I have been a customer of Premiere from the old days of Ed Rosen. But, their service has recently gotten so terrible I am not sure I will ever use them again. My last order placed on 1/1/2023 still has not been received as of 3/20 inspite of my inquires. At one point they told me that the order had been shipped. Not so. Now their site says that it is in process.....really, after 3 months. Yes, my credit card has been charged.
Hello James:
The following are my original and updated posts on Yelp! re Premiere Opera:
This is an update of my June 19, 2023 review below* on Yelp! of Premiere Opera and is a testament to the power of Yelp!'s influence. I do not think it a coincidence that on the following day, June 20, 2023, I received an email from Premiere Opera that "I am sorry for this delay, and I am sending your message [i.e., my April 2, 2023 request for a refund of my overpayment of $53.82 for the 9 CD packets I paid for but did not receive and the overpayment of $43.21 from the payment of $63.21 for the postage and handling of 14 packets of CD's of of which I only received 5] to my boss for approval."
On June 27, 2023, Premiere Opera credited my PayPal account $53.82 and sent me the following email: "I just heard from my boss. He is unwilling to refund the shipping and handling fees , but has allowed me to refund the costs of the missing discs."
I do not think it fair that I paid Premiere Opera $63.21 for the shipping and handling of 14 packets of CD and only received 5 packets, and they are unwilling to refund the pro rata overpayment that I made.
I cannot possibly do any further business with this merchant.
Caveat Emptor! Let the buyer beware!
*Original June 19, 2023 Yelp! Review:
On December 31, 2022, I ordered online CD's of 14 operas and paid Premiere Opera $89.70 for the 14 operas and $63.21 for the shipping of these operas for a total of $152.91.
On March 29, 2023, my package finally arrived with only 5 of the operas, and was advised on April 4, 2023 to use a code to take advantage of a total credit they were giving me of $47.84. The payment I made for the 9 operas I did not receive was $53.82. In addition, the pro rata cost of the delivery of the 5 operas I received was $21.00. whereas I was charged $63.21 for the delivery of all 14 operas, 9 of which I did not receive.
On April 9, 2023, I requested a refund for my overpayment of $53.84 for the 9 operas I did not receive and $42.21 for the overpayment of the shipping and handling charges of the 9 operas which I did not receive, for a total refund of $96.03.
In addition, I included the following: " In addition, in the 2 CD packet I was sent of the 1972 performance of Maria Stuarda in Barcelona with Caballé et. al [0225-2] , CD # 2 was a performance of La Traviata. This CD set, which was one of the five I received, cost $5.98. Please either add this cost to the amount to be refunded or send me the correct CD # 2 for this performance."
On May 27, I sent PremiereOpera a follow-up email asking about the status of my April 9, 2023 request for a refund. I have not received any refund, and I have not heard from PremiereOpera since April 4.
It appears that Premiere Opera may have its operations outside the U.S. though it has mail drops on Long Island and in NYC. (Its telephone number comes back to what appears to be a mail receiving and sending agency in a shopping center on Long Island.) This may be due to copyright laws pertaining to the recording of live operas being transmitted online, over the air and otherwise. I do not know to what extent they are regulated by U.S. authorities and therefore do not know what recourse its customers in the U.S. may have.
Caveat emptor.
Phil Octetes