Beej's CD Shoppe

Greetings, eh? This is the Frequently Asked Questions page. Please read and re-read it to be sure you understand the intricacies of placing an order with Beej's CD Shoppe.

[ Ordering Questions ]

[ Payment Questions ]

[ Son May Questions ]

Ordering Questions Q: If my question is not here, how do I e-mail you?
A: Definitely do NOT use the "bdery" address! I can have my internet access revoked if you do. Instead, please use tuxbeej@yahoo.com. Thanks.

Q: So how's this "collective ordering" thing work anyway?
A: It's not as complicated as it may seem. Here's the rundown:

Choose your CDs and e-mail me your order with all info included.
Wait for me to confirm your order via e-mail.
Double-check order info and e-mail me to confirm your order.
Mail me your payment. (I'll send you my address.)
I will then confirm when I receive your payment.
I place the "collective order" with the supplier at the deadline.
You are notified when the CDs arrive in my office. You are also notified again when the CDs are mailed off.
Finally, your CDs are mailed to you.

Q:   You talk about "the next order period". What are order periods?
A:    The order periods are the dates between which I collect orders and payments. When you place an order for a CD, I add it to my order books and wait until the ordering deadline. Once a deadline is reached, orders are no longer accepted.

Q: Can you give me some detail on OPEN and CLOSED orders?
A: When an order finishes, I "close" it. That means you can't place any more orders until the next order "opens". I do this because in the past, I tried to run successive orders - eg. Order 007 closes, and Order 008 opens the next day. The problem with this is when I start receiving money for 008, and the CDs for 007 haven't arrived yet. In some cases, the 007 CDs can take a while to arrive, and I have to start answering questions from people in both 007 and 008. This can get confusing.
   So now, when I close an order, I wait until the CDs are sent off to your houses before I open the next order. I may change this in the future, once I get a routine going with my wholesaler.

Q: Well, when is the next order opening?
A: If I knew the answer to that, I'd be running Canada Post. It all depends on how long the mail takes to get here. I can't put a date, otherwise people will start submitting and the CDs may not have arrived yet. (see previous question)
   I realize this is a little inconvenient, but all I'm asking is that you wait until the next period opens. It really isn't so bad, since you'd be waiting just as long to get your CDs anyway.

Q: Why can't I get my CDs right away?
A: I carry no stock, as I don't have the money to do so. Your payment is used to buy your CDs, so you have to wait until I send away the collective order.

Q: What CDs can I choose from to order?
A: You can choose from any of the CDs on the Available CDs list (text file) that are not marked with a [%]. Those marked are no longer printed by Son May and are no longer availble.
You CANNOT order CDs on The Compleat Sailor Moon CD List that DO NOT have a bootleg serial # . Nor can you order a CD on the List if it is marked with a red circle-slash.

Q: What are the risks?
A: Good question!

Risk #1- they don't have your CD in stock . Oops. The only thing to do is to request an alternate. In fact,do this when you send me your order. If no alternates are specified, I'll try to refund the portion of your payment for CDs you willnot receive.
Risk #2- the companies could be wiped out by a freak hurricane and thus unable to fulfill our needs for cheap anime CDs. Hey, it could happen! ^_^ (Frighteningly enough, a hurricane DID go by Taiwan and I was waiting for a reply from Son May - which didn't come for about six more days. Nervous much? I sure was.)

Q:   What if the CD I want is not in stock when I order it?
A:    Here's a response I got to that question from Son May:
"As some of the CDs listed in our catalogue are permanently out of print or temporarily out of stock, we have to ask you to list four or five more alternates in your preference order. Besides, please enclose your email address, phone number and fax number (if there is one) in your order, so that we will be able to contact you if there is any problem."
   What I do, though, is check with my wholesaler just before I send my order. They confirm my order and I place it. If one of your CDs is not available,then I will refund that portion of your payment.
   If you have alternate choices in case some are out, then please specify them as alternates when you place your order. That way, you will at least get some CDs that you want.
   Please DO NOT contact Son May, Ever Anime, or Ho Son and ask them to check your order themselves. Checking individual orders is very time-consuming for them.

Payment Questions Q: How much are the CDs?
A: This is answered on the "Pricing " page.

Q: How will I pay for it?
A: I can't really help you there. I would suggest getting a job, investing in the stock market, or robbing a bank.

Q: OK Wiseguy, how DO I pay for it?
A:

Acceptable as payment	Not accepted
US cash (no coins) personal cheque (must be received at least three weeks before deadline) cashier's cheque international money order bank account transfer	local money orders (see below) credit cards e-commerce currencies other than US$

Unlike SM, EA, and HS, I'll accept cheques and money orders. Just please be sure the money orders are international, not national. That is, be sure to ask if they can be cashed in Canada. The following is NOT correct (picture courtesy VKLL):

Also, I must have cheques three weeks before I send the order, as my bank holds out-of-country cheques for three weeks before processing. Otherwise, please send it as a money order. Your bank should be able to make them out for free (or at least for a small service charge).

Q: Do you take forms of currency other than US dollars?
A: I accept only US dollars because my wholesaler accepts only US dollars. If I have to exchange foreign currency for US dollars when I receive your payment, I lose money for service charges and on the exchange. Therefore, I must receive your payment in US currency.

Q: When should I send my payment?
A: It's not important when you send it. However, I must RECEIVE it before the deadline for the order period.

Son May Questions Q: What is Son May Industry Co. Ltd?
A: Son May Industry Co. Ltd. is a CD-printing company based in Taiwan. They print copies of original Japanese CDs from different anime series, from video game series, and from J-Pop singers.

Q: I've heard people say that Son May CDs are illegal. Is this true?
A: Yes, they are illegal in certain countries - specifically in countries that have signed the Berne Convention. This agreement includes the International Copyright Agreement, which forces the signers to respect the copyright of any material. Since Taiwan did not sign this agreement, they do not have to adhere to it, allowing Taiwanese companies to print copies of copyrighted material without permission.
In short, Son May CDs are bootlegs and therefore,evil. Well, not really, but they are illegal. If you order them, you are taking a risk of doing something illegal - and I have no idea what THEY do if you are caught. I've ordered numerous times and haven't been caught yet, so I'm not worried that THEY are out to get us.
If you're still interested after reading the above disclaimer, good for you! I've been told that it's important to take chances in life.

Q: I've read that in some cases, Son May CDs are okay to buy, if the original CD is no longer available.
A: This is totally untrue. It is never okay to buy Son May CDs, as they are illegal. It does not matter what the case is; whether the original CD is out-of-print or not, the CDs are still bootlegs. However, if you're committed to buying them, then that's your business.

Q: Can I request that Son May print CDs they do not currently print?
A: Only if you are willing to print and purchase 1000 of them.

Q: I heard Son May publishes a free, full-colour catalog. How can Iget one?
A: E-mail Son May at sonmay@ms2.hinet.net and ask them to send you a catalog. Be sure to give your mailing address. They should send one right away.

Q: In the catalog, there are CDs pictured with the same CD cover sitting beside each other. What are these?
Q: Can I order only one disc out of these "Box Sets" or "VCD Sets" you post?
A: That is a box set. The serial #s are listed as "SM-??? ~ SM-???". This means that you must order all of the CDs in that set. You cannot order only one CD out of a box set.

Q: I want to order now and I don't have a catalog! What can I do?
A: You have a few options:

try and track down a place on the Net that will tell you what the Son May #s are (ALERT:try SonMay's homepage - now they've got new CDs being offered under different serial #s)

use the handy-dandy Available CDs list (Courtesy of Beej - now with "out of stock" info so you know what *not* to order . . .)

e-mail me pictures of the CDs you want (note: please make them *small* pictures- I don't want a multitude of 300K GIFs floating around in my inbox . ..)

tell me what series it's from and do your best to describe the picture (I REALLY don't want anyone to do this, but I'll do it at request. And if I cannot positively identify the CD in the book, then I will not order it.)

just request a series and I'll order all the CDs for it that I can find. ^_^ You will be paying for them though.

PLEASE NOTE: I cannot read Chinese, which is what the catalog is written in. I can only tell what a CD is by looking at the picture and seeing if I recognize the picture. I have also NOT seen every anime known to man (but I'm working on it ^_^). If you ask for Moldiver CDs, for example, I will have no idea what to look for.

Son May Quick Facts:

The CDs are exact copies of the original Japanese CDs.
The booklets are colour reproductions (not photocopies) of the originals (except for very early Son May releases - don't worry, no Sailor Moon CDs seemed to have been stuck with bad books - just incomplete ones) Update: these days, Son May (as well as the other companies) have been creating pacakges that rival the good looks of the originals. For example - Ever Anime does a great looking Sailor Moon Memorial Song Box, while Son May does an excellent Eva S2 Works box set and an amazing FFVIII box set.
Caution: though they may advertise that they have a certain CD in their catalog, they might not have it in stock anymore. You're either in for a long wait for more to print - or you just might be S-O-L (and that's not "Satellite Of Love" ^_- ).
You can tell which CDs are discontinued by checking the catalog for a symbol resembling an "X" with a dot in each of the empty spaces between each line of the X. This symbol will appear in the "description" right underneath the cover pic.
For best info on Son May Records (as a company) and a better explanation than mine as to why they can make bootlegs, go to SM Records Ltd. FACTS PAGE .

I guess that's about it. Any Other Questions?
Please e-mail me: tuxbeej@yahoo.com




			Last Updated : January 03/03