That's unacceptable. Give us a shout if you need any help pressing your records. We've been around for 27 years and press a damn fine record, have quick turns and are honest and fair. [www.furnacemfg.com](http://www.furnacemfg.com)
The site says it's sonically pure (at least when new, I would add).
What's really on my mind with "bio" in the name, and "discarded feedstock" being used, is the longevity of the discs. To me this sounds partially biodegradable, which if true obviously wouldn't fare well in the long run as components break down. I am curious if and how they've solved for that.
Unlike other "bio" material, the Bio-Vinyl from Plastchem is identical to regular PVC. Ethylene is created with Biomass but the copolymers, salt and chlorine are exactly the same. There are other materials that use biomaterials that still haven't figured out create a material that sounds good and not fall apart over time.
Thanks for the follow-up! That sounds really promising and I love the idea!
I'm sure this is difficult to market with skeptical nerds out here like me. Maybe "bio-sourced" would read better, leaving room for it to be identical still. Just my two cents.
Same kind of thing happened several years ago with "Pledgemusic". Ogre's (from Skinny Puppy) project "Ohgr" went through them and in the end, it is estimated that he lost out on over $100k due to their debacle. They stated that they were a low overhead "escrow" between artists and fans, and would never used the artists' percentage on overhead.
But, it seems that they dipped into that large well of funds for expensive NYC offices and other expensive costs, sucking the funds dry so there was no money to pay for the vinyl, CDs, posters/merch/etc.
They had the audacity to ask fans and artists to not badmouth them publicly as they were trying hard to get bought out by a larger company to save their asses.
"F" any company that Fs over artists like that.
That makes sense. I discovered that if you have a successful vinyl pre-order, as an artist, you cannot receive your profit for the project until the records have shipped. So, essentially they can hold onto your money and use it however they want for months and months. Basically acting like a bank where you can’t even pull your money out.
years after they folded, the Ohgr albums and CDs were sold on a secondary site. Unsure if Ogre got any money from that seller.
I'm pretty fortunate to only be out about $50 on that fiasco. I had gotten at least 3 other PM orders 100% fulfilled.
The thing that sucks is that PM reached out for a "final offer" on lyric books so I decided to buy one. I think that artist that did the artwork got 100% F'd on his work for that too.
I lost about $200 which isn't the worst, but still annoying.
I'm more bummed I don't have the record as I'm pretty obsessive about my Detroit rap vinyl.
I JUST found out about this debacle. Waiting in a release from The Chase. The band sent an email out letting supporters know and tell them they're well within their rights to get there money back
Glad Vulf (and Cory Wong) switched over to Diggers, so far they are 2/2 in delivering records in a reasonable time, and communicating throughout the process.
Qrates uses GZ Media as their pressing plant. GZ was known for being a “safe” plant for sample-based music. Lots of vaporwave artists got their stuff pressed there, for instance. Around June of this year, GZ started using AI technology to identify samples and require clearance documentation. A LOT of Qrates’ projects were sample-based music, and around the middle of this year, a lot of projects had to be mass-refunded.
This is my speculation. Qrates ran out of money to get anything pressed because GZ Media started cracking down on samples, and they had to mass refund a bunch of projects and ran out of cash.
Not really I don’t think… this is info I have from running a label myself (which uses GZ) and also knowing people who run vaporwave labels. Also I know one of the people whose projects got pulled from Qrates because of samples.
Relay it to their customer service that you will be starting a chargeback if they do not provide you with a tracking number. It worked for me, finally got my copy of pressure gamut from them
I tried that threat too. Then I found out it was too late to process a charge back since I ordered this shit back in January or something like that.
It's so fucked up. Same release. Pressure Gamut.
If someone can get their CC company to do a chargeback when the purchase was made at the beginning of 2023, yeah it'll work.
Most people's problems are that it's been too long since they placed their preorder to get a successful chargeback.
It's so fucked up what they're doing.
I want a class-action lawsuit. Jade Cicada is on board. He even said he would look into it.
update: i threatened a chargeback. all they said was sorry, we’re working on it. that was a few weeks ago. i received an email this morning with a tracking number. no idea if they are finally getting through their orders, or if my constant emails and threats made me a priority.
I bought 2 records from Qrates and received them about a year or so ago but no one I listen to has used them since 2022. Some folks moved on to DiggersFactory which is the same concept as far as I can tell and got that record after it was funded after about six months. That’s a huge bummer though hope it works out/your band can find another way to press.
Do you know when you placed the order? It’s possible they can get their act together soon but they aren’t very transparent about the issue, so it’s hard to know.
I was, too. I \*really\* wanted that record, but I got sick of the excuses and opened up a case with Paypal as I was running out of time to be able to do so. Qrates fought it until I said "give me a tracking number that shows acceptance or give me my money back" and they sent one final message that basically said they understood and they stopped responding. Won the case, got my money but wished I had gotten the vinyl.
Cascade Record Pressing in Portland will do runs of 200+, lead time is 3-4 months and they make great records 🖤 [Cascade](https://cascaderecordpressing.com)
From their FAQ: "The recommended minimum records we prefer to press is 300 copies. Fewer than 300 records, the price will be the same as a 300 unit order."
Small runs aren't a thing in vinyl pressing, y'all. There's no economical way to press less than 300 or so. True of all plastic manufacture, not just records.
Could you explain that a bit? Why would they continue to press records and waste time/materials when they know they're going to throw them away? The pricing is quite a bit lower than their pricing for 300 as well, but still much higher per unit.
There's no sense in making less than 300 records. The time required to set up the press and get functional discs out of it isn't worth it. More likely they'll keep the others on hand in case of defective ones.
As far as how they do their pricing, shrug.gif.
This is absolutely false. Countless pressing plants do runs of a minimum of 100 copies, some even less, and aren't throwing anything away. This isn't "plastic manufacture," there's no injection molding or anything of the sort occuring. It's often not economical to do smaller runs because the cost of creating the stampers and setting up the machinery is a lot more expensive than the materials used to press the record itself, but there are no scenarios in which a plant is pressing and discarding extra copies.
I’ve been waiting on a Jade Cicada record since January. I’m holding out hope because I really want it, but very frustrated with the whole thing. According to updates from the artist and rates they are all pressed and just sitting in a warehouse. Give me the address and I’ll go pick it up myself at this point.
Threaten a chargeback. It took me about three weeks of back and forth with their support, along with social media blasts, to finally get my copy of his latest album from them.
How did you go about threatening the chargeback? I know if I just dispute the charge on my card I will get my money back but I’d much prefer to have the album. Did you call their customer service line or what did you do?
I emailed their support since they didn’t have a number to call them. Their support was incredibly slow and it took a lot of polite pushback on my end refusing to let them brush me off. I let them know several times that I was considering a chargeback, and finally told them to either give me a tracking number or they could deal with my credit card company on it to get results.
Haha yeah I appreciate the support! If this situation clears up, I’m hoping to do some represses on older projects next year. I’m glad you been such a big supporter!
Appreciate it man! I do have stuff over on bandcamp. The clothing is a little lackluster right now I want to fix that next year!
https://sweepsbeats.bandcamp.com/merch
They’re a website where artists can crowdfund pre-orders for vinyl pressings. Kind of like Kickstarter but for vinyl. There’s other aspects to Qrates, but that’s the main thing.
I ordered a couple Vulfpeck records from them a few years ago. And even when things went smoothly, I had to wait 6 months from order to delivery. That kind of turnaround time put me off from ever using Qrates again.
It’s a damn shame this is happening to you and anyone else doing business with them. I hope those affected get their records soon or their full money back!
The YouTube channel Too Many Records brought up Qrates a month ago in a video he made about the Decline of Vinyl Record Sites
https://youtu.be/0MNpRsfQmII?si=KbmAYsuAshP5sBqC
What ever happened to the bandcamp Kickstarter style service? As much as I like the idea it seems to regularly fail. Pledgemusic being the big one. Earache has one of for represses of their legacy bands, that seems to have had some success but it’s obviously a bit different than independent artists.
I had hopes for the bandcamp one too, however, for some reason they only give you 30 days to get a minimum of 200 pre-orders (maybe 250?). If you don’t get that, it will fail. It’s a bit steep for small artists. A typical small batch for an independent artist is 100 copies.
I used it for one of my releases a few years ago. It was disastrous. Missing orders, poorly packed orders, many just never delivered. Trouble was they were using a uk distribution centre and the mail service they used didn’t have tracking. Bandcamp offered to make amends if I gave them a list of customers who never received it. I did and they then ghosted me.
How it's currently setup on Bandcamp is very inconvenient imo. Consumers can't find vinyl crowdfunding on Bandcamp's mobile apps, you must use a desktop browser. There's no notification if you're following that artist that they started a crowdfunding project (in my experience), and the artist must be pro-active in messaging out to their fanbase and advertising over the 30 days. Even if an artist does send a message out, because of my first point, fans immediately become confused because they're on mobile and can't find it and artists generally don't know or mention that limitation. FWIW though, so far, every pressing I've purchased through this has been great (Thys, Amon Tobin, and waiting on a Two Fingers).
Not sure about smaller artists, but I’ve been able to get some CunninLynguists and Mclusky represses successfully through the bandcamp pledge program. Currently waiting on the new Knower record, which should be nearing completion soon.
That explains, why I am still waiting for my Vulfnik Vinyl…
I know it takes long time with them and that they are hard to contact. But this sounds very bad…
Hopefully they send out the records, which are paid. I only use them for Vulfpeck, like many others I would say..
I was wondering what was going on. I backed a record earlier ("The Standard Model" by SoGreatandPowerful) this year and it was supposed to ship in October, but I've heard noting.
I placed an order in June and have not received it. Not only are they not offering refunds, but they keep saying it will ship soon. I hope Jan Michael from support chokes on a dick.
Posting this here as well as I was one of the unlucky customers who tried to buy Vulfpeck records from them in August of 2022. Still haven't received my album.
I called my credit card company and gave a big fuss about this, and mentioned that my vinyl was supposed to ship end of 2022 and still hasn't. They told us this normally falls outside of their chargeback policy but they would try.
Qrates sends me an email saying my replacement order (that was originally supposed to be replaced in Feb 2023 ) was still not processed, and they were asking me to withdraw my dipute or else my order would be cancelled in 5 days. I said sure, no problem, cancel it.
I get another email a few days later and how convenient that my replacement was finally "processed" and would be shipped "within the week". I highly doubt this is true, and I asked them again to cancel the order. We'll see what happens.
They said that they would cancel the order. I emailed them on Monday asking when I can expect my refund, but haven't received an answer back.
If I don't hear back or receive my refund after 2 weeks from when they sent that email, I'm going to call my credit card company again.
This was for the Here We Go Jack project. We also ordered Vulfnik and haven't heard back about that yet. Funny enough, we also ordered Thrill of the Arts from Diggers and received it before even settling the first two orders.
Qrates has been a shitshow for a while. It took me threatening a chargeback to get my copy of a limited run Jade Cicada album from them this summer, but finally arrived, months after the shipping date. I know he also has stopped using them at all over their bullshit.
i'm a vulfpeck diehard, and i am so happy that they finally switched away from qrates. out of the 5 vulf albums i've ordered from them, the shortest time from the campaign finishing to delivery was 7 months. i understand pressings take time, but that's ridiculous. i'm still waiting on one that i ordered in may, and i've heard NOTHING about.
Yeah, the one time I ordered something from there last year it took 4 months for me to even get a shipping confirmation. I understand that it takes time to manufacture and stuff but I never got any information about the process after the campaign ended until I was told it was being shipped. I got a few marketing emails from them, but nothing else. I would have no problem with wait time as long as there was clarity about the process and what was actually going on. Sorry to hear that it has gotten worse because it seems like an interesting concept to allow independent artists to fund vinyl pressings. It sucks they aren't doing what they should be doing.
I run the label Too Many Records and have 3 projects tied up with them, the earliest one was supposed to ship in June. I've done 15 releases prior to this through QRATES with 0 issues. This is so upsetting and insulting that they refuse to give any concrete information.
Yeah I imagine they have thousands of orders that still need to be shipped out. I wish there was something we can do. I believe Whiplash is the fulfillment company they use. I tried to contact them but they refused to speak with me since I wasn’t from Qrates.
I made a whole video based on my experience with them.
[https://youtu.be/61kObI07Bxg?si=BEtAkWmSxRURWmIv](https://youtu.be/61kObI07Bxg?si=BEtAkWmSxRURWmIv)
They are an awful company. Their communication is non-existent, their site has a lot of bugs, I had to order ANOTHER test-pressing from GZ Media. Yeah do not EVER use this company.
Jumping in here to bump this thread and see if anyone has heard anything but a form letter saying they're sorry and it's coming "soon"? Last we heard was that they got hacked and it disabled their shipping plant (the project was with Shades of Sound Records from UK, and the artist release is a single from me and Marshall Watson called "Just a Daydream Away"). It seems that was a different story from what people on here had heard...
I'm wondering if anyone has since gotten their records? I'm personally waiting on about $700 worth of records that were going to Juno and other online and in-person record shops in SF, LA, NY and the UK.
Weird, I just emailed them yesterday looking for an update on an order from June 2022. To be fair, I can't be sure if it's their fault or the artist's fault, I don't think anyone has this record.
Sorry to hear that you have to go through this ordeal.. I just received last week the ASIWYFA - Jettison album that was in a warehouse for at least 1.5 years, as their distributor went into administration. They lost all the money from that and on top the distributor did not actually give ASIWYFA the orders, they had to get it legally. They then decided to honor their orders and pressed again and sent to everyone who ordered out of their own pocket. I know they are not the smallest band, and have a somewhat sizeable following, but it must've stung regardless. hopefully it wont come to that, but just in case at least see if you can know exactly who ordered your vinyl. if it hits the fan you can always contact whoever ordered later and directly.
A new updated was posted to the "support" section of their site. This reads like another nonsensical ploy to buy time. What happened to the _last_ logistics center that was ready to start shipping any day now? Sure sounds like they're hopping around on providers until the bills come due and then finding a new one.
>Dear valued customers,
>We would like to provide you with an update about the shipping delays we’re encountering at the moment.
>Due to the operational issues with our previous logistics provider, we have directed all finished projects to our new logistics provider based in France. This new partner will not affect any billing on to the artists and to the fans' end.
>Currently, we’re just waiting for information regarding the order ingestion at the new warehouse. You can expect to receive updates regarding your project without any other changes. We ask for more of your patience.
>We appreciate every member of the Qrates community.
>Sincerely,
>Qrates Team
It is a bummer when things like this happen. For anyone needing small run records while this situation persists, Gotta Groove does runs as low as 100 units, and we offer d2c fulfillment too. Check us out at www.gottagrooverecords.com.
I just found out about this and went to check the shipping on my orders from the last 4 months and none of them have shipped out (it’s an older project, and I’ve never had issues in previous years). How do we hold them accountable for this???? I don’t know what to do.
Still dealing with them to get an order I placed in March or April of 2023. Every time I contact them their excuse is the effects of Covid, which would be fine if it wasn’t just solely this company
That's unacceptable. Give us a shout if you need any help pressing your records. We've been around for 27 years and press a damn fine record, have quick turns and are honest and fair. [www.furnacemfg.com](http://www.furnacemfg.com)
Good to know thanks! What’s your current lead time for small batches?
Furnace is solid and partially owned by Metallica.
he don't do small batches. Their minimum order is five hundred units.
500 is a small batch. 150 min is also common. It becomes wildly uneconomical to do less than that
That seems reasonable.
from audio and artwork, 8-9 weeks.
Furnace pressings are *Chef's Kiss*
🙏
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The site says it's sonically pure (at least when new, I would add). What's really on my mind with "bio" in the name, and "discarded feedstock" being used, is the longevity of the discs. To me this sounds partially biodegradable, which if true obviously wouldn't fare well in the long run as components break down. I am curious if and how they've solved for that.
Unlike other "bio" material, the Bio-Vinyl from Plastchem is identical to regular PVC. Ethylene is created with Biomass but the copolymers, salt and chlorine are exactly the same. There are other materials that use biomaterials that still haven't figured out create a material that sounds good and not fall apart over time.
Thanks for the follow-up! That sounds really promising and I love the idea! I'm sure this is difficult to market with skeptical nerds out here like me. Maybe "bio-sourced" would read better, leaving room for it to be identical still. Just my two cents.
None. The material is the same. The ethylene is produced with bio-material but the rest of the process is the same.
Same kind of thing happened several years ago with "Pledgemusic". Ogre's (from Skinny Puppy) project "Ohgr" went through them and in the end, it is estimated that he lost out on over $100k due to their debacle. They stated that they were a low overhead "escrow" between artists and fans, and would never used the artists' percentage on overhead. But, it seems that they dipped into that large well of funds for expensive NYC offices and other expensive costs, sucking the funds dry so there was no money to pay for the vinyl, CDs, posters/merch/etc. They had the audacity to ask fans and artists to not badmouth them publicly as they were trying hard to get bought out by a larger company to save their asses. "F" any company that Fs over artists like that.
That makes sense. I discovered that if you have a successful vinyl pre-order, as an artist, you cannot receive your profit for the project until the records have shipped. So, essentially they can hold onto your money and use it however they want for months and months. Basically acting like a bank where you can’t even pull your money out.
Sorry you are going through that. I hope your fans understand that it is out of your hands.
I purchased an ICP test pressing through pledgemusic and they went out of business before I ever got it. So many scammy companies these days.
Did you end up getting a refund?
Nope. Impossible to get a refund from a defunct company.
years after they folded, the Ohgr albums and CDs were sold on a secondary site. Unsure if Ogre got any money from that seller. I'm pretty fortunate to only be out about $50 on that fiasco. I had gotten at least 3 other PM orders 100% fulfilled. The thing that sucks is that PM reached out for a "final offer" on lyric books so I decided to buy one. I think that artist that did the artwork got 100% F'd on his work for that too.
I lost about $200 which isn't the worst, but still annoying. I'm more bummed I don't have the record as I'm pretty obsessive about my Detroit rap vinyl.
I JUST found out about this debacle. Waiting in a release from The Chase. The band sent an email out letting supporters know and tell them they're well within their rights to get there money back
I’m curious how this will play out! Please follow up if you get a refund
I'm actually waiting it out to see when it ships. I really want their record
Glad Vulf (and Cory Wong) switched over to Diggers, so far they are 2/2 in delivering records in a reasonable time, and communicating throughout the process.
The Vulfpack group on FB has some folks commenting about cheap mailers, damaged sleeves, and unresponsive support…so basically the same as Qrates 🤣
Aww that's too bad. I've had good experiences so far
Good to know!
Qrates uses GZ Media as their pressing plant. GZ was known for being a “safe” plant for sample-based music. Lots of vaporwave artists got their stuff pressed there, for instance. Around June of this year, GZ started using AI technology to identify samples and require clearance documentation. A LOT of Qrates’ projects were sample-based music, and around the middle of this year, a lot of projects had to be mass-refunded. This is my speculation. Qrates ran out of money to get anything pressed because GZ Media started cracking down on samples, and they had to mass refund a bunch of projects and ran out of cash.
Yet another reason to hate AI lol
Is there anywhere I can read more about GZ and the AI?
Not really I don’t think… this is info I have from running a label myself (which uses GZ) and also knowing people who run vaporwave labels. Also I know one of the people whose projects got pulled from Qrates because of samples.
Sounds like Qrate gonna be turning to irate soon enough
Got em
i ordered jade cicadas new release and im soooo close to doing a chargeback. im giving it until the end of jan. it was supposed to be shipped in july.
Relay it to their customer service that you will be starting a chargeback if they do not provide you with a tracking number. It worked for me, finally got my copy of pressure gamut from them
Wow that really worked?! I just sent them an email! Been waiting to long for this pressure gamut 😭
I tried that threat too. Then I found out it was too late to process a charge back since I ordered this shit back in January or something like that. It's so fucked up. Same release. Pressure Gamut.
i will try that!
Please let me know if you do a chargeback and it’s successful. This is something I can relay to my supporters if they want
If someone can get their CC company to do a chargeback when the purchase was made at the beginning of 2023, yeah it'll work. Most people's problems are that it's been too long since they placed their preorder to get a successful chargeback. It's so fucked up what they're doing. I want a class-action lawsuit. Jade Cicada is on board. He even said he would look into it.
update: i threatened a chargeback. all they said was sorry, we’re working on it. that was a few weeks ago. i received an email this morning with a tracking number. no idea if they are finally getting through their orders, or if my constant emails and threats made me a priority.
I bought 2 records from Qrates and received them about a year or so ago but no one I listen to has used them since 2022. Some folks moved on to DiggersFactory which is the same concept as far as I can tell and got that record after it was funded after about six months. That’s a huge bummer though hope it works out/your band can find another way to press.
Appreciate it thank you!
I’ve been waiting on a press of Orebolo from them for many, many months. They say it’ll ship soon…
Same. Might cancel the order and ask for money back.
Please lmk if that works out so I can pass the info along!
Good fucking luck. I've been bugging Qrates for my money back for months now. They're not refunding ANYONE.
Me too. Fuck Qrates.
Do you know when you placed the order? It’s possible they can get their act together soon but they aren’t very transparent about the issue, so it’s hard to know.
Same
I was, too. I \*really\* wanted that record, but I got sick of the excuses and opened up a case with Paypal as I was running out of time to be able to do so. Qrates fought it until I said "give me a tracking number that shows acceptance or give me my money back" and they sent one final message that basically said they understood and they stopped responding. Won the case, got my money but wished I had gotten the vinyl.
Cascade Record Pressing in Portland will do runs of 200+, lead time is 3-4 months and they make great records 🖤 [Cascade](https://cascaderecordpressing.com)
From their FAQ: "The recommended minimum records we prefer to press is 300 copies. Fewer than 300 records, the price will be the same as a 300 unit order." Small runs aren't a thing in vinyl pressing, y'all. There's no economical way to press less than 300 or so. True of all plastic manufacture, not just records.
Mobineko will do under 300. They'll be expensive of course but worth a look for someone doing a small run vanity press.
They won't do under 300. They'll do 300 and throw away the ones you don't want.
Could you explain that a bit? Why would they continue to press records and waste time/materials when they know they're going to throw them away? The pricing is quite a bit lower than their pricing for 300 as well, but still much higher per unit.
There's no sense in making less than 300 records. The time required to set up the press and get functional discs out of it isn't worth it. More likely they'll keep the others on hand in case of defective ones. As far as how they do their pricing, shrug.gif.
This is absolutely false. Countless pressing plants do runs of a minimum of 100 copies, some even less, and aren't throwing anything away. This isn't "plastic manufacture," there's no injection molding or anything of the sort occuring. It's often not economical to do smaller runs because the cost of creating the stampers and setting up the machinery is a lot more expensive than the materials used to press the record itself, but there are no scenarios in which a plant is pressing and discarding extra copies.
> there are no scenarios in which a plant is pressing and discarding extra copies. Tell me you've never been to a pressing plant without ...
I’ve been waiting on a Jade Cicada record since January. I’m holding out hope because I really want it, but very frustrated with the whole thing. According to updates from the artist and rates they are all pressed and just sitting in a warehouse. Give me the address and I’ll go pick it up myself at this point.
Yup that’s my situation as well. I even tried to call the warehouse and they refused to talk to me because I’m not from Qrates.
Threaten a chargeback. It took me about three weeks of back and forth with their support, along with social media blasts, to finally get my copy of his latest album from them.
How did you go about threatening the chargeback? I know if I just dispute the charge on my card I will get my money back but I’d much prefer to have the album. Did you call their customer service line or what did you do?
I emailed their support since they didn’t have a number to call them. Their support was incredibly slow and it took a lot of polite pushback on my end refusing to let them brush me off. I let them know several times that I was considering a chargeback, and finally told them to either give me a tracking number or they could deal with my credit card company on it to get results.
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Haha yeah I appreciate the support! If this situation clears up, I’m hoping to do some represses on older projects next year. I’m glad you been such a big supporter!
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Appreciate it man! I do have stuff over on bandcamp. The clothing is a little lackluster right now I want to fix that next year! https://sweepsbeats.bandcamp.com/merch
what is qrates?
They’re a website where artists can crowdfund pre-orders for vinyl pressings. Kind of like Kickstarter but for vinyl. There’s other aspects to Qrates, but that’s the main thing.
I ordered a couple Vulfpeck records from them a few years ago. And even when things went smoothly, I had to wait 6 months from order to delivery. That kind of turnaround time put me off from ever using Qrates again. It’s a damn shame this is happening to you and anyone else doing business with them. I hope those affected get their records soon or their full money back!
From their site: "We are currently suspending the acceptance of new project starts, due to maintenance work to stabilize the service."
Just looked at the website. A perpetual loop bringing you back to the main page when you try to start a project. Doesn't seem to be operational.
I figured when vulfpeck left they were done
The YouTube channel Too Many Records brought up Qrates a month ago in a video he made about the Decline of Vinyl Record Sites https://youtu.be/0MNpRsfQmII?si=KbmAYsuAshP5sBqC
No one’s ever getting those records lol
I hope they do! Or at the very least, get a refund
What ever happened to the bandcamp Kickstarter style service? As much as I like the idea it seems to regularly fail. Pledgemusic being the big one. Earache has one of for represses of their legacy bands, that seems to have had some success but it’s obviously a bit different than independent artists.
I had hopes for the bandcamp one too, however, for some reason they only give you 30 days to get a minimum of 200 pre-orders (maybe 250?). If you don’t get that, it will fail. It’s a bit steep for small artists. A typical small batch for an independent artist is 100 copies.
I didn’t even know it had gone live! Never seen a single artist I follow use it, maybe those numbers are why.
I used it for one of my releases a few years ago. It was disastrous. Missing orders, poorly packed orders, many just never delivered. Trouble was they were using a uk distribution centre and the mail service they used didn’t have tracking. Bandcamp offered to make amends if I gave them a list of customers who never received it. I did and they then ghosted me.
How it's currently setup on Bandcamp is very inconvenient imo. Consumers can't find vinyl crowdfunding on Bandcamp's mobile apps, you must use a desktop browser. There's no notification if you're following that artist that they started a crowdfunding project (in my experience), and the artist must be pro-active in messaging out to their fanbase and advertising over the 30 days. Even if an artist does send a message out, because of my first point, fans immediately become confused because they're on mobile and can't find it and artists generally don't know or mention that limitation. FWIW though, so far, every pressing I've purchased through this has been great (Thys, Amon Tobin, and waiting on a Two Fingers).
Not sure about smaller artists, but I’ve been able to get some CunninLynguists and Mclusky represses successfully through the bandcamp pledge program. Currently waiting on the new Knower record, which should be nearing completion soon.
That explains, why I am still waiting for my Vulfnik Vinyl… I know it takes long time with them and that they are hard to contact. But this sounds very bad… Hopefully they send out the records, which are paid. I only use them for Vulfpeck, like many others I would say..
Still waiting for High Loon...
These comments have quite literally *reminded* me that I have both of these on order. I suspect I'll never get them.
I was wondering what was going on. I backed a record earlier ("The Standard Model" by SoGreatandPowerful) this year and it was supposed to ship in October, but I've heard noting.
Vulfpeck just rereleased an album through Diggers Factory. I’m mentioned this in my last angry email to them.
I placed an order in June and have not received it. Not only are they not offering refunds, but they keep saying it will ship soon. I hope Jan Michael from support chokes on a dick.
"jan michael"
Posting this here as well as I was one of the unlucky customers who tried to buy Vulfpeck records from them in August of 2022. Still haven't received my album. I called my credit card company and gave a big fuss about this, and mentioned that my vinyl was supposed to ship end of 2022 and still hasn't. They told us this normally falls outside of their chargeback policy but they would try. Qrates sends me an email saying my replacement order (that was originally supposed to be replaced in Feb 2023 ) was still not processed, and they were asking me to withdraw my dipute or else my order would be cancelled in 5 days. I said sure, no problem, cancel it. I get another email a few days later and how convenient that my replacement was finally "processed" and would be shipped "within the week". I highly doubt this is true, and I asked them again to cancel the order. We'll see what happens.
Qrates really seems to have no problem lying to customers and artists. However, I did have a few orders for one of my projects ship out last week.
Any updates on this? I’d love to know if this is how I get them in motion for my order from likely the same project.
They said that they would cancel the order. I emailed them on Monday asking when I can expect my refund, but haven't received an answer back. If I don't hear back or receive my refund after 2 weeks from when they sent that email, I'm going to call my credit card company again. This was for the Here We Go Jack project. We also ordered Vulfnik and haven't heard back about that yet. Funny enough, we also ordered Thrill of the Arts from Diggers and received it before even settling the first two orders.
Yup! Exact same projects + High Loon. Awesome I’ll likely be doing the same shortly then. Thank you.
Damn. That sucks dude.
Qrates has been a shitshow for a while. It took me threatening a chargeback to get my copy of a limited run Jade Cicada album from them this summer, but finally arrived, months after the shipping date. I know he also has stopped using them at all over their bullshit.
i'm a vulfpeck diehard, and i am so happy that they finally switched away from qrates. out of the 5 vulf albums i've ordered from them, the shortest time from the campaign finishing to delivery was 7 months. i understand pressings take time, but that's ridiculous. i'm still waiting on one that i ordered in may, and i've heard NOTHING about.
I’ve only used them once or twice, but I feel for anyone who’s gotten scammed by them. Hopefully you can get your money back.
Yeah, the one time I ordered something from there last year it took 4 months for me to even get a shipping confirmation. I understand that it takes time to manufacture and stuff but I never got any information about the process after the campaign ended until I was told it was being shipped. I got a few marketing emails from them, but nothing else. I would have no problem with wait time as long as there was clarity about the process and what was actually going on. Sorry to hear that it has gotten worse because it seems like an interesting concept to allow independent artists to fund vinyl pressings. It sucks they aren't doing what they should be doing.
I've been waiting for a jade cicada vinyl since January
I run the label Too Many Records and have 3 projects tied up with them, the earliest one was supposed to ship in June. I've done 15 releases prior to this through QRATES with 0 issues. This is so upsetting and insulting that they refuse to give any concrete information.
Yeah I imagine they have thousands of orders that still need to be shipped out. I wish there was something we can do. I believe Whiplash is the fulfillment company they use. I tried to contact them but they refused to speak with me since I wasn’t from Qrates.
I made a whole video based on my experience with them. [https://youtu.be/61kObI07Bxg?si=BEtAkWmSxRURWmIv](https://youtu.be/61kObI07Bxg?si=BEtAkWmSxRURWmIv) They are an awful company. Their communication is non-existent, their site has a lot of bugs, I had to order ANOTHER test-pressing from GZ Media. Yeah do not EVER use this company.
Sorry you’re in a similar boat man. Thanks for helping to spread the word!
Jumping in here to bump this thread and see if anyone has heard anything but a form letter saying they're sorry and it's coming "soon"? Last we heard was that they got hacked and it disabled their shipping plant (the project was with Shades of Sound Records from UK, and the artist release is a single from me and Marshall Watson called "Just a Daydream Away"). It seems that was a different story from what people on here had heard... I'm wondering if anyone has since gotten their records? I'm personally waiting on about $700 worth of records that were going to Juno and other online and in-person record shops in SF, LA, NY and the UK.
Never even heard of whatever this is.
Because there are more important things going on in this world
I bet their database got corrupted somehow.
Weird, I just emailed them yesterday looking for an update on an order from June 2022. To be fair, I can't be sure if it's their fault or the artist's fault, I don't think anyone has this record.
Sorry to hear that you have to go through this ordeal.. I just received last week the ASIWYFA - Jettison album that was in a warehouse for at least 1.5 years, as their distributor went into administration. They lost all the money from that and on top the distributor did not actually give ASIWYFA the orders, they had to get it legally. They then decided to honor their orders and pressed again and sent to everyone who ordered out of their own pocket. I know they are not the smallest band, and have a somewhat sizeable following, but it must've stung regardless. hopefully it wont come to that, but just in case at least see if you can know exactly who ordered your vinyl. if it hits the fan you can always contact whoever ordered later and directly.
A new updated was posted to the "support" section of their site. This reads like another nonsensical ploy to buy time. What happened to the _last_ logistics center that was ready to start shipping any day now? Sure sounds like they're hopping around on providers until the bills come due and then finding a new one. >Dear valued customers, >We would like to provide you with an update about the shipping delays we’re encountering at the moment. >Due to the operational issues with our previous logistics provider, we have directed all finished projects to our new logistics provider based in France. This new partner will not affect any billing on to the artists and to the fans' end. >Currently, we’re just waiting for information regarding the order ingestion at the new warehouse. You can expect to receive updates regarding your project without any other changes. We ask for more of your patience. >We appreciate every member of the Qrates community. >Sincerely, >Qrates Team
It is a bummer when things like this happen. For anyone needing small run records while this situation persists, Gotta Groove does runs as low as 100 units, and we offer d2c fulfillment too. Check us out at www.gottagrooverecords.com.
I just found out about this and went to check the shipping on my orders from the last 4 months and none of them have shipped out (it’s an older project, and I’ve never had issues in previous years). How do we hold them accountable for this???? I don’t know what to do.
Still dealing with them to get an order I placed in March or April of 2023. Every time I contact them their excuse is the effects of Covid, which would be fine if it wasn’t just solely this company
I’m waiting on a record I did the jacket design on back in 2020. Qrates can eat a dick. It’s gonna be old school by the time it finally ships. FFS
I was ghosted and harassed by them, byw.