Contents of this section (click to go directly to that topic):

• Creating a User Account
• Browsing the Store and Searching for products
• Using the Shopping Cart quick view and Checkout
• Language and Currency selection
• Managing the Wish List
• Stock Status meanings and how we manage stock
• Follow the status of your order

Creating a User Account

To enable all the features like managing your Wish List or following up on your orders Status and enjoy the full Vinyl Gourmet experience you need to create a User Account. You'll be asked to provide an e-mail, a shipping and billing address, and a password.

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Browsing the Store and Searching for products

You can browse the products in our store by using the predefined filter areas: Coming Soon, New Arrivals, All Music or by categories in Genre & More.

Coming Soon shows the list of items that are expected soon at the store or for future market release. You can check here regularly to know what's coming in the next few weeks or months, it can help you plan ahead.

New Arrivals is the list where you can see the latest additions to our product catalog. You should check this list every time you visit the store to find out what's hot and new or has been added to the stock recently.

The Categories can be found on the left side Store menu under Browse By Genre & More, where you'll find the usual music genres and some more technical filters such as 33 or 45rpm records, or any other aspect that is relevant to sort through the catalog.

If you choose to Browse All Music, you'll be directed to a list view of all the products in our store.

You can also use the Search box on the right side of the store, by Artist, Album, Label, Descriptions, any name or word you want, it does a compreensive search of all areas of the product catalog.

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Using the Shopping Cart quick view and Checkout process

You can select items to order by clicking the Add To Shopping Cart button on any product box or description page.

On the top right section of the store you can see the Shopping Cart quick view that is automatically opened as you move the mouse pointer over it. When open it displays a quick view of the items that you added to the Cart and an estimate of the shipping cost for the contents of the Shopping Cart at that moment based on your previous shipping options.

The shipping cost calculator displays "0,00" if you are not logged in with your registered User Account and visiting the store as a Guest. We recommend that you login to the store and benefit from the estimates of the automatic shipping cost calculator in the Shopping Cart quick view, in which case the estimates are based on the least expensive available shipping option to your country. However this is only to help you calculate total costs as you add items, you should keep in mind that only the shipping cost displayed at the end of the Checkout process when all is accounted for right before the payment step is considered valid for the order.

Clicking on the Shopping Cart (or on the Checkout button) takes you into the Checkout process that is comprised of these 5 steps:

1) Shopping Cart Summary. A list of the items in this order. Also, this is where you can insert a Voucher code if you have one.

2) Login. This step is active only if you're not already logged in to the store. If you're a Guest you can login or create a new User Account in this second step. You also have the option to complete the order without creating a User Account, but it's still required to enter necessary shipping and billing details such as your name and address.

3) Address. This is where you can select existing addresses from your User Account profile, or add a new address.

4) Services, Extras and Shipping. Here you can select additional services or extras to go with your order, as well as choosing the shipping method.

5) Payment. The final step where you see the complete order details and choose the payment option you want to use. Step 5 only works in Euro currency.

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Language and Currency selection

The default language of the Vinyl Gourmet store is English. You can select to have the store displayed in English or Portuguese language, and all communication can be done in these two languages.

The default currency of the Vinyl Gourmet Store is the € Euro. You can slect to have the store display all prices in $USD (United States Dollars) only for reference and to make it easier for some international buyers to calculate costs, but keep in mind that all payments will be made in Euros as that is the only currency accepted for payment. During the checkout process, if you have $USD selected, the currency automatically switches back to € Euro in the very last step and you'll receive a warning message about this.

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Managing the Wish List

The Wish List is probably the best tool you can use to keep track o what is important to you. Everytime you see something you like add it to the Wish List, this way you will not forget about it and it makes keeping track of all the LP's you like much easier. To use this feature you need to be logged in to the store with your registered User Account.

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Stock Status meanings and how we manage stock

The Vinyl Gourmet store provides realtime accurate Stock Status information that you can trust and rely on. Browsing our online catalog you can find in stock items (green) that are ready for immediate shipping or delivery, out of stock items (red) that cannot be ordered, and items that are not in stock but can be ordered (yellow) like pre-orders or products that are already released and part of our store catalog but are only temporarily out of stock. All orders of all types require payment when the order is placed and the checkout process is completed.

These are the possible primary Stock Status:

In Stock (Green - Ready To Ship): The item is in stock and ready to ship immediately.

Out of Stock (Red - Item cannot be ordered): The item is out of stock and it's not available to order.

Out of Stock (Yellow - Item can be ordered): The item is currently out of stock but it is possible to place an order.

Important note about the Yellow Stock Status:

Yellow status does not necessarily mean that the item will be re-stocked and available soon, it means only that an order can be placed. For this reason the Yellow Stock Status it's not meant as an indication of future stock.

When a product is Out of Stock (and available to order or not) there are four possible scenarios or secondary status that are shown in the product details:

Coming Soon: Usually this refers to a product that we have on backorder from our suppliers. This might be for products that are already released or for products that will be released in the very near future. If it's not a new product it just means more stock is already on the way.

To be Announced (TBA): This refers to products that have been confirmed by the manufacturer or by the label but have not been released yet and there is no officially known release date. This usually applies to pre-orders, or simply to let you know about future releases.

Expected On: This is basically the same as the Coming Soon or To Be Announced status, but in this case we can provide an accurate estimate of the date when this product will be available and In Stock at the store.

Ships in x - x Weeks (Yellow Stock Status): This means the product can be Backordered immediately, it is not in stock but it's Available to Order from our suppliers. Expected Shipping Time is provided here in weeks.

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Follow the status of your order

If you have a registered User Account you can follow each step of your orders in the Order Status section from your Account Management area. There you'll find all relevant details like items count, addresses, payment options or services about each order, what is happening at any moment in the order processing cycle, and communicate with the store if it is necessary using a message form. Order status is updated in real time and provides accurate and reliable information about your orders.

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