Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been hard at work to improve several areas of our site, in particular optimizing the website to improve loading times substantially.

I don’t want to get too technical, but to give you a few ideas of what has been improved, we have decreased the size of images everywhere on the site, making them load much faster. We have also done a number of things to make the initial page request way faster, giving you about 200% faster page loads and up to 3x faster browsing in the store.

Those that are on a super fast, optic fiber connection with the newest computer hardware might not notice much of a difference (but there will be one for sure ), but those people with “normal” Internet connections, standard hardware will definitely be able to see the difference. Also, if you browse the store from a mobile device or a netbook on a Edge/3G cellular data connection, you’ll be happy to hear that not only is the site that much faster to browse, but we’ve done everything we can to decrease the “cost” of browsing our site for you, basically decreasing the size of all the data you’re requesting so you end up with a lower data usage

We hope you enjoy the improvements.

Rune
Team Axel

Two weeks ago, we updated the wishlist feature of the site. We had been receiving a number of request for the wishlist and thought it was one part of the site that deserved a nice update.

You may have already seen many of the new features, but if you haven’t yet used the wishlist or discovered all the cool features, here’s a list of updates:

- Fully redesigned: New buttons, new slick look, new graphics, new features, etc.
- Sorting is updated. You can sort with new criteria (such as by ‘latest added’ and ‘release date’) and it will remember your sort selection for your next visit.
- Print wishlist: Has the new design and you can now print using the current sort selection.
- Hover and click for detail view: Click anywhere on a row to expand to a detail view.
- Much easier rating: Rate by selecting the stars below the cover artwork in the detail view (also, when you add a new title, it will automatically have a rating of 0 instead of 1).
- Better stock status indication in the detail view.
- Notes: Add your own personal notes to each title. These notes are visible on your public wishlist as well (see below).
- See a title’s release date.
- Highlight preorders: Quickly highlight those titles in your wishlist that have yet to be released.
- See the date for when you added the title to your wishlist.
- Email a title directly from the wishlist or share through Facebook or Twitter.
- Categories: Add your own custom categories and keep track of titles based on your preferences. For example, add a “Birthday wishes” category and share with your friends and family by making the category public. Any title and any public category will be visible to the individuals you share your publish wishlist link with.
- Updates: This is probably the coolest feature! Now, when you login to your wishlist, you’ll be able to see any updates that happened with any of the titles in your wishlist since the last time you logged in (or deleted the update(s) from that particular title). These updates include front and back cover notifications, price reduction notification, region free confirmation reminder, and “now released” updates. This way, you won’t necessarily need to sign up for reminders on the product pages, but just login to your AxelMusic.com account to see the updates for titles in your wishlist! You can choose to delete updates or keep the updates around for next time, if you still want to leave the reminder around.
- Wishlist badge: When browsing the store, titles that are in your wishlist will now appear with a small orange badge in the top right corner. This badge indicates that are title is in your wishlist (see image in the top).

Furthermore, we’ve added a cool new feature: “Your Updates!” Any updates for titles in your wishlist are automatically added to your “Your Updates!” box, visible on the right below the basket when you’re logged in to your AxelMusic.com account. Any order history updates (such as shipped and packing confirmations) will also appear in your “Your Updates!” box, keeping you 100% up to date on your orders and wishlist everytime you visit the store. For the wishlist, these updates include the same as those described above.

We hope you’ll love the new features as much as we do, and if you have any comments and suggestions, please do not hesitate to email me at rm@axelmusic.com.

Rune
Team Axel

With the AXEL HELIUM VIP PASS you never pay for shipping; just a subscription-based flat-fee! No matter the amount or weight of your purchases, you never have to pay for shipping again once you purchase the AXEL HELIUM VIP PASS!

Choose between 3, 6 or 12 months of FREE and UNLIMITED shipping at AxelMusic.com. Buy the Platinum AXEL HELIUM VIP PASS (12 months) and get an additional 2% off the price of EVERYTHING in the store!

Check out our AXEL HELIUM VIP PASS page at www.AxelMusic.com/vippass to read more about the passes and their benefits!

As always, please do not hesitate to email our Customer Service Team at service@axelmusic.com if you have any questions.

Rune
Team Axel

We have quietly added a new feature on product pages which allows you to instantly share a product with your friends on Facebook or your Twitter followers!

In the Notifications / More information find directly below the cover artwork, you will find two new links for Twitter or Facebook.

Both will open separate boxes where you can customize the text to your friends and followers followed by a direct link to the product page.

Note that you need to allow the “AxelMusic.com application” to post updates on your Twitter account in order to post directly from the product pages. Once you’ve allowed this once, it will not ask you again, and if you’re logged into your Twitter or Facebook account, sharing a product with your friends and followers is just a few clicks away!

Rune
Team Axel

We have added three new currencies in the store: Danish Kroner, Norwegian Kroner and Canadian Dollars.

The three new currencies are strictly for display purposes only! That means, you will not be able to do a complete checkout in one of the above currencies, however, you will be able to browse the site in your preferred currency giving you a better idea of how much things cost in your local currency.

Actual billing can be done in EUR, USD, GBP and SEK only. Once you start the check-out process you will be asked which billing currency you would prefer.

As such, all non-payment currencies’ displayed prices will be approximate and not legally binding. Exact billing prices will be displayed upon check-out.

As usual, always check your bank most current exchange rates to see which currency you

benefit mostly from checking out with. If your account is not in one of our payment currencies, you may be able to take advantage of good exchange rates in certain currencies and save a dollar or two

We hope you will like this new addition. If you have any question about it, please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service at service@axelmusic.com.

UPDATE 25/8:

Today we added two additional display currencies: Australian Dollar and Swiss Franc. As with CAD, DKK and NOK, the five additional currencies are for display purposes only, and you will not be able to pay in these currency.

Rune
Team AxelMusic

We’ve quietly added a new, minor section called “Used”, which can be accessed via this link.

It’s a list of titles that are either used or are unsealed (and not necessarily watched). The item will be in fair shape and we guarantee it to work perfectly (as with new products, you’ll be able to return the item if you wish). Titles in the “Used” section may have been used internally for region free testing, staff viewing, etc. which means they will be like new in most cases – albeit no longer sealed.

If there’s anything special about the condition of the item (for example, a broken figurine, etc.) it will be described on the product page.

In most cases, stock of the used/unsealed/open-package product will be limited to one, and will include free shipping.

Rune
Team AxelMusic

Just a quick update:

We’ve added a menu-item in the Blu-ray section, which links to a list of all Blu-ray titles currently confirmed to have 7.1 surround sound.

So if your home cinema boasts a 7.1 surround setup, you should definitely check out the list!

Team AxelMusic

We have added a great new feature: Coupon codes.

Coupon codes can be used to obtain offers and discounts at checkout.

You can read more in this Customer Service article about using coupon codes.

There are several ways to obtain coupon codes:

• Sign up for the weekly, customized AxelMusic Newsletter for exclusive coupon codes (you can sign up in your AxelMusic profile)
• Become a fan on the AxelMusic facebook page for exclusive facebook-only coupon codes (and other offers on available to customers who show their love by becoming fans on facebook)
• Do an online search for AxelMusic coupon codes that have been shared on forums and other sites
• Keep an eye on banners on AxelMusic.com for coupon codes
• Receive exclusive coupon codes if you have shopped at AxelMusic in the past

As you see, there are number of ways to obtain coupon codes – so keep an eye open to get these great offers.

Team AxelMusic

You have may noticed a few changes when viewing product pages. We have updated our product pages for easier reading and making it possible to find the most important information quickly within a smaller area. The price and ADD TO BASKET button are now close to each other, along with title, stock details and other details.

Cover artwork has been moved to below the product images, along with other product views. If an item has a trailer you can find this below all the product details.

Team AxelMusic

We’ve just added a new, cool feature on product pages for Blu-ray movies.

A pie chart will show the distribution of region free vs. region locked releases from the studio of that particular Blu-ray title.

The chart is based on all tested titles, i.e. titles that have been confirmed region free or region locked.

The chart will give a good idea of how likely it is for a future release (or not-yet-tested release) from a specific studio to be region free.

As you may know, there are studios on our “Region free studios” list, that all have released region free Blu-rays only.

The charts are based entirely on AxelMusic.com’s catalogue.

Team AxelMusic