Three things…
New Nine Inch Nails album – I decided to just order the double CD instead of the deluxe package because heck, I’m sane. But unfortunately, there was a snag in the plans. Total cost for the CD – $10. Excellent. Go to order it, put all the appropriate information in (by the way, can I just say how much I love Paypal?) and then get dinged with the cost of the shipping and handling. $13. ARGH! It’s more than the actual album. Nooo!!! So even though I had it in my heart to order directly from Trent and Co., I don’t think I can bring myself to dish out $13 in shipping. They’ll figure out a better method of distribution of the physical medium in the future (I’m hoping).
The new Trews album came out about three weeks ago and I pre-ordered it from the website. In the end, it cost me $36 with the shipping and handling, but I got a t-shirt with it as well as an autographed copy of it. So yeah, I figured “What the heck, this will support the band and it’s worth my cash for a sweet rock n’ roll t-shirt.” Unfortunately for me the weeks went by and I didn’t see it. In the end, the company informed me that Canada Post must have lost it (and I guess this was confirmed considering a Canada Post employee gave me a call to see if I received it or not) so I just cancelled my order. I cancelled my order moreso for the fact that the person I was dealing with at the company said “Listen dude, if you don’t get it by Thursday, let me know and I’ll ship one off to you pronto!”. I thought this was great of them. They realize something happened, and they would fix it in the best way they could.
However come the Thursday, I let them know that I didn’t get it and it wasn’t until Monday that I got a response. They said they would ship off a new one, but the they followed up with an email saying that they jumped the gun and they would first have to follow up with Canada Post to see if I received the item and that could take 5 business days. This was the point where I said I would like to cancel the order. Bureaucracy…bah! So I’m out a t-shirt but I get my cash back (well, I sure hope I will!) and I get to finally pick up the new Trews disc tomorrow. Yay!
Ticketmaster…or Ticketbastard. Argh, I hate ’em. We want to get some tix to see The Trews when they come to town, right? So the tickets are $25 each. But Ticketmaster (through the web) tacks on an additional $9 per ticket PLUS some random other convenience fee which essentially adds another buck each. LUDICROUS! I can’t believe it! The same thing happened when Mike and I went to order Raine Maida tickets. I refused to pay that and had Mike pick some up downtown at the local record store. What was the damage? I think they charged us $1 handling fee. No problems there!
So now I have these great Ticketmaster gift cards which Mike’s parents and Maureen got me for Christmas and I hesitate in using them for the sole reason that there’s the principle of matters and the principle sayeth “Guys, if you’re only paying $25 for a ticket, why the heck should anyone get away with highway robbery?”
I’m going to talk to Ticketmaster to see what the scoop is. I have a feeling it may be an issue of simply going to the box office and buying the tickets there for a lower price. I shall get to the bottom of this.
Let us not forget the great service Pearl Jam did for us back in 1994 concerning Ticketmaster.
iplaying: 8 Ghosts I – Nine Inch Nails (Ghosts I-IV)
4 replies on “So Close…Yet A Little Far…”
I sense a little bit of frustration coming from your end. I feel your pain.
I find as I grow older that I start to question these types of additional costs much more and many times, they lead me away from making certain purchases.
I remember a time when all the additional surcharges meant nothing, as long as I could wake up my dad at three in the morning to drive my friend and I to Cochrane to catch the bus!!!
But let’s look at some of the examples you point out:
First off, $13 shipping for $10 CD. I’ll admit, somewhat ludicrous. However, if free shipping were offered, Trent would lose $3 per CD sold (I don’t have an MBA nor am I a CA, but I don’t think that’s good for business.) But yes, you could argue that a lower cost shipping alternative should be available. Bottom line, poor options offered to potential clients = lower sales.
Secondly, the Trews CD/T-shirt fiasco. What can I say? Sometimes, no matter how good of a deal you are getting, it just isn’t worth your time to keep fighting for it. Sometimes the companies are betting that you will cut your loses and give up.
Lastly, Ticketmaster: The be-all of ticket sales loved by everyone one the planet (except those who put on concerts and/or events and those who attend said concerts and/or events.) Everything else on this comment is just a lead up for this part of the comment. The scoop with Ticketmaster is that you should make a documentary that answers many of these questions.
Given the average surcharges for each ticket sold by Ticketmaster with a typical weekend of concerts accross North America, how much money does Ticketmaster pull in per weekend?
I think it would make an interesting documentary to explore these and other questions regarding Ticketmaster.
Ah, the trip to Cochrane. Good times. “Hey, where’s the bus?”
A documentary on Ticketmaster…interesting. That may just be worthwhile.
I enjoyed your comment ‘additional charges’ and whatnot. It inadvertently made me think about special editions and whatnot. I used to love them, but now, I’m starting to feel that it’s more about the music. Case in point, the special edition of the Smashing Pumpkins Zeitgeist album. All it had was a bunch of oversized pictures. How often (especially now in MP3 land) do I actually look at the liner notes? MAYBE once.
Wanna help me film a documentary on Ticketmaster?
Is it better to lose 3$/sale or lose 50% of your sales because potential buyers are turned off by the S&H charges?
Ticketmaster documentary… Awesome idea! Our very own Michael Moore.
Special Edition – Books/CDs etc… Having purchased A LOT of Beatles memorabilia for my Beatlemaniac I can vouch that is it mostly a money making scheme
– “Never before seen photos of John and his family!!!”
– WOW!! Fork over the cash, look at the book once, rest it neatly on the book shelf to collect dust for the next 50 years.
[…] No Time For Later (The Trews) Posted in March 12th, 2008 by admin in Reviews After all the hoopla of getting this album into my hands, I finally downloaded it last week knowing that I would pick it […]