> > + Large selection of avant-jazz & experimental music of all sorts
> > + Very good prices in USD due to good exchange rate with CAD
> > + 5% discount on most items if 'backorder' option chosen
> > - with 'backorder' option, order could go out in arbitrary number of
> > shipments (with associated cost, hence the 5% discount)
The backorder policy has always bugged me (I've been buying from Daniel since pre-Verge days, when the company was Marginal Distribution). However it is getting better -- on the last couple of backorders I got an email when he got them in, giving me the option of making another order. This helps to cut down the shipping cost per item.
Dan
Find the best deals on the web at AltaVista Shopping!
http://www.shopping.altavista.com
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------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 00:17:52 -0500
From: Taylor McLaren <toast@primus.ca>
Subject: Three things.
First of all, Steve Smith <ssmith36@sprynet.com> wrote:
>Anyone hear the new disc by The Damage Manual, which
>came out last year on Invisible? That was Wobble and Atkins with Geordie
>from Killing Joke and Chris Connelly from the Ministry/RevCo/Pigface axis.
>Heard good things but never checked it out.
The immediate comparison that springs to mind for me is Tin Machine with a
much more powerful rhythm section. (Keep in mind that this is coming from
one of the approximately six people on the planet who really, really liked
Tin Machine.) There are a couple of freebie tracks available at emusic.com
in case anybody feels like checking them out without slapping down any
money, but their first EP ("1") is pretty damned cheap in any event.
Meanwhile, as far as online stores go, I figured that I should mention the
following:
- Anomalous' selection is generally fantastic, but anybody living outside
of the States is likely to pay through the nose for shipping. I have yet to
place an order where I wasn't charged at least five or six dollars more
than was eventually spent on postage, and while I can't say that I begrudge
Eric the couple of dollars, anybody working on a really tight (student)
budget might want to keep that in mind. Their high-turnover assortment of
used stuff, on a similar tip, has been a source of many interesting
surprises for me... wait until they decide to clear out a lot of dusty old
crap for 50 cents a pop, tell them to send you thirty dollars' worth, and
spend the next two weeks sifting through the results.
- Drimala, probably in keeping with its size, treats almost every order
like a major event. I have yet to submit a request through their web site
that doesn't receive a personal e-mail confirmation within a day or so, and
they update you constantly on the status of any back-ordered items. They
also send out really goofy Successories-brand Christmas cards (from the
"Corporate Expressions" line) which got a good chuckle out of me this past
winter. I also seem to recall Jon saying that they pay the labels whose
releases they resell pretty quickly, which sounds like another good reason
to get behind them.
- Another good source for the electronic/noise end of the spectrum that
wasn't mentioned on the original list is Manifold (www.manifoldrecords.com)
in Memphis. Vince's built-in shipping costs will nail you to the floor if
you buy a lot of vinyl, but the selection is great within the genre's
boundaries, and it's hard to argue with a return policy that extends as far
as taking back stuff that you just don't like.
Also, just in case anybody is interested, there's a halfway-decent
recording of the Rio concert by the current incarnation of Guns 'n' Roses
up on Usenet right now (alt.binaries.sounds.mp3.bootlegs), complete with a
couple of Buckethead solos and yadda-yadda-yadda. It all sounds kind of
half-baked to me, but the line-up is interesting in any event. Dig in.
- -me
- -
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 00:19:56 EST
From: JonAbbey2@aol.com
Subject: Re: Three things.
In a message dated 3/23/01 12:07:58 AM, toast@primus.ca writes:
<< Drimala, probably in keeping with its size, treats almost every order
like a major event. I also seem to recall Jon saying that they pay the labels
whose
releases they resell pretty quickly, which sounds like another good reason
to get behind them. >>
yes, Drimala is a pleasure to work with from a label's perspective. they not
only pay remarkably quickly, but they do a superb job displaying the titles
on their site. North Country also pays quite quickly, and Forced Exposure is
very reliable.
another European distributor with a great selection and superb prices is
Fringes (www.fringesrecordings.com), run by Giuseppe Ielasi.
Jon
www.erstwhilerecords.com
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------------------------------
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2001 00:30:20 -0500
From: Peter Gannushkin <shkin@shkin.com>
Subject: Re: online store comparisons?
Hello All,
I just wanted to let everybody know, that Tower Records on-line store
has a really huge sale on import, used and out of print CDs. The web
site is bad organized, but I think it is worthy to spend some time on
it. For example they have some (unfortunately not all) JMT releases
(e.g. Tim Berne's Bloodcount, Uri Caine, Django Bates) for amazing
price of $8.49. But hurry up, because these items will not last
forever.
Thursday, March 22, 2001, you wrote to me:
VKAL> This list seems like a good place to come up with a comprehensive comparison
VKAL> between the various online sources for purchasing the music discussed here.
VKAL> I'll start with some paltry details, but hope that others will fill in more,
VKAL> and details of their buying experiences - especially regarding genre and
VKAL> label availabilities at the various places (i.e., comparing the stores'
VKAL> racks), and prices; their favorite stores, and any revealing anecdotes or
VKAL> anything. Really, I'm looking for why people buy at the places they do.
VKAL> I've typically stuck to just a couple, so could use a more thorough buyer's
VKAL> guide to buying, so to speak. I know there are some store-owners on the
VKAL> list - hopefully they're cool with this and any resulting dicussion. :)
VKAL> Please add in new entries, or comment on those below.
- --
Best regards,
Peter Gannushkin
e-mail: shkin@shkin.com
URL: http://www.downtownmusic.net/
- -
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2001 23:35:30 -0600
From: Joseph Zitt <jzitt@metatronpress.com>
Subject: Re: online store comparisons?
On Fri, Mar 23, 2001 at 12:30:20AM -0500, Peter Gannushkin wrote:
> Hello All,
>
> I just wanted to let everybody know, that Tower Records on-line store
> has a really huge sale on import, used and out of print CDs. The web
> site is bad organized, but I think it is worthy to spend some time on
> it. For example they have some (unfortunately not all) JMT releases
> (e.g. Tim Berne's Bloodcount, Uri Caine, Django Bates) for amazing
> price of $8.49. But hurry up, because these items will not last
> forever.
Ooh, yeah. I just got a shipment with a couple of Jamaaladeen Tacuma
one each of James Blood Ulmer and Ornette, and a few other things, all
out of print imports, all $6.49. Yeah. (I hope at least some of the
money eventually reaches the artists for stuff like this...)
- --
|> ~The only thing that is not art is inattention~ --- Marcel Duchamp <|
