Amazon Has Arrived In Aus: Here's How Its Vinyl Store Stacks Up

5 December 2017 | 3:47 pm | Jessica Dale

Will Amazon compete or destroy?

For many Aussies, the arrival of Amazon marks another huge step out of the Dark Ages and into the truly connected future. (Ummm, has anyone else noticed how cheap dishwasher Powerballs are??)

This morning, the Seattle tech giant launched their first ever Aussie platform and at first glance, this could be a music lovers dream. But, we wanted to put this to the test and see just how far they've gone to appease local fans.

Given the rise in vinyl sales over the past few years, we put together our own little experiment and chose a list of six artists to see just what wax was available through the site. We chose a mix of genres, popularity and local/international acts. Here's what we found out… 

AC/DC — Back In Black

We thought we better start with a classic. It's pretty much a record cabinet staple and, unsurprisingly, it's available (to be fair though, Amazon would probably have their Aussie trading licence revoked if it wasn't…). What is surprising though is that there was only one copy available at the time, with the site promising more are on their way. 

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The breakdown

Price: $42.57
Price elsewhere: $44.99 (JB Hi Fi)
Availability: One available
Delivery time: Could be delivered next day if ordered by 1.55pm and use Priority Delivery.

Tired Lion — Dumb Days

Tired Lion's Dumb Days came out earlier this year and if you haven't listened to it yet, please do. While the good folks over at Amazon have obviously heard of the Perth group (the album is available for purchase on CD), sadly a vinyl version is yet to make an appearance. 

the breakdown

Price: N/A
Price elsewhere: $40.00 (Tired Lion store)
Availability: N/A
Delivery time: N/A

Courtney Barnett — Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit

Given Barnett's international appeal, it makes sense that the album that took her to international success would be available. Of the albums we looked for, Barnett's had the most available for purchase, with three ready to ship and more on order.

the breakdown

Price: $19.99
Price elsewhere: $30.00 (Milk! Records)
Availability: Three available
Delivery time: Could be delivered next day if ordered by 1.55pm and use Priority Delivery.

Gang Of Youths — Go Farther In Lightness

Given that it's the ARIA Album Of The Year (and took home an additional three awards), you would think it's a safe assumption that Gang Of Youths' Go Farther In Lightness would be an easy pick for the Amazon vinyl store. Sadly, it's nowhere to be found. You can pick yourself up a copy of their 2016 EP Let Me Be Clear but you'll still be waiting a while for their latest. 

the breakdown

Price: N/A
Price elsewhere: $45.00 (Gang Of Youths store)
Availability: N/A
Delivery time: N/A

Yak — alas salvation

While some of these have been relatively easy picks, we wanted to test just how wide, far and obscure Amazon are willing to go. To be honest, they did pretty well with Yak's Alas Salvation but sadly, could only offer up a CD equivalent. 

the breakdown

Price: N/A
Price elsewhere: £19.99 (Amazon UK)
Availability: N/A
Delivery time: N/A

The Beatles — The Beatles (The White Album)

As much as we wanted to test the wide reach of Amazon, we also wanted to see what they could offer up with a relatively easy target, and you know what, they did a good job. As well as offering multiple versions of the LP — one is a 2014 mono edition and the other a remastered original recording — the site also offered the album from multiple sellers at differing prices, though availability and shipping times varied with each.

the breakdown

Price: from $43.56
Price elsewhere: $49.99 (JB Hi Fi)
Availability: Varied across different sellers
Delivery time: Varied across different sellers

Summary

Overall, we were quite impressed with what Amazon had to offer on their first day. While there were some gaps, it was very impressive to see that they have a section on the site purely promoting Australian acts and to back that up further, they included acts like RVG, Jess Locke, sleepmakeswaves and Caligula's Horse, just to name a few. We're curious to see what will be next. While we're impressed with what Amazon has to offer, don't forget about a visit to your local record store too, because sometimes a personal touch and recommendation can make all the difference to your collection.