If it was me, I wouldn't care. Prices change on things all the time. Depending on your retailer, you might be able to return it and order again. Or if you email them, they might even price match. Not an issue I'm going to face with this release though, I have nothing to play vinyl on, so just bought the CD.

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I just payd a 100 EURO. (Media Markt)

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Much as I like the album, I think the package options and prices were a big mistake/rip off.

You only need to compare the cost of the 1999 SDE and SOTT SDE to see that W2A is is an attempt to price gouge the fan base.

Coupled with the fact that they didn't give a full package for CD collectors (CD's still outsell vinyl 8 to 1), showed they were trying to force people to buy the more profitable vinyl package that many didn't want.

Of the fans I know in the real world, only the vinyl collectors have gone for the deluxe. The others have gone for either the single CD, digital purchase or ripped a copy else elsewhere.

I'm not sure how the current strategy will play out, but they lost me as a collector and prior to this, I probably spend more on Prince than 99.9% on the people on this website.

The upside for me though is that I'm out. I don't need any more shiny things and I'll sell what I have. It will free up a lot of space!

I'm glad you or anyone are happy with your purchase, but I won't support those price points without more premium content. It will just encourage them to make it norm.

Here's the deal i went through:

i have no need for all the bells n whistles, so i ordered the jpn cd&blu combo.

It originally was €47 inkl s&h.

THEN, upon arrival, i had to pay an added €27 customs fee!!!

The packaging is nice.

The discs are pristine.

But, it's still sitting there on my desk unlistened/unwatched

It's also the first "new Prince album" Prince didn't release himself (the others were comps/re-issues).

It'll take a minute for me to take the time...

SquirrelMeat said:

nayroo2002 said:

nayroo2002 said:

Here's the deal i went through:

i have no need for all the bells n whistles, so i ordered the jpn cd&blu combo.

It originally was €47 inkl s&h.

THEN, upon arrival, i had to pay an added €27 customs fee!!!

The packaging is nice.

The discs are pristine.

But, it's still sitting there on my desk unlistened/unwatched

It's also the first "new Prince album" Prince didn't release himself (the others were comps/re-issues).

It'll take a minute for me to take the time...

Customs fee is to be expected and us usually the VAT rate. What is usually the big shock is the handling fee applied by the courrier. How much of that €27 was for the courrier?

TheEnglishGent said:

nayroo2002 said:

Here's the deal i went through:

i have no need for all the bells n whistles, so i ordered the jpn cd&blu combo.

It originally was €47 inkl s&h.

THEN, upon arrival, i had to pay an added €27 customs fee!!!

The packaging is nice.

The discs are pristine.

But, it's still sitting there on my desk unlistened/unwatched

It's also the first "new Prince album" Prince didn't release himself (the others were comps/re-issues).

It'll take a minute for me to take the time...

Customs fee is to be expected and us usually the VAT rate. What is usually the big shock is the handling fee applied by the courrier. How much of that €27 was for the courrier?

i don't know anymore!

Probably half?

i file this under: "wrong-price-tag-at-the-store"

nayroo2002 said:

TheEnglishGent said:

Customs fee is to be expected and us usually the VAT rate. What is usually the big shock is the handling fee applied by the courrier. How much of that €27 was for the courrier?

i don't know anymore!

Probably half?

i file this under: "wrong-price-tag-at-the-store"

Haha, true. At least you have it now and can enjoy it.

SquirrelMeat said:

Much as I like the album, I think the package options and prices were a big mistake/rip off.

You only need to compare the cost of the 1999 SDE and SOTT SDE to see that W2A is is an attempt to price gouge the fan base.

Coupled with the fact that they didn't give a full package for CD collectors (CD's still outsell vinyl 8 to 1), showed they were trying to force people to buy the more profitable vinyl package that many didn't want.

Of the fans I know in the real world, only the vinyl collectors have gone for the deluxe. The others have gone for either the single CD, digital purchase or ripped a copy else elsewhere.

I'm not sure how the current strategy will play out, but they lost me as a collector and prior to this, I probably spend more on Prince than 99.9% on the people on this website.

The upside for me though is that I'm out. I don't need any more shiny things and I'll sell what I have. It will free up a lot of space!

I'm glad you or anyone are happy with your purchase, but I won't support those price points without more premium content. It will just encourage them to make it norm.

Great post. I agree with you 100%. The Estate failed to include more bonus vault material and a CD version of the concert like the previous Super Deluxe Boxes. I decided to simply get the Target Exclusive vinyl and a standard CD from Amazon and only spend $36 in the process. I didn't need all the 'fluff' (ticket stubbs, etc) included in the W2A box set.

SquirrelMeat said:

SantanaMaitreya said:

SquirrelMeat said:

Much as I like the album, I think the package options and prices were a big mistake/rip off.

You only need to compare the cost of the 1999 SDE and SOTT SDE to see that W2A is is an attempt to price gouge the fan base.

Coupled with the fact that they didn't give a full package for CD collectors (CD's still outsell vinyl 8 to 1), showed they were trying to force people to buy the more profitable vinyl package that many didn't want.

Of the fans I know in the real world, only the vinyl collectors have gone for the deluxe. The others have gone for either the single CD, digital purchase or ripped a copy else elsewhere.

I'm not sure how the current strategy will play out, but they lost me as a collector and prior to this, I probably spend more on Prince than 99.9% on the people on this website.

The upside for me though is that I'm out. I don't need any more shiny things and I'll sell what I have. It will free up a lot of space!

I'm glad you or anyone are happy with your purchase, but I won't support those price points without more premium content. It will just encourage them to make it norm.

I'm a vinyl collector and I didn't buy the deluxe version because first, I don't have a blu-ray player and I'm not going to buy one especially for this, because that would make it even more expensive! And second, if I buy a double LP, I want a double LP, not a one and a half LP! That's the thing, 54 minutes is too much for one LP, but not enough for two.

I mean, I get it if the price was too much for some (it was definitely a case of price gouging with the deluxe), but, I'm sorry, that's (bolded) a really weird reason not to buy it!

I mean, do you only buy CDs that are packed with 79 minutes of music?

SquirrelMeat said:

Much as I like the album, I think the package options and prices were a big mistake/rip off.

You only need to compare the cost of the 1999 SDE and SOTT SDE to see that W2A is is an attempt to price gouge the fan base.

Coupled with the fact that they didn't give a full package for CD collectors (CD's still outsell vinyl 8 to 1), showed they were trying to force people to buy the more profitable vinyl package that many didn't want.

Of the fans I know in the real world, only the vinyl collectors have gone for the deluxe. The others have gone for either the single CD, digital purchase or ripped a copy else elsewhere.

I'm not sure how the current strategy will play out, but they lost me as a collector and prior to this, I probably spend more on Prince than 99.9% on the people on this website.

The upside for me though is that I'm out. I don't need any more shiny things and I'll sell what I have. It will free up a lot of space!

I'm glad you or anyone are happy with your purchase, but I won't support those price points without more premium content. It will just encourage them to make it norm.

All the stuff I have I keep but I opted out of the deluxe version for the same reason. The price is too high for a CD and DVD combo. I have no use for stickers, cards and all that fluff.
I didn't even blink to cough up the money for the 1999 and SOTT SDE's, but they had a lot more interesting music in the package - A LOT!

For an album that stems out of a less interesting period and a tour that, to my taste, is also less exciting, I really am not willing to pay these type of prices.

So I fully agree with SquirrelMeat here.

And honestly, I really wonder who in their marketing department thought that this was a good idea. Yes, we're fans but not all of us are willing to get it all at any price.

[Edited 8/5/21 3:22am]