Date: Sun, 5 Oct 1997 09:39:55 +0000 From: Andrew Norman Subject: Re: darla bliss-outs? - thanks On 4 Oct 97 at 19:34, David Thorpe wrote: > > Well, the two mail order places in Europe I've seen with a good > selection of wares are Rough Trade and Norman Records: > > http://www.roughtrade.com/ > http://www.business.u-net.com/~normrecs/ > > Never personally used the latter of these, but the guy does seem to > have some interesting stuff in [including all the Darlas darling] at > prices which generally undercut Rough Trade. You might also try > Sister Ray in London or Piccadilly Records in Manchester, but it's > not really their cup of tea I don't think. Does anyone have any > positive/negative things to say about Norman or the others? I use Norman (no relation) quite a lot - had a package go missing in the post in the last fortnight and Phil mailed me a replacement without delay. I get the impression it's an operation run by fans. Prices are good for new releases, there's also a selection of rare/import stuff, often at quite steep prices (which hasn't stopped me buying one or two things in that category). Rough Trade are a bit hopeless if you are relying on their on-line catalogue, which has been "being updated" for months now, unlike Norman whose catalogue is updated weekly (there's no person called Norman, by the way). A telling illustration of the difference: I have been trying to get hold of Roy Montgomery's "Temple IV" for probably a couple of years now. Rough Trade have it in their catalogue and I ordered it, to be told "we haven't got it in, we'll order it for you". Heard nothing for months. Emailed Phil a couple of weeks ago asking if he could get hold of it for me, he said he had a copy coming in soon, and it arrived last week. Date: Wed, 29 Jul 1998 03:41:51 GMT From: Michael Borum Subject: Re: a side note AB-CD are very reliable; I recently ordered Stina Nordenstam's "Dynamite" from them. It took a while to receive it because they had to special order it themselves, but they were very good about keeping me updated on my order's status. Michael iceblink@tiac.net At 07:48 PM 7/28/98 EDT, you wrote: >Hello... >Sorry off the subject, but I was wondering If anyone has ever ordered from AB- >CD? they seem to have a good selection but I haven't heard much about them >and I was wondering if they are reliable? Has anyone ordered from this store? >Any responses would be greatly appreciated. >Sincerely, >Karen > > Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1998 19:13:20 -0700 From: shane Subject: Re: picky picky picky * Claire de Leon: http://gdn.net/~cdl/ Darla: http://www.darla.com/ d.i.y.: http://diyrecords.com/ GEMM: http://www.gemm.com/ Midheaven: http://www.midheaven.com/ Norman: http://www.personal.u-net.com/~normrecs/ Pal: http://www.pal-mailorder.com/ Parasol: http://www.indies.com/ Radio Free: http://www.radiofreerecords.com/ Repo: http://www.reporecords.com/ Rough Trade Shop: http://www.roughtrade.com/ Secret Sounds: http://www.secretsounds.com Vaccum: http://www.vacuumsf.com/ Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 13:23:43 -0500 From: dreadnaut Subject: Re: Mrs Dolphin Paul Walsh wrote: > Where or what is "Hello Japan" and "Gemm"? I guess it's a store - is it > web based? www.gemm.com is probably the best online resource for aquiring rare releases. It's an electronic "marketplace" with a comprehensive database comprised of a large number of individual sellers and specialty services. It features price comparisons and most items can be purchased directly through Gemm, although in some instances, you will be referred directly to the individual seller. Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1998 22:53:15 -0700 From: redbear Subject: gemm advice dtmarlow wrote: >>>> www.gemm.com is probably the best online resource for aquiring rare releases... most items can be purchased directly through Gemm, although in some instances, you will be referred directly to the individual seller. <<<< i've used gemm a lot, and i'd offer three bits of advice for those using it for the first time... 1) be sure to deselect the "best price only" box when searching 2) beware of sellers (like WMI and Allstars) which list lots or rare items with a status of "can backorder"...in most cases they just list every cd ever made in their catalog, and most of them are long out of print and totally unavailable...don't get your hopes up...i'd also beware of "soundgarden" which lists pretty much every rare cd at incredibly inflated prices and is getting a bad reputation among gemm users. 3) i'd also advise against ordering through gemm...i've never gotten that to work properly...it's easier to go directly through the seller. cheers, --phil Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 17:44:50 EDT From: Ivo UK Subject: Re: AB-CD shopping experience I have used them once... the delivery arrived today, Other than it taking 8 weeks to come from US to UK rather than 10 days, and then having to pay excess postage cos they didnt put it on in the first place, they were ok :o) Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 18:37:06 -0400 From: "...another reason to cut off an ear" Subject: Re: AB-CD shopping experience I'll reply to this inquiry to the list, so that everyone has the benefit of the info. I've ordered from AB-CD a couple of times, and although they appear to have great titles, and clearly support the kind of music most of us appear to be into, they aren't really that great when it comes to timely delivery. I ordered a couple of CDs once that I thought I wouldn't be able to find locally (I didn't even bother to look in the local chain shops here in Boston). After I'd sent my order, I learned that the items WERE in fact quite easily had here in town, but figured I'd get my AB-CD order soon enough. It took more than TWO WEEKS to get the discs! And these guys are supposedly in CONNECTICUT! So I was just frustrated, basically. It's my assumption that they know what they "can get", but don't necessarily have what's advertised in stock. When it comes to indie/underground/rare/import online stores, I'd highly recommend SirenDisc at www.sirencd.com. Michael Date: Mon, 19 Oct 1998 16:10:14 -0800 From: Anthony Kyle Monday Subject: Re: AB-CD shopping experience I've had nothing but good experiences there, actually.