Countdown To TPE!

gav · May 19, 2010, 06:29:06 PM

13 days until release, by my reconing

Mooncat · May 19, 2010, 07:19:08 PM

Anyone know (and I'm guessing Nellie or the gaffer will) if the orders are primed for delivery on/around the 1st - bearing in mind I do accept that it will take some time to get 500 + orders fulfilled, including getting the right t-shirts etc

I know there's been some disquiet over on the IB forum relating to the 'This Is Japan' release which some people ordered on the first day of sale but are still to receive, and obviously 'managing expectation' could maybe reduce the number of 'where's my copy of TPE' mails that could start once the first few copies have started to arrive.

Pedro · May 19, 2010, 08:27:04 PM

There's plenty to be learned from the IB example BUT their biggest drawback is that they don't have Nellie, Queen of the Merch.

I'm sure that with a little patience and a dash of good humour even (prolly inevitable) postal glitches and defective product will be sorted with the usual Nelliefficiency.

leelustig · May 19, 2010, 09:16:57 PM

is the online store the only place TPE will be available?
as in... will it be in stores?

Nellie · May 19, 2010, 10:04:35 PM

The shipping date is FROM 1st June.

I've had an email today from Rob Reed which states that the cds will be with me on June 1st which gives me exactly 5 minutes to fulfill the orders and get them in the postbox. I don't see that there will be a problem, do you?

? :?

I am already in anal mode and am getting prepared for this very special day. I'm hoping that all orders will be received within 10 days of June 1st (and hopefully this year

).
Please keep a mental image of me sitting in a room, surrounded by t-shirts and cds, sticking labels and stamps in the middle of the night.

I'm just as excited as everyone else coz I haven't heard it either!

Pedro · May 20, 2010, 01:16:56 AM

Wish we could help, Nellie, but it's probably a logistical nightmare to ship "kits" to other people for posting?
I stand ready to help if this is actually sensible but I'd hate it to be a way for control to get blurred and for anyone to get narky as a result.

@leelustig : There was talk of TDL (and maybe TPE?) being available for purchase from a download site but I don't know where that has got to or if it will happen.

Mooncat · May 20, 2010, 09:15:07 AM

I have every faith in Nellie - I was hopefully trying to save her getting flak akin to that that resulted following the IB CD release.

gav · May 20, 2010, 03:31:35 PM

12 days until Nellie gets TPE!

LivingForever · May 20, 2010, 04:28:54 PM

Quote from: "Mooncat"I have every faith in Nellie - I was hopefully trying to save her getting flak akin to that that resulted following the IB CD release.

Nothing could be as useless as the It Bites online store. I ordered a copy of 'The Tall Ships' about 2 months after the release date.

4 weeks later, I still hadn't got it after several emails to the shop. So when I got to the London gig on the tour, I marched up to the merch desk with printed email in hand and said 'Can I have my CD's, please?'

The guy looked really sheepish and just handed them over.

I'm sure they just don't have the right person on their store but (along with the extortionate price) that really put me off buying 'This is Japan'.

Mooncat · May 20, 2010, 07:31:14 PM

I know that there are a few people on the IB forum that are also visitors over here, and I'm sure there are valid reasons behind some of the problems, but they do seem to have quite regular issues with merch distribution. I know a couple of the 'team' and think they are as frustrated as the purchasers at times but in this digital age everyone finds out about these shortcomings whereas in the past there was no public outlet for the complaints.

As I say, Nellie hasn't failed us yet, and now is no time for her to start

Pedro · May 20, 2010, 07:40:34 PM

"yet"? "start"??
Are you mad, using such words?

I think that there are some bands and/or performers that don't really "get" the online thing and still seem to act a bit as if it hasn't happened. If you have record company backing and sell really well then fair enough but otherwise I think there's much to be learned.

beetree · May 20, 2010, 09:39:50 PM

Can´t wait to hear it. TDL is extravagant and I now need it in full CD-quality splendor. :mrgreen:
BTW Igot my Tall Ships by returning mail, all the way to Sweden. Maybee I was lucky. :?:

Trapezium Artist · May 20, 2010, 10:32:38 PM

Quote from: "Nellie"I am already in anal mode and am getting prepared for this very special day.

Please tell me I wasn't the only one to have a Kenneth Williams Carry On moment upon reading that ...

Ooeerr :shock:

Actually, I'm perfectly happy to wait, because I know that everything happen as quickly as it possibly can. I mean, just to remind everyone, this is officially a Frost*-free year, after all

Mooncat · May 21, 2010, 10:35:19 AM

QuoteI think that there are some bands and/or performers that don't really "get" the online thing and still seem to act a bit as if it hasn't happened. If you have record company backing and sell really well then fair enough but otherwise I think there's much to be learned.

I agree - not to overly criticise anyone as I've usually got my stuff relatively quickly from a multitude of bands - but some artists have let the internet 'happen to them' rather than trying to actively use it as a tool to communicate and interact with the fans, and also to sell and promote your product (be that gigs, CDs, merch etc)

0ldman · May 21, 2010, 11:31:59 AM

As one of the aforementioned people who have had difficulty with IB merch I can add some solid info:

I bought a copy of "The Tall Ships" from a gig merch stand when it was re-issued by InsideOut and had a bonus track. I then found that the bonus track skipped horribly on my CD player and wrote to the band via the forum. The CD was replaced, but it took almost 3 months to happen.

At a different gig (the OATW tour last autumn), I bought a t-shirt where the logo started to flake after just one wash. Again, the t-shirt was replaced, but I had to wait until the next tour where I could get to a merch stand (almost 6 months later). I did correspond with VitaminP on the matter who was quite responsive initially, but I think the difficulty came where he had to talk to the IB merch merchants to get a t-shirt out of them.

Lastly the TIJ saga. I ordered my copy on first the day that orders were possible. They stated "allow 28 days". After 28 days I started writing to them. I got an initial response fairly quickly, but all communications then dried up until this week (almost three weeks after the first response). The matter is now resolved - I have my CDs and an apologetic t-shirt (wearing it as I type).

I've been given to understand that IB are using someone external to handle their shipping and it obviously isn't working very well. Hopefully they'll find a better agency for the next release, which I guess will be the DVD that was filmed a few months ago.

To be quite honest - they've resolved eveyrthing for me, it's just taken an age. What they really need to do is clone Nellie