Thread: Downloading Oriental Fantasy mp3

So I went on the Oriental Fantasy website and noticed that the majority of the CD's are now available for mp3 download. I ordered 2 CD's that with the paypal conversion, came out to $30.86.

The problem is how to I download them? After I completed payment, I clicked the link that went back to the site and found the download area, and it said to enter download id that came with email. I got an email receipt but no download id.

Does this come in a separate email and how long do you have to wait for it?

I'll certainly be watching this thread for the answer!

Mee too!

Still nothing. The receipt I got was from paypal. I suspect, I won't get a download id until the money clears. Stay tuned!

I got mine instantly by e-mail, but I had the funds in my paypal account already. So I imagine you'll get it right away as soon as your funds clear.

Originally Posted by Lauren_

I got mine instantly by e-mail, but I had the funds in my paypal account already. So I imagine you'll get it right away as soon as your funds clear.

same here

I had paypal draw it from my bank account and it's not showing up on my online statement. Thanks to it being a weekend, I'll probably have to wait until Monday or Tuesday. Bummer.

Funds have cleared bank. Still no email with download id.

Originally Posted by norma

Funds have cleared bank. Still no email with download id.

Maybe send them an e-mail?

I know when my students use their checking accounts to pay me by paypal, it can take 2-3 WEEKS for Paypal to release the funds to me. I don't know how long it takes after the funds clear their account, but I'm positive the funds aren't released to me immediately.

I'm guessing the Cifuentes' won't receive the funds for a few days.

It shouldn't take this long to download an mp3. Serious flaw in the system.

Originally Posted by norma

It shouldn't take this long to download an mp3. Serious flaw in the system.

I agree! Just saying, I think the flaw is in Paypal's 'pay by checking account' system, not the Oriental Fantasy system.

When students pay me that way, I don't even get an e-mail about their registration until 2 weeks after the session has started, it's very frustrating.

Considering the issues they have had with piracy, I a bit shocked they allowed downloads. At the risk of sounding silly, was it their real site???

Originally Posted by AnalaVA

Considering the issues they have had with piracy, I a bit shocked they allowed downloads. At the risk of sounding silly, was it their real site???

I'm assuming so. Oriental Fantasy - Tanzakademie Cifuentes Berlin

They have downloads on their real site, yes :). I think they are trying to follow the times and be more accessible. It does seem to be quite a hassle to get the downloads though. Do I understand correctly that if you have the money in your paypal account already then it works faster?

Originally Posted by gisela

Do I understand correctly that if you have the money in your paypal account already then it works faster?

It was instant. I assume it would be if you used a debit or credit card via Paypal, too.

It's only Paypal's pay-by-check method that is so slow.

I just sent them an email. This is ridiculous.

One possible explanation: They are in Germany, where things can work a bit different, people don't think about the exchange of money quite the same way as they do in the US. Not that it is a good reason for such an unreasonable delay in an international transaction, of course.

And, when it comes to the intellectual property issue: The more convenient it is for customers to legally purchase their music, the more inclined most dancers will be to take the legal route.

Originally Posted by steffib

And, when it comes to the intellectual property issue: The more convenient it is for customers to legally purchase their music, the more inclined most dancers will be to take the legal route.

This is certainly true.

I'm teaching a choreo to one of their songs now. I was afraid that my students would balk at spending almost $4 for a song, since they're used to a cost of 99¢. I was also afraid that they'd resist doing business with an unknown site in a foreign country. (I usually send them to Amazon because they all trust it). But so far there's been no mutiny... I don't know how many of them have actually purchased though.

As far as the delay, I'm 100% certain that they haven't received payment yet. As I said, Paypal takes as long as 2-3 weeks sometimes to release draft funds, and it's never taking less than 7 days. When people use that method to pay me, I don't even receive the order information from my shopping cart until the payment comes through.

Let's please not blame Horatio and Beata for Paypal's delay.

I understand that B&H are very frustrated with bootlegging, but a system as weirdly inefficient as this probably encourages more illegal downloading of their records than it prevents. With other legal online music sources, customers have become used to expecting their product NOW, not days or weeks after placing the order. One of the reasons consumers purchase MP3s online is the immediacy--you have neither the time delay traditionally associated with buying a physical CD that will be delivered through the postal system, nor the inconvenience of only being able to obtain the record from specific places during designated store hours. If you take that advantage away, a dancer in a hurry to get a particular piece of music doesn't have much other choice than to steal it from a pirate site, or just give up and choose a different record that they can buy quickly, neither of which benefits their business.

If B&H don't want to extend good faith to their customers (that the PayPal funds will come through) and let them download as soon as the order is placed, then they should at least spell it out very clearly that their system has this sort of receipt-of-purchase lag built into it, so customers are not stuck in limbo, wondering when they'll actually be able to listen to their purchases.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

I understand that B&H are very frustrated with bootlegging, but a system as weirdly inefficient as this probably encourages more illegal downloading of their records than it prevents. With other legal online music sources, customers have become used to expecting their product NOW, not days or weeks after placing the order. One of the reasons consumers purchase MP3s online is the immediacy--you have neither the time delay traditionally associated with buying a physical CD that will be delivered through the postal system, nor the inconvenience of only being able to obtain the record from specific places during designated store hours. If you take that advantage away, a dancer in a hurry to get a particular piece of music doesn't have much other choice than to steal it from a pirate site, or just give up and choose a different record that they can buy quickly, neither of which benefits their business.

If B&H don't want to extend good faith to their customers (that the PayPal funds will come through) and let them download as soon as the order is placed, then they should at least spell it out very clearly that their system has this sort of receipt-of-purchase lag built into it, so customers are not stuck in limbo, wondering when they'll actually be able to listen to their purchases.

Wow.

When customers place an order on my site using a checking account through Paypal, I get an e-mail that the customer has placed an order, but no order details. I have no idea what class they want!

My shopping cart system doesn't send me the order details until after the payment has cleared, over a wek later.

So I *can't* fulfill a customer's order until the funds clear from Paypal because I don't know what the customer wants!

Paypal is clear on their site that if you choose to use an e-check, your funds will be delayed by up to 4 days. It doesn't seem reasonable to use that payment method and then villify a vendor for the delay!

I don't vend online, so I don't know the behind-the-scenes mechanics, but I'd argue that as a consumer, it's not my responsibility to worry about whatever goes on between the credit card/debit card/PayPal account and the store. I give them my number, my authorization, and my word that I'm good for the money. Most businesses give me my purchases and sort the finances out on their own time. I couldn't begin to guess how long it takes Amazon to actually get the $0.99 from me for that music download, but I'm sure it's many days after I've gotten the MP3 file.

It's confusing and annoying to offer what looks like a similar type of MP3 download service as Amazon, Rhapsody, iTunes, etc., but to offer it with a huge time delay that they don't. I still say B&H should explain their system earlier in the sales process, so that people understand what will happen before they are trapped into a deal that isn't what they expected, even if that means reminding them of the intermediary's policies. (I'm assuming that if Norma had seen a vendor selling that record at a workshop this weekend, and thought, "Screw it. I'll just buy the CD," it would be an ordeal to cancel a partially processed transaction.) Since B&H are so personally--and justifiably--concerned about loss of product to bootlegging, it would benefit them to understand what steffib implied: the more frustrating you make it for the consumer to do the right thing, the more likely it is that those of less fortitude will opt for an illegal workaround, especially when the illegal route is so much more expedient. Surely there must be a way that their web site could be designed so they could see a copy of the order before or at the same time that PayPal does? What happens if someone places an order for a physical item with PayPal and their inventory runs out before the money meanders through the system?

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

I understand that B&H are very frustrated with bootlegging, but a system as weirdly inefficient as this probably encourages more illegal downloading of their records than it prevents. With other legal online music sources, customers have become used to expecting their product NOW, not days or weeks after placing the order. One of the reasons consumers purchase MP3s online is the immediacy--you have neither the time delay traditionally associated with buying a physical CD that will be delivered through the postal system, nor the inconvenience of only being able to obtain the record from specific places during designated store hours. If you take that advantage away, a dancer in a hurry to get a particular piece of music doesn't have much other choice than to steal it from a pirate site, or just give up and choose a different record that they can buy quickly, neither of which benefits their business.

If B&H don't want to extend good faith to their customers (that the PayPal funds will come through) and let them download as soon as the order is placed, then they should at least spell it out very clearly that their system has this sort of receipt-of-purchase lag built into it, so customers are not stuck in limbo, wondering when they'll actually be able to listen to their purchases.

Yes, this is my problem. When I read the how to order section, it said nothing about a time lag delay until paypal funds are received. It just said you will receive an email with the download id. I shop almost exclusively online nowadays and I get my confirmation email immediately. That includes software that has a register key that must be downloaded. I've never experienced a delay like this for a download.

I did email H & B with my order details and have yet to hear from them. I understand there could be some time lag with international orders but it should be clearly spelled out it that is the case. I could have ordered the actual CDS from Dahlal and have then probably by tomorrow.

I understand all that, and not responding to an e-mail is squarely on their shoulders now that they've received one.

Fewer than 1 in 100 of my Paypal payments comes in via pay-by-check, so the delay isn't something a vendor encounters often. Not the sort of thing I write up on my website or even have a plan for really. It's just not common. Most people seem to strongly prefer using a debit card, for whatever reason.

Okay, I still haven't heard anything. Let's see, I ordered the music early Saturday morning and sent the email to H & B 2 days ago. I'm beginning to become concerned.

Any suggestions as to what I should do?

I just remembered that B and H have their annual festival this weekend so if this is something that needs to be handled by a person and not automatic, then they and probably all their crew is preparing for the weekend. Just a thought.

Plenty of other sites use paypal and allow you to order the item immediately.

I cannot suffer financial delays of any sort with electronic transfers.

My bank actually WILL NOT LET ME TRANSFER funds from one bank to another through a regular transfer on a Friday. I have to set it as a bill pay- not a transfer. If I try on Friday to transfer from Bank A to Bank B when I get paid via transfer it tells me the next available date is that following MONDAY. It will send it through on a bill pay- but then it still doesn't list in Bank B's account till the following Wednesday or so.

WTF. IT"S AN ELECTRONIC TRANSFER. set it up as queued not just deny it to me entirely. That makes absolutely NO sense at all.

That's WHY we have electronic payments and transfers and purchases- so we can have it soon. While I do not LIKE receiving an email code for the transfer I fully understand the need for it.

But to not hear back at all and not get one at all for several days is not acceptable. It's electronic arrangement- that's the ENTIRE purpose of it's existence is to speed the process up. If I wanted to wait days upon days for the cd- I would have ordered it that way!!!

Originally Posted by Basha

Plenty of other sites use paypal and allow you to order the item immediately.

True, but most Paypal payment methods are instant. It's only this one method that has delays, and Paypal is up front about that. When you choose a payment method that you've been TOLD has a 4-day delay, it's not reasonable to expect instant product delivery.

But anyone running an online shopping system DOES need to check e-mails daily & respond promptly to issues that arise. Now that they've been notified of the problem and the payment has cleared the bank, they need to get this fixed.

Agreed.

I have personally NOT experienced delay from PayPal orders- BUT I am cognizant that they are there.

This obviously (as we agree) means some sort of email confirmation needs to be sent post haste- hey we received your order- we will send you XXXX product in 4-7 business days or what have you.

The BIGGEST source of frustration as a consumer is not know where the **** your stuff is. It's much more palatable to a buyer to wait if they just know what's going on- most competent/reasonable people will wait a fairly long time if they are just kept in the loop of what the heck is going on!

Originally Posted by Basha

Agreed.

I have personally NOT experienced delay from PayPal orders- BUT I am cognizant that they are there.

This obviously (as we agree) means some sort of email confirmation needs to be sent post haste- hey we received your order- we will send you XXXX product in 4-7 business days or what have you.

The BIGGEST source of frustration as a consumer is not know where the **** your stuff is. It's much more palatable to a buyer to wait if they just know what's going on- most competent/reasonable people will wait a fairly long time if they are just kept in the loop of what the heck is going on!

Agreed.

And the Paypal delay *only* occurs if you opt to use an e-check, so you don't ever have to experience that delay.

Some sellers refuse to accept e-checks... I'm thinking about it in light of this thread, since my shopping cart WON'T forward me details of an order until the payment has cleared and been transferred, and it often takes over a week for that to happen.

I always thought e-check buyers were AWARE that they were the ones creating the delay, not me... but I can see now that this isn't the case. I don't want to be blamed for the consequences of their choices!

(although I would respond to an e-mail inquiry from a customer within 24 hours and research the issue if they asked)

This is certainly making me think twice about ordering their mp3s...I would rather just order them from Dahlal by credit card, at least she doesn't charge you until she actually ships it.

Norma -- if you don't get your download ID, I'm sure you can take it up with PayPal directly and they would refund your money.