I detest using Amazon for classical music

[Flosshilde]

Sometimes I think that some people are never happier than when they are complaining about something - & when there's nothing to complain about, they manufacture something.

[MrGongGong]

this does remind me of a conversation with a teenager (they supposedly know more about technology but there are a lots of myths about that , but thats another discussion !) she said she was wanting to research music at the Edinburgh festival online but there was nothing on the internet about it. What it turned out to be was that (like most people ) she only looked at the first 6 or so Google hits and as she had spelt Edinburgh wrong there was nothing. I have the same problem, i've been looking for porn on the internet for years but can't seem to find any

[Mr Pee]

Sometimes I think that some people are never happier than when they are complaining about something - & when there's nothing to complain about, they manufacture something.

We are in agreement Flossie!!

I find Amazon one of the easiest sites to search on the entire Interweb. Enter Composer, Work, and Conductor- and up will pop the CD you're looking for. It's really so simple. Certainly beats the heck out of a visit to my local HMV, where, even if by some miracle they have the disc I'm looking for, it's usually filed under completely the wrong heading. And even if it's in the right place, they've usually spelt the composer's name wrong.

[Mahlerei]

In searching, less is often more. Only the minimum to define the target should be entered.

Absolutely; that's internet 101.

As for Amazon, I've been using them for years and I have no complaints so far. The only niggle is the artificial price escalation that seems to kick in when stocks of a specific item are running low. Their Marketplace sellers are pretty good too, so long as you check their ratings first.

[beakon]

Oh dear. When I innocently agreed with the original post of this thread, I wasn't expecting to have it suggested that people like myself were illiterate moaning Minnies! I have genuinely found the Amazon site to be less easy to use than others; that's not a complaint, simply a personal observation. I think I shall return to reading this forum with interest and avoid posting - no chance of being misunderstood that way!

[johnb]

Well, for what it's worth, I'm with BTS on this one - it may be because of my incompetence with computers, but more often than not, when I try to find something in Amazon's classical CD section, I'm told the item in question doesn't exist. Although I know it does! In order to avoid shouting at the website and the consequent frustration, I've all but given up using Amazon in favour of Presto Classical (yes, I know they're more expensive but I find their site easy and clear to use) or the local specialist classical CD shop which we're lucky enough to have still where I live.

Just enter, say, the composer, the conductor (e.g. Rachmaninov Pappano) in the search bar and all Pappano's recordings of Rachmaninov with will come up. Just a couple of 'keywords' are better than a detailed description.

The 'Advanced' Search is a bit iffy - I never use it.

[Uncle Monty]

The Woods prices tend to be £3 - £4 less than my local HMV or Blackwells. Coupled with regular monthly offers sent by post (email if you insist) and free postage on all orders, I find their service ideal. I have never used Amazon for any purchases and don't intend to support such monster organisations, even if there is a further price reduction.

And with The Woods, you always chat to the same people and have good service and a lovely conversation. I prefer not to live in an Orwellian world!

Don P: they send lists of secondhand bargains regularly.

As I mentioned to another member recently, there are also secondhand bargains to be found at CDs Unlimited ( http://www.cds-unlimited.co.uk/ )

I'm not sure whence comes the antipathy to Amazon, though! It's true I don't often buy direct from them, preferring to deal with their Marketplace sellers, who sell things cheaper, but very often you can find things on or via Amazon that you can't locate elsewhere.

I tend to be the sort of timid customer who really hates being asked "Can I help you?" in shops, and for people like me the internet has been an absolute godsend, or it would have been if I believed in such things I find I either know embarrassingly less than the salesperson, or embarrassingly more, though it was probably worth it a few months ago in a shop in Bristol when the shopgirl called out to her colleague, "Trace, have we still got that STRAWCE cd?"

PS I did tell Blackwells I'd never deal with them again, after several offences of offering for sale, and letting me order, items they hadn't got and (it emerged) had no realistic prospect or intention of getting. They kept me dangling for months before giving up, whereupon I managed to find the things elsewhere with a bit of persistence and ingenuity.

[Don Petter]

PS I did tell Blackwells I'd never deal with them again, after several offences of offering for sale, and letting me order, items they hadn't got and (it emerged) had no realistic prospect or intention of getting. They kept me dangling for months before giving up, whereupon I managed to find the things elsewhere with a bit of persistence and ingenuity.

Sometimes it can be the supplier. Presto have been trying to fulfil my order for the Brilliant box of Mompou plays Mompou since my order on 27th November, and the item has just arrived. They offered to cancel the order, but said it was supposed to be available from Brilliant and they would keep trying if I wished.

[Don Petter]

I think I shall return to reading this forum with interest and avoid posting - no chance of being misunderstood that way!

Please don't go, now you've dipped your toe in! I think a couple of the replies were a little harsh, but it's usually good-humoured here and we need more and varied contributions.

[MrGongGong]

I don't have problems finding things on Amazon BUT they do have problems finding things that you order sometimes. They seem to have a marketing strategy that lists more or less every CD that they find in the universe , which leads one to think that they actually have it , which is often (if you are after more obscure things that 99% of people don't want !) not the case. For several years they were listing a CD that I made with a now defunct group, nice picture , review etc etc and a price BUT as the distribution deal we had was finished the distributors had returned the CDs to me, they are all in the loft (makes a change from the usual under the bed system !). Amazon don't know that I have them nor does the (gone out of business) distributor BUT they still carried on listing the CD as if it was available...... I've had several things ordered (more obscure stuff) from them where they email you every couple of months saying its on its way until eventually emailing to say that they can't get it.

so my current strategy is to use Amazon for things that are more mainstream and go elsewhere for the bizzare deathnoiseacousmatic stuff that I love

[Flosshilde]

Mr GG - if they are still listing the CD why don't you register with them as a supplier, or as a seller in the Amazon market-place (he says blithely, not having the faintest idea how one would go about doing either thing). You might sell some CDs & clear some space in your loft

Going back to the original post, if the recorded music industry had set up the same type of system as the book publishing industry did with ISBNs it might have made things simpler. I don't know if anyone uses the manufacturer's catalogue numbers - the only place I've seen them used is in the Gramophone catalogue of records (is that still published?)

[BetweenTheStaves]

.... I don't know if anyone uses the manufacturer's catalogue numbers - the only place I've seen them used is in the Gramophone catalogue of records (is that still published?)

Radio 3 does if by catalogue numbers you mean the number that they give in the listings. Which is where I came in.

[johnb]

Radio 3 does if by catalogue numbers you mean the number that they give in the listings. Which is where I came in.

Taking the playlist for today's CC as an example - if you enter the composer, a keyword from the piece title and the conductor or soloist in the Amazon search bar the CDs come up, though there are sometimes multiple recordings where the same conductor's recording of the piece is included on more than one CD.

E.g. "Bax Dance Tate" or "Rachmaninov Concerto Douglas"

[beakon]

Thank you, Don, for your kind and encouraging words. And thank you, johnb for your helpful hints. As it's been a long time since I tried finding anything on the Amazon site, I thought I should have another go in case anything had changed or in case I was less incompetent - here's what happened when I looked for a specific recording which I already possess. Entering composer and conductor brought up a result. Composer and orchestra likewise. But adding the specific symphony to composer and conductor drew a blank. Just entering the symphony alone brought up lots of recordings but not the one I wanted. It also provided me with lots of piano concerto recordings which I hadn't asked for (and no, the symphony was not on the same CD). So I guess the way you ask the question does make a difference to the result.

In addition, I do find the look and layout of the site too busy - but again, that's not a complaint, simply a personal preference.

It's not a big issue for me; as I said, I've long since voted with my feet (fingers? keyboard?) and taken my custom elsewhere. I was simply interested to see that there is at least one other person out there who has the same trouble as I do!

[BetweenTheStaves]

Taking the playlist for today's CC as an example - if you enter the composer, a keyword from the piece title and the conductor or soloist in the Amazon search bar the CDs come up, though there are sometimes multiple recordings where the same conductor's recording of the piece is included on more than one CD.

E.g. "Bax Dance Tate" or "Rachmaninov Concerto Douglas"

Agreed but if you choose a different set of words ...Bax Dance in the Sunlight Jeffrey Tate ..then that comes up with nothing. So not being in the business of wanting to waste my time in second guessing whatever might or might not give me a result, EMI CDM 764200-2, is quite unique and would work perfectly...each time..every time...if....see first post!