SoundOhm Avis 12

I am taking time to write this review as I wanted to say how impressed I am. I have ordered hundreds of records from all over the place and have never received a record that was packaged so well, carefully and lovingly. I also found that they were very responsive and friendly when I checked in with them on estimated delivery, as I ordered over Christmas. I would not hesitate to recommend them, I am a new fan and will be a returning customer.

Its amazing. I have been buying from them for 15 years, and they have solved all the problems that have arised.
I would reccomend them to anyone who loves music!

I have to chime in. I think SoundOhm is a miracle and not one we should take for granted. They are a clearinghouse for some of the most obscure music on the planet and their website is flawlessly designed. (I've ordered hundreds of items from them over the years and I still find it a joy to interact with their website.) It is certainly the case that they sometimes have shipping delays due to how little stock there exists for some of these releases (it's not unusual to see editions of two or three hundred on a given record, sometimes as few as a dozen), or because the often tiny labels they stock have their own unexpected delays that get passed on to SoundOhm. It comes with the territory. And I find SoundOhm more reliable and speedy than most of the sellers on Discogs, personally. But this ain't Amazon, people. SoundOhm is a world-class resource for serious musicheads that I would deeply mourn if it ever went away. And when very occasional delays with my orders have come up, I've only ever had very prompt, kind, and helpful interactions with the staff there (particularly Eleonora). So if you can't handle the inconveniences that come with listening to limited-release music, don’t blame SoundOhm. But if you are in it for the long haul and truly care about supporting these precious and often very obscure artists, please give SoundOhm your support. No one, and I mean no one, is doing what they are doing at the level they are doing it. LONG LIVE SOUNDOHM.

If you place an order and something is out of stock it can be kept pending for months. Your card gets charged as soon as you place the order.
Some cds were clearly not new, not sealed and heavily scratched.
Items can stay in "in process of stocking" for weeks if not months.
Extremely slow in replying to emails (weeks).

Created an account just to write this. They were AMAZING helping me about my order. Ordered it store aside instead of shipping and I immediately contacted their mail address and Mr. Fabio solved my problem INSTANTLY! Plus, the prices are so nice! Waiting for my vinyl to arrive now :P

Really a great company. Nice people and super service. These are sellers who know what collectors want - quick - fine - but most important - very safe packing. Good contact too. Ordered many items over the last ten years here and even when something goes wrong they give you a good feeling making it right.

Without doubt my favourite record shop - nice people and a great selection of records. I come back often!

I admit the past reviews had me a little anxious, but SOUNDOHM definitely pulled through. Within only a week and a half I had an incredibly hard to find record and at an amazing price at my doorstep.

It’s true, if you’re looking to hear back from customer service, it may not happen. But, true enough, they get the job done, and very timely. Also notably the best pack up job i’ve ever seen, multiple layers of protection and labeling to ensure safe travel from them to you.

*for a first time customer, definitely making SO a main source for my future records

I ordered some records and within less than 24 hours they were already at my doorstep. Knowing that it covered the distance Italy - Belgium we are talking about very fast shipment.
Also the packaging was very secure and safe

Customer service is terrible , they answer whenever they want .There are huge delays in getting stock that is not readily available in their site ( can get them 2-3 months or more ) , plus they are very slow in shipping orders out . I had quite a few items ordered ( payed in advance ) that they were unable to stock and i had to ask for a refund .If you don't ask for a refund it can take forever till they realize they will not get hold of that release - if they ever realize it ! It's a very frustrating experience ,their way of - not- handling things can drive you crazy. Only positive thing is that they sell an extremely extensive list of releases , however dealing with them is absolutely nerves braking. Plus you pay in advance and can wait for months for your order to be delivered . Not recommended .

Raised queries with Eleonora and she was superb. Answered my questions clearly and patiently and with good humour. The service from Soundohm is normally of a very high standard, but this was outstanding.

More from a positive angle, I will agree 100% with the statement on the website.
"Soundohm is an international online mailorder that maintains a large inventory of several thousands of titles,
specialized in Electronic/Avantgarde music and Sound Art. In our easy-to-navigate website it is possible to find the latest editions and the reissues, highly collectible original items, and in addition rare, out-of-print and sometime impossible-to-find artists’ records, multiples and limited gallery editions.
The website is designed to offer cross references and additional information on each title,
as well as sound clips to appreciate the music before buying it."

Most of the releases can be found on Bandcamp

Bought a good amount of releases so I am fairly aware of the quality, shipping and processing & customer service.

Quality
Average 5/10
Many of my purchases (30%) have received many bent covers and warped records.

Shipping
Average 6/10
If you are going to buy a lot take advantage of the yearly subscription

Customer service
Poor. 2/10
Don't respond, and if they do it will be a week after you email them. Ultimately, I gave up corresponding with them a long time ago

Processing
Beware..
if you are a subscriber, they will not send your purchase to you with free tracked shipping of at least €140. (Items can be set aside until the orders reach the €140 threshold
Its always a guess to know if the item is in stock

In summary,
When purchasing through SoundOhm its always a luck of the draw, sometimes good and sometimes bad.
However, for me there are a lot of items their hard to find items outweighs the bad.