When talking about MusicToday / Prince Store, I gather there have previously been complaints about the cost of shipping, import duties etc when buying from the store internationally, but it's actually a bit worse than that. Just wanted to share and maybe save you guys some trouble in the future.

I had an order for approx $200 usd worth of vinyl shipped to the UK (plus $50 import duty as well but that's my problem ofc). Every one of those records arrived badly crushed / damaged, due to some really inadequate packaging from the Prince Store / Musictoday.

You'd think it'd be a straightforward case of a return, full refund and apology, but they're expecting me to pay all the shipping costs in both directions. I've got a Paypal dispute with them so we'll see how that works out but wow.... pretty horrible experience so far.

Sorry to rant, just wanted to warn off other international customers.

ian said:

When talking about MusicToday / Prince Store, I gather there have previously been complaints about the cost of shipping, import duties etc when buying from the store internationally, but it's actually a bit worse than that. Just wanted to share and maybe save you guys some trouble in the future.

I had an order for approx $200 usd worth of vinyl shipped to the UK (plus $50 import duty as well but that's my problem ofc). Every one of those records arrived badly crushed / damaged, due to some really inadequate packaging from the Prince Store / Musictoday.

You'd think it'd be a straightforward case of a return, full refund and apology, but they're expecting me to pay all the shipping costs in both directions. I've got a Paypal dispute with them so we'll see how that works out but wow.... pretty horrible experience so far.

Sorry to rant, just wanted to warn off other international customers.

Amazon wins , most times. But be warned price keeps going up on amazon UK.

[Edited 6/26/20 12:39pm]

I pre-ordered a 7" vinyl single of "I Feel For You (Acoustic Demo)" way ahead of time.

Everyone started talking about receiving theirs in the mail.

I found my ORIGINAL PAYPAL "MONEY SENT" transaction email and forwarded it to the Prince store.

They said they could not find my order number. I said well I ordered one, scare up one copy.

They would NOT do it! There is still a transaction for it in my PayPal.

ian said:

I had an order for approx $200 usd worth of vinyl shipped to the UK (plus $50 import duty as well but that's my problem ofc). Every one of those records arrived badly crushed / damaged, due to some really inadequate packaging from the Prince Store / Musictoday.

Yeah, there is NO WAY I am ordering the S'O'TT Deluxe set from the official Prince store.

Paisley Park - Successfully failing at international delivery since 1987.

Cinny said:

I pre-ordered a 7" vinyl single of "I Feel For You (Acoustic Demo)" way ahead of time.

Everyone started talking about receiving theirs in the mail.

I found my ORIGINAL PAYPAL "MONEY SENT" transaction email and forwarded it to the Prince store.

They said they could not find my order number. I said well I ordered one, scare up one copy.

They would NOT do it! There is still a transaction for it in my PayPal.

Holy shit

Yeah, it really sucks when they have store exclusives but no international stores. For the white vinyl version of Originals, of course I had to pay extortionate shipping costs, then customs duties, then that £8 Royal Mail handling fee...

You shouldn't have to pay the return shipping costs. It is the seller's responsibility if your purchase doesn't reach you in good condition. They may ask you to pay up front and then reimburse you. Fortunately, PayPal are very good at siding with the buyer when you have a reasonable case.

[Edited 6/26/20 13:03pm]

Result! Possibly because of this thread and all of you lovely folk sharing stories... or possibly due to the Paypal dispute, i just got my refund. Wow, that was way more stressful than it needed to be, but worked out in the end.

It's a tricky one with vinyl box sets isn't it, they really need a lot of extra protection when shipping.

jstar69 said:

Well I preordered mine yesterday from them as I haven’t been able to find anyone that ships to OZ - amazon Australia don’t seem to have it and I didn’t want to miss out. Ordered express which cost an arm and a leg, Hopefully it will arrive unscathed.

Warner Australia has it:


https://store.warnermusic...ons/prince

Moonbeam said:

^kind of funny when you think about it considering that most of us Aussies won't smell the fumes of the physical release until October regardless of where we order it from even if we do order it in June

Be careful with pre-orders too: the store has this dumb idea that pre-orders can't ever be cancelled, flying contrary to consumer protection laws all over the globe. So if you find yourself trying to shift your order to a more local store, or just somewhere more reliable, you've got a fight on your hands.

I'm really glad that you got a result Ian☺️

ian said:

Be careful with pre-orders too: the store has this dumb idea that pre-orders can't ever be cancelled, flying contrary to consumer protection laws all over the globe. So if you find yourself trying to shift your order to a more local store, or just somewhere more reliable, you've got a fight on your hands.

I've noticed a trend: the earlier you order, the later your item is shipped.
This has been true since PR Deluxe, when a friend ordered it on release day (and received it two days later) while I had to wait ten days.

Of course, I ordered SOTT Deluxe Vinyl massive delivered-with-a-forklift from The Estate because I know it'll arrive at my address after I've moved south for the winter.
Hurt me.

IAdoreWeronika said:

ian said:

When talking about MusicToday / Prince Store, I gather there have previously been complaints about the cost of shipping, import duties etc when buying from the store internationally, but it's actually a bit worse than that. Just wanted to share and maybe save you guys some trouble in the future.

I had an order for approx $200 usd worth of vinyl shipped to the UK (plus $50 import duty as well but that's my problem ofc). Every one of those records arrived badly crushed / damaged, due to some really inadequate packaging from the Prince Store / Musictoday.

You'd think it'd be a straightforward case of a return, full refund and apology, but they're expecting me to pay all the shipping costs in both directions. I've got a Paypal dispute with them so we'll see how that works out but wow.... pretty horrible experience so far.

Sorry to rant, just wanted to warn off other international customers.

Amazon wins , most times. But be warned price keeps going up on amazon UK.

[Edited 6/26/20 12:39pm]

Ouch, £199. I've always been an advocate of higher value, quality releases akin to the old Miles Davis sets, but that's pricey. I hope that the supply isn't too limited, I've just blown most of my spare cash on synthesizers. It looks amazing though.

fen said:

IAdoreWeronika said:

Amazon wins , most times. But be warned price keeps going up on amazon UK.

[Edited 6/26/20 12:39pm]

Ouch, £199. I've always been an advocate of higher value, quality releases akin to the old Miles Davis sets, but that's pricey. I hope that the supply isn't too limited, I've just blown most of my spare cash on synthesizers. It looks amazing though.

Luckily for me i purchased it when it was £143. I hope you get it for a reasonable price.

Praying my delivery of the SOTT 7" box set and Peach 2LP version reaches the UK in good condition...

Did regret ordering the Peach 2LP afterwards. Wish I had ordered it from the UK, but don't want risk trying to cancel it now.