Billboard Physical Sales Guide
Can only buy 4 ALBUMS PER VERSION PER TRANSACTION.
Different store exclusives are considered different versions because each has its own UPC.
For example, you can buy 4x “A,” 4x Diary, 4x “Z,” 4x Digipak, 4x vinyl that each include the hello82 exclusive.
You can then go to Target and buy the exact "same" version breakdown (4x "A," 4x Diary, 4x "Z," 4x Digipak, 4x vinyl) that each include the Target exclusive and have it count.
Fan packs (packaging the album with physical merch such as clothing and selling as a single unit) count as their own version.
If buying more than 4 of one version (A, Diary, Z, Digipak, vinyl, etc) from the same store, split your transactions
Use different payment methods
For online purchases, use different accounts/emails/IP addresses/billing addresses/shipping address – no order details can match!
Online purchases must use a US payment method and ship to a US address.
Version tracking resets with EACH TRACKING WEEK. If you maxed out your physical purchases during Week 1 with a particular card/order details, you are safe to BUY AGAIN using THAT SAME CARD/order details during Week 2 tracking.
IMPORTANT! Your online album purchase will be counted for Billboard upon SHIPPING not upon ordering. Your album must be shipped by Monday, 11:59pm ET of the tracking week to count. Make sure you PRE-ORDER or order EARLY in the tracking week!
All in-store purchases must follow the 4 ALBUMS PER VERSION PER TRANSACTION rule
Guaranteed to count for Billboard: In-store purchases following the guidelines will count for a particular tracking week (you don’t have to worry about an online store shipping in time)
Cash or gift cards are highly recommended for in-store purchases since they are not tied to a particular person
Important! If a store has a membership program tied to personal information (e.g., a phone number), please do not continue to use that beyond the 4 albums per version limit, even if making additional purchases using cash.
Purchasing Guidelines
In-Store Purchases
SINGLE ALBUMS follow the same purchasing rules as mini albums/full albums – you can buy 4 of each different version per transaction.