General stuff
How does The Encore Store work?
Let us start by saying that we know how difficult and time consuming it can be for artists to sell their music while trying to create new music and further their careers. We've seen several instances where a band presses up 1000 CDs, and a year later, they're still sitting on a few hundred copies becuase they simply didn't have the time to sell and promote their CDs (with the exception of the CDs they sold at their gigs). So we decided to help you guys out by giving you a cost-effective way to get your CDs sold. We will create an Encore Store web page for you, which will feature song samples, your CD cover art, CD information, and a brief biography. If you are already selling your mp3s at iTunes, we will also post a direct link to your iTunes page, which will give your fans the option to download your mp3s (if they prefer). Once your page is up and running, we will help you promote your music by utilizing our online presence, which will get you in front of a wider audience of potential fans/customers. The more people that hear your music, the more CDs you sell. That is the entire idea behind The Encore Store.
Are there any benefits to selling my CD through The Encore Store?
Absolutely. If you sell your CDs at The Encore Store, you’ll not only make more money per sale, but you will also be able to take advantage of discounts at Second Encore Productions such as CD replication and duplication, band merchandise, posters, etc. These discounts are only available to artists that register their CDs through The Encore Store.
Can I sell my DVD through The Encore Store?
Sure can.
Can I sell my mp3s through The Encore Store?
At this time, the only products that can actually be sold through The Encore Store are physical CDS and DVDs. We are currently working on a distribution deal with iTunes, but in the meantime - if you already have your songs available on iTunes - we can link your iTunes page from your Encore Store page.
Can I sell CD-Rs at The Encore Store?
Yes, but we recommend that you don’t sell anything less than a professional looking product. In other words, you might want to make sure that your CD is retail-ready with cover art, something that would be sold in traditional retail stores. If it looks cheap and not professional looking, you might have an unhappy customer on your hands.
Can I sell my CD at other online retailers?
Absolutely. Selling your CD is completely non-exclusive, which means – as far as we’re concerned – you can sell your CD anywhere you want. Again, we’re simply another distribution channel for you. We highly recommend that you sell your CDs at other sites such as CD Baby and Amazon as well. We’re not competing against those sites, we’re just trying to help you sell your music and save a few bucks too.
My CDs were done through another replication company. Can I still sell my CDs at The Encore Store?
Absolutely.
I have more than one CD for sale. Can I sell all of them at The Encore Store?
Most definitely, but you would need to register each CD separately.
Can I sell my CDs at The Encore Store if I don’t live in the US?
As of now, we can’t sell your CD through The Encore Store if you do not live in the US.
Do I need a barcode to sell my CDs?
You don't need a barcode if you're selling your CD at The Encore Store.
If I sold my CDs through The Encore Store, would I still own the rights to my CDs?
Yes. This is not a record deal. If you sell your music through The Encore Store, you retain 100% of your rights.
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Is there a registration fee to sell my CD/DVD at The Encore Store?
No. You’re welcome.
Does The Encore Store get a percentage of my CD sales?
For every CD sold at The Encore Store, we get a small 10% fee (to cover our minor administration costs) and you get the rest. So if you’re selling your CD for $10, a $9 payment gets sent to you via PayPal. If you’re selling your CD for $15, you get $13.50 (90% of $15), which will be submitted through PayPal. Please note that PayPal's fee is 2.9% plus $.30 per transaction, and is automatically deducted from the payment.
If I have my songs available for download at iTunes and a customer clicks on my iTunes link to make a purchase, does The Encore Store get a cut out of my profit?
No. We don’t get a percentage of your sales if your customer downloads your mp3s from iTunes. We only get 10% from physical CDs that are bought through The Encore Store.
How do I get paid?
If a customer buys one of your CDs at The Encore Store, we send your payment to you on the following Monday via PayPal.
How much can I charge to sell my CD or DVD at The Encore Store?
You set your own price.
What if I don’t have a PayPal account and don’t want one?
If you want to sell your CD at The Encore Store, having a PayPal account is one of the few requirements that we ask of you because PayPal is how we send out the payments to the artists.
If somebody wants to buy my CD from the Encore Store, do they need a PayPal account?
No. When they click on the PayPal button to purchase your CD, they will be given the option of either paying through their PayPal account (if they have one) or by credit card. They will not be obligated to open a PayPal account.
Is there any kind of minimum that I have to hit before I get paid?
No. Even if you sold only one CD during the week, you will get paid for that sale on the following Monday. There is no minimum or quota that you have to hit.
Getting started
I want to sign up and sell my music at The Encore Store. What do I need to do to get started?
First, you’ll need to create an account by filling out our registration form. Once we receive your registration information, we'll create your Encore Store web page within 24 hours and notify you by email that your web page is up and ready to roll. The email will contain your unique Encore Store URL address.
Do I need to send you my CDs to stock in your warehouse?
No. You hold on to your CDs. When an order for your CD has been submitted, we will notify you with an email which will contain the customer's shipping address, where you can ship out the order directly to the cusomter. No need in shipping everything twice...
Why doesn’t The Encore Store ship out the CDs?
You make more money this way. Since we only take a small percentage of each sale (to cover things such as webhosting, minor admin expenses, etc.), your profit margin is much higher than you’re going to find anywhere else. Even after the shipping charge to send out a CD is factored in, you’re still making more money on every CD sale. Another way to look at it is like this… If you ship your CDs to us and we ship them to your customers when an order is placed, you’re paying for the shipping costs twice.
Why should I sell them at the Encore Store when I can sell them myself?
We think you should sell your CDs yourself! We encourage it! We want to help you sell your CDs, so we’re simply giving you another distribution channel where you can utilize Second Encore’s visibility and online presence. It’s no different than selling your CDs at the store in the mall and selling them at the store down the road from the mall. Not everybody goes to the mall, ya know?
How should I ship my CDs?
We suggest using a carrier that can give you a tracking number. UPS, FedEx, DHL, and the USPS are the most common. Although a tracking number isn’t mandatory, we recommend it… just in case.
Other stuff
What happens if I don’t ship my CD to my customer after they place their order at the Encore Store?
Before any order is placed at The Encore Store, the customer will be notified during the order process that although we facilitate the order, we don’t warehouse the CDs and that all orders are shipped directly from the artists themselves. But in the event that the customer never received the CD that was ordered, we would still more than likely be the ones that get contacted from your disgruntled customer. At that point, we will contact you directly to find out what's going on, and if the issue isn't resolved immediately, your Encore Store account will be temporarily suspended and your contact information will be forwarded to your customer so they can resolve the issue directly with you. Our policy is to not give out personal information, but this is the exception to the rule. If this situation should occur twice, your Encore Store account will be terminated, no exceptions.
What’s The Encore Store’s cancellation policy?
As much as we would hate to see you go, you can cancel your account at any time. We only ask that you would put your request to cancel in writing.
How can I contact The Encore Store?
You can always call our toll free number at 1-888-288-4406 or you can send us an email at encorestore@secondencore.com.
