has to be hitting their books hard. And not just now, but it will continue to hurt them into next year. Between some dropping renewals, refunds, represses, excess shipping charges... you know the list. There is no way this doesn't make a major blip on the bottom line for this quarter and next. Honestly, if I was in their shoes I would be worried about some artists wanting to cancel exclusives or even a ROTM. There is no way they have been able to keep this from partners at this point. And that will REALLY show up when Q4 numbers come in (I do wish we could somehow see those). That is unless they did enough business pre-holiday shopping to somehow offset all of this. But I can't imagine they land anywhere close to their original projections.

Another point that's annoying about financials and the Q by Q view that tends to get hyper focus in VC backed companies... VMP might actually be avoiding some things so it doesn't hit the bottom line as hard this quarter.
Every refund request they move to the bottom of the stack until Jan 1, well that stays off the Q4 bottom line. It's not processed losses or debt yet. Same thing with anyone cancelling subs now. Will they hire new staff or temps to help expedite things or get packages rolling... not in Q4. It's a bad time to take on new expenses. It's actually possible that firing the migration company and not hiring a new one until 2020 is considered a "win" on a spreadsheet because it lowers a major expense. Strategic cost cutting. Can't go over budget in the home stretch. Just ride it out till Q1 and they can adjust their projections before hand. At the end of the day they still are dumping money they should have made, but when it's spread out "correctly" it's "good financial management" that helps "leaders" keep their jobs.


Honestly, the VMP Shitshow is kind of becoming my favorite reality TV show, only it's on a forum on the internet. I hate being a customer, but purely from the outside perspective I have a bowl of popcorn and I'm just waiting to see what could possibly happen next. I thought 25 Mobb Deep records to one person was the season finale, but oh no, VMP decided to announce a mail-em-back raffle with nearly impossible logistics... while logistics is currently their biggest problem! And they they just stopped responding to customer emails? And most customers don't have shipping notices with only two business days left in the business window? How are these crazy kooks going to handle this one? And what about that unknown amount of unfulfilled Fiona orders that are also supposed to ship this month? What could POSSIBLY happen next? I don't know, but I'm kind of curious, lol.
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And thank you for the thoughtful response! I didn't even think of those moves they can make in Q4 v. Q1. It makes sense why the refunds are delayed.

What a clustereff.

Yeah, this is also my favorite reality show. I actually don't watch any others. Lol. I can. not. wait. for all this raffle and mobb deep stuff to start up. CAN NOT WAIT.
 
Dead C said:
If you're waiting on a product you paid for, you're being charged for shit that you didn't agree to, and/or you're not getting your money back, then this doesn't really apply.
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What I said had nothing do do with customers who haven't gotten what they've paid for.
 
Btsvinylfarm said:
Because this is the first one that is almost guaranteed to hit their bottom line. Changing your inventory and web platform are no small tasks, and when there's a fuck up and you didn't think to have a contingency or roll back, and you are losing customers, losing orders, losing payment, shipping albums to the wrong people and resorting to giving out freebies and massive refunds for all the trouble the system change caused, it's guaranteed to hit the bottom line.

VMP likely is not a company with a robust P&L - they make healthy amounts of revenue, but I can't imagine the business is all that profitable. They also probably have a delicate balance sheet, and that's why they can't offer a pay-when-it-ships model. Probably a lot of outstanding liabilities + they definitely recently went through a new round of financing/capital injection. They need the upfront cashflows to sustain in the near term.

So, something like what has happened this past month is going to hurt them.

Now, I don't know if this will make them fix everything, because I'm simply not sure they're capable of fixing anything. But this clusterfuck, unlike smaller ones of the past, is more likely than ever to hit their wallets.
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You previously mentioned how and when you came in and out of VMP. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. A lot of people left during the forum shut down too. Also, keep in mind that we're viewing both of these through our own lens of people who are a part of these communities. Most customers aren't and have no idea that the whole company is fucked. They just think their album is taking a long time. Next month someone else will be experiencing something like this for the first time with no context
 
Indymisanthrope said:
That's almost as many adjectives as there are tracks on the record. You feeling those all at once, or one at a time?
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It reminds me of when I was in a band and someone did a writeup saying that our music was like trying to sleep with a concussion. I think they used similar adjectives

#proudday
 
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