Buying CDs online: the skinny on some of the major vendors

[haydnguy]

A review of some of the leading online vendors that sell classical music.

http://www.examiner.com/x-373-SF-Cla...-major-vendors

[The Sparrow]

from that site....

"while downloads remain a bit spotty, catalog-wise"

What th' ???

[haydnguy]

That just means that it is all music that you like!

[Kuhlau]

I wasn't at all surprised by the outcome of that 'survey' (such as it was). Amazon have consistently proved themselves to be excellent in a variety of ways - from customer service to despatch to refunds - and I've usually heard only good things about Arkiv.

When I can find time to continue working on my classical CD review blog, I'll post a link somewhere on this forum (my signature will probably be the best place). In it is a huge list of classical music sellers, both of physical CDs and downloads. It might prove interesting to folks here.

FK

[micrologus]

When you don't find it on Amazon or Archiv you can try this one.


http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/home/home

[Kuhlau]

I've used JPC only once. It was a torturous experience. Not their fault that the item despatched was damaged. But they made it extremely difficult to get a refund. For some reason, they couldn't just put the money back onto my card - there was some long-winded process that had to be followed, resulting in me getting my money back some three weeks later. I was not best pleased.

FK

[micrologus]

Originally Posted by Kuhlau

I've used JPC only once. It was a torturous experience. Not their fault that the item despatched was damaged. But they made it extremely difficult to get a refund. For some reason, they couldn't just put the money back onto my card - there was some long-winded process that had to be followed, resulting in me getting my money back some three weeks later. I was not best pleased.

FK

I never had this problem, never had to return an item.

[haydnguy]

I asked for an "exchange" not too long ago on Amazon for what I *thought* was a damaged disk. They sent me an email that the replacement had been shipped within two hours of my request. I also had 30 days to return the defective one. I was very pleased with their response.

My only *wish* is that I could order CD's that are on the UK Amazon. Many times I've noticed that they have disks that the U.S. Amazon doesn't.

[Kuhlau]

Originally Posted by haydnguy

My only *wish* is that I could order CD's that are on the UK Amazon. Many times I've noticed that they have disks that the U.S. Amazon doesn't.

Well, I'm not sure how it works in the US, but we in the UK can order from the American Amazon site. I've done it dozens of times. New goods tend to be shipped from Germany, while stuff from sellers comes, obviously, from wherever they're based in the States.

FK

[Philidor]

Originally Posted by Kuhlau

Well, I'm not sure how it works in the US, but we in the UK can order from the American Amazon site. I've done it dozens of times. New goods tend to be shipped from Germany, while stuff from sellers comes, obviously, from wherever they're based in the States.

FK

Odd it doesn't work the other way. HG: have you emailed them to ask why?