Soundstage Direct fulfillment timeliness?
Except for the collectible LP’s I have purchased from rare record dealers across the U.S., I have always bought my LP’s locally. But during the recent holidays I took advantage of Soundstage Direct’s 20% off sale on LP’s, and on December 27th ordered six titles. The ordering cart allowed me to order all six, gave me a total, deducted the 20% when I put in the sale code, and I paid with a credit card. I received an order confirmation email, and that was that. I anticipated a follow-up email containing a tracking number for the shipping carton, but never received one. I was down with the flu for two weeks, so was distracted from the order.
When feeling better, I gave SD a call to check on the order, and was told that because of the holidays there was a delay in getting product from distributors. I was put on hold while the SD employee went to check on my order, but got disconnected (damn cell phones). I decided not to call back, as I already knew SD did not have in stock all the titles in my order. I was very surprised to learn that the SD ordering system allows one to place an order for product they do not have in stock. The Amazon system, on which I have ordered CD’s, does not, informing you an item is out-of-stock. I finally received an email from SD, informing me my order had been shipped, and providing a tracking number.
I received the order on January 30th, four-and-a-half weeks after placing it. I understand there being a delay due to the holidays, but am very surprised that Soundstage Direct does not stock every LP title they sell. Is this common with the online LP retailers? Four-and-a-half weeks is imo a LONG time to wait for six LP’s. I will say the packing job was incredible---the LP’s were stacked in alternating directions (open end, spine end, etc.), ensconced in bubble wrap, and placed in a snug-sized carton. That carton was then placed in an oversized carton and padded and braced with more bubble wrap and brown packing paper. The LP covers are all perfect---no bent corners, etc., and the LP’s all appear to be flat (as best I can tell without having removed them from their covers).
From now on, when ordering from any online music seller, I believe I will confirm with an employee that the titles are actually in stock.
