2. analog
  3. 125746-1640

Who's absorbing the cost?

The other day I purchased a couple of albums from HMV.

Got them home and discovered that one album (with two discs) was damaged

The damagewas to both discs and looked identical, it was though they had been jammed into a thin slot and had pressure applied to actally bend them.

I returned them to the same HMV store only to be told that I could either
  • Get a gift certificate
  • Get an in store credit
  • Exchange for another album of equal or greater value
  • BUT Refunding my money was against corporate policy
So I contacted HMV and got the same reply.

They also said they had no option because the Record companies refuse to take back damaged goods

However, most other stores I deal with do offer refunds on damaged albums.

My point to HMV - even if I exchanged the album they would still be left with an album they could not sell and would have to write off. So they could actually give me a refund and glean a lot of customer goodwill, but instead chose to alienate me.

Sometimes corporations cannot see the wood for the bottom line.

So who does absorb the cost if not the record company 
  1. The distributor
  2. The retailer
  3. The store
  4. The customer, i.e. built into the price of each album
#4 you say? That's what I believe

Thanks in advance 😩
williewonka
lowrider57's avatar
lowrider57
5,402 posts
 
@dweller ,
Music Direct told me they considered vinyl records as software. So we went back and forth with emails, but they wouldn’t budge.
Now I have a worn out LZ I from the early 70’s and a defective remastered LZ I.

I'll bet they were getting too many returns with defects.
djohnson54
396 posts
 
Also agree with @jmcgrogan2 - the customer absorbs the cost.  While recording vinyl is not a "thing" these days, it was back in my college days when I worked at a local record store.  Remember cassettes?  We would only exchange damaged records for the exact same album.  Otherwise you had people buy the album, record it, scratch it and bring it back for a refund.  No idea if the record store (it was a chain) got their money back - we shipped them back to the warehouse.
fjn04
1,561 posts
 
I asked Barnes and Noble what their policy was. The salesman said an LP can be returned for only the same LP. If that same LP was not in stock, they would order it. So I would say HMV has a decent policy where you could switch to a different LP. I just bought Saucerful of Secrets @ HMV in Canada, so it's good to know I have options. Music Direct and Acoustic Sounds are doing a different thing, which is why I like to give them my business when possible.
rshak
416 posts
 
In my experience, Acoustic Sounds has been wonderful about exchanging defective vinyl.  I buy a lot from  them, and on the rare occasion that I have a problem, they have been courteous and prompt in rectifying things.
rlawry
477 posts
 
Agreed with JMcGrogan2.  Ultimately the consumer pays for costs as they are passed down.  So perhaps the record store will replace the defective product but will eventually raise prices to cover refunds/exchanges.  Kind of like how politicians like to use smoke and mirrors when they claim they are taxing "big business."  Snicker.
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