I know it's nothing about Phish or music at all but as I've already spoke about them several times, I thought I could add some more as french editor Pix'n Love goes international and open Pix'n Love Publishing !

Pix'n Love Publishing was founded in 2007 by three young Frenchmen, each very passionate about the history of video games. Their goal is to offer gamers, as well as anybody curious about the subject, a selection of reliable books about their passion: video gaming and its history. During their three years on the market, they've published, re-released, translated and written over 25 books in French. Some even became real best sellers in France and French speaking territories.
Today, Pix'n Love Publishing goes international and is proud to bring you some of their most successful releases, fully translated into English.
Three books are already planned to be released. The first one, the History of Nintendo (1889-1980) will be available around the end of August.

I read their books since the beginning and they are awesome. Florent Gorges, main redactor and creator of the company, is maybe one of the person who knows the best Nintendo and starts to have a very good reputation around the world. His books about Nintendo history are sold in several stores in Tokyo, even if they're in french ! No other books in the world have been published about Nitnendo this this kind of researshs and details. There are actually the Helping Friendly Book of video games !
They also organize annual trip to Japan and it's with them that I went there in april 2009. A defining moment for me.

The 3 first books published in english will be :

• The History of Nintendo Vol.1 : 1889-1980 From Playing-Cards to Game & Watch (you can pre-order now, released end of August)
• The History of Nintendo Vol.2 : The Game & Watch games, an incredible invention
• The Great Personalities in the Gaming Industry Vol.1 : Takahashi Meijin

So you can guess that if you're into video games like me, or just curious, I advice you to get thoses books.
Proove that we gamers can actually read !

pixnlovepublishing.com

 

 

We're just about 10 days before the first show of the Summer tour and Phish has announced what I feard the most after a break-up : every show of this sumemr tour will be available on CD from livephish.com !

I've always been reluctant to buy every show of a tour as a downloadable format but I'm a collector for everything's physical. I feared that kind of announcement because it means a lot of money to get the full set ($600.30 if you buy all 29 shows at once) or a strugle with myslef to accept that I miss a part of my Phish collection.
Last time I waited to buy a full set of shows, I ended not having them all because they became unavailable.
I compared the different possibilities to buy them separatly and I think I'll go with the multi-shows way. It finally cost 15€ more but I don't have to send $600 in one transaction and I can space out purchases.

Anyway, I can't wait to wake up in the morning and grab my dayly dose of Phish to listen during the day at the office. Last summer was great because of that. I even convinced myself not to listen to any Phish for several week to start this summer with a fresh mind.

I received yesterday the 4 Miami shows in miniSD USB Slots, like the Festival 8. I ordered them from livephish.com and they arrived in 10 days, so still quicker than Dry Goods.

I still have to take pictures of my Joy Box but I'm quite busy with a baby to take care of and a new game system to play with.
Yes, I finally bought a Xbox 360 to complete my video game collection. Yes, the one I told I wouldn't buy in the first place... I'm glade I only pay 29€ for it but I bought some games too...

Despite all of that money spent, I wonder if I wouldn't go to the USA this summer to finally see Phish. If Phish doesn't come to you, come to them !

Pfff, I'm seeing the end of it !
Too bad I won't see my 6 months baby with a Phish beanie anytime soon...

Here's my contact's answer and mine bellow.

Hi Guillaume.

I’m sorry I missed your first email. It was set aside by my spam filter – presumably because of the numerous exclamation points in the subject line. I apologize for not seeing it sooner.

I’m also sorry to learn that they processed your new shipment with the shortage of those items. Totally ridiculous. I’m refunding you $31 for the cost of those items, since we are completely out of those items. That refund should occur sometime today. I already refunded your shipping last time around, so I can’t do anything further there.

I agree with you that those shipping rates are ridiculous. I’ve long complained to my bosses that we are well above reasonable rates, and have already forwarded your emails to them to remind them yet again. It’s not like I’m pocketing that money personally.

The best I can do is extend some good faith to you as a fellow Phish fan. I’m going to set up a couple of unique discount codes for you which can be redeemed for free/discounted shipping on future orders. It might take me a day or two to get these set up, but I promise to send them along when they are ready. If you choose to shop with us again and use the codes, great. If you want to give them to a friend, that’s fine too. I also understand if this has soured you so much that you never shop with us again.

I’ll be in touch with those codes when they’re ready. Again, sorry about the poor communication on these out of stock items.

Best Regards,

 

Hi

Thanks for your answer, I was about to send a "third try" ;-)

Indeed, I didn't calculated the currency change ($>€) between the refund I got and the actual shipping fee. So there's no problem about the missing item, except that I was informed at all. It was really a downer when I open the parcel after the joy (!) of actually received it !

I appreciate your honest answer about the shipping rates and the discount coupons.
Of course, I'd be tented to say I'll never buy from Dry Goods any more. Unfortunatly, there's no alternative for some items...
I just hope my next order won't took 5 months to come and, if it happens, that the normal customer service will answer me properly :)

Thanks again for your help with this issue. Sorry I had to send to you so many emails ;)

Guillaume

 

Now I can relax and finally appreciate my Joy Box, my Joy Vinyl and my Joy CD.

Great a parcel from Music Today !

But the story isn't finished yet ! OUCH ><'

Hi,

I finally received my parcel yesterday. Goog news, the Joy Box is great.
But wait... my order is NOT COMPLETE !!!!
It's missing a T-shirt (PHCT248SXNV Drops on Navy, Short Sleeve, X-L, $16) and a baby beanie (PHCH45TBAV, Organic Baby Mockstar Beanie on Avocado, $15) !
And after checking the website, none of this item is available anymore !
GREAT !

Now I'm getting really upset.
I ordered 5 MOUNTH ago !
It cost me countless emails to your mute customer service and to you to finally receive a parcel.
You told me my order would be sent with a tracking number : I'm still waiting for it.
I received a shipping mail saying the order was shipped by DHL : in fact it was EMS, a cheaper mailing service.
I received a incomplete order, missing 2 items for a total of $21. Those items aren't available anymore and nobody tells me anything about that. I didn't get a refund for these items or a chance to have other ones in replacement.

It's official, Music Today isn't able to fullfil an order properly. You are incompetent and not professional at all.

And by the way, I'm still waiting for an explanation of your excessive international shipping fees.
Oh maybe you want another simple example ?
A $2 sticker, a plain, flat, light, small sticker. Guess hos much it cost to ship from Music Today (I'm not saying the USA because you must be on another planet, it's too ridiculus) to France ? $14.71 !!!

Next time, I'll wait for my items to be sold by a guy on eBay. It will be safer and cheaper !

More good news !

I received a shipping email saying that my order has been re-shipped by DHL. Un fortunatly, I can't find the tracking number...
I also got a refund for the shipping fees I paid 5 months ago. So things are taking a better shape thanks to the help of the merch account manager.
It should be arriving quicly with DHL so I'll update when I have news.

Mainwhile, I ordered through livephish.com the full Miami NYE Run as miniSD USB slots like the Festival 8 ones. We'll see which order comes first ;)

Nevertheless, he didn't answer me about the exensive shipping rates so I wrote this last message.

Hi,

First of all, I'd like to apologize for writing you again and thank you very mush for your help in my issue.

I received the refund for the shipping fee and the following email stating that my order has been shipping with DHL.

Unfortunatly, I can't find the tracking number for DHL...
I tried to use the number MIS20106167 in the DHL website but it don't work (as I expected, it's the Dry Goods, order number but who knows...) and this shippment doesn't appear in my Dry Goods account.

Just a quick answer about the shipping rates. I understand that the Joy box is heavy so the shipping rates are expensive, but here are other examples :
Joy Box ($99.00), standard shipping to France : $48.19
Joy CD ($9.99), standard shipping to France : $15.21 (!!!)
Stealing Time T-shirt XL ($19.00), standard shipping to France : $16.21
Festival 8 playing cards ($9.99), standard shipping to France : $28.84 (!!!)
Festival 8 miniSD ($62.00) standard shipping to France : $14.71
Live in Vegas DVD ($17.00), standard shipping to France : $15.21

I made some comparaison with Amazon.com (shipping from the USA)
Joy Box ($91.99), standard shipping to France : $12.48
Joy CD ($11.99), standard shipping to France : $6.48
Live in Vegas DVD ($22.49), standard shipping to France : $6.48

I also order last week a set of Rock Band instruments for the PS3 game from Amazon.de (Germany). It contains a guitar a drum kit and a microphone. Even if it's shipped from inside of Europe, the box is much bigger and heavier than the Jox Box. Shipping was only 8,42 euros ($12.11) !

I also found 2 old invoices from Dry Goods and you can see the difference here : http://www.bouncingaroundeuroom.eu/post/2009/12/23/It-was-the-good-time.aspx


With those easy examples, could you please explain me how those rates are calculated ? Don't you think that they are ridiculusly expensive ? Come on, $15.11 for shipping a plain $9.99 CD in an enveloppe...

Thank you again for your patience.

New year a new messages to Dry Goods...

I haven't received an answer to my 17th december email (already in holidays) so I sent 2 more this week. Still nothing.

So this morning, I emails directly Music Today's merch account manager which address as been given to my by a fellow reader. I hope it will make things moove...

Hello Mr. .......

I'm sorry to write to you directly but I have a serious issue with Phish's Dry Goods and I didn't get an answer to my emails since the 23th november 2009.

You can read the whole writing bellow but to make a long story short here is my problem :

I made an order on Dry Goods site on the 11th august 2009 (#24332894, $225.20 including $59.14 for standard international shipping as I'm in France).
This order contains, amongst other items, Phish's Joy Box which was delayed until mid-november.
I sent an email on the 17th november asking when my order will be shipped. I received the following day the shipping email and then an standard answer to my message saying that it was shipped on the 17th (strange cohincidence ?) and that international orders don't have a tracking number.
1 month later (17th december), I was still waiting for my order and ask again your custom service.
I sent again emails after the holidays but I still got no answer and still got no order (I checked my post office).

Right now, I'm rather upset that I spent $225 in august and I still didn't received my order.
Moreover, I'm really surprised that after paying $59 for shipping fees, you don't provide a tracking number.
I'm used to order items over the internet to foreign contry (USA, Europe or Asia) and Dry Goods has by far the most expensive shipping fees with the worst service (since its managed by Music Today).

You can read the following messages for furthur details and examples of overrated shipping fees (last example is $28.84 for shipping a $9.99 festival 8 playing card game, standard shipping !!).

I also post updates for this issue on my European Phish blog (http://www.bouncingaroundeuroom.eu/?tag=/music+today), that's how I got your direct email.

I hope you'll be able to help me finally get my order and understand your international shipping fees

Thanks a lot.

I just found 2 invoices for orders I made to Dry Goods back in the days.

10/31/2003 : Live in Vegas DVD $17
International shipping : $5

06/07/2004 : The White Tape CD $11
International shipping : $5

Now that MusicToday manage Dry Goods, international shipping for a $14 T-shirt is $16.21 !
I tried to buy The White Tape to check the shipping fee and they are $15.21 (the CD itself is now $12), as for Live in Vegas.

So it's three time the price !

Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for both my Joy Box and an answer from my last message to Dry Goods...

 

Anyway, have a Merry Christmas and try to start 2010 as best as you can ! Have fun in Miami Holger !

 

As expected, my new update about my Joy Box is another mail to Dry Goods...

Hi,
Your standard answer to my email sounds like a bad joke. I wonder if you have really read my original message...

The fact is that I'm still waiting for my order #24332894.
I checked my shipping address on your website and it's good (I've already ordered several times with this same account without changing the shipping address).
I checked my local post office and they don't have this parcel for me (meanwhile, I received other orders from several websites from France, Canada and Asia during this 2 last mounths without any issue).

I'm in touch with other european fans who already received their Joy Box (but with a scratch) as you can see here :
http://www.bouncingaroundeuroom.eu/post/2009/12/12/PHISH-Jox-Box-finally-arrived-in-Germany.aspx

I can't understand how you can make people pay such expensive international shipping fee ($59 in my case !!) without providing a basic tracking number ! Moreover, the items aren't that protected in the parcel and always come with a small or big scratch.
It is totally unprofessional and very disrespectful for your "valued" customer.
I'd like you to explain me how my order would cost you $59 to ship, with details. I have very high doubts about that amount.

Another example : If I want to order a simple t-shirt right now during the "7 Below sale", shipping to France would cost me $16.21 for a $14 shirt ! How can you justify those $16 without a tracking number ???
And of course, the free shipping is good only for US customers...

It's not a small order to an obscure seller on ebay in a difficult-to-reach country, it's a $225 order on the official web store of an internationally famous rock band !

I ordered on the 11th august 2009 and I doubt I'll get it before 2010 !

This is really a bad joke...

Please, I'm waiting for a real answer.

Wednesday Dec 10th I finally got a letter that I can come to the German customs office in Berlin Schoeneberg to pay tax and release my delivery. So I drove to the department first thing in the morning on Thursday Dec 11th. From my previous experience I expected nothing less than 2 hours of driving and waiting. I was so damn right.

When you get there your have to show them the letter and you have to draw a waiting number - mine was #35. Next step after waiting is to go in, open the package by yourself, take out all contents and show them to the officer. Then he calculates the tax on basis of the value of the goods + delivery. It's 19% in Germany so on top of my 130,- USD value of goods + 50,- USD shipping I had to pay 23,- EUR tax. But you have to wait again before you are allowed to pay. With the receipt of your payment you can go back and finally release your order. What a hassle! But hey, fuck it - it's Phish :-) I would drive to Alaska.

The good thing about showing all contents of the box to the officer was to see them by myself for the first time in real. I got a huge smile on my face and the officer seemed to be kind of impressed as well. After driving to work I proudly showed the box to my colleagues. At home after work I made a couple of pictures.

The box itself is massive. Made out of heavy cardbox. Originally I thought its made out of plastic or wood. The cardbox seems not so stabile on the edges and corners. My box had a little scratch. Inside you find a hardcover book with lyrics, pictures and 2 CDs and 1 DVD. You also find 10 signed posters by different artists.

It's definately worth 75,- USD and you get a special price (11 USD each) for 2 Joy T-shirts.