FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WEB STORE / MAILORDER RELATED QUESTIONS

What kinds of payment do you accept?
Do you accept foreign currency?
I do not have a credit card. Can I still place an order?
Is the Relapse online store secure?
What order options do you have?
How much does shipping cost?
Shipping Options?
How long will it take for my order to arrive?
What about Backorders and Pre-Orders?
How can I use credit towards an online order?
I live in a foreign country and my package hasn’t arrived yet! What can I do?
Can I return an item if I don't like it?
What if my order is smashed or destroyed during shipping?
What happens if my order does not arrive or if something is missing from my order?
What happens if I forget my user name or password?

DEMO SUBMISSION QUESTIONS

Can I submit a demo?
Would Relapse sign my band?
How do I get my band's album or my label's bands into the Relapse Catalog/E-Store?

OTHER QUESTIONS...

How can I receive promotional materials from Relapse for my zine, radio show, website?
Are you hiring?
How come I can't find your albums in stores?
How come a specific Relapse artist doesn't play live in my area?

WEB STORE / MAILORDER RELATED QUESTIONS

What kinds of payment do you accept?
Relapse Mailorder accepts all major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express and Discover), bank/debit cards (As long as they have the Visa/Mastercard/American Express/Discover logo on the card) and PAYPAL (www.paypal.com) through the on-line store. We accept well-concealed cash (U.S. dollars only!), but we do not recommend sending cash through the mail. We accept money orders in U.S. funds (U.S. or International money orders/IMOs). We also accept checks drawn from U.S. bank accounts. Realize that we hold ALL checks for one month before sending your order. We recommend the other listed forms of payment. And sorry, no COD payments.

Do you accept foreign currency?
No, we only accept money in American funds.

I do not have a credit card. Can I still place an order?
Yes, you can! Simply print out this order form (572kb PDF) and send it to the address on the form.

Is the Relapse online store secure?
We understand that many consumers are concerned about Internet security. Relapse employs industry-leading technologies to store sensitive information and protect it while in transit over the Internet. The following Security Statement describes the technologies we use and provides additional details about how we handle sensitive data like credit card information. We want you to be able to shop at Relapse with complete confidence. If for any reason you feel uncomfortable shopping with us online, we invite you to call and order by phone or send your order through the mail.

To read the Relapse.com Privacy and Security Statement, click here

What order options do you have?
To make a credit/debit card order over the phone, call 800.303.0606 in the U.S. or 610.734.3710 if you are an international customer. You may also fax your order to 610.734.3719. If you would like to send your order through the mail send it to:

Relapse Records
Attn: Mailorder
P.O. Box 2060
Upper Darby, PA 19082

Click here to download an order form (572kb PDF).

How much does shipping cost?
Shipping charges are as follows:

Shipping charges for the U.S. are $3.00 for the first item and $1.00 each additional item.

Shipping charges for Canada and Mexico are $5.00 for the first item and $1.00 each additional item.

Shipping charges for the rest of the world* are $7.00 for the first item and $2.00 each additional item.

*If you live in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru or Argentina please read the important Note below.

Note: Customers from Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Ecuador, Venezuela, Bolivia, Peru and Argentina will not be able to use credit or debit cards for Relapse.com online shopping. Orders from the aforementioned countries will not be processed. Customers may used PAYPAL, but only if they are a verified buyer through PAYPAL. Any payments from unverified buyers will be immediately returned and your orders will be cancelled. Please use our Online Ordering Form (OOF) when ordering from www.relapse.com. Customers must use an International Money Order (IMO) or send cash in U.S. Dollars, although we do not recommend sending cash through the mail. It may be more costly and take longer to arrive, but if you are concerned about the safety of your payment, it is recommended that you send your payment via Registered Mail. First time international customers placing large orders may be required to provide additional documents to prove their identity before Relapse will process your order. Any information we require will be kept strictly confidential and will not be shared with any one for any reason. Relapse reserves the right to refuse any order we suspect of being fraudulent and is not required to provide you with a reason.

For packages being shipped to U.S. customers: Orders less than $40 are shipped via United States Postal Service (USPS) Media Mail. Orders $40 or more are automatically shipped via United Parcel Service (UPS) Standard Ground. All packages shipped UPS are automatically insured by UPS up to $100. If your package was insured in this way and is lost or damaged, you need to file a claim DIRECTLY with UPS to collect your insurance money.

All U.S. customers can insure their packages for an additional $3.

Remember:
UPS will only deliver to street addresses (No P.O. Boxes, Prisons, or Military Bases).

The following prices indicate UPS shipping charges:
Standard UPS: $3
Rush UPS: $5
3-Day UPS: $10
2-Day UPS: $15
Next Day UPS: $20

Remember that normal shipping charges still apply.

A simple example is provided below:
Suffocation "Souls to Deny" CD: $12.00
First item, one item shipping: $ 3.00
Insurance: $ 3.00
Total: $18.00

Because this order is below $40 it will be automatically shipped via USPS Media Mail. If you were to choose to have your order shipped via UPS then you must add the appropriate UPS shipping charge to your order. For example, if you wish to have your item delivered via 2-Day UPS delivery then you would add an additional $15.00 to your order total.

Shipping Options?
All shipping options are in addition to the standard shipping charge per item. The 'day-specific' UPS options do not apply to weekends, or federal holidays (For example, if you order 3-day shipping on a Friday, you will get your package on Wednesday, not Monday!)

Important: All rush orders must be submitted by 3:00 pm Eastern Standard Time in order to be guaranteed to ship out that day. Any rush orders received after 3:00 pm are guaranteed to ship out the next business day. Any orders over $40 shipping to U.S. Street addresses (after normal shipping costs are applied) will be automatically shipped Standard UPS.

For most U.S. customers, a standard order will be processed and shipped between one to two days after payment arrival.

All foreign packages are shipped via UPS First Class World Bulk Mail, which might take anywhere from 7-10 days to 2-4 weeks (and sometimes longer) from the date shipped. Sorry, we have no special option or insurance available for foreign orders at this time. Once an international order leaves the Relapse warehouse we can not track it, and while 99% of the time our foreign deliveries make it to their destination in a timely fashion and in good condition, please remember you are ordering at your own risk and Relapse will NOT be able to reimburse you for or replace any items or orders that go missing or get damaged in the international mail.

Relape Records is NOT responsible for any customs, duties or taxes incurred on your shipment. You are responsible for paying these fees if required by your countries customs agents.

How long will it take for my order to arrive?
This really depends on a few different factors: order method, where you live, whether you elect to pay for extra shipping options, etc. A typical order for in stock items being shipped to a U.S. address normally takes from a couple of days to two weeks – often less, sometimes longer. Foreign orders will take anywhere from 7-10 days to 2-4 weeks (sometimes longer) for delivery.

Backorders/Pre-Orders
Backorders are held for two (2) months. If the item does not become available after that time, the order will be cancelled. Your credit card will not be charged until the backordered item comes in and the order is filled.

If an item that has to be backorderd is paid for in advance with cash, money-order, check or Paypal and the item does not come in, the overpayment will revert to in-house credit with Relapse, NO REFUNDS will be issued. TIP: When making orders online using Paypal, please list alternate items in the notes/comments section of the on-line order form if you do not want items backordered and want a substitute item sent instead. Do this for any item you select that is listed as "call for availability" or "only a few copies left". Please make sure the item(s) you list as alternates are the same price as the items they might replace, and that these are items you will be satisfied receiving. Note: If you order any additional items with a backorder or pre-order, the in-stock items will ship as soon as possible, and the backorder/pre-order will be shipped as soon as it becomes available.

How can I use credit towards an online order?
If you would like to use credit towards an online order and you are using a credit or debit card, simply place the order as usual, but use the notes/comments section of the order form to indicate that you have credit you want to use towards the order. While your e-store total will show the total amount for the items, we will manually deduct the credit from the total before charging your card. If you are using PAYPAL, it is only slightly more complicated. Place your order as usual and use the notes/comments section to indicate that you would like to use credit. Make note of the total after shipping, but instead of rerouting to the PAYPAL payment screen, close out/finish the order, unpaid. Deduct the credit amount you have from the total of the order and then go to www.paypal.com and send a payment to mailorder@relapse.com in the amount of the total minus the credit. Use your order number as a reference number for your payment, so that when we get your payment, we know what it is for.

I live in a foreign country and my package hasn’t arrived yet! What can I do?
Not much unfortunately. Relapse is not able to track or insure any foreign orders, so once they leave our office there is nothing we can do. Sometimes foreign orders get held up in customs, or returned to us because of address problems. Returned orders can be re-shipped, but if a foreign order does not come back to us we cannot compensate customers for lost orders. Foreign orders are at your own risk! RELAPSE DOES NOT ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY LOST FOREIGN PACKAGES!

Can I return an item if I don't like it?
No. Here at Relapse we believe in "Caveat Emptor" (Buyer Beware). If somehow we do allow you to return an item, you will receive store credit. NO REFUNDS!

What if my order is smashed or destroyed during shipping?
If you have ordered insurance you can be reimbursed for the whole package, or if your package was sent via UPS you can be reimbursed for the value of the package only up to $100 (Unless you buy additional insurance). If your package was insured only by UPS and is damaged, you need to file a claim DIRECTLY with UPS to collect your insurance money. If you do not order any insurance there is nothing we can do for your damaged or destroyed package. We are not responsible for damage to items while in the mail. For more details on how to return damaged items please email our Return Department at (mailorder4@relapse.com). We cannot be held responsible for foreign orders that get destroyed in the mail. Note: Relapse will not take responsibility for damaged jewel cases where none of the other components of the CD (liner notes, CD itself or backing) are undamaged. Jewel cases are fragile things and postal/shipping workers are clumsy people. Should you receive an otherwise undamaged item in a smashed jewel case, please do not complain to us about it as we can do nothing. Instead proceed into your little sister's room, and steal one of the jewel cases from her Backstreet Boys CD's, and use it for your CD. Relapse fully endorses the concept of sibling rivalry, so feel free to break any of her other stuff during this process. If she is cute and legal, send her picture and number to relapse@relapse.com for further uhh, investigation…. Yeah, that’s it.

What happens if my order does not arrive or if something is missing from my order?
If this happens please contact us via mailorder@relapse.com or by calling 610.734.3711 for U.S. customers or 610.734.3710 for international customers. Please include all order details in your email or have them ready if you call.

What happens if I forget my user name or password?
At Relapse, you username is usually your email address. If you have forgotten your password, you may retrieve it at the login prompt by clicking on the "Forgot your password?" link below the login form. Fill in your email address in the form field and click on the instructional link to have your password sent to the email address on file. If your email address has changed, and you forgot your password, please call customer service at 610.734.1000 to provide further information in order to reset your account login credentials.

DEMO SUBMISSION QUESTIONS

Can I submit a demo?
You may submit any demo or promotional material for Relapse Records or Release Entertainment to:

Relapse Records
P.O. Box 2060
Upper Darby, PA 19082
USA

A few notes and tips on this:

Relapse Records almost never signs a band off a demo alone. It happens, but rarely. Do not call or write us to follow up, we do not have time to follow up on every demo we receive. If we are interested someone will contact you, and usually just for the purpose of letting you know we enjoyed it and are asking you to keep us up-to-date on your band's actions and new recordings. It would be wise if you plan on submitting a demo to Relapse Records that you include as much information about your band as possible. How are we to know who you are if you send us a demo that has no information on it whatsoever? And yes, we have received demos like this, so make sure you include a band name and contact email address on the CD or CD packaging. Relapse does not listen to mp3 demos, will not visit your myspace page and will not view an e-press kit. Please submit music only, you can include video as well but unless it is pornographic in nature or bootleg DVDs of Twin Peaks Season 2 or Hockey's Greatest Brawls we will probably not watch it.

Would Relapse sign my band?
Unless your name is Hull, Pike, or Witte, the answer is no.

How do I get my band's album or my label's bands into the Relapse Catalog/E-Store?
Basically follow the demo guidelines above but clearly mark on the envelope and any other information included that this is for distro purposes not label consideration. Include a full sample of the product you want us to carry, no promos or cdr's, the actual product you are offering ONLY! Again, to reiterate, we will get back to you if interested, do not call or write for follow up. We are generally interested in 'professional' releases only, meaning that we usually will not carry CDR or blank tape demos.

OTHER QUESTIONS…

How can I receive promotional materials from Relapse for my zine, radio show, website?
Please send a recent issue of your publication or the outlet(s) that you contribute to for consideration. Please make sure to send your package (Attention:) to the department specific to your qualifications (press / radio / video), etc.

Are you hiring?
The general rule of thumb is no, but we will accept resume submissions. Usually the best way to become a part of the Relapse cult is to start with a non-paying intern position. You can help spread Relapse information in your local area by becoming a Relapse street team member. Visit www.relapse.com and click the Street Team link to sign up!

How come I can't find your albums in stores?
All stores determine what they stock. Relapse has good, quality distribution so if you do not see Relapse titles in your local record store then ask them if they would stock Relapse titles or special order them for you.

How come a specific Relapse artist doesn't play live in my area?
Because you live in....nowhere! Get off the farm and get a life! Move to the big city!

Please be aware:
Not all Relapse bands tour extensively and availability varies widely.

Not all bands are booked by the in-house agency, but our in-house booking agent can put you in touch with the agent for bands booked by outside agencies, when appropriate.

Unless a show is very close to where a band lives, most shows take place in the context of a tour. If a situation arises were a Relapse band might have an open date or be playing in or near your area we might get in touch with you if/when we need to set up a show where you are located. With that being said, we find shows happen sometimes under the most unusual circumstances and in unusual places, so please feel free to throw any ideas you might have at us. Something usually works out sooner or later.