Is it a gamble to order from YsteJam records?

[zappafrank2112]

I recall not too long ago reading a comment from the not-too-distant past from somone who said he'd ordered from the website, money was processed and everything... and then complete silence bordering on months.

I have my eyes on a few items, and if it takes a while for them to be processed, that's one thing, but if all customer support has ceased, that's another.  Does anyone have anything to say about ordering from the site one way or the other in recent times?

[Grizz]

I mean if they straight-up don't respond, a chargeback is pretty easy

[Setlist Scotty]

I recall not too long ago reading a comment from the not-too-distant past from somone who said he'd ordered from the website, money was processed and everything... and then complete silence bordering on months.

I remember reading that post (can't remember which thread), but I think he had ordered them like 4 or 5 years ago and forgot about the fact that he never received the CDs. So I wouldn't use that as a measuring stick to go by. I'd recommend you have a peek at this thread to determine whether to order from YJR or not:
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=52973.35

[Peter Mc]

I ordered stuff a few months ago and there was no problem. Don’t expect fast delivery, I waited about 2 months and that seems to be the norm, but no problems for me.

Customer service also works as, due to a fall in the pound against the dollar, they didn’t pay enough postage and I had to pay when I picked it up. I contacted them and they refunded me what I’d paid out.

[gzarruk]

Who's running YJR now?

[Madman Shepherd]

Technically, there are three things to look at.

Who is responsible for the Ytsejam creative output? That was always Mike Portnoy who assembled the releases, decided what to release, etc. He has not been involved since he left the band and no new releases have happened (with the exception of the Happy Holidays free download which was sort of a Ytsejam release that the current band was responsible for).

John Petrucci has always, and to this day, is responsible for the business side of Ytsejam, such as making sure products are stocked and I think he was the person that got the releases produced onto CD, etc.

A guy named Mike Brown fulfills the orders and coincidentally I think is also Mike Portnoy's webmaster. This is a side job for him which would explain why communication hasn't always been great, orders take a while to fulfill, etc.

[noxon]

I recently asked management about it, and it's still operational and sending out orders, but expect 6-8 weeks of expedition, and add on shipping time to that...

[Stadler]

Even "back in the day", there was always a turnaround time.  I've ordered after the shakeup and had no problem other than a little wait (I think mine was about 4 weeks or so).