Online Phish Tour made two great posts about the distance you have to travel to see Phish this fall and since they came back last year.

You can read it thought here and here.

An interresting analysis with many maps but clearly uncomplete.

So let me add another piece to this analysis, with a more global scale...

...Phish played their last show outside of the United States of America in Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto, Canada.

On Phish.net : http://www.phish.net/setlists/?d=2000-07-06
Recording on bt.etree.org : http://bt.etree.org/details.php?id=536530

Another trip boys ?

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.

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.

Good news !

Music Today's merch account manager answered me very quickly on Friday !

Thanks for your email Guillaume, and I’m sorry to hear that you haven’t received your order yet. Let me correct the situation for you as best I can.

I will have a new order shipped out to you by expedited/trackable shipping method right away. I will email you once I have tracking information -- hopefully later today, but definitely no later than Monday. Can you please confirm that there aren’t any errors in your shipping address? This is the address we used on the previous package:

Guillaume
xxxxx
xxxxx
xxxxx
France

I will get back to you later today with an update on the new shipment. Please do let me know if we should make any changes to your shipping address.

Also, we will refund your shipping charges, as we’ve clearly not give you proper service in this regard. You should see that refund on your bank statement within the next 5 business days.

Best Regards,

I got another email later after I confirmed the shipping address.

I have good hopes that this issue will finally comes to an end but it's thursday and I'm still waiting the tracking number and the refund.

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.

According to Trey (who is after all a pretty good source), they won't be Phish shows until summer 2010. Or did he meant no US shows until summer ?

That with the fact that the european rumors dates were PT home-made, so completly bull shit, I guess we won't have a European tour soon...

I don't think I'll wait any furthur to see Phish. I don't want to be like in 2004 and realize I won't see them at all. I'd rather do a full European tour than 3 or 4 dates in the US but I rather go to any Phish show rather none at all.

See you this summer ?

HAPPY NEW YEAR PHANS !

Hope 2010 will bring us more Phish and who knows... maybe in Europe !

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 !