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 Posted:   May 19, 2024 - 3:11 PM   
 By:   Graham Watt   (Member)

Hullo friends,

Being in mainland "Europe" (apparently), I mostly order my USA-manufactured CDs from one of the European online stores. The prices are hiked up of course, but not extortionately so when one figures in what shipping would be from the other side of the pond.

I still see things available at SAE and Intrada (for example) which I can't find at the European stores. Do yooz Euro guys and gals have a "go-to" USA-based store where you order from?

I singled out SAE and Intrada because a VERY good friend of mine orders habitually from Intrada, waiting until he has amassed dozens upon dozens of Lee Holdridge CDs before pressing "click" - the missiles are flying. However, he is not such a... close... friend that I dare ask him, "What's wrong with SAE"?

I recall that I used to order from SAE all the time, until - if memory serves - they started charging a kind of (optional) insurance for countries which were deemed to have a poor postal service - amongst them my third-world hellhole wot be Spain.

And so my question remains thus... What are the adavantages and disadvantages of ordering from SAE and/or Intrada (and others) from mainland Europe?

I thank you from the heart of my bottom.

 
 Posted:   May 19, 2024 - 3:23 PM   
 By:   Solium   (Member)

Can't help you but I give you an "A" for creative writing.

 
 
 Posted:   May 19, 2024 - 11:15 PM   
 By:   keky   (Member)

I used to order most of my CDs from SAE before the international shipping fares skyrocketed and customs became compulsory from non-EU countries regardless of value of order. (In my preceding years of CD collecting I only had to pay customs once!)

Nowadays I hardly order from the USA, maybe very rarely from importcds.com or ebay. I stick to European retailers, namely Intermezzomedia or Chris' Soundtrack Corner when I want to purchase USA-made CDS.

I guess I have to wait a bit longer for the CDs this way but I pay less for them compared to ordering them directly from the USA based stores.

Interesting, while thanks to the internet and all the technical inventions the world has become a much smaller place still I feel many opportunities narrowed due to financial reasons and rules.

 
 
 Posted:   May 20, 2024 - 4:26 AM   
 By:   Big X   (Member)

Hello Graham, I still order directly from LLL and Intrada rather than SAE, both are excellent in their customer service and assist with any queries. Prices have gone up, however, I find ordering directly from them is cheaper. You have the benefit of Intrada stocking other label titles, bulk buying works out cheaper on the shipping costs. Hope this helps.

 
 Posted:   May 20, 2024 - 5:39 AM   
 By:   Nicolai P. Zwar   (Member)

I'm in Europe and have ordered from La-La Land and Intrada many times over the years. Excellent customer service and normally no problems/issues. Sometimes it takes a couple of weeks or more, sometimes you have to add custom fees, but I would always order from Intrada or LLL again.

 
 
 Posted:   May 20, 2024 - 8:19 AM   
 By:   Hurdy Gurdy   (Member)

Senor Graham, there is nothing 'worng' with SAE, just like there was nothing really 'wrong' with Westworld.
I used SAE constantly throughout the 90s and early 2000s.
I just grew to prefer Intrada for their competitive postal rates and first class customer service.
They really are second to none on that score.
The fact they stock other labels titles too is a real bonus.
I do like to order directly from LLL from time to time, especially if it's a title I just canna wait for (yes, I can be 5 years old now and then).
It will be a bit dearer, cos their postal charges are more than Intrada, but I can afford it I suppose.
But generally, I top up my cart at intrada with titles as they are released and check out when it hits the 6 or 7 mark (plus, they count 2 disc editions as one so that's a winner too).
Right, I'm off to add some Lee Holdridge titles to my horse and cart.

 
 
 Posted:   May 20, 2024 - 8:37 AM   
 By:   That Bloke   (Member)

Meanwhile, those of us in Australia and New Zealand just read this post and sigh.

 
 
 Posted:   May 20, 2024 - 9:32 AM   
 By:   Prince Damian   (Member)


Right, I'm off to add some Lee Holdridge titles to my horse and cart.


You've won't learn will ya! Watch this thread crash n burn folks.smile

 
 
 Posted:   May 20, 2024 - 12:00 PM   
 By:   paulhickling   (Member)

Graham, you tried Chris' Soundtrack Corner? European. Always worth a look for comparison. Got a few from there that compared well depending on the release.

Not to mention the personal touch if you ever have a query.

 
 
 Posted:   May 21, 2024 - 1:15 AM   
 By:   Graham Watt   (Member)

Graham, you tried Chris' Soundtrack Corner? European. Always worth a look for comparison. Got a few from there that compared well depending on the release.

Not to mention the personal touch if you ever have a query.


Yes Paul, I've tried Chris' Soundtrack Corner in the past. Good shipping he has. I'm keeping all my options open, and not just focusing on the one place. It does pay off, this shopping around. Exactly by how much I'm not sure.

There are still literally HUNDREDS of releases which I haven't picked up yet, some from nearly thirty years ago. A lot more have slipped through the net, but I could spend the rest of my life just slowly acquiring old stuff.

Thanks all!

 
 Posted:   May 21, 2024 - 2:51 AM   
 By:   Amer Zahid   (Member)

I live in Pakistan.

I order directly from the labels including Intrada and also SAE.

I used to use the Registered Mailing option via SAE which was high but had a higher cost. Now its even more expensive and I prefer not to use despite their own limitation that they will not be responsible for lost packages. But I use their regular option and have no complaints for last 10 years.

Intrada/LLL and even Amazon has first class service. Their maybe an occasional delay but relatively everything reaches me safe and sound.

 
 Posted:   May 21, 2024 - 3:14 AM   
 By:   Nicolai P. Zwar   (Member)

I live in Pakistan.

I order directly from the labels including Intrada and also SAE.

I used to use the Registered Mailing option via SAE which was high but had a higher cost. Now its even more expensive and I prefer not to use despite their own limitation that they will not be responsible for lost packages. But I use their regular option and have no complaints for last 10 years.

Intrada/LLL and even Amazon has first class service. Their maybe an occasional delay but relatively everything reaches me safe and sound.


Yes. I have ordered from FSM, Intrada, LLL ,etc. since the 90s... so that's over a quarter of a century of film score orders from the US to Europe. In all that time, it has exactly happened once that an order was "lost" and never arrived at my place. (And I then received a replacement order.)

Nowadays, since international shipping has become extremely high, I shop around where I order. (I can highly recommend Music Box Records for orders within the EU; they stock not just their own but also many LLL, Intrada, Varèse etc. titles.)

 
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