Hii Lovelies!
When an artist or a group is preparing and releasing new music, that means one thing: an album coming up.
You have the opportunity to stream it on platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Naver music. But it is also possible to buy the actual physical album.
When you buy the actual physical album you’ll get a poster, photobook, photocards (1 or multiple, it depends on the artist). Depending on the artist and when you buy the album (on pre-order or not), you will also get extra’s like pre-order benefits like a polaroid picture or an extra photocard, and other stuff the company can think of. It’s always a surprise with what you are going to get.
Stores that sell those physical albums are closer than you think . Down below I’ll list them for you;
DISCLAIMER
Because I live in the Netherlands, I know physical stores that sell the albums. But I will also list online stores accessible for international fans/stans. (Also I’ve made a TikTok video about it, you can check it here)
PHYSICAL STORES
– Mediamarkt (A big Media/electronic chain store in Europe) 
– Sounds
– Game Over (Located in Amsterdam)
– Your local music store
ONLINE STORES
– Ktown4u (Located & shipped from Korea)
– HeyHallyu
– Cokodive 
– Kpoptown (Located & shipped from Korea)
– Ipurple.eu (Located & shipped from Belgium
– Nolae.eu (Located in Germany)
– Bol.com
– Amazon
– Marktplaats (Second hand)
– Vinted (Second hand)
SECOND HAND
If your interest is to buy second-hand albums, I recommend getting them from Marktplaats (if you are Dutch). In my opinion, it is much easier and faster because of domestic shipping and communication.
With Vinted there is also more variety of products and sellers to buy from. The good thing is that Vinted has a buy protection fee, so if something happens with shipping or if you get scammed, Vinted will help you solve the issue. The downside is the extra costs for the buyer and seller. So be aware of that!
TIP: When you buy albums online, compare them with other stores. Even if the price is affordable, it may not be because of the shipping price.
Even at the physical store, try to compare them. For example, Mediamarkt album prices differ in each city.
GROUPORDERS
What you also can do is enter Group Orders. GO masters take care of everything! The only thing you have to do is let them know what you want and pay for the prices. You only get charged for the album or product you order from them, shipping, possible custom costs, and domestic shipping. Some GOM organize group orders for their profit. So it is possible to pay something extra for entering the GO’s. But at least you have fewer things to worry about since the GOM is taking care of everything.
I love buying albums because I can play the CDs on my cd player, check the photobooks and collect the photocards. It also looks nice on my shelf when you have them all on display.
My favorite stores to get albums are Ktown4u and Mediamarkt.
Where do you usually get your albums, and which physical album is your favorite? I look forward to reading all about it.
Much love
Love it