Where do you purchase your cd's

[Julio Di Benedetto]

For quick non genre defined cds I have gone to Amazon and all others such as ambient I go to the label or something like Bandcamp, but as of today Im going to boycott amazon because of some shady return policies that have cost me when I did the right thing.

I have looked around and not much has surfaced that seems to come close to the Amazon beast. Yeah I have Prime and its sweet to get things quickly but for all that speed and convenience someones paying the price.  If you feel like bashing Amazon please do because that may help cool my rathe with them.

So where do you shop for cd's? Is there an alternative?

[cvac]

I don't think you're going to find any place that has the selection Amazon has for non-specialized stuff. I purchase CDs from all sorts of places: local shops, Bandcamp, eBay, Discogs, genre-specialty stores, independent record shops that have websites, etc.

I have had a few issues here and there with Amazon but typically they are good about correcting things with something goes wrong, even if it involves a third party seller. What was your issue if you don't mind me asking?

[Julio Di Benedetto]

Hi cvac,

I returned several items to amazon ($300 worth, not cds) that still has not arrived and I was charged for them, that is after they issued a credit.  They are listed as "in transit"  Its not amazon's fault per se, perhaps UPS. Maybe they will arrive at their return center one day.  Im not doing any large purchases with them again though.

Hey, thanks for posting

[stargazer]

Julio: Have you ever tried Discogs. You have a huge marketplace there for used and new media.

All you need is to look for "Mint" condition if you searching for unplayed CDs.

[cvac]

Hi cvac,

I returned several items to amazon ($300 worth, not cds) that still has not arrived and I was charged for them, that is after they issued a credit.  They are listed as "in transit"  Its not amazon's fault per se, perhaps UPS. Maybe they will arrive at their return center one day.  Im not doing any large purchases with them again though.

Hey, thanks for posting

Yikes. Were these sent UPS or USPS? Lately USPS has been terrible with lots of delays. That said any carrier could screw up like that. Have you tried talking to a customer service rep at Amazon? IME reps are easier to deal with over chat, but for an issue like this you may want to try more than one route until you can get someone that can fix this for you.

[cvac]

Julio: Have you ever tried Discogs. You have a huge marketplace there for used and new media.

All you need is to look for "Mint" condition if you searching for unplayed CDs.

I've bought quite a bit of records and CDs from Discogs over the years. The biggest problem with buying records on there is overgrading. That's started to infect higher priced, OOP CDs too. If it's a seller I've never done business with before, I keep the order small, sometimes just one item, and see how they do. Lots of good sellers on there but amateur hour ones as well that don't know how to grade or pack items properly. Feedback on there is a guide only, as it's pretty easily to manipulate feedback ratings. Same thing with eBay.

[stargazer]

I've bought quite a bit of records and CDs from Discogs over the years. The biggest problem with buying records on there is overgrading. That's started to infect higher priced, OOP CDs too. If it's a seller I've never done business with before, I keep the order small, sometimes just one item, and see how they do. Lots of good sellers on there but amateur hour ones as well that don't know how to grade or pack items properly. Feedback on there is a guide only, as it's pretty easily to manipulate feedback ratings. Same thing with eBay.

I buy via Discogs since 2007 and I find it a good source for old vinyl, and CDs too. Of course I read the seller ratings and listen to my gut feeling. And I always pay with Paypal to have buyer protection.

[cvac]

I buy via Discogs since 2007 and I find it a good source for old vinyl, and CDs too. Of course I read the seller ratings and listen to my gut feeling. And I always pay with Paypal to have buyer protection.

One technique I've used to assess unfamiliar sellers is to ask a question about verifying condition on the items I want to buy. If they simply don't respond, or if they respond in a rude manner, I simply don't buy from them.

[stargazer]

One technique I've used to assess unfamiliar sellers is to ask a question about verifying condition on the items I want to buy. If they simply don't respond, or if they respond in a rude manner, I simply don't buy from them.

On Discogs I only buy from Germany, UK, Netherlands. I have made especially very good experiences with sellers from the UK.
If I would be located in the US, I would only buy in the US and in Canada.