My new found love of Amazon Sellers - Page 3

Superdaddy · 09-30-09, 11:09 AM

Despite the per-item shipping charge, I enjoy Amazon Marketplace a good deal. Always buy from sellers with feedback in the high 90's, and so far have had no problems and gotten some great deals. Now I often check these sellers first before looking at amazon's own prices for items.

Factory-sealed two-disc DVD sets for $10 shipped (or less), pristine copies of long out-of-print hardcover books for $4.00-$7.00 shipped...just a few of the great deals I've scored there.

abintra · 11-06-09, 10:41 PM

Apologies but I wanted to vent a little. I'm about done with buying cheap DVDs from marketplace sellers.

Had good luck with buying the closeout HD DVDs from a couple of the sellers earlier this year so recently I've taken to look for titles that are being sold for about $3-$4 shipped and would have to look up to see if any of them arrived as advertised.

In the last two months, I've received obvious resealed items from pieceofmindbooks/media (item in generic white case w/ a generic "security device enclosed" as the top white title security strip that was held together with glue that was still stuck on the outside of the shrink wrap on all sides). A DVD that was still technically sealed but with most of it ripped off with cuts into the case. One that was sealed but looked like it was in a game of football. An item from Newtown Videos that was supposed to be new but arrived completely open, dirty and with scratches.

My closest to as advertised just might be an obviously new and factory sealed item that has the hub broken inside with plastic pieces floating around and the loose disc. I figure, at best, I've been 50/50 whether things arrive as advertised. I'm just going to wait until they turn up at the various stores at this point or stick to Amazon itself. Doesn't seem to matter who the seller is when dealing with titles for less than a few dollars shipped.

hindolio · 11-07-09, 12:55 AM

^ regarding amazon marketplace, from my experience it is very important who you buy from. for example, pieceofmind, moviemars, inflatable madness, white elephant, et al... they are huge non-existent customer service, dont care about anything, sell a thousand items and make a dime each, etc... type of sellers. they drop ship from the same warehouses, they sell stuff they dont have, they buy used and re-seal to sell as new (coincidentally, from the amazon dvd trade-in program too), and so on. they are sellers you want to avoid.

then there are the okay guys, like newtownvideo, gohastings, secondspin, etc. again imho, these guys actually have customer service, though you may get a dud of a dvd from time to time.

just saying

SpinalGuffman · 11-10-09, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by abintra

In the last two months, I've received obvious resealed items from pieceofmindbooks/media (item in generic white case w/ a generic "security device enclosed" as the top white title security strip that was held together with glue that was still stuck on the outside of the shrink wrap on all sides).

I've read about this quite a few places lately. This smells like grounds for a class action suit. Unbelievable that a large seller would adopt this as a standard business practice.

I have had mostly good success on Amazon, but I usually either buy cheap paperbacks (quality isn't that important on these for me, if I can read it I am happy) or hard to find movies (pretty picky on these), so I have no experience trying to get a brand new recent DVD for $4 shipped.

When I do buy from a seller there, I don't usually buy the cheapest one available. After some trial and error I try to buy from small and medium sized sellers with only 99 - 100% ratings. I look at it this way. A 99% seller means you have 1 chance in 100 that you might not be satisfied. a 98% seller is a 1 in 50 chance, and so on.

I learned the hard way that if a seller has thousands of ratings chances are you won't get fast or personal customer service. Plus their ratings are always 94-95%. If you buy from a seller with a 95% rating, you have a 5 in 100 chance you won't be happy. 1 in 20 is not great odds.

styl3s · 11-11-09, 03:53 AM

my only complaint is most users lie in the description, for instance i bought the oc complete series for 40, description said "disc mint, nothing missing full set" i got it and the hard plastic cover was missing.. no problem but the box was damaged heavily and half the disc were scratched, luckily i could get the scratches off..

and ive been burned a few time with blu-ray seasons (lost s1 and s2) came in multiple black cases with printed artwork.. i know alot of people dont care if that happens but i cannot stand non original packaging or damaged..

JohnnyDaBull · 11-11-09, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by styl3s

my only complaint is most users lie in the description, for instance i bought the oc complete series for 40, description said "disc mint, nothing missing full set" i got it and the hard plastic cover was missing.. no problem but the box was damaged heavily and half the disc were scratched, luckily i could get the scratches off..

and ive been burned a few time with blu-ray seasons (lost s1 and s2) came in multiple black cases with printed artwork.. i know alot of people dont care if that happens but i cannot stand non original packaging or damaged..

Stuff like that has happened to me on marketplace. Email the seller a couple of times and give them a few days to reply. Then report their ass and get your money back.

SpinalGuffman · 11-11-09, 03:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by styl3s

my only complaint is most users lie in the description

Yes I had that problem several times when I first bought there, I would just get the cheapest from a 95% seller. Sometimes when I bought from that kind of seller everything was fine, but it was very hit and miss.

Hasn't happened lately now that I am only buying from higher rated sellers. I also make a point to go through several pages of feedback to see what their neutral and negative feedbacks say. If there are any "not in condition as described" comments I stay away.

Superdaddy · 11-16-09, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpinalGuffman

Yes I had that problem several times when I first bought there, I would just get the cheapest from a 95% seller. Sometimes when I bought from that kind of seller everything was fine, but it was very hit and miss.

Hasn't happened lately now that I am only buying from higher rated sellers. I also make a point to go through several pages of feedback to see what their neutral and negative feedbacks say. If there are any "not in condition as described" comments I stay away.

This is very important. I'll gladly pay a buck or two more to get a higher-rated seller. Sometimes the difference between a seller with 95% rating and a 98% rating is much less than that, even pennies. I hardly ever buy from the person with the cheapest price.

09-30-09, 11:09 AM	#51
Superdaddy Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Long Island NY Posts: 340	Re: My new found love of Amazon Sellers Despite the per-item shipping charge, I enjoy Amazon Marketplace a good deal. Always buy from sellers with feedback in the high 90's, and so far have had no problems and gotten some great deals. Now I often check these sellers first before looking at amazon's own prices for items. Factory-sealed two-disc DVD sets for $10 shipped (or less), pristine copies of long out-of-print hardcover books for $4.00-$7.00 shipped...just a few of the great deals I've scored there.

11-06-09, 10:41 PM	#52
abintra DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Somewhere between thought and expression Posts: 2,767	Re: My new found love of Amazon Sellers Apologies but I wanted to vent a little. I'm about done with buying cheap DVDs from marketplace sellers. Had good luck with buying the closeout HD DVDs from a couple of the sellers earlier this year so recently I've taken to look for titles that are being sold for about $3-$4 shipped and would have to look up to see if any of them arrived as advertised. In the last two months, I've received obvious resealed items from pieceofmindbooks/media (item in generic white case w/ a generic "security device enclosed" as the top white title security strip that was held together with glue that was still stuck on the outside of the shrink wrap on all sides). A DVD that was still technically sealed but with most of it ripped off with cuts into the case. One that was sealed but looked like it was in a game of football. An item from Newtown Videos that was supposed to be new but arrived completely open, dirty and with scratches. My closest to as advertised just might be an obviously new and factory sealed item that has the hub broken inside with plastic pieces floating around and the loose disc. I figure, at best, I've been 50/50 whether things arrive as advertised. I'm just going to wait until they turn up at the various stores at this point or stick to Amazon itself. Doesn't seem to matter who the seller is when dealing with titles for less than a few dollars shipped.

11-07-09, 12:55 AM	#53
hindolio DVD Talk Gold Edition Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: los angeles, ca Posts: 2,376	Re: My new found love of Amazon Sellers ^ regarding amazon marketplace, from my experience it is very important who you buy from. for example, pieceofmind, moviemars, inflatable madness, white elephant, et al... they are huge non-existent customer service, dont care about anything, sell a thousand items and make a dime each, etc... type of sellers. they drop ship from the same warehouses, they sell stuff they dont have, they buy used and re-seal to sell as new (coincidentally, from the amazon dvd trade-in program too), and so on. they are sellers you want to avoid. then there are the okay guys, like newtownvideo, gohastings, secondspin, etc. again imho, these guys actually have customer service, though you may get a dud of a dvd from time to time. just saying __________________ sci-fi rocks in 2009 criterion challenge 2009 meh oh the horror! of 2009 happy holiday flicks of 2009

11-11-09, 03:53 AM	#55
styl3s Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 53	Re: My new found love of Amazon Sellers my only complaint is most users lie in the description, for instance i bought the oc complete series for 40, description said "disc mint, nothing missing full set" i got it and the hard plastic cover was missing.. no problem but the box was damaged heavily and half the disc were scratched, luckily i could get the scratches off.. and ive been burned a few time with blu-ray seasons (lost s1 and s2) came in multiple black cases with printed artwork.. i know alot of people dont care if that happens but i cannot stand non original packaging or damaged..