esprit / eil.com

i realize that a lot of people find their pricing absurd and such, but i have purchased a few items from them over the past few years and have been quite happy. lately, i've had some terrible experiences - namely, selling 'factory sealed' japanese cds that arrived with home-made shrink wrapping with 'rental cd' stickers affixed to the packaging. do not purchase any japanese cds from them if you expect to recieve genuinely new items. their descriptions defy conventional wisdom and their customer support is non-existent.

Totally agree. Eil are quite annoying indeed.

i used them when their SERVICE and prices were good. THE GOOD OLD days

It's the age old story.... They were there before the days of the tinternet and provided a vital service to collectors. I think they have always been pricey but I have found their stock to be in excellent nic over the years. I did come into contact with a right c**t of a salesperson on the phone many years ago which wasn't pleasant and so he got the wrath of my jib.

amurr328 wrote: Quite literally, rip off merchants but yes, my memory of what they sold was at least accurate to the description of what they said. I do remember them also charging the earth for plastic sleeves for CD singles and the like.

Started off my NO collection with EIL nearly 15 years ago when I really didn't know better but have managed to swerve using them ever since really. I paid 25 quid for the French FNAC Weatherall Mixes CD of Regret.

If you're prepared to do your homework and trawl Ebay daily you'll probably find what you need without having to use them at all.

I've spent thousands at Eil over the years,i drew the line when someone from eil phoned me to see if i wanted to buy an ideal for living poster for £500,the guy even offered to sell me it on finance! did manage to get a hefty discount but i passed.

dont ever try selling them anything via their "991.com" alter ego,they offer you literally fuck all for your stuff.

They get most of their stock from Ebay anyway ally

Buying from Esprit/EIL is a complete gamble. One order will have totally MINT/NEW items, while the next order will come with a completely scratched CD. I even once received a Durutti Column CD from them with ballpoint pen writing all over the inlay, but it had been listed as "MINT."

The only upside is that they have a liberal return policy. If they send you crap, just let them know immediately and send it back. I always ask them to pay my shipping costs too, because I always put in my order notes to notify me before dispatching the item if it's not in mint condition.

-Mike