SITE NAVIGATION
Navigating the site is easy.
- Every part of the ordering process can be accessed via the menus found at the top and bottom of each page. These menus change as you progress through the process. When you begin you will only see a basic menu that will become more detailed once you have actually selected an item for purchase and then again after you have registered your customer details.
- Links found in the top and bottom menu can also be found strategically placed in individual pages when they are critical to whatever stage in the ordering process that the page represents.
- All important decisions in the ordering process are made by clicking on prominently placed buttons although in some instances links can be used to progress through the process.
- Every item has an individual description page. These can be accessed by any 'more info' or 'more information' link. An individual description page may have links to other titles by the same artist (where they exist) or associated items considered important enough to be highlighted.
- The black 'Artist search by letter' menu bar found at the top of every page allows you to access pages that list artists and all their associated titles alphabetically.
- Items can be displayed according to the label that has released them using the drop-down 'most popular labels' menu found at the top of most pages.
- The selection of any item via the button will prompt the display of links that allows you to check the contents of your shopping cart or proceed to the customers details page without having to scroll to the top or bottom menus.
THE ORDERING PROCESS
There are five distinct steps. Each page along the process has instructions on correct usage should you not grasp it intuitively.
- MAKE YOUR SELECTIONS: Use any of the methods described below under the 'Selecting Items' heading.
- SHOPPING CART PAGE: View your shopping cart via any 'shopping cart' or 'view shopping cart' link. Make adjustments to the cart if required. Details on how to do this are found on the shopping cart page. Then proceed by clicking the 'start checkout' button. A 'start checkout' link on any other page can also be used to access the next step which is the customer details page.
- CUSTOMER DETAILS PAGE: Register your name, address details and preferred payment method via this page. Certain information is mandatory before you can progress to the confirmation page so please pay attention to the form fields marked as 'required'before using the 'submit details' button at the bottom of the page. Otherwise you will see an error message.
- CONFIRMATION PAGE: Confirm that both your shopping cart and customer details are correct. They can easily be changed at this point if needed. Then click on the 'finalize order' button to be taken to a final information page. You will be sent an email at this point that contains your order and customer details information.
- WHAT HAPPENS NOW PAGE: This page contains information regarding all aspects of your order. PLEASE READ IT CAREFULLY.
SELECTING ITEMS
There are quite a few ways to select items for purchase. Most rely on clicking the button.
- New and recent items can be selected directly from the front page using the 'add to cart' button.
- Every item has a unique description page with an associated image and various information such as tracklistings for CDs or sizes for T-Shirts. To access these pages follow any 'more info' or 'more information' link found in the order, any artist by letter or popular labels pages or the front page itself. All items can be selected from their individual description pages using the 'add to cart' button.
- Items can be selected from any artist by letter page accessed by the black Artist search by letter menu bar found at the top of every page. These pages are simply an alphabetic listing of artists and their titles from 'A' to 'Z'. Use the 'add to cart' button to select items.
- Items can be selected from any popular labels page accessed by the most popular labels drop down menu found at the top of most pages. Use the 'add to cart' button to select items.
- All 'add to cart' buttons are set by default to select one item only. Changing the number in the input box will add that new number of items into the shopping cart. However, t-shirts can only be ordered one item and one size at a time. For more than one item of the same size click on the 'add to cart' button again or update the number in the shopping cart via the shopping cart page.
- Use the order page to make all selections at the same time. Simply scroll down the page entering the number of items you want in the input box found opposite the item you are interested in. Once this has been done click on the 'submit order' button found at the bottom of the page to be taken to the shopping cart for double-checking. More comprehensive instructions on how to use this page can be found at the top of the page itself.
ITEM DESCRIPTIONS
Most descriptions found on the site come from the press releases sent to us by the labels who have released the title. It doesn't necessarily reflect our opinion. Sorry, we just don't have the time to individually review everything.
AFTER YOU ORDER
- Your order and customer details are emailed to us after you hit the 'finalize order' button. You will also be emailed a copy of these details. If you fail to receive this confirmation email you have probably entered an incorrect email address. We will be unable to process your order.
- We're in Sydney, Australia. We operate during normal Australian business hours. There may be a delay in replying if you're in a different time zone.
- Once we get your order via email we follow this procedure:
- Check that the ordered items are on hand.
- Calculate the postage to your location.
- Send you a confirmation email itemising the goods and stating the total cost of the order including postage.
- Explain how your payment is to be made. See below for more details.
- Inform you of any problems and consult with you regarding an acceptable solution.
- At no time will you have to pay before being 100% happy with your order.
MAKING PAYMENT
After receiving your order you will be sent a quotation email itemising the order and it's total value including postage. If there are any problems (such as items being unavailable) we will notify and consult with you before sending this.
PAYMENT BY PAYPAL
Following receipt of your payment your order will usually be posted by the end of the next day of business. After posting the order we will email you a notification of dispatch.
If we do not hear from you after one week we will send a reminder. If we still don't hear from you we will cancel the order.
PAYMENT BY PAYPAL
- Immediately after emailing our quotation we will issue a PayPal invoice that matches the details found in the quotation email.
- To make payment simply follow the instructions found in the email you then receive from PayPal. If you have any issues with the order please contact us before paying.
- Once your payment is made PayPal will notify us and we will post the order.
- If a PayPal invoice needs to be altered for any reason we will send a new confirmation email followed by an updated invoice.
- NB: If you are not contacted by PayPal the email address you have lodged with us may not be the address registered with PayPal. Contact us if you do not receive an email from PayPal promptly after receiving our quotation.
- Our quotation email will contain a link to a secure server. If happy with your order follow the link and lodge your card details.
- We will then debit your card via our bank for the quoted amount. If the bank declines the transaction we will contact you.
- The secure server has 128bit SSL encryption and a Thawte digital certificate. At no time are your credit card details sent via email or viewed by a third party. Details are deleted from the secure server as soon as the transaction is finalized. See below for more details.
- Our quotation email will contain our bank details necessary for the direct debit: the name of our bank, the bank's BSB code and our account number.
- It is then up to you to make the payment. We would ask you to email us once you have done so. Payments normally register in our account one to three days working days after being made.
- We no longer accept cheques. Sorry.
- Our quotation email will ask you to buy an Australia Post money order for the total value quoted in the email. We will also supply you with a street address to post it to.
- It is then up to you to buy the money order at the post office and send it to us at our street address. We ask that you email a confirmation after you have actually posted the money order.
Following receipt of your payment your order will usually be posted by the end of the next day of business. After posting the order we will email you a notification of dispatch.
If we do not hear from you after one week we will send a reminder. If we still don't hear from you we will cancel the order.
CREDIT CARD SECURITY
Our policy is to protect your credit card details as if they were our own!
We use a secure server that utilises 128bit SSL encryption with a digital certificate issued by Thawte. This is to encrypt all data as it is transferred over the Internet. At no time are your credit card details sent via email or viewed by a third party. A dedicated firewall machine is installed to control access to the secure server. The secure server is isolated from all other networked machines. All credit card numbers stored on the server are encrypted using 3DES encryption.
After you have registered your details we view them and then phone them through to our bank who authorizes the transaction. At this time we delete the details from the secure service. This means that unless you have registered them over the weekend, the details are stored on the server for usually no more than 24 hours. Thereafter the details are stored in our office for 3 months on official bank stationery that we are obliged by the bank to keep. After this time we shred this paperwork. We will store your details for longer if you specifically authorize us to do so.
We use a secure server that utilises 128bit SSL encryption with a digital certificate issued by Thawte. This is to encrypt all data as it is transferred over the Internet. At no time are your credit card details sent via email or viewed by a third party. A dedicated firewall machine is installed to control access to the secure server. The secure server is isolated from all other networked machines. All credit card numbers stored on the server are encrypted using 3DES encryption.
After you have registered your details we view them and then phone them through to our bank who authorizes the transaction. At this time we delete the details from the secure service. This means that unless you have registered them over the weekend, the details are stored on the server for usually no more than 24 hours. Thereafter the details are stored in our office for 3 months on official bank stationery that we are obliged by the bank to keep. After this time we shred this paperwork. We will store your details for longer if you specifically authorize us to do so.
POSTAGE AND HANDLING
We charge postage based on weight and add a small handling fee to all orders. Having the shopping cart calculate postage for Australia and across five international postal zones is impractical so after we receive an order we manually calculate postage by weighing the goods and their packaging. Then we send a confirmation email to you of the total cost of the order including postage. This may add a day to the process but we can't do it any other way at this point in time. Every attempt is made to minimise your postage.
There are some things to note re packaging:
There are some things to note re packaging:
- If you buy a single CD it is sent in a CD Mailer pack that allows a lower letter rate postage cost. We have found that damage to CD plastic cases is lower using this method than to cases in packets with bubble wrap. If you want bubble wrap and the higher postage cost we have to be told.
- Some single CDs are too big for the CD Mailer pack and have to be sent in a package at the higher parcel rate.
- When an order is dispatched in a package we always wrap any discs in a goodly amount of bubble wrap to minimize damage.
- We now routinely buy a tracking number for all orders over the value of $40.00. The cost is reflected in your postage charge.
- For large value orders we may want to registered the package. You will have to sign for it at your door or the post office.
- Buying CDs without their plastic cases frequently has high savings attached.
- Large orders split into smaller orders that are posted are few days apart make very little difference to the postage cost. Smaller packages have the advantage of being less likely to attract import duties. See 'import duties' below for more details.
- For large orders that you actually want sent in one package we may insist on registering or insuring the package.
HOW LONG FOR DELIVERY?
After we actually dispatch your package from experience but not guaranteed:
- Australia: 1 to 5 working days according to distance from Sydney
- NZ: 3 to 5 days
- UK and SE Asia: 1 - 2 weeks
- Europe and North Americas: 2 - 3 weeks
- Elsewhere: 3 - 5 weeks
IMPORT DUTIES
International Customers: Please don't ask us to lie on a customs declaration. It is illegal.
All countries have a system of import duties payable on imported foreign goods. The rate at which your order may attract these duties varies from country to country. If it is enforced depends on how they seem to feel at the time. However we can say that in particular the following countries are consistently rigid: Canada, Norway, Sweden, UK and recently Germany. If your order is inspected, as well as duties, four to five weeks may be added onto the delivery time.
This is beyond our control although we can advise that large orders that may attract duties can be broken up into smaller orders and posted over a period of time. Usually the increase in postage is negligible compared to import duties so you may wish to ask us about exploring this avenue.
All countries have a system of import duties payable on imported foreign goods. The rate at which your order may attract these duties varies from country to country. If it is enforced depends on how they seem to feel at the time. However we can say that in particular the following countries are consistently rigid: Canada, Norway, Sweden, UK and recently Germany. If your order is inspected, as well as duties, four to five weeks may be added onto the delivery time.
This is beyond our control although we can advise that large orders that may attract duties can be broken up into smaller orders and posted over a period of time. Usually the increase in postage is negligible compared to import duties so you may wish to ask us about exploring this avenue.
RETURNS POLICY
We accept returns. Please pay attention to these following conditions.
- Damage to plastic CD cases will not be compensated. We apologise for this but it is beyond our control. The fault lies with poor handling by the postal services.
- If we have sent you wrong or defective goods, we will replace them at our cost, including all postage and handling costs.
- You must notify us within one week of receiving the goods of your intention to return them.
- No refunds or replacements will be made before we receive the returning goods.
- For all other reasons you are responsible for the postage and handling costs of all goods being returned.
- You will also be responsible for the new postage and handling costs of replacement goods.
- We will not accept returns of merchandise that has been worn or washed.