Berkshire Record Outlet is up and running again

[Tony]

I don't get to post here as much as I used to, certainly not as much as I would like to, but I wanted to share a bit of good news. Berkshire Record Outlet appears to be up and running again! The BRO website has been updated, according to the page, as of August 23, 2015. Note that it appears the website (www.broinc.com) is a little buggy loading up pages at the moment, but it works. Their new physical address is listed as 915 Broadway, Albany, NY 12207. Unfortunately it appears they will not be holding any retail shop hours anymore (a decision I hope they will reconsider, as this region--like most--is starved for brick and mortar classical operations, even the Saturday-only hours BRO used to keep would be valuable). A quick look at the most recent inventory shows what appears to me to be the exact same stock as their final update before the move, so perhaps they haven't gotten around to posting a more complete update of inventory acquired (if any) in the last 4 months?

Cheers,
Tony

[MickeyBoy]

Good news, Tony. I just checked and got a warning message: the server is using an invalid certificate and so Google will not accept its secure status. If you search you will see a php error. So things are not quite right yet. Let's keep on checking. I imagine they will get a flood of orders soon.

[George]

On Tuesday, August 25, 2015 at 9:46:53 AM UTC-4, MickeyBoy wrote:
> Good news, Tony. I just checked and got a warning message: the server is using an invalid certificate and so Google will not accept its secure status. If you search you will see a php error. So things are not quite right yet. Let's keep on checking. I imagine they will get a flood of orders soon.

This means that they did not register or purchase security certificate as of yet, if you accept the warning, you can still get a secure connection, but not confirmed by a third party, like this

https://www2.broinc.com/

Usually not recommended, but in this case probably safe.

George

[Al Eisner]

On Tue, 25 Aug 2015, MickeyBoy wrote:

> Good news, Tony. I just checked and got a warning message: the server is using an invalid certificate and so Google will not accept its secure status. If you search you will see a php error. So things are not quite right yet. Let's keep on checking. I imagine they will get a flood of orders soon.

Same problem from firefox. I think I'll wait until they fix it.
--
Al Eisner

[George P]

It's working fine for me on Firefox.

George

[Al Eisner]

On Tue, 25 Aug 2015, Mike wrote:

> Interesting-I've logged in with Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera several times today without a hitch--and Firefox has always been picky about "invalid certificates."

The problem may have been that, for some reason, firefox on multiple
platforms changes my initial url requrest to an https link. In any
case, whatever the problem was has been fixed as of today (Wednesday).
--
Al Eisner
x

[Terry]

All I get, with any browser, is:

Not Found

The requested URL /v1/ was not found on this server.
Apache/2.0.64 (Unix) Server at www.berkshirerecordoutlet.com Port 80

[Andrew Clarke]

No problems in Australia.

Andrew Clarke
Canberra

[Willem Orange]

No problems in Pennsylvania

[Terry]

I'm IN Australia!

[MrBleuvert]

I think you need to register and log in first. I got lots of listings after I did searches but I have not tried to actually order yet.

[Ricardo Jimenez]

The question is, did they add new recordings during the hiatus when
they were offline? Just looking at the most recent items, I got the
vague impression that they didn't. So far, I haven't got any of their
usual update emails that they use to send out previously.

[Mike Painter]

On Wed, 26 Aug 2015 20:41:42 -0700, Terry wrote
(in article <c193dd8f-d394-4eb1...@googlegroups.com>):

Check the exact URL you are using. It looks like yours includes a /v1/ in
it.


I had 2 URLS bookmarked for Berkshire Record outlet, one for the homepage:

http://www.berkshirerecordoutlet.com/


and one for the advanced search page:

http://www.berkshirerecordoutlet.com/search.php?search_mode=advanced


When I click on the home page bookmark, I get redirected to:

https://broinc.com/


When I click on the adv. search bookmark, I get that error message:

Not Found
The requested URL /search.php was not found on this server.

Apache/2.0.64 (Unix) Server at www.berkshirerecordoutlet.com Port 80

I note that tracking down the adv. search page through the home page, leads
to this URL:

https://broinc.com/search.php?search_mode=advanced

which is the same as the old one, except for the broinc.com domain name.


So it appears that they aren't using the old domain name for anything, except
redirecting to broinc.com, and that more complicated URLs in the
berkshirerecordoutlet.com domain don't redirect at all.


cheers,
Mike

[Al Eisner]

On Thu, 27 Aug 2015, Ricardo Jimenez wrote:

> On Thu, 27 Aug 2015 18:26:14 -0700 (PDT), MrBleuvert
> <randol...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> On Wednesday, August 26, 2015 at 6:32:32 PM UTC-4, Al Eisner wrote:
>>> On Tue, 25 Aug 2015, Mike wrote:
>>>
>>>> Interesting-I've logged in with Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera several times today without a hitch--and Firefox has always been picky about "invalid certificates."
>>>
>>> The problem may have been that, for some reason, firefox on multiple
>>> platforms changes my initial url requrest to an https link. In any
>>> case, whatever the problem was has been fixed as of today (Wednesday).
>>> --
>>

>> I think you need to register and log in first. I got lots of listings after I did searches but I have not tried to actually order yet.

No I don't. As noted above, the problem was already gone.

> The question is, did they add new recordings during the hiatus when
> they were offline? Just looking at the most recent items, I got the
> vague impression that they didn't. So far, I haven't got any of their
> usual update emails that they use to send out previously.

Looks like they've just added some colorfully flagged restocks so far.
--
Al Eisner

[Sol L. Siegel]

George P <bariton...@gmail.com> wrote:


> It's working fine for me on Firefox.

No problem here. Just placed a small order.

- Sol L. Siegel, Philadelphia, PA USA

[Mike Painter]

On Fri, 28 Aug 2015 14:27:15 -0700, Al Eisner wrote
(in article <alpine.LRH.2.00.1...@iris03.slac.stanford.edu>):

> Looks like they've just added some colorfully flagged restocks so far.

Everything on my main wish list (mostly Hyperion recordings) is out of stock.
:-(


Mike

[Terry]

> (3) https://broinc.com/

>
>
> When I click on the adv. search bookmark, I get that error message:
>
> Not Found
> The requested URL /search.php was not found on this server.
> Apache/2.0.64 (Unix) Server at www.berkshirerecordoutlet.com Port 80
>
>
> I note that tracking down the adv. search page through the home page, leads
> to this URL:
>
> https://broinc.com/search.php?search_mode=advanced
>
> which is the same as the old one, except for the broinc.com domain name.
>
>
> So it appears that they aren't using the old domain name for anything, except
> redirecting to broinc.com, and that more complicated URLs in the
> berkshirerecordoutlet.com domain don't redirect at all.
>
>
> cheers,
> Mike

Thanks for the tip. I tried the third URL you provided (marked (3) above) and it worked fine. Logged in successfully, and even found my wish list intact.

[Al Eisner]

On Fri, 28 Aug 2015, Mike Painter wrote:

> Everything on my main wish list (mostly Hyperion recordings) is out of stock.
> :-(

Not Berkshire-like discounts, but Hyperion is currently on sale for about
a 20% discount ($12.43 for single CD's) at MDT, until late November.
--
Al Eisner

[Mike Painter]

On Thu, 3 Sep 2015 13:41:25 -0700, Al Eisner wrote
(in article <alpine.LRH.2.00.1...@iris02.slac.stanford.edu>):

Thanks!

Mike up in SF

[Sol L. Siegel]

12 days after placing an order:

My credit card hasn't been charged.

There has been no further word from BRO since the automated
response to my order.

Their web page has not been updated again. Also, it only appears
to be accessible from www.broinc.com; if you use the
www2.broinc.com that has been the standard, you get a tab
YUM YUM YUM and a page which, except for the words "I'm a
burrito", is entirely blank. No, I'm not making this up.

Does anyone know what's up,if anything?

[Al Eisner]

Based on this information, it appears that Berkshire has gone into
the Mexican food business, having found it more profitable.

Seriously, my bookmarks were always www.berkshirerecordoutlet.com,
which now gets properly redirected to www.broinc.com, so I don't
know where that www2 address comes from. As for what's up with
them, they;ve always been rather non-communicative (with primitive
customre service). I take that Aug. 23 update, and the ability to
place an order as good signs, despite the frustrations and
uncertainties.
--
Al Eisner

[Frank Berger]

Don't know about that "standard" thing. I've always used
broinc.com.

[Oscar]

I'm a chimichanga.

[ljk...@aol.com]

Just been in touch by e-mail with someone at Berkshire about an 8/26 order that hadn't arrived and hadn't been charged to my credit card. Joe replied promptly and pleasantly to my query, apologized, said that my order had been received by Berkshire and would go out shortly -- adding that the ongoing process of recovering from the relocation had slowed things down more than had thought it would.

Larry Kart

[Ricardo Jimenez]

On Thu, 10 Sep 2015 12:12:44 -0700 (PDT), ljk...@aol.com wrote:

>Just been in touch by e-mail with someone at Berkshire about an 8/26 order that hadn't arrived and hadn't been charged to my credit card. Joe replied promptly and pleasantly to my query, apologized, said that my order had been received by Berkshire and would go out shortly -- adding that the ongoing process of recovering from the relocation had slowed things down more than had thought it would.
>
>Larry Kart

I don't think anybody here has reported receiving an order from them,
post move. I'll wait until I read such reports before ordering
myself.

[cooper...@gmail.com]

In the old days (I've been ordering from BRO since about catalog #10), there used to be a notice in every catalog admonishing customers not to contact them about orders in process until at least three weeks (iirc) had elapsed. It was always a nice surprise when orders arrived in less time. Times have changed, not necessarily for the better.

AC

[Norman Schwartz]

cooper...@gmail.com wrote:
> On Thursday, September 10, 2015 at 9:21:17 PM UTC-4, Ricardo Jimenez
> wrote:
>> On Thu, 10 Sep 2015 12:12:44 -0700 (PDT), ljk...@aol.com wrote:
>>
>>> Just been in touch by e-mail with someone at Berkshire about an
>>> 8/26 order that hadn't arrived and hadn't been charged to my credit
>>> card. Joe replied promptly and pleasantly to my query, apologized,
>>> said that my order had been received by Berkshire and would go out
>>> shortly -- adding that the ongoing process of recovering from the
>>> relocation had slowed things down more than had thought it would.
>>>
>>> Larry Kart
>>
>> I don't think anybody here has reported receiving an order from them,
>> post move. I'll wait until I read such reports before ordering
>> myself.
>
> In the old days (I've been ordering from BRO since about catalog
> #10), there used to be a notice in every catalog admonishing
> customers not to contact them about orders in process until at least
> three weeks (iirc) had elapsed.
>

What's more, if anyone dared to disobey it might easily result in 'no soup
for you, come back in one year'.

> AC

[Dana John Hill]

I do recall being spoken to rather gruffly many years ago (maybe around
1998), but my correspondence in recent years has been polite and helpful.

I am eager for BRO's return, but will wait patiently until I hear things
are back on track.

Dana

[Frank Berger]

Well, we can always shift our business to that other large
on-line vendor of OOP CDs....oh wait.

[ljk...@aol.com]

My Aug. 26 order arrived today. Hooray!

Larry Kart

[Terry]

On Thursday, 1 October 2015 02:29:42 UTC+10, ljk...@aol.com wrote:
> My Aug. 26 order arrived today. Hooray!
>
> Larry Kart

And I received my order yesterday. Looks like they're back on the map.

[Ed Presson]

"Terry" wrote in message
news:93899436-f799-46b0...@googlegroups.com...

Thanks for the posts; this is good to hear!

Ed Presson

[Sol L. Siegel]

The small order I placed on August 23, which was charged on Oct. 1
(after they phoned me, because they somehow screwed up my CC info),
and was then mailed that day, which then failed to arrive, after
which I got the tracking number only after I e-mailed them to tell
them that it hadn't arrived, after which I somehow got a live
person at USPS and gave them the info, finally turned up today.
The original label had the Zip wrong.

Who knows? By Thanksgiving, I might even have time to play them!

[Oscar]

"Berkshire Record Outlet is up and running again" says the subject header. Were that only true.

In my opinion, they are out of business. No storefront. Albany fulfills its orders. Far less frequent updates (three or four in the last 7 months?). Sad.


From BRO newsletter sent October 25, 2015:

<< Dear Customers,

Thank you for your patience during our recent move. Please note the following:

1. Albany Music Distributors is our new fulfillment company. Your orders will be shipped from their warehouse located at 915 Broadway, Albany, NY 12207.

2. Please pay special attention to emails from the USPS as these will contain your important shipping and tracking information. Tracking emails no longer come from a berkshirerecordoutlet.com email address.

3. Please note, your credit card will only be charged once your order is processed and ready to be shipped.

4. As we sell out of titles, they will be removed from our website. We will not be able to continue with our former, regular, thrice-weekly updates. However, as we receive new stock, we will update the website with new titles. Our homepage will continue to display the date of our latest major update.

As always, you can browse our inventory by label, genre, or composer... >>

[John Wiser]

"Oscar" <oscaredwar...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:e411c7dd-bf2e-4e51...@googlegroups.com...

"Berkshire Record Outlet is up and running again" says the subject header. Were that only true.

> In my opinion, they are out of business. No storefront. Albany fulfills its orders. Far less
> frequent updates
> (three or four in the last 7 months?). Sad.

Your opinion is worthless, as usual.
The storefront was never much of anything.
Sparser updates, what hardship, what an imposition!

jdw

[Terry]

That might be your opinion (that they're out of business), but the facts don't support your opinion. Several contributors have reported deliveries of CD orders already, and as you yourself say, they have put out the newsletter from which you quoted. How do you come to the opinion that they're out of business?

[O]

In article <6OCYx.19179$I83....@fx04.iad>, John Wiser

The storefront was a very small room with a handful of bins, which only
contained one-off items that they didn't sufficient quantities to
publish in their guides. Actual store hours were variable, I think at
one time they were only open Saturday mornings. Obviously, they make
their money from catalog sales -- which makes their long interregnum to
move to Albany that much more surprising that they survived it.

-Owen

[Frank Berger]

Time may tell us that Oscar is effectively correct. Only
assholes would excoriate him for expressing the opinion.

[John Wiser]

"Frank Berger" <frankd...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 10/30/2015 9:34 AM, O wrote:
>> In article <6OCYx.19179$I83....@fx04.iad>, John Wiser
>> <jic...@frontiernet.net> wrote:
>>> "Oscar" <oscaredwar...@gmail.com> wrote in message

>>> "Berkshire Record Outlet is up and running again" says the subject header.
>>> Were that only true.
>>>
>>>> In my opinion, they are out of business. No storefront. Albany fulfills its
>>>> orders. Far less
>>>> frequent updates
>>>> (three or four in the last 7 months?). Sad.
>>>
>>> Your opinion is worthless, as usual.
>>> The storefront was never much of anything.
>>> Sparser updates, what hardship, what an imposition!
>>
>> The storefront was a very small room with a handful of bins, which only
>> contained one-off items that they didn't sufficient quantities to
>> publish in their guides. Actual store hours were variable, I think at
>> one time they were only open Saturday mornings. Obviously, they make
>> their money from catalog sales -- which makes their long interregnum to
>> move to Albany that much more surprising that they survived it.
>

> Time may tell us that Oscar is effectively correct. Only
> assholes would excoriate him for expressing the opinion.
>

Effectively correct? If they go out of business
at any time in the near future, that makes Oscar correct?
We are afflicted here with a pack of rightwing assholes
(pardon the tautology)
indulging in mutual defense and reinforcement.
I devoted six words to Oscar, not a proper excoriation
but more than he is worth. Join the real world, Franklyn,
where words have prior meanings assigned to them.

Since the BRO order-and-supply came back to life, I have received one order
promptly and complete, packed in the customary sturdy container.
There is another accumulating in my kart.
The new stuff and restocks currently being listed
don't look much like "out of business".

jdw

[Oscar]

Albany packs and posts your order. Albany houses the inventory. Albany charges your credit card when the order ships (unlike previously, i.e. when the order was placed).

Will the real BRO please stand up?

[John Wiser]

"Oscar" <oscaredwar...@gmail.com> wrote in message

news:2b8879c1-268f-421d...@googlegroups.com...

> Albany packs and posts your order. Albany houses the inventory. Albany charges your credit card
> when the order ships (unlike previously, i.e. when the order was placed).
>
> Will the real BRO please stand up?
>

So what's in a name?
Maybe somebody will enlighten us.
It surely won't be you.

jdw

[Oscar]

What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.
Or, maybe not.

Barry Obama.
Barack Hussein Obama.

Tony Villar.
Antonio Villaraigosa.

Big difference.

[Norman Schwartz]

Who earns the bulk of the profit made on their recent transactions? Is it
Abany, UPS, USPS or the real BRO?

[Oscar]

On Friday, October 30, 2015 at 6:15:33 PM, Norman Schwartz wrote:
>
> Who earns the bulk of the profit made on their recent transactions? Is it
> Abany, UPS, USPS or the real BRO?

"Ah, it's a _profit_ deal!" -Navin R. Johnson (Steve Martin), The Jerk, Universal Pictures, 1979.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKBRtdp2e98

[drh8h]

The same thing happens hundreds of times every week. Small, probably family owned business. Owner(s) near retirement. Maybe no one who wants to take over. The inefficiencies of being small begin to appear. Competition from Amazon. It isn't as much fun working those long hours anymore. Either close or sell. BRO has been around for 40+ years. If it can survive in its new configuration, I say great! In the meantime, I have all of those bargain-priced CDs and LPs collected over nearly four decades. Many of them I would never have been able to afford in younger and less prosperous days.

[Norman Schwartz]

Eh, he never learned the difference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTHL0y6xvLE

[O]

In article <2b8879c1-268f-421d...@googlegroups.com>,

So it's not in the Berkshires anymore? Is that what you're saying?

Does Metropolitan Insurance only insure urban dwellers?
Are the New York Giants and New York Jets in the State of New York?

The above seem to be surviving despite their phony names.

-Owen

[Taffy Brendel]

Yes, don't forget this is the same poster that was certain that Decca was
no longer an ongoing concern. For this poster, there seems to be some disconnect about how continuity might be preserved and modified in order
for a business to continue to exist.

Taffy