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Posted by ali92 on Sep-25-2005 02:52:

CD problem: holes

I recently ordered a CD off Amazon.com's used section and it came with many holes in it if you shien a light in it. It barely plays and can't extract using any extracting tool, as data is missing. The worst thing about all this is: It's from a double-CD: The Future Sound of London - Lifeforms (CD 2). Both dioscs look perfect, but the 2nd one has holes in it. I wonder if it has deteriorated (it's from 1994) or not.

Can anyone help me out by providing me with a FLAC+CUE or WAV+CUE Image rip via Exact Audio Copy of this CD? I already paid for this, and only need CD 2. I already sent an e-mail to the seller, but I feel I'm not getting reimbursed or whatnot for a while.

This is such a shame, as I ordered some 11 other CDs from different sellers, including some stuff that I didn't care for much (like The Alan Parsons Project - _The Best of_, _Myst_ for Windows 3.1/95, The Immortals - _Mortal Kombat [Single]_ (after buying the album), etc), and it has to be THIS particular disc that I get screwed with. :-(

Why couldn't it have been Myst or that single that I don't even need??? It has to be FSOL - Lifeforms (CD 2). :-( If any one can help me out here, thanks a million...

PS: I'd like to know what causes these holes on an otherwise perfect disc. Is it really that this disc is old (1994)?

PPS: Can only accept a lossless rip, as I bought this CD and would've made a lossless rip anyway. :-\

Posted by ali92 on Sep-25-2005 03:08:

quote:
Originally posted by josh4
thats what you get for buying it from amazon's used section. if you're going to buy used buy through ebay
Well, it said 'Like New'. And how can something like this be prevented via eBay? What if it was just someone whow as selling a random album out of their collection and just kept it in the case in 'perfect' (as they got it) condition for ten years? I _do_ know that CDs don't last forever and pressed ones may deteriorate in as little as a decade or two. This particular disc may be as old as 11 years.

Posted by josh4 on Sep-25-2005 03:11:

it cant be "prevented" from happening in ebay but ebay has been in this game much longer and well it is ebays fucking game. amazon is just running their shit on the side. if it does happen at ebay there are systems in place to make an effective responce. even if you cant get back what you lost you can get even. no one buys from (or sell to) people with any negative feedback

Posted by ali92 on Sep-25-2005 04:11:

quote:
Originally posted by josh4
it cant be "prevented" from happening in ebay but ebay has been in this game much longer and well it is ebays fucking game. amazon is just running their shit on the side. if it does happen at ebay there are systems in place to make an effective responce. even if you cant get back what you lost you can get even. no one buys from (or sell to) people with any negative feedback
OK. Noted. I'll buy from eBay now on. Do I need to be 'verified' by a bank or whatever to get back at someone if an item is defective? Plus, if I paid only like 9 USD for the item in question, is it even worth it when by the time anything happens, it could be long after I got a 2nd (good) copy?

And BTW, anything that can be done about what I have here? Know anywhere I can get the disc in lossless format/WAV?

Posted by Aiwendil on Sep-25-2005 04:54:

I've ordered over 75 used CD's from Amazon and not a one even had a scratch on it. Guess i'm just lucky.

Posted by ali92 on Sep-25-2005 05:30:

quote:
Originally posted by Aiwendil
I've ordered over 75 used CD's from Amazon and not a one even had a scratch on it. Guess i'm just lucky.
Both places (eBay & Amazon) have policies in place to dealing with defects, but when dealing with used items, you're usually buying from a person, and if there's a manufacturer defect on an item that only one person has up for sale, you just might be out-of-luck with getting the item at all. Pretty similar to when you buy from a brick-and-mortar (local storefront-type) shop and the very last copy of an item is defect and they don't have any more in stock.

The most that you could get is your money back, and with mail-order, it can suck more, as sometimes doesn't the buyer have to pay to ship the item back to the origin too?

You are lucky with the 75 CDs, though. I bought around 70 CDs from them in the last 2 years so far, and about 3 had defects (two with holes now, one just scratched, but extracted fine in Exact Audio Copy for FLACing).

Posted by MrSquirrel on Sep-25-2005 06:00:

Anytime you buy something used, especially on the internet, it is Caveat Emptor .

It sucks that you got a bad shake, but anytime you buy something not in its original sealed packaging where you cannot inspect it first, you need to be ready to face the consequences if you end up with less than you bargained for.

MrS

Posted by Spacey Orange on Sep-25-2005 06:03:

i'd probably just return it. i'm confident that those cds are easy to come by. i'm sure the hole is probably not due to deterioration; maybe it's just a defective copy.

Posted by ali92 on Sep-25-2005 07:30:

quote:
Originally posted by Spacey Orange
i'd probably just return it. i'm confident that those cds are easy to come by. i'm sure the hole is probably not due to deterioration; maybe it's just a defective copy.
It looks like the holes are where the artwork is at. I wish I can physically take it somewhere, though (heck, nowhere around here even carries FSOL stuff now either). Now I have to wait another week + or whatnot just for one stinkin' disc.

Posted by DJ Cinos on Sep-25-2005 07:53:

I've gotten just the quality I paid for at every Amazon purchase. Sometimes better.

Posted by Spacey Orange on Sep-25-2005 18:44:

quote:
Originally posted by ali92
It looks like the holes are where the artwork is at. I wish I can physically take it somewhere, though (heck, nowhere around here even carries FSOL stuff now either). Now I have to wait another week + or whatnot just for one stinkin' disc.

if light is shining through, then you probably have a problem because data probably supposed to be there. its one thing for the underside to be scratched (which can be probably repaired) but another to have to the top scratched because that's where the data is.

Posted by jdat on Sep-25-2005 22:12:

just file a complaint through amazon.

The sellers rely on getting good customer reviews when buying through the used section of amazon.

Posted by ali92 on Sep-26-2005 02:52:

quote:
Originally posted by jdat
just file a complaint through amazon.

The sellers rely on getting good customer reviews when buying through the used section of amazon.
I've done that already, rated the item 2 out of 5 (CD 1 works like a dream, CD 2 is �ber-messed up). I see what you mean about the ratings, though. The seller told me to post it back to him and he'll refund me.

Update: Exact Audio Copy + my Pioneer DVR-108 DVD recorder was able to rip this with error-free sound in non-secure synchronised mode, as far as my ears are concerned, but I'm still returning it. Well, at least I can FLAC & hear what I have for now. I'm certainly not going to circulate around _this_ FLAC, though (if this last sentence is a violation of the TOS, you moderators are free to go ahead and delete it). ;-)