Weigh in now!

[hsf]

I wondered if anyone had personal dealings with Kivel Records (as far as ordering from them.) I kinda hadn't thought about it until MJ mentioned Baron to me earlier in another topic.

 

Quite a few years ago, I ordered 3 cds from the site. I only received 2 of them. I figured the other may not have been on hand or was being reprinted or whatever, so I waited. Got busy, kinda forgot. After probably 6 or more months, I contacted them about the issue. I was told that a customer (or their typical customer), did not wait so long to report an issue with an order. I apologized profusely, explaining that I not only was trying to give them time, but that I got busy and it slipped my mind. Anyway, supposedly some resolution was in order. Never happened. I contacted them another few months down the road. Dealt with a gentleman by the name of Chris, I believe. He seemed very helpful, but never could handle things. Put me in contact with John Kivel himself. I spoke with John a couple times on the phone. He said info was on his desk. Asked what replacement I wanted. Explained he was sorry, but that it wasn't typical and I should have spoken up sooner. I, for my part, was apologetic as well, realizing I delayed too long and should have kept on them right away instead of giving it too much time.

 

That was the last I heard. Never received a third CD. Just wondered if anyone had any experiences to share. I can't say anything bad about the company. I realize I was remiss in not being a pain in their collective ass right from the get go. I chalked that third CD up to experience, however, I was somewhat dismayed that I was told it was being handled and never actually was. Some info to digest. I'd be interested to hear from anyone else who would like to share (Kivel or otherwise) ordering experiences.

 

Thanks!

[whiplash1972]

I've ordered directly from Kivel twice, and each time experienced problems.

The first time I ordered, I never got my CDs, so I contacted them. THANK GOD I had purchased their $1 "insurance" ,or I probably never would have gotten anything. The story was that they had shipped my CDs, but the Postal Service must have lost them, so they would replace them. I eventually(after MANY emails) got my stuff.

 

Being the brave(or stupid) soul that I am, I ordered from them again when TNA - Branded came out. This time, my order was put on hold, because the TNA disc was taking longer to produce than had been anticipated.I was informed that my credit card would not be billed until my order shipped. BULLSHIT. I went to my online credit card statement, and had already been billed the day following placing my order. After several more emails to their "customer service" inquiring about my order, I finally got my order. I was fine with the entire order being held until all discs were ready to ship, but don't lie to me about how I'm gonna be charged. Piss poor business practice. I will not purchase directly from Kivel again.

 

Also, they might actually sell a few more CDs if their crappy website was kept up-to-date....jeesh.

 

On a good note, I've always had excellent service from:

 

Metal Mayhem Music (although Ryan needs to keep his website updated too!) : Metal Mayhem

 

NEH Records : NEH Records

 

Impulse Music : Impulse Music

*These guys will not ship an incomplete order, BUT your credit card IS NOT charged until the day the order ships!

[hsf]

Wow, thanks Whiplash. I'm not happy for what you went through, but I'm glad to know that I'm not alone in my dealings. I guess maybe I should have been a bigger pain in the ass after I STILL didn't get my third CD.

 

I have had SUPER results with Impulse music. I've purchased from them two or three times and have always been satisfied. I will return there again, for sure.

 

Thanks for sharing everyone. I hope to hear any more stories (failures or successes.) Helps to know where to go in the future.

[hsf]

Has anyone ever ordered from business overseas and with what kind of success?

[Guest hashman333abc]

i have had great luck with nehrecords.com , i live in canada & had my cds in 3-4 days, my 2 cents

larry

[heavyharmonies]

My observations/experiences:

 

 

Impulse Music. Biggest problem is that only 20% or so of what they list on their site is actually in stock.

 

AOR Heaven. Excellent service and response, although the weak dollar makes shipping quite expensive; I usually wait for a bunch of their "Sale Bin" to be stuff I want.

 

Schmankerl Records. EXCELLENT! Great inventory, and some real obscure AOR and hard rock available. Can't recommend them highly enough.

 

The one I order the most from:

 

The End Records. Mostly heavy metal, but they do get some AOR material on occasion. Good service, and all prices include shipping to the U.S.

 

-Dan

[66 mustang]

I must say that Kivel has been good to me. They have held my order to ship them all at once but upon my request sent seperate orders and even gave me a free disc for my troubles.

[Dean]

In my experiences-The End Records and Sentinel Steel were both awesome. SS always has tons of stuff in the used cds also. The most problems I've had with mail order has been Century Media. Everytime I've ordered from them i was the proud owner of a credit slip which was only redeemable through the mail. Also ever since they joined forces with Nuclear Blast they turned vastly impersonal no matter how much you spend with them. The thing that sucks is 75% of my favorite bands are affiliated with CM.

Cheers