[markl]

Anyone else have BAD experiences with the service provided by these music clubs? I sure have....

The deals look good *at first*, but GOD FORBID, you have any service issues... BEWARE!!! Service is piss-poor for BOTH clubs in my experience.

I've completely stopped doing business with BMG. The shopping software they use on this site SUCKS! They've botched numerous orders (sent me and charged me for multiple copies of the same CD, sent the old, un-re-mastered versions of albums that were clearly labelled and described as the NEW versions, and over-charged me for orders that were not all shipped at once). I have an outstanding dispute with them about incorrect charges that I continue to get threatening letters about... I will NOT pay!

And just TRY talking to someone at BMG! They are IMPOSSIBLE to reach, and will not do ANYTHING to correct any mistakes on their part, when you FINALLY get to talk to a human. *****in' PATHETIC!

Now Columbia House has botched my latest order, again shipping the older un-remastered versions of discs that were clearly SUPPOSED to be the new versions. They refuse to refund me the original shipping charges, and insist I pay to ship them back to them before they will send the actual discs I ordered! GRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!

Also be aware that those $2.99 CDs come with $3.00 shipping charges for EACH CD you buy. Therefore a shipment with 10 CDs that costs them $2.50 to ship to you, they charge you $30 for shipping!!!!. The shipping/handling charges on discs from the clubs are OUTRAGEOUS!!!! This is where they make their money back.

So, BEWARE! And never order a CD that has been re-mastered because you'll get the old version and they won't lift a finger to correct THEIR MISTAKE.

markl
(fuming)

 

[gloco]

Heh, in the past when i ordered from them...before they were onlione, if i got something i didnt want, i simply sent it back. I dunno if they changed their business model to be more strict, but i hope everything works out for you.

 

[royboy2k]

Yep, they really get you on shipping, in fact that's part of why I stopped using BMG. I never really had any problems though. The main reason I stopped was because I like instant gratification!

 

[Nick Dangerous]

Columbia House and BMG will spam you to death with ads and offer mostly mainstream hits (and misses)... but after shipping each CD winds up costing you $8 apiece, which isn't too bad.

The music industry might get more shoppers back to the music aisle if they dropped retail prices to the $6-$8 range. Nobody is going to buy a $18.99 CD if they can get a DVD with movie, music, and extras for $15.99!!

 

[Eagle_Driver]

I've completely stopped doing business with the "music clubs", too! Their (BMG and Columbia House) deals look good - but their mailings all have a "negative option" type of transaction - that is, they will send you their so-called "Selection Of The Month" (which for the most part these days is a CD filled with the pop-crap that passes for "music", and what most of us get sucked into) unless you specify that you want additional selections OR other selections but not the featured one OR no selection at all. And they'll charge you their regular price plus tax and shipping for that featured selection - which invariably comes out to more than what you'll pay at even a full-price music store for the same title!

Second, some of the CDs that the clubs offer actually border on "counterfeit" without being called as such - that is, those CDs which are officially issued by record companies other than BMG (RCA, Arista, Jive/Zomba et al) or Sony (Columbia, Epic et al) often have been poorly duplicated - or are the older "un-remastered" versions even though they were clearly advertised and labeled as such.

 

[gloco]

Do what i did, stick to the boxsets

 

[Mr.PD]

I once ordered ZZ Top-Recycler from Columbia House. I got Violin Love Songs, or something like that. I complained and they said they would send me ZZ Top and a mailing label to return the love songs. A few weeks later I got another copy of Love Songs and no mailing label. I think it took a couple of months for them to get those 2 cds back. They finally admitted that they did not have Recycler and issued me a credit, which I took about 6 months to use.
Other than that I have not had any problems with Columbia House. They have replaced cracked jewel cases with no hassle and I think they offered to cancel membership and start over. The only complaint I have is that to redeem bonus points you must call in the order, can't use the on line process.
The reason I joined when I did was they quit the "reply or get it" program. I see BMG hasn't done that yet.

 

[Eagle_Driver]

Quote:

Originally posted by Mr.PD The reason I joined when I did was they quit the "reply or get it" program. I see BMG hasn't done that yet.

I quit before Columbia House changed its policy. Columbia House still used the "reply or get it" membership as a default when I quit - but that club was beginning to offer memberships that will "ship you nothing at all unless you explicitly want to order a selection". And at the time I quit, the new member had to call or write Columbia House directly for such a membership - if the customer mailed in an order form from an ad, that customer would be assigned to the "reply or get it" membership.

 

[andrzejpw]

Hmm, actually, I've had no problems with columbia house. They send me the new remastered stuff when I order it. Its been pretty good!