Nice surprise from the Postman!

Well, I got my 'Retro' from HMV in the post this morning, so I take it a few others here also have it now! The packaging and book are all cool, and the extra disc comes in a little cardboard sleeve.

Nice to know we contributed in a small way to the tracks on that fifth bonus disc - my sad hobby of listing my record collection seems to have paid off!

When you read the pieces by the guys who selected the tracks, the running order makes more sense (even though we've already got most of these songs), and the whole set does seem to serve as a good journey through NO's back catalogue.

I'm still playing disc one at the moment, so I should have heard the whole lot by about kick -off time this afternoon!

And I got all this (66 tracks) for just £16.99! Bonus.

Andy http://www.TrustNoOne.org.uk

got mine just now too, £16.99 bargain! HMV, what a store!

Matt.

Yeah got back from doing some Xmas shopping this morning and there it was on my doorstep.

5 CD's for £16.99 - deal of the century !! Cheers to the clever person on this site who tipped me off about this.

I heard a crash on the door mat, flew downstairs, picked up the jiffy bag and opened it to find "The Best of British Steam 2002". It was the damn Father-in-laws Xmas present.

Roll on Monday then!

Did you guys have 1st class like me or did you push the boat out for the £5 shipping?

Originally posted by Red Eyed Boy I heard a crash on the door mat, flew downstairs, picked up the jiffy bag and opened it to find "The Best of British Steam 2002". It was the damn Father-in-laws Xmas present.Roll on Monday then!Did you guys have 1st class like me or did you push the boat out for the £5 shipping?

Nah, just the 1st class post. Luck of the draw as to whether your postal service is quick or not in your area, really.

Andy.

Got the e-mail yesterday, waited for the Postie this morning.......but no joy! i will have to wait until Monday night now when i get in from work.

Originally posted by Andrew&nbspMorrison Well, I got my 'Retro' from HMV in the post this morning, so I take it a few others here also have it now! The packaging and book are all cool, and the extra disc comes in a little cardboard sleeve.Nice to know we contributed in a small way to the tracks on that fifth bonus disc - my sad hobby of listing my record collection seems to have paid off!When you read the pieces by the guys who selected the tracks, the running order makes more sense (even though we've already got most of these songs), and the whole set does seem to serve as a good journey through NO's back catalogue.I'm still playing disc one at the moment, so I should have heard the whole lot by about kick -off time this afternoon!And I got all this (66 tracks) for just £16.99! Bonus.Andyhttp://www.TrustNoOne.org.uk

Andy, please check your mailbox ;)

Originally posted by Spotnick You have mail on Saturday in the UK?

Yeah baby!

I've already updated my legendary New Order track listing, for all you discography heads here.

Andy.

The postman may have brought some of you a nice surprise this morning but someone working for the retailer in question could be getting a nasty surprise (although if they had realised what they were doing and did it anyway what they may be about to happen to them may not come as a surprise).

Retro isn't actually released until Monday but the record company will have sent it to some or all retailers who ordered it on Thursday and some or all of them will have received it on Friday. Record companies send out new releases in advance of the release date so that retailers can get them ready for sale in time for opening time on Monday. However, they only send out new releases prior to their release date on condition that they are not sold before the release date and new releases are usually sent in separate boxes (i.e. items that have not yet been released aren't mixed in with items that have already been released) with stickers and notes making it clear that the new releases cannot be sold until Monday. By sending out Retro on Friday in time for Saturday delivery the retailer in question may have broken the conditions on which they are supplied with new releases in advance. The retailer in question may be fined and in future the record company may only send the retailer in question new releases on or after the release date (meaning the retailer in question won't get them until Tuesday at the earliest) rather than before it.

I know all this because I used to work in a record shop. Furthermore, when I worked in a record shop my contract of employment stated that selling new releases before their release date was a breach of contract which could result in instant dismissal and make me liable for any fines that the company was required to pay. So, in the case of Retro someone working for one retailer made the mistake of advertising it for sale at £16.99 on their website and someone working for the same retailer made the mistake of sending it out to some customers so that it would arrive before it had actually been released. Britain is a nation of shopkeepers and we aren't even good at that.

Originally posted by Fingers The postman may have brought some of you a nice surprise this morning but someone working for the retailer in question could be getting a nasty surprise (although if they had realised what they were doing and did it anyway what they may be about to happen to them may not come as a surprise).Retro isn't actually released until Monday but the record company will have sent it to some or all retailers who ordered it on Thursday and some or all of them will have received it on Friday. Record companies send out new releases in advance of the release date so that retailers can get them ready for sale in time for opening time on Monday. However, they only send out new releases prior to their release date on condition that they are not sold before the release date and new releases are usually sent in separate boxes (i.e. items that have not yet been released aren't mixed in with items that have already been released) with stickers and notes making it clear that the new releases cannot be sold until Monday. By sending out Retro on Friday in time for Saturday delivery the retailer in question may have broken the conditions on which they are supplied with new releases in advance. The retailer in question may be fined and in future the record company may only send the retailer in question new releases on or after the release date (meaning the retailer in question won't get them until Tuesday at the earliest) rather than before it.I know all this because I used to work in a record shop. Furthermore, when I worked in a record shop my contract of employment stated that selling new releases before their release date was a breach of contract which could result in instant dismissal and make me liable for any fines that the company was required to pay. So, in the case of Retro someone working for one retailer made the mistake of advertising it for sale at £16.99 on their website and someone working for the same retailer made the mistake of sending it out to some customers so that it would arrive before it had actually been released. Britain is a nation of shopkeepers and we aren't even good at that.

Yeah, but we're not moaning about getting something cheap and early! Maybe the transaction won't go out of our accounts until Monday, making the sale appear to be on Monday, not Friday.

HMV are just getting them sent out early to beat the Xmas rush, I'd imagine. It's happened to me before when they've shipped things on last post Friday. There's only one chance of getting to me before first post Monday morning, and little chance of it arriving in the one delivery on Saturday morning. I guess I was just lucky, living near to London where it's shipped from. It's the first time something shipped late on a Friday has turned up before the Monday it's officially released. Different rules may apply to mail orders compared to putting an item on the shelf in a store on a Monday of release.

As I say, who's complaining when (regardless of whether I've already got the tracks on other releases) I've blagged a 66 track, 5 CD, nicely packaged box set with an interview booklet included for only £17, and got it before it's been released! I'm chuffed, actually, and there's something like 19 tracks on there I've previously not had (21 if you count stuff I've only got on vinyl).

Well done HMV, for breaking a few pointless bureaucratic rules!

Andy.

Andrew, I'm not complaining. I'm just amazed that such a well-established company can make two basic errors over one product. Given that The Observer's review of Retro includes a reference to complaints about the contents of the box set on a New Order website (I assume it's this one) if the same journalist is reading this perhaps they may soon be asking questions about how fans got the box set prior to its official release date.

However, I do find the way the music industry deals with new releases bizarre. The latest Suede album was finished months before its release but the record company didn't release it until the date it had set months earlier (although having heard the album I don't know why they bothered releasing it at all). Best of compilations by the Stereo MC's and Teenage Fanclub were supposed to be released this year but the record companies decided to put them back to next year to avoid the Christmas rush but why didn't they bring the releases forward rather than put them back? Surely it's in the interest of record companies to release new material as soon as possible, especially in the era of Internet file-swapping, rather than make fans wait until the record company want to release it.