The Four Threats…..and tariffs
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That is really madness. I didn’t buy lots of things from discogs but even non Germany sellers are out of question.
Wonder how or if the new EU package regulation PPWR will play into all this in the next time…That’s a crazy sum, but I have a theory. While it would indeed be expensive to ship an item like that these days (maybe $20-30?), it’s not more than $100. Methinks the guy put the item up for sale cheap, to get “clicks”, and then relies on earning the rest on a too-high shipping.
LLL is having a 24% off sale, Lukas recently unleashed the Richard Kraft collection…there are things there that I would have picked up under normal circumstances. But it’s impossible. Even if they offered the CDs for free, it would still be too expensive. What an absolutely absurd time we’re living in.
Still….anyone taking advantage of these?
Not really. The shippings costs nearly eat up the 24% sale. I remember I did take advantage 2 or 3 years ago and had at least few euros less than if I had just ordered at Sountrackcorner. And I alway peek at Lukas’ lists but never ordered anything since the shipping costs are so inpredictable.
Seems we have some new import tax/customs rules here that have fixed value of 3,- per product category for values below 150,- €. But I didn’t dare to try yet… Still remember that I had to pay twice the value for the kickstarter CDs and custom stuff on top last time…
I have no idea if it has anything to do with Brexit, but I can’t remember the last time I (or anyone in our Liverpool score cluster) got hit for any postage customs.
I just take for granted now that there won’t be any scary add-ons.
Of course, on the likes of Discogs, if buying from a foreign seller, it’s added on further at checkout (sometimes making me change my mind).
But yeah, the likes of LLL, SAE and now Intrada have gotten quite extreme to merit a purchase from them.
I don’t think LK is quite as bad? I know Roy buys stacks from him and seems quite happy with the postage add on.Over here it was not just customs but also DHL adding a “service fee” for paying customs upfront. Last time I had 3.60 Euros customs + 6 Euros service fee. That was beginning of 2025 before the changes with the Young NOSFERATU kickstarter which was overly expensive with shipping anyway…
I don’t think LK is quite as bad?
Some of Lukas’ CDs are overpriced. But most of them are priced okay, and some deals to be found as well.
You can’t order just one, that would be silly expensive. So let’s say I found 10 CDs for $5 each. $50, that’s a good deal, one thinks.
But then comes shipping. $13 per order, plus $3 for each CD. That’s $43 in shipping(!).
So now we’re at $8.30 per CD. Still okay.
But then comes customs in from the right, and adds about $20. Now we’re at $100 for the 10 CDs. $10 per CD. Which would be okay if they were items on my want list, but the $5ers are just cheapo, random mainstream things. With the terrible Norwegian exchange rate, $10 is now a bit expensive for what you could basically find in a used record store for $5.
And so the story goes, on and on.
I think the days of ordering from the US, be it private individuals like Lukas or companies, are over. The only possible exception is Amazon with their free shipping after $50 rule (for selected items), but even here, original CD price plus customs kills it. Getting the Amazon thing to work out, is a complex thing in itself; I think I talked about it earlier in the thread.
$10 is now a bit expensive for what you could basically find in a used record store for $5.
But one point is taht you don’t find rhem for $5 in record stores anymore. But seriously I agree. However shipping is of cours also the packaging and the time actually packing it. In general I can’t imagine that Lukas is really having much profit here…
No, it’s not Lukas’ fault. It’s the world.
I see I didn’t actually talk about the Amazon situation earlier in the thread, and how SO MANY STARS must align in order for it to work. As I very rarely make impulsive buys anymore, these are ALL items on my want list:
1. The item must be available
2. The item must be available, to a good price (maximum $15, but preferably less than $10)
3. The item must be available, to a good price, qualify for the $49 offer
4. The item must be available, to a good price, qualify for the $49 offer, ship to Norway
5. The item must be available, to a good price, qualify for the $49 offer, ship to Norway, at least 5 CDs that qualify in 1-4
6. The item must be available, to a good price, qualify for the $49 offer, ship to Norway, at least 5 CDs that qualify in 1-4, and when VOEC customs are added, the price per CD must not go over $15ALL of that must be in place. Usually, I can add one or two, but rarely enough to get me over that shipping limit, and under my own spending limit.
But one point is taht you don’t find rhem for $5 in record stores anymore.
Well, since these are regular, widely produced CDs, it’s possible to find some of them for $5 in a used record store. Like when I stumbled on to BIRDY and TWIN PEAKS in such a store in Denmark this summer. For rarer, more limited, more niche soundtrack releases, you obviously can’t find them in such stores in the first place. And of course Lukas is fully aware of this when he prices his CDs.
The advantage, of course, is that Lukas has MORE of these regular, widely produced soundtrack CDs than a normal used record store does. So I’d probably make use of his store – despite the shipping – if I were just browsing randomly, and not so set on the 40-50 items on my want list alone.
I see what you meant. And Lukas is probably drowning in some of these regular releases as many have expanded releases by now that most who are the target group have already.
We should start to play the lottery 😉
He, he…yes, I do actually play the lottery once or twice a year, just to waste some money.
I’m a little “obsessed” about this sport of finding the deal these days, because the world has put so many hindrances in our way. Also, I’m running out of time to enjoy music, with the extreme tinnitus constantly worsening, and I would love to have completed my collections before I phase totally out. Just for my own peace of mind. So I get a little too enthusiastic in threads like this.
Yeah, waste of money it is my big consiracy theory that no one atually ever wins the lottery. All million winners are invented. Or did you ever meet one? 😉
Seriously, I can only imagine how awful a tinnitus must be. Hopefully they find anything proper against that.
The VOEC is included in the price when you check out on amazon.co.uk.
Also, I get private Discogs sellers to mark the package as “gift”, so no tax there either.
The VOEC is included in the price when you check out on amazon.co.uk.
It’s only Amazon.com that has the free shipping offer, unfortunately, not any of the European subdivisions. The VOEC is added when you get to the final check-out stage.
Free shipping from amazon.com??
No, the voec is not added when I order from co.uk. It’s only the item pluss postage and packing (plus a small exchange rate guarantee fee).
But I guess it’s part of the total price. I just put a CD in my cart which cost 3 euro for the CD itself, and less than 4 euro p&p.
Free shipping from amazon.com??
Yes, if you order for a minimum of $49, the shipping is free. But not everything on Amazon qualifies, it seems rather random what does and what doesn’t. And it changes. Sometimes, an item that is eligible for the $49 offer, suddenly isn’t, and vice versa.
No, the voec is not added when I order from co.uk. It’s only the item pluss postage and packing (plus a small exchange rate guarantee fee).
OK, so they’ve baked it in to the CD price. That’s useful, I suppose, although the amount is the same, whether it’s baked in or whether it’s added on at checkout.
OK, so they’ve baked it in to the CD price. That’s useful, I suppose, although the amount is the same, whether it’s baked in or whether it’s added on at checkout.
But you don’t get the norwegian tax fee this way.
I tried putting a CD in the bin at co.uk. If you press “See details”, you’ll see that the VAT is added, and how much it is:
What do you mean? It’s baked in to the CDs, you said?
The tax itself is, but not the extra fee (tollgebyr 46 NOK) from norwegian postal service.
I tried putting a CD in the bin at co.uk. If you press “See details”, you’ll see that the VAT is added, and how much it is:
Yes I see it now. But if the CD price (and shipping) is low, the VAT is low too.
The tax itself is, but not the extra fee (tollgebyr 46 NOK) from norwegian postal service.
That’s true. It’s always preferable to deal with online stores like Amazon (whether it’s .com or co.uk or .de or .fr) that include the VAT, so you don’t have to deal with that extra handling charge at all. Or private individuals that can mark it as ‘gift’. But sometimes, one has to order from stores that don’t have it, perhaps because it offers other things, like reasonable shipping or lower prices on the CD itself. Like Rarewaves.com, which I’ve used a few times. There’s no getting around the tollgebyr for that. It’s always a calculation to make.
So all the Amazons have that. It’s just that only .com offers free shipping after $49.
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