The birth of the Vinyl Web Stop™ on the Web was the 22. June 1996 and the 18. August it was officially announced. Until summer '97 it was developing fast with constantly changing design and  content.  Then there were two long years with complete silence.   The users however, have been comming back constantly as my weekly statistics have showed me, and finally these and all the fan mail have convinced me to develop it further.

What is the Vinyl Web Stop™?

First I would like to point out that the Vinyl Web Stop™ is a non commercial site, and I have no whatsoever connection with the companies / privates that are included in my links. Future sponsors will be marked clearly. My hope is that this site could be your place to go when you're looking for information, records, friends, whatever related to vinyl records.

Which vendors are linked?

The vendors and private persons presented here have all a presence on the web which with a few exceptions means they display their stock (or part of it) at their sites, and naturally this is made up of vinyl records (or partly). This includes both vendors selling new vinyl only and the more common collector shops with mostly used stuff. Record labels are not included unless they also are selling other labels records.

Currency exchange rates

For those of you who are going to deal with someone abroad, it could be nice to know how much this megamint copy of the ultra rare record you've been looking for all your life, actually cost in your own currency. No problem! Just hyperlink yourself to Xenon Labs (US or Sweden), type in the amount, foreign currency, your currency and voila (shit; t h a t much!). Remember though that exchange rates can change dramatically without any warning and that you always get the rate at the time of transaction.

Postage rates

After having translated foreign currency into your own (when applicable), don't forget to take the postage into consideration when comparing prices.  Foreign postage can be huge so you might find it's  cheaper to buy an expansive copy at your local store. Many vendors let you know the postage in advance, but if you need to find out yourself, then enjoy.

• The United States Postal Service
• Deutsche Bundespost (Germany)
• Royal Mail (UK)
• Canada Post Corporation

For other countries you could check Josepf Luft's list of online postal authorities.

Although most trading over the net goes smoothly, you should be aware of that some are here simply to fraud you. When dealing with the wellknown companies, you should be quite safe (unless they're wellknown for frauding :-) The problem surface when you're going to deal with some minor companies /private collectors. By all means; I'm sure 99 % of these are honest and gives you a better service (and lower price?) than the more unpersonal big companies. The problem is you can't tell for sure. For the same reason I can't be held responsible for the companies/privates in my Vinyl Web Links. So, what can be done?

• If you have any bad experience with a company from the Vinyl Web Links, please report it to me. I will then discuss the matter with the other part. If things are sorted out, I'll do nothing. If I'm in doubt, I'll either remove the link or wait for another report (depends on the degree of doubtfulness). If I'm sure there was a fraud going on, I will remove the link and let you know at the Infodesk. I believe this is a fair way of doing it for both vendors and customers.
  
• When dealing with unknown, small companies/privates, you shouldn't send cash in advance. The problem is however that most sellers don't send anything without advance payment (after all this fraud problem is even greater for them!). One solution is COD, but many companies don't accept this (the parcels are often not collected and returned from the postoffice after months of waiting). The solution could be Trade Safe. For a small fee you get exactly that; a safe trade. Take a look, and give it a try the next time you are going to spend a lot of $$$$, and please report negative experience with this. at the Infodesk (don't expect to be able to use this at the big companies that accept credit cards, though)
  
• Two different and secure alternatives are First Virtual and Cybercash, but in these cases the seller must support these services with pre-installed software. However I expect these services to be more interesting for the professionals than Trade Safe.

Meta searchers

Wouldn't it be nice to simply type into a searchbox what you're looking for, click on GO and watch the script search through the entire stock to every vendor on the web? Well, maybe not if you're looking for the current no. 1 single, but if you're looking for something special (as we collectors always do), this must be great. You might think that this is a distant future and you're probably right, but if you want a glimpse of it, check out these:

• It seems like the Bargain Finder mostly search through CD databases, but give it a try. Boycott the companies that block'em out!
• At GEMM you'll get loads of vinyl plus all kinds of related stuff like other types of collectibles and information. A great idea and it's very easy to use.