Guild Wars 2

I’ve purchased the deluxe soundtrack on DirectSong more than a month ago now. I can understand that they’re not a large vendor and don’t have the kind of infrastructure, say, Amazon has, but by now I would’ve expected some form of feedback, if only a “your order should be shipped within X weeks, don’t worry!”

I’m starting to think they just took my money and didn’t bother sending anything. Very disappointing store choice from ANet. Their customer area is also the worst thing I have ever seen: a full Flash site in this day and age? Are you kidding me? And it doesn’t even give delivery updates…

Have you tried contacting them and asking? Shipping times increase drastically if you live somewhere in the middle of nowhere – Since not every country has daily flights for incoming and outgoing mail.

Also, have you tried double checking your address to make sure you didn’t accidentally send it to your neighbours or someone further up or down the street? This has actually happened to me once, hence my asking.

If you’ve tried both with zero response, I’ll gladly “Boo!” them =)

I had a similar issue. I purchased the set almost immediately after it was first announced. Customer service response started out strong, then went to a boilerplate reply that didn’t answer my query about whether they had in fact gotten my order. They only said to allow 4-6 weeks — in fact it took much more than that.

I was sad that I didn’t get the cd’s until after the game launched. That meant I wasn’t willing to just sit and listen to them while reading track names; I wanted to be in game! I ended up ripping them for safekeeping and then loading the cd’s in my car to listen to while commuting. Thus I don’t know which pieces are named what for the most part.

Anyway, hang in there. DirectSong is slow and uncommunicative, but the set will come and the music is all glorious. Soule’s signature is a glyphic wonder. And after all the other game soundtracks I have gotten, I must say I am -vastly- pleased to have a clear, easy to read listing of the tracks in number order, making it easy to figure out what piece is which. Assuming you are willing to take the time away from other things to read while listening, of course … /grin.

Yeah, I ended up emailing them and got a reply stating “manufacturing issues” were delaying the shipment. This is the kind of thing I would’ve expected to be told directly instead of having to actively seek an answer for.

Turns out their site also hates diacritics, so I need to have my address corrected on top. Compared to most online shopping experiences this is really not something I hope to encounter often.

FriendlyFire.6275:

Yeah, I ended up emailing them and got a reply stating “manufacturing issues” were delaying the shipment. This is the kind of thing I would’ve expected to be told directly instead of having to actively seek an answer for.

Turns out their site also hates diacritics, so I need to have my address corrected on top. Compared to most online shopping experiences this is really not something I hope to encounter often.

As much as I’d like to agree with the fact that they shoulda told you.. I’m said to say that there’s very few companies who go through the effort of actually doing that. It sucks, but alas.. That’s how it goes.

Hopefully if enough people show interest in the soundtrack, they’ll consider bringing it to a bigger store – Or an additional store with better range and service.

I’m still waiting for my order as well, got the same load of nonsense about manufacturing delays when I asked (but only after the second time). I was then promised my order would ship within the next 5 business days and guess what? Nothing happened, and once again… no update. Nothing.

I’m really sorry to have to say this, but you’re probably better off trusting a Nigerian general you met via email with your finances. The level of customer support, or rather lack thereof, is absolutely absurd.

This concerns orders of people who had to pay upfront, not orders that are paid upon shipping. You expect it from dodgy websites, not a company that should be at least vaguely reliable if ANet chooses to use it.

So for what it’s worth, even though I love Jeremy Soule’s music to bits… please, ANet, never EVER make use of DirectSong again. It’s horrible at best, and it’s not like this is the first time they’ve failed this hard. Just have a look at the GW1 forums and ask yourself if this is something you want to do to your players. It’s not a company you want to associate yourself with.

:(

When I placed my order, there was a note that it would ship in 4-6 weeks (at least a month). This could mean leave their warehouse within that time frame.

However, I am located in Canada so this may be to cover international shipping – regardless, contacting them is best as they are the retail contact.

It’s been 2 months and no news from them beyond automated messages. I have enquired after the order a few times now ankittenep getting the same automated reply. I have received this 2 weeks in a row now:

“We will be shipping during the next five business days. "

…which is blatant nonsense if the reply remains the same after 2 weeks. I keep trying to get more out of them but to no avail. Since ANet is the party that gives them this business in the first place (composing and distributing the soundtrack), they do have an interest in knowing that it’s not a reliable company. I’m not the only person to have to deal with this.

:(

…why does “and. I. keep. getting” turn into “ankittenep” when I post?

Lady Elvea.2847:

…why does “and. I. keep. getting” turn into “ankittenep” when I post?

the combination of the last letter of and, the letter I and the first letter of keep theoretically spell a slang written version of a males private part. All ‘vulgar’ words (and that is REALLY stretching it there) are translated to the word ‘kitten’. Atleast that is what I believe is the reason.

“the combination of the last letter of and, the letter I and the first letter of keep theoretically spell a slang written version of a males private part.”

Nope, according to a google search of the letters that are changed to kitten. It’s a homophobic slur, which relates to a word that rhymes with pyke.

“Since ANet is the party that gives them this business in the first place (composing and distributing the soundtrack), they do have an interest in knowing that it’s not a reliable company. I’m not the only person to have to deal with this.”

According to DirectSong’s about page, it was founded by Jeremy Soule and Julian Soule. Considering the soundtrack is Jeremy Soule’s work, it makes sense for it to be distributed from them, but obviously you can suggest other vendors.

Based on the website, their best support is done through their ticketing system here: http://support.directsong.com/support/ If you are going to contact them, you should include all the regular information such as order dates and numbers.

Okay, so my entire legitimate phrase is edited because it looks like it may be a really unwieldy and weirdly spelled slang adaptation of a word spelt normally with a d and a y and rhymes with pyke? That’s as close as we get?

Sigh. This is why I normally turn off language filters. They never work as they should and the people kittenally want to use bad words find a way around them anyway. -.-*

On topic:
I have done all that, numerous times… and that’s exactly the problem: I got nothing other than a lot of nonsense. Regardless of whether I email or update my official DS support ticket, nothing new happens.

Or did you honestly think I’d post here to complain about DS without having first tried everything else? Without proper grounds for complaint?

Sad conclusion: DirectSong is very unreliable.

ANet needs to be aware of that, so that they can look of other means / additional means of offering their soundtracks in the future. A proper vendor like Amazon wouldn’t hurt.

…“the. people. who. really”

Seriously? Dear ANet, your forum’s language filter fails hard. Please fix it.

Lady Elvea.2847:

Or did you honestly think I’d post here to complain about DS without having first tried everything else? Without proper grounds for complaint?

Sad conclusion: DirectSong is very unreliable.

ANet needs to be aware of that, so that they can look of other means / additional means of offering their soundtracks in the future. A proper vendor like Amazon wouldn’t hurt.

I was just making sure you were using the best methods of contacting them – as well as providing information for others reading this thread for info, as I’m sure others are waiting for their deliveries as well.

It’s somewhat unfortunate there isn’t more vendor options. I usually try to avoid ordering from international companies on the internet myself. In some cases they forward the import charges to me directly to pay the shipping company as well; it is much easier if the companies just deal with the import fees themselves and charge the fee on my initial transaction.

Kinda expecting an additional import fee for this as well.

Here’s hoping it shows up eventually.

I had trouble with DirectSong even getting me an MP3 properly (it didn’t show up in my account and took two months of emails with them to get it to work), so I wouldn’t hold out much hope for a physical item.

As I posted elsewhere:

“I finally got my soundtrack in the mail, and I’m extremely disappointed. Why? On the outside it looks like someone sat on it, and on the inside, all the plastic is cracked/broken/missing. I’d send it back and ask for a replacement considering the fact that such poor delivery conditions are unacceptable, but… yeah.

Summary: DirectSong sucks, and their product is not worth the money."

I don’t actually think I’d get a replacement in better condition, or, in fact, at all. I don’t trust DirectSong for a refund either.

The customer experience is really, really horrible and there are actually people already putting in fraud claims against them now.

Dear ANet, please take notice and avoid doing business with them in the future or at the very least provide us with an alternative. You owe it to your fans.

According to the correspondence I received from DirectSong, they use USPS to ship the CDs. It’s website is here: https://www.usps.com/welcome.htm

Since based on what you’ve posted in multiple places, the damage sounds like it was visible on the outside of the box. If not, then you most likely have a case that it was damaged prior to DirectSong handing it over to USPS.

It’s a shame you haven’t tried to get a refund.

I inquired about my order via DirectSong’s support ticket system and was able to get a response within 24 hours which answered my question about my order. Apparently there was some manufacturing delays as people have mentioned earlier. It’s a shame they didn’t notify all orders regarding this, but alas.

Hopefully they put the soundtrack up for digital download at some point, since I think its the physical product causing most of the delays at the moment.

I ordered the CD from them as well. Just received mine about a week ago, and I ordered it well over a month before that. The spine has creases in it, slightly looking like shelf wear or someone that wasnt careful with it. And I tried ripping it to my computer a few ago, and the first disc says Guild Wars Factions Soundtrack with GW1 songs…..I hope its just wrong song listing instead of them burning the wrong songs on the discs….

I ordered my set from them back at the start of September. They only sent me a notice saying they were shipped in mid-October, and I’m STILL waiting on them…

I’m bumping this one up. I ordered my soundtrack on 7 Oct. I’ve tried submitting a ticket with them, sent their support an email directly, and have heard nothing back. Just curious if anyone else has heard anything… this is pretty terrible.

Yep ordered mine mid-September, been going back and forth with a support agent who decided to close my ticket after offering me a free digital soundtrack for the wait. I gave them the name of the free soundtrack I wanted three weeks ago and they still haven’t replied.

The order invoice has disappeared from my account so I don’t know…feels like they can just ignore me forever and I can’t do anything about it.

Just an update that I did finally receive my soundtrack CDs around the 19th of November. Hopefully others who are still waiting on their soundtracks will get them soon.

i’ve ordered mine on 27th september
nothing yet…

after the 6 weeks one should let them allow to ship, i wrote my first ticket
“manufacturing delays” was the answer
almost two months and 2 tickets later…still “manufacturing” delays

edit:
got the shipping confirmation today
ordered 27th september, shipped dec 14th…i hope it survives the travel over the big lake xD

still a bit disappointed about directsongs lacking communication regarding the delays … but i’m so totally looking forward to the soundtrack, that’s gonna be awesome

My order was placed on September 19 and my queries were ignored when they missed the promised (6-8 weeks) shipping date. On November 20 they finally informed me that it shipped, but the tracking number they provided was invalid and that was thirty days ago.

Got mine this week…approx 4 months from time of order.

Indeed, I received mine aswell. It’s 4 CD’s and it’s signed, so I’ll forgive them.

got mine this week, too
ordered 27th september, shipped december 14th, took about 3 weeks to europe (3 weeks with all the holidays is fair enough for me, considering the cds coming all the way from the US)

i’ve read that sometimes people received the cd’s damaged…
fortunately “only” the paper case was damaged at its corners…
the cds were fully intact
the whole cd package was packed in plastic-bubble-protection-thingy…still the corners were damaged

hope for everyone that they get their’s soon and undamaged!

I ordered mine in August 2012 and I have yet to receive anything. Multiple attempts at contacting DirectSong have resulted in short unhelpful messages about stuff being lost in the mail. (At one point they even told me they didn’t have my address, even though you have to enter it when you order the CDs)

I’ve lost all hope of getting my hands on this. What a disappointment that Anet would use a rubbish vendor like this on something as cool as their signed soundtrack.

I ordered my deluxe Guild Wars 2 soundtrack at the beginning of December and still have no CD. Just emailed their contact email, thought it would just be me having problems with them. WTF, almost 5 months and still nothing. Hopefully get it soon though

Well, it has now been 8 months for me with no CD’s to come my way. I’ve sent multiple tickets and last one promised shipping in 5 business days (it’s now 12 business days after). My first ticket was sent in February, and I was replied about manufacturer delays, as I was now too.

Still I’m reluctant to get it from other sources, as I don’t want to give up on this situation. As it has been this long I can’t expect my credit card company to help. I guess I’ll be sending support tickes from here to all eternity…

Why on earth did you let it go for eight months? (Also it’s worth contacting your credit card anyway)

But yeah these shenanigans are why I do not purchase from Directsong, and I am not sorry to see the back of Mr. Soule.

Gaile Gray.6028:

I certainly sympathize with the issues that you are having. This is not something that our Support Team can resolve for you, so please do not submit support tickets to ArenaNet or NCSOFT.

You truly do need to contact DirectSong directly. The last point of contact I had for issues was as follows: gloria@maxsteineragency.com. I’m afraid that that contact info is some months old, but I suggest that you send an email to Gloria and see if she can act on your behalf with any issues involving unfulfilled orders.

Best of luck!

Gaile, come on …

If people start sending tickets to your Support Team it’s because DirectSong refuses to anwer. Me and my husband have ordered a CD around the end of May 2013, and we still haven’t received it.
We’ve sent over 15 support tickets by now!!! Only THREE of them got answered, the last one stating that they would contact us within the next 48 hrs and that was 10 days ago. In the meantime, they’ve got my money and I got nothing.

I understand that Support Team can’t do anything about it… but please please please…. REMOVE THE LINK from the GW2 homepage!!!!! You just keep on KNOWINGLY sending your own crowd to that borderline fraudulent website, and you do’nt even seem to be worried about it !

Personally, I’m seriously considering reporting SoundDirect to my law-enforcement agency… I will try and have other people do so to, just to get that website blocked from games in my country.

I bought the GW 2 soundtrack when the game was released and also had bad experience with DirectSong. After 8 weeks of no reports I wrote to their support, it took another month and 10 mails to their support to finally get my CD’s shippped.

The only upside of that was that I was offered the GW 1 soundtrack for free as compensation for the huge delay in shipping.

So my best advice would be to be polite, ask when you can expect your shipment and if you can get some kind of compensation for the really long wait.

I purchased the GW2 Soundtrack with the Collectors Edition discount code I got so I could get the signed version of the OST. I was excited to think that I could have it in a physical form. Digital form is ok, but nothing beats having it in your hand.

However, this was back in June this year. I’ve still not received it. I’ve emailed there helpdesk every month and only received one reply, saying I’d receive an update within 48 hours.

Perhaps they are busy, but that response was back in August, this is November and still I’ve heard nothing. I’ve tried to be polite, but its pretty annoying.

All I’m going to say is this, don’t order from directsong. It has been a complete waste of time and money for me so far.

I’m going to take Gaile’s advice and try Gloria, although it is a few months old that post its still my best shot as PayPal will not assist me as it has been “too long” since I ordered it.

I’m glad that I am not the only one having issues with this. I ordered the disc after getting the game, then was sucked into college. I go to upload the discs so i have them on my mp3player(had to use a converter to make it work). Then what do I find out? OH the track Bear’s Spirit does not play, it starts skipping/having static about 1min 20 seconds in. Granted there’s better tracks, but the fact that they allow a defect like this not once but twice is unbeliveable. I’ve contacted customer support and got nothing in reply. So I’m just as displeased with this and I’ll go through other methods of getting my disks, such as amazon. Or just not buy the music at all. Skyrim’s Soundtracks did the exact same thing. One disk was ruined because of it. Shoddy work for a great composer’s music. It’s a shame really.

Just be thankful you received your discs. I ordered mine back in December of 2012 (yes, that’s right, 2012) and still have yet to receive them. I e-mailed support back in February and they notified me that they’re waiting for them to be signed. What the hell? I don’t care if they’re signed! Means nothing to me, I just want what I paid for.
Fast forward to today and I haven’t received the discs yet and I have been getting ignored. They’re not answering my e-mails.

Do NOT deal with this company. They’re thieves and so is Jeremy Soule.

I am experiencing the same issues as everyone else in this forum. I ordered my soundtrack in January 2013, not quite as long ago as Joppy but it is still unacceptable.

I have 7 or 8 support tickets open with directsong. The last time I received a response was in August. I even contacted Gloria Soto ( gloria@maxsteineragency.com ). Gloria did respond to my emails and still nothing has happened as a result. Perhaps if more people contact her regarding issues with Jeremy Soules’ company directsong then something will get done.

It is sad that such a beautiful soundtrack is tarnished by horrible customer service.

Me too. I ordered mine in April, it’s been six months and not a peep. Absolutely abysmal service.

I can’t even find the disk for sale on the website which made me really disappointed at first, however, seeing this thread just makes me glad I didn’t buy it and sad that such great music isn’t available (because essentially what Jeremy Soule has done is taken your money and given you nothing in return, I wouldn’t expect much more coming your way) ANet, please, in the future can you make your soundtrack more available, I’d love for it to be on Amazon or iTunes, as it is the only song I stand a chance of getting is Fear not this Night because thankfully at least that is on iTunes…