NewsThis Week’s Box Set and Reissue Deals
UK: David Bowie / Spying Through A Keyhole 7″ box – £24.81
As this price, much of the criticisms evaporate and it’s quite a desirable package.
UK: Joy Division / Unknown Pleasures ruby red vinyl- £15.58
Pre-order the new coloured vinyl of Joy Division‘s debut for just over £15. This is out in the middle of June (if you’re already pre-ordered you’ll get this price anyway, so no action needed!).
UK: Kate Bush / Remastered Part II 11CD set – £72
Cheapest price to date for the 11CD remastered Kate Bush box which includes Aerial (2CD), Before The Dawn (3CD), Director’s Cut, 50 Words For Snow and The Other Sides (4CDs of 12-inch mixes, B-sides and rarities).
GERMANY: Kate Bush / Remastered in Vinyl III box set – €49
Great price for the 6LP set.
SDE helps fans around the world discover physical music and discuss releases. To keep the site free, SDE participates in various affiliate programs, including Amazon and earns from qualifying purchases.
Deals
Suede Blue Hour Box – Cheaper than ever:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blue-Hour-VINYL-Suede/dp/B07CNC3295/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3TO98PDHT1G4A&keywords=suede+the+blue+hour+box&qid=1559205271&s=gateway&sprefix=blue+hour+box+suede%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-1
Ah screw it, why not :)
Amazon are going to lose a lot of business if this is their policy from now on.
Personally I have not been charged for any of my preorders but I will keep a close eye on things from now on.
Possibly the best way forward might be to leave things in your basket until nearer the release date?
I contacted Amazon by Telephone yesterday and customer services confirmed that they have made changes to the way payments are taken. If your pre order release date is more than 5 days from time of order, on the 5th day Amazon send an authorisation code to your bank who then freeze the money in your account until the day of dispatch (this means the money is effectively taken out of your account because you cannot spend it). The transaction does not appear in your bank statement for 5 days. I have been ordering form Amazon for several years but am reconsidering this. See the mail I received in response to my phone call.
This is —- from Amazon customer service. It’s a pleasure talking to you.
I apologize for any inconvenience you’ve experienced as a early payments for pre-orders.
We’re introducing some improvements to payments and authorisations in order to simplify your shopping experience on Amazon.
When you pre-order an item that is yet to be released, we charge you the full order amount when the item gets dispatched. If the shipping date is set after more than five days, that charge occurs on the fifth day since your order was placed.
This is not just happening with Amazon UK. I ordered the Rolling Stones ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Circus’ from Amazon Germany and I have been charged for that preorder.
The charge has not been ‘frozen’, my card company confirmed my account has been debited. As I stated in another post Amazon UK have debited my card account for 12+ preorders. Proof that my account was debited was provided when I cancelled my preorder for the ‘Woodstock 10CD set. 3 days later the refund of £114+ was deposited into my card account.
You were very lucky to talk to Amazon customer services representatives Stuart who knew the full facts, I spent over 7 hours talking to customer services reps who didn’t know a thing. To give them a little, err, credit, they credited my Amazon Account with £25.
I just got offline with the customer services chat people and they confirmed the new policy, but there seems to be a twist which is that it’s being introduced ‘gradually’, as part of ‘a wider range of improvements to be rolled out over the course of the rest of the year.’ I asked how charging people months in advance of something being dispatched can possibly be regarded as an improvement, and there was a long silence, presumably while the person on the other end had to find a way to divert from their script. Personally, I haven’t yet been pre-charged for any of my pre-orders, so what I suspect they’re doing is applying the new policy selectively to gauge how many people they annoy. I’ve cancelled everything for now anyway, and if they pursue the new way of doing things, I’ll just buy whatever I want from other places. I’m sure I won’t be the only one.
I am probably going to be castigated for this, but I do not have any problem with this.
Now mind you, I am in the US, and Amazon US has not done this, but I do also purchase from Amazon UK (and France, Germany, Italy, and Canada).
But also, I do not have any credit cards at all. Never will. I have only a debit card which is tied to my bank account. If I do not have the funds in my account then I may not be able to purchase certain things at that point. Fortunately I have not missed out on many things.
I actually would PREFER being charged the entire amount at first, with the presumption that any price reductions are still given. As I always have the funds when I order, it is not a problem if they are “locked” in. As it is, my bank will tell me that I have a certain amount available, but I know that ultimately I know that I “don’t”. So I have to keep 2 (or more) running totals so I don’t accidentally spend money I won’t have.
And it’s worse when they send only part of the order as they charge that, so I have to make a note of that on the line for the original order (I keep my “chequebook” on an Excel sheet).
And for what it’s worth, quite a few non-Amazon companies DO charge you for the entire balance beforehand for pre-orders, both big companies (Rhino/Warner, for example*) and independent stores, so while I am no fan of Jeff Bezos (mentioned elsewhere), maybe you all should be directing some of your (misplaced, in my opinion) ire towards them too.
OK, now direct your ire against me also, if you must.
*I had to wait a couple of weeks to order the huge $800 Woodstock box from them, as I could not just not pay some bills. Fortunately it did not sell out before I ordered it, but I don’t have the luxury of spending money I don’t have, as many in this world do way too much.
I agree with David Bly. I don’t really see a big issue with this. Most other places charge you straight away, so why not Amazon. I use my credit card for pre-orders, so I can still spread buying things out a little.
I don’t have the slightest problem with being charged in full at the point of order – for example the SDE shop do, as do Burning Shed, and I use those companies all the time.
People have a problem with a company changing their charging policy without having the courtesy to inform their customers, whilst also sending out emails which directly contradict their new sales policy. Amazon currently make it easy to say ‘I’ll have that’, and you are enticed to order it now – knowing that you don’t need the money in your account to pay for it until next month’s paycheck. I’m lucky, I’m in a position where this hasn’t hit me financially, I’ve got the funds in my account to pay for the items. But I feel total empathy for anyone who budgets to have the money in their account when they THINK it needs to be there, and then gets hit with bank charges because they didn’t know the policy had changed, and how could they, when the company doesn’t inform their customers?
To put it another way, you’re absolutely right – the is no problem with this business model – it’s standard business practice for many companies. But with those companies, you know this is the case, and make a choice to do so. With this, you’re not being given the full facts of the change in business practice, which is inherently dishonest at worst and disingenuous at best.
It’s not the thing itself, it’s the implementation and communication which people object to – personally I just won’t pre-order in future, unless it’s for a limited edition item.
Interesting debate though, thanks to everyone for being so civil and friendly, even when they disagree with other points of view – if only Amazon had a similar outlook this conversation with have been redundant! If everyone had a clear email to tell them if the changes, or if there was a disclaimer on the website at the point of purchase there would have been some grumbling and we’d have got over it – as it is people feel swindled.
This is a non-issue. Many other websites debit your card as soon as you order. I guess they’ve been stung too many times by transaction failures when something is charged to a card weeks after the order was placed only to get a rejection from the bank, which leads to more work.
How is it a non-issue? It’s a complete reversal of an ongoing policy, without telling customers first, that in my case causes £300 to suddenly, and unexpectedly, disappear from my account.
It does not matter what other sites do. I didn’t pre-order from other sites, I pre-ordered from the one I’ve been using forever, expecting the same service they’ve always had.
Non-issue? Hardly. Forewarned is forearmed – they should have let people know 30 days BEFORE the change. How difficult would that have been?!
Clearly it is an issue for some and not for others.
Of course, Paul, and that’s fine. But to suggest it’s a non-issue when it’s such a radical change is silly, imo. Having money suddenly come out your account is never a good thing. Surely as consumers we can all understand that this kind of thing IS a big deal. Amazon has violated the trust of their customers.
Now, the fact that some people think that’s hunky dory is beside the point. The fact that other vendors charge at the time of order is also beside the point. I wasn’t buying from other vendors. I’m also not happy forking out £300 now for something I may, or may not, get within the next three months.
Also, personally, I’d never buy music on a credit card. It’s a mugs game, imo. Buying music on credit is simply not a good idea. It’s discretionary spending, and doesn’t belong on a credit card. Not for me.
Still, lesson learned. I won’t prepay for pre-orders. If I change my mind about wanting something prior to its release, I shouldn’t have to deal with getting a refund. If I read an early review and it turns out the product is not up to snuff, I shouldn’t have to deal with a refund. No service offered – no funds should be exchanged, imo.
All I’m saying is that I think Jim meant it was a non-issue for him (even if he didn’t say this explicitly). It’s clearly going to affect people differently depending on how they manage their finances, the availability of credit, how much disposable income is available, whether you have a generous overdraft facility, whether you were in the habit of regularly cancelling large quantities of expensive pre-orders on Amazon, etc.
In terms of refunds, I’m pretty sure all you will have to do is cancel your pre-order – like you do now – and that will trigger the refund. Not exactly arduous :)
@Jim Breeds:
Thank you for telling me what is an issue for me and what’s not.
Also i enjoyed your habit of explaining Amazon’s policy clearly without having a clue how they dealt with things before.
They always charge the customer account first before they send any goods so their risk
of “being stung” (honestly?) is about zero.
When their computer program learns that your given payment source can’t be debited with the amount of your (pre-)order they send you an (automated) e-mail notificating this and give you some days to either change your method of paying or add some funds to the source of paying that you originally gave them (which is a policy that i always found quite fair, so i’m dazzled that they now obviously seem to have no problem with pissing customers off).
On the upside of this i think Paul will have no problem finding a topic for this weeks newsletter. ;-)
Re Amazon; I am in the UK and ordering through Amazon UK. I found my credit card bill has leapt this month – lo and behold I’ve been charged for preorders – that is actual charges not pending charges that disappear until the item is released. I got through to an Amazon manager who said that she had been on the phone for days dealing with complaints. She confirmed the change in Amazon charging to the do preorder stage. So far she thought it was only on blu ray preorders. (I have made and cancelled a blu ray preorder in the previous week and been charged and refunded.) My blu rays hadn’t even got a release date! I don’t appear to have been charged for CD pre-orders – yet. Bear in mind Amazon’s crazy high pricing at the outset!! Looks like Bezos is playing the ticket promoter’s game – get money a year in advance – to pay his divorce. Or is this a way to avoid stockpiling on cancelled orders? Or another blow to physical media? Promptly cancelled all but essential orders.
For American buyers on Amazon.com Kate Bush Remastered 2 is now even cheaper than Remastered 1: $62.51, even though part 2 has 11 discs and part 1 has 7 discs!
https://amzn.to/2Mcx8G5
Both Kate Bush remastered CD boxes are currently AU$100.50 approx. or €62 or £55 before shipping.
I received an email from Amazon stating nothing preordered will be charged until it is shipped.
Don’t know where this rumour has come from as none of my preorders have been charged yet?
I’ve had that too, despite looking at a card statement with the payment deducted. They respond using a script
Hi there, it was me who first posted on this, as I felt the good users of this site deserved to know.
It’s not a rumour, I’ve been charged (the Monday has left my account) for 5 seperate pre-order items thus far, all made in the last week or so, and had a confirmatory email and phone conversation – Amazon haven’t changed the wording on their emails yet, which is why this change in policy without telling the customer is so naughty – the thing that made me so cross in the first place was the lack of transparency and duplicitous nature of this, and if they’re still sending out incorrect emails that is quite frankly hideous.
I’m a prime member, I do tons of pre-orders, and I have literally zero reason to either lie or scaremonger to my fellow SDE readers.
The money has left my account, Amazon have confirmed this is their new policy. In writing (see earlier comment).
If you made a pre-order Monday you’ll be charged 5 days later from now on. Whether they are able to implement this for all orders from this day forth, or whether it’s a gradual implementation and I’m just unlucky enough to be amongst the first, you’d have to ask them. The earliest order I’ve been charged for was made on the 17th may – 7 days before the quoted start date from Amazon, but I was then charged on the 24th, which is when they have told us it kicked in.
I sincerely hope your pre-orders aren’t effected, but I’d be doing you a disservice if I didn’t pass on my experience, especially as Amazon aren’t!
Have a lovely week one and all!
78€ for KBush’s boxset now on Amazon USA including standard shipping and taxes. Best price at the moment.
The 2018 re-remastered cd of the Stones’ Beggars Banquet is currently £5 on Amazon UK.
Also £5 in Sainsbury’s. plus 150 nectar points for all purchases of £1 and over. That’s worth 75p!!!!!
The 11 CD Kate Bush isn’t much of a bargain, if you’ve bought the 4 CD ‘bonus’ discs boxset, then what’s the point? 7 CD’s for £70?! These are worth a fiver each, so whole boxset should be around the £55 mark. Not impressed by the CD packaging in the other boxset which I picked up for what it was worth £37. So no ‘bang goes another (seven) tenner’ for me! You can fit the 4 CD bonus set inside the first boxset FYI, maybe that was the plan and someone got greedy?
Are you sure you got a full box set? I’ve just tried to fit the bonus set inside mine, & there’s no way it’s going in without splitting the box.
Mine fits snugly. Either that or Aerial. Just wish the spine for The Other Sides matched the rest of them.
7 CD Remastered Part 1 set plus the 4CD The Other Sides set fit into the heavy card box. If I could post a photo I would.
Kate Bush Remastered Part II is even cheaper on Amazon Germany. Just under €75 now, which is much cheaper than the £ 72 (about €82) on the UK site.
Just ordered from Amazon.de. Thanks for the heads up!
$62.51 right now on Amazon USA. Isn’t that cheaper as well?
KBush’s boxset has cheaper or similar prices on other Amazon sites but Amazon.de wins: if I order it from Spain it is 92€ from Amazon UK but ONLY 82€ from Germany shipping included. If shipping cost is similar to the UK even if you live in the UK it would save you 10€.
Would love to see the REM BBC set low priced. And I’m hoping one day that new order movement is available at a non-ridiculous amount
Agreed on both of these !
Human League ‘Secrets’ Double Vinyl Gatefold only £16 at amazon UK – good price I think.
Hi Paul, just a piece of information for Amazon users – a change in company policy a couple of days ago means that the payment for pre-orders is now taken AT THE POINT OF ORDERING, rather than at the point of shipping. Refunds on price differences between ordering and shipping will be made after shipping.
I only found out this information when I was charged for the upcoming hitchhikers and doctor who sets, which don’t come out until July!!!! I’m lucky that I had the money in reserve to pay for them now, but in some cases I can imagine people being stung by this. Amazon customer service just said it was new policy, nothing they can do, but not having the courtesy to TELL THEIR CUSTOMERS is, at best, disappointing – at worst it’s rude and uncaring, and more than a little cynical.
Have a great weekend, everyone!
Noooooo! How does that work with their price promise guarantee then? Or has that gone too?
No that remains. They just refund you the difference (which is also what they do now, anyway).
Also just checked their website and it says nothing on there. Still says this on the page: Note: Payment for your pre-order is taken when your item is dispatched to you. If you choose to pay by credit or debit card, please ensure that the expiry date of your card is after the release day.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_201910060_to_201910640_2?nodeId=201910640
A few days ago I pre-ordered the season 8 Game of Thrones blu-Ray set on Amazon, and have since received multiple payment declined emails from them. According to the amazonadviser site, the release date is probably around five months from now, which would be October. I suspect though that it will be November or even December, to catch the Xmas market, both of which are after my current card expires. It seems impossible to get any kind of answer from them on this. Grrrr!
Hmmm. Well it doesn’t seem to apply to pre-orders already on order… or maybe it’s a non Prime member thing? When did this pre pay kick in? As I last pre-ordered an album on the 24th and haven’t been charged for that…
From an email sent to me by Amazon customer services
“We’re introducing some improvements to payments and authorisations in order to simplify your shopping experience on Amazon.
When you pre-order an item that is yet to be released, we charge you the full order amount when the item gets dispatched. If the shipping date is set after more than five days, that charge occurs on the fifth day since your order was placed.”
I think it kicked in last week, so anything you’ve ordered in the past few days you’ll get charged this week…
I had a few emails with Amazon last week about this. They said it started on 24th April and did apologise for the lack of notice. Having had some time to think about this the impact on my SDE shopping would be just to order a week or so before release date that way you’re still paying close to the dispatch date. The problem is on limited runs where the difference between the payment date, dispatch date and potential for something selling out, becomes a matter of choice for the customer.
The downside with this strategy is amazon can quite often start with a cheap-ish price that then goes up slowly over time. So you aren’t ‘locked in’ to the cheapest price. I think if you have a credit card with a 54 day interest free period (or similar) then if you get your timing right, this issue isn’t as bad as it first appears.
@BJ I’m a Prime member, so it’s obviously across the board.
Good point Paul – forgot about that! I agree- if you can get the timing right it should still work in your favour.
I have just cancelled my amazon pre-orders and received a confirmatory email for each one. The emails all stated “Because you only pay for items when we ship them to you, you won’t be charged for any items that you cancel. Thank you for visiting Amazon.co.uk”.
What is going on?
I’ve cancelled my preorders too, and Prime membership. It’s not a toys-out-the-pram thing, I’ve just had too many frustrations with them over the past few months, this payment issue being the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Their customer service has also been an issue, and the responses you get a lot of the time demonstrate that they don’t even read all your comments or answer specific points. From the experiences related above, it seems the left and right hands are not communicating.
I tend to find the exclusives from band website vendors such as Townsend and Universal are far nicer and more desirable, and less likely to arrive damaged
I will still buy stuff from them (mainly YuMove for the dogs) but certainly no preorders months in advance, I’ll also happily take a chance on the price near release dates.
Probably something to do with changes to the way payments are processed through your bank. Shortly when you pay for something you will/may receive a text or email with a code you will need to input at time of purchase. This is how my bank describes it:
We use two-factor authentication to verify it’s you when you use online banking (making a payment to someone new for example) or make purchases with your card online. It’s the banking industry’s way of double-checking it’s really you.
Later this year, to help protect you against fraud, we are strengthening how we use two-factor authentication. Because of this, how you use online banking and complete purchases online will change. This is also supported by regulatory changes taking place called Strong Customer Authentication (SCA).
So you can continue to use online banking and make purchases with your card online, your contact details need to be up-to-date.
When you use your card online
Instead of confirming a memorable name to complete your purchase, you’ll verify yourself in a different way and probably more often.
This is so we know it’s really you making the payment.
We’ll send you a notification to your mobile phone or tablet. You can then verify it’s you by logging into the mobile app.
Verifying yourself with the app is the simplest and quickest way for you to confirm it’s really you.
or
We will send you a verification code to the mobile number or email address you have registered with us. We will then ask you to tell us your code to confirm it’s you.
Amazon have never even bothered with the 3 digit code on purchases before so a big change for them. I assume if you cancel an order you will be refunded within 3 days as they do on refunds now.
Does anyone know if this only applies to Amazon UK so far, or also to other countries Amazon-sites?
I know it will apply to all UK bank issued cards
I ordered from Amazon UK yesterday and I was charged with this new policy. Does Bezos really need my money upfront because he cheated on his ex-wife? I wish MacKenzie would have taken that Bozo to the cleaners.
Wow, well that’s a lot less orders they’ll get from me then!
Would like to see nice discounts on the last 2 album CD box sets from Bowie….
Same have been waiting to catch a deal on the Loving the Alien CD box – Fingers crossed
CD box down to 87 euros at Amazon Germany. Lowest price ever according to CamelCamelCamel. Got it for $90 shipped to Texas.
Wow, the USA price for the Bowie box just jumped as I was studying it. Gotta be quick, it’s true!
I know I’m mostly buying this for a few of the lps. but its a lovely set. and well gotta treat myself now n again :) Thanks Paul.
What Records has got a new batch of reduced albums up. Took the plunge on the Who’s Live at Leeds triple vinyl edition at £16.99 plus best of Wilko and Northern Soul double sets for less than £50 including postage.
Every Incarnation except the current one… wouldn’t that be something…
Hunting High and Low on clear vinyl currently £10.91 on UK Amazon……!!
Thanks for the alert – I hadn’t realised this was a clear vinyl edition.
I picked this up to complement the RSD alternate mixes :-)
back up again…..missed it
El Zimmo’s Rolling Thunder Revue box set is down from £59.99 to £56.00 @ Amazon UK.
Already a great bargain price for 14 CD’s, this makes it even better! I’ve just pre-ordered it.
Phil Collins 8 Disc box £7.99. That’s how to do it!
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Take-look-Complete-Studio-Collection/dp/B076JKKYBZ/ref=sr_1_13?keywords=box+set&qid=1558374194&s=music&sr=1-13
Wowser! Ordered
Damn!! Its now 50 euro :(((
Thanks D and Paul, ordered the Kate Bush as well.
WOW! I ordered when I got the email this morning and just checked now…back to 41 GBP! Whew! Gotta act fast on these! I’ve wanted this since I’ve only had a download and it’s my favorite record from last year and the best Suede since DMS!!!!! Thanks Paul!!
Thanks guys, couldn’t resist the Kate Bush box for that price!
did you see amazon germany has kate bush remastered in vinyl iii for under 40 euro?
You star “d”
Even with postage it comes in at £14 per album…
Thanks Paul, ordered!.
Ordered, thanks Paul :)