My new found love of Amazon Sellers

[MrFleharty]

So for a while I shied away from amazon sellers, but lately I have taken a liking to them. I had a hard time trusting them before, but lately have been getting really good deals. Most recently I got the movie Two For The Money (Not exactly a fav or mine, but what can I say) for 89 cents brand new and factory sealed. Still had the stickers on the top and everything. 2 bucks shipping, but still...not bad at all. I got Adventureland for 13 bucks brand new and sealed. Now...I also will get used occasionlly. i REALLY have a hard time trusting most sellers on used because their "comments" don't say much usually about whether or not it even comes in the case or not...so then i have to email them and wait for a response on whether or not I will be satisfied with my purchase. I got Dazed and Confused Criterion collection for 17 dollars, The Rock Criterion Collection for 8 dollars, and a couple older movies for a couple bucks each...they were The Chase starring Charlie Sheen and Freeway starring Reese Witherspoon and Mr. Sutherland.

So...I just figured Id come in and share. Im sure everyone already knows about amazon sellers.

Also...just got Six Feet Under complete series boxset for 105 from ebay. Thats with shipping ofcourse. brand new factory sealed.

[danwiz]

I'd be very curious to know why somebody was selling an unopened box set "Six Feet Under" on ebay?! I suppose it could have been a gift and they had no interest in it, or somehow they ended up with 2 sets, but if they were selling more than 1 of them I'd be suspicious! Or maybe it "fell off a truck", eh?!

[hal9000]

Actually even so called "reputable" sellers need to be questioned. During the recent Big Lots box set craze, I bought The Flintstones Season One box set from Newbury Comics through Amazon. They had it listed as "new" and "factory sealed." When I received it, not only was it not sealed, two of the discs had massive scratches. Needless to say I won't be buying anything from Newbury Comics ever again because they can't be trusted.

[Proglodite]

I buy a lot (used and new) from Amazon sellers. In general I've gotten some really great deals and items have arrived exactly as described. If a seller has less than a 98% feedback rating, I will generally read through feedback to see what's being complained about. Sometimes the complaints are pretty tacky. Being an Amazon seller myself, I've seen both sides of the fence; some buyers use the threat of negative feedback in order to get a partial or full refund and still keep the item they ordered.

Recently I jumped on John Adams for $4 - Used Acceptable. Arrived with no packaging, but the discs were in mint condition. While I feel that should have been in the description, the price was so low that I don't feel it worthy of complaining.

Another recent order was Criterion's Grand Illusion; I think that was Used - Good; described as an ex-rental with some stickers. Everything was fine, but no booklet was included. I contacted the seller who offered to refund if I shipped it back. Upon further reflection, I decided to keep it but did warn him he should note when Criterions do not have their booklet. This was an early Criterion release and most of their early ones did not have significant printed liner notes. Had this been Children of Paradise or Pandora's Box I would have taken the refund (those are examples where the booklet is integral to the presentation).

I generally shy away from obvious resellers like Game Exchange and CD Wherehouse - I'm sure they bought their collectible discs for pennies, then list them at extortionate prices. I much prefer dealing with an individual who is selling stuff from his personal collection (like myself).

As for Six Feet Under - I bought that during an Amazon Deal of the Day for maybe $50 last year. It's still sitting on my shelf, unopened. If the economy tanks again, I may have to sell it. That did happen to be a couple of years ago with the complete Homicide collection. I still regret having to sell it, but getting nearly three times what I paid for it was just too good to pass up.

Peter

[Drake]

Originally Posted by hal9000

Actually even so called "reputable" sellers need to be questioned. During the recent Big Lots box set craze, I bought The Flintstones Season One box set from Newbury Comics through Amazon. They had it listed as "new" and "factory sealed." When I received it, not only was it not sealed, two of the discs had massive scratches. Needless to say I won't be buying anything from Newbury Comics ever again because they can't be trusted.

Newbury Comics can be frustrating at times, recently I bought a Used Capricorn One special edition and inside was the disc for the regular edition you would think they would be more careful when they buy back.
Also bought The Haunting and the front cover had a tear in the artwork that Newbury Comics conveniently put a price sticker in front of it, if I had seen this I would have passed on it.
It's Hit or Miss sometimes.

[creekdipper]

It really is hit or miss.

The majority of my buying experiences have been great. Occasionally, though, someone lists bundles or sets that turn out to be imports, even when they swear it's the authentic, official Region 1 release. Same thing happens on half.com and eBay (only worse).

Most of the time, the items are exactly as described. Of course, packing varies. As someone who puts extra bubble wrap around DVDs mailed in bubble mailers & always ships box sets in boxes with plenty of padding inside, I am appalled when someone drops a box set into a manila mailer (sometimes not even padded) and ships.

It does pay to read the comments even with 100% feedback. What kills me is to see someone give a hugely negative rating because the order arrived a couple of days later than expected. While I have 100% positive ratings on half, eBay, AND Amazon Marketplace, one customer posted something about not ordering if you need the order in less than a month! I had proof of mailing the package the day after the order was placed; once it was in the hands of the USPS, it was out of my control. Of course, the buyer never contacted me before leaving the negative comment.

Every once in a while I'll read a negative comment that has absolutely nothing to do with the seller or the service...the customer was dissatisfied with the product itself. Evidently Best Buy, Target, etc. should also be held accountable if I buy a movie or CD and they turn out to be disappointing when I view or listen to them.

Anyway, I agree that some great deals & service can be found. The biggest caveat I've found is to be a little suspicious if the deal is too good to be true. Unfortunately, the few bad apples hurt the majority of us honest sellers/buyers.

[RM811]

Originally Posted by Proglodite

Recently I jumped on John Adams for $4 - Used Acceptable. Arrived with no packaging, but the discs were in mint condition. While I feel that should have been in the description, the price was so low that I don't feel it worthy of complaining.
Peter

I bought this as well. The description said no packaging. The discs arrived in perfect condition like they have never been watched. Great deal.

[grozier]

Originally Posted by danwiz

I'd be very curious to know why somebody was selling an unopened box set "Six Feet Under" on ebay?! I suppose it could have been a gift and they had no interest in it, or somehow they ended up with 2 sets, but if they were selling more than 1 of them I'd be suspicious! Or maybe it "fell off a truck", eh?!

Unfortunately a lot of the large box sets, especially the HBO complete series, that you find on eBay are bootlegs. Sometimes they are listed as "imports".

I recently received the Six Feet Under box through .com. It was sealed, but I was suspicious. The green "grass" on the top of the box was cheap flat felt instead of astro-turf like. When I opened it, I found that the printing was cheap and all of the discs were single-layer. I spot-checked a few discs and even had trouble playing them. Fortunately I was not out any money.

However $105 is a fair price for a legitimate copy. I seem to recall thet even Best Buy had it on sale for less than that once.

[TheBigDave]

As a customer, I've never had any problems buying at Amazon Marketplace that didn't get fixed in the end. Sellers are almost always willing to refund or replace any defective or incorrect items. And in the rare case where the seller didn't come through, Amazon has a Guarantee Policy that applies to Marketplace orders. I had to use that once, but got a full refund.

[jeffbase34]

Originally Posted by TheBigDave

As a customer, I've never had any problems buying at Amazon Marketplace that didn't get fixed in the end. Sellers are almost always willing to refund or replace any defective or incorrect items. And in the rare case where the seller didn't come through, Amazon has a Guarantee Policy that applies to Marketplace orders. I had to use that once, but got a full refund.

Unless it has been changed, Amazon does have a policy where you can only file three lifetime claims for refund. They do this to prevent scam buyers from ripping off sellers. I sell on Amazon some, and a buyer can file a claim, get their money back and keep the merchandise. That's stealing, IMO.

The thing that baffles me is there are several dvds selling for $0.01. Are you that fucking desperate to get rid of your stuff? I would rather keep the dvd than just give it away.

[statcat]

I never had a problem with anything I've bought from a seller there but I do judge by their reputation before buying for sure.

[ratnamedted]

Originally Posted by statcat

I never had a problem with anything I've bought from a seller there but I do judge by their reputation before buying for sure.

Usually I find that this is done so that seller's dvd is listed first. If you check shipping, it will often be 2-3x the amount that everyone else is charging. Amazon needs to change how they list items so that they are listed in the order of total cost rather than just the listed price.

[Jacoby Ellsbury]

This is an excellent deal, I purchased several titles

[drmar35mm]

Every few months I'll send in a batch of orders to Amazon sellers--usually DVDs, but sometimes CDs and books. Lately, every batch has had one screwed up order. A CD that was unplayable and physically filthy; a DVD badly scratched up from floating around in the case all the way to my door; right movie but wrong edition and wrong region. It's a minor hassle, but an e mail quickly corrects the problem with a new shipment or a refund. These sellers may screw up from time to time, but they make it good because Amazon is constantly watching them and isn't afraid to spank them. Not a bad system, considering the good deals it can provide.

[Al_Tahoe]

Originally Posted by ratnamedted

Usually I find that this is done so that seller's dvd is listed first. If you check shipping, it will often be 2-3x the amount that everyone else is charging. Amazon needs to change how they list items so that they are listed in the order of total cost rather than just the listed price.

Amazon has fixed-price shipping on DVDs. Marketplace sellers who sell DVDs (like myself) have absolutely no ability to change the shipping costs, which are exactly the same for everybody.

[Nugent]

Originally Posted by ratnamedted

Usually I find that this is done so that seller's dvd is listed first. If you check shipping, it will often be 2-3x the amount that everyone else is charging. Amazon needs to change how they list items so that they are listed in the order of total cost rather than just the listed price.

Seriously, how did you come up with this? As noted earlier this isn't even close to correct. Are you sure you aren't talking about eBay? Even eBay has placed limits on the amount sellers can charge. Even on eBay if the average cost is $3 to ship a DVD you aren't going to see sellers getting $9 to ship the same DVD.

[Space_Monkey]

I sell on Amazon ever since I dumped Paypal after they screwed me out of $100 and therefore stopped using ebay. I do fairly well selling through Amazon even though I despise the low fixed cost for shipping any DVD (like I could ever ship my complete series of the Sopranos for under $3) and I find the commission to be excessive. It forces me to list items for higher than I'd normally like to cover that cost but they still end up selling.. All my stuff is listed as like new since I try to keep my stuff pristine, pack it well and ship it fast so I never get any complaints (except for the one unhappy grandma that thought I personally put the forced trailers at the beginning of her Disney DVD...), keeping my feedback at 100%. However, feedback is less integrated into selling on Amazon than ebay so you're lucky if you get even half of your buyers to leave you feedback.

[JohnnyDaBull]

I have used Amazon sellers a total of 20 times, and only 3 have been bad. Overall I would say it a seller has a rating higher than 90% then they are on the up and up.

[MrFleharty]

Originally Posted by Proglodite

I buy a lot (used and new) from Amazon sellers. In general I've gotten some really great deals and items have arrived exactly as described. If a seller has less than a 98% feedback rating, I will generally read through feedback to see what's being complained about. Sometimes the complaints are pretty tacky. Being an Amazon seller myself, I've seen both sides of the fence; some buyers use the threat of negative feedback in order to get a partial or full refund and still keep the item they ordered.

Recently I jumped on John Adams for $4 - Used Acceptable. Arrived with no packaging, but the discs were in mint condition. While I feel that should have been in the description, the price was so low that I don't feel it worthy of complaining.

Another recent order was Criterion's Grand Illusion; I think that was Used - Good; described as an ex-rental with some stickers. Everything was fine, but no booklet was included. I contacted the seller who offered to refund if I shipped it back. Upon further reflection, I decided to keep it but did warn him he should note when Criterions do not have their booklet. This was an early Criterion release and most of their early ones did not have significant printed liner notes. Had this been Children of Paradise or Pandora's Box I would have taken the refund (those are examples where the booklet is integral to the presentation).

I generally shy away from obvious resellers like Game Exchange and CD Wherehouse - I'm sure they bought their collectible discs for pennies, then list them at extortionate prices. I much prefer dealing with an individual who is selling stuff from his personal collection (like myself).

As for Six Feet Under - I bought that during an Amazon Deal of the Day for maybe $50 last year. It's still sitting on my shelf, unopened. If the economy tanks again, I may have to sell it. That did happen to be a couple of years ago with the complete Homicide collection. I still regret having to sell it, but getting nearly three times what I paid for it was just too good to pass up.

Peter

I want Homicide!!!! Its SO dang expensive though on amazon...it was over 250 i think last time i checked. Ill get it eventually probably. Im workin on my law and orders and my saturday night lives right now. My only "bad" experience was ordering Tommy Lee goes to College or whatever it was called on DVD and the case was crap and the UPC was cut off...very badly...i use collectorz movie collector and needed that upc! It was easy enough to googl and find though.

[UAIOE]

I've never had a problem with Amazon Sellers. Granted, most of the things I've bought were CD's that were under $10.

I bought Electronic's first CD and the seller listed it as "used-new, played only a few times" and he wanted like $3 for the CD. I get the CD and its pristine condition.



The only thing I don't like about Amazon Sellers is there is no "market" for older computer parts. Either there is a pathetic selection, or people want $75 for a used 10yr old Soundblaster 16.

[Al_Tahoe]

Originally Posted by MrFleharty

I want Homicide!!!! Its SO dang expensive though on amazon...it was over 250 i think last time i checked.

It's being re-released on October 20th, and Amazon has it available for preorder at $135...

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...=nosim/dvdtalk

Better yet, wait a couple extra weeks and get it during DD's November sale for probably $100 or less.

[smirnoffski]

KEY difference between Ebay and Amazon Marketplace is as follows:

When Amazon suspends a seller, they have a system in check to actually make sure that seller STAYS booted off.

On Ebay, when a seller is suspended, they can neatly open another account and sell anew (albeit with feedback at zero)

BUT on Amazon, there are ways of detecting if the suspended seller has opened another seller account:
- if the billing address is the same
- if the linked credit card is the same
- if the linked checking account is the same
- if the inventory is the same or substantially similar to that of a suspended seller, etc.

Any or all of the above or other factors raise red flags to automatically suspend new or existing seller accounts that appear to have links with suspended accounts.


ALSO, FEEDBACK is a completely different beast on Amazon than on Ebay:
- the buyer has absolutely NO stake in the feedback game and thus feedback is left for far fewer transactions on Ebay than on Amazon.
- this allows for feedback to be a far more accurate reflection of a seller's performance on Amazon than on Ebay.
- hence why I always feel more confident buying from a Amazon seller with a 90-94% positive feedback rating than an Ebay seller with 98-99% positive feedback rating


Amazon is a tightly regulated sandbox as the above illustrates as Amazon demands as much as, if not more, from 3rd party sellers than expects from itself.

[Living Dead]

Originally Posted by Space_Monkey

I never get any complaints (except for the one unhappy grandma that thought I personally put the forced trailers at the beginning of her Disney DVD...)

What the... are you serious? I have to know what happened and how it ended up. That's hilarious.

[mraw]

I've been purchasing from the Amazon Marketplace for a few years now and I've found some pretty good deals (like Season 4 of Grey's Anatomy on blu-ray for less than $30 shipped- brand new), but there have been some misses on CDs. Granted, they only cost me a few dollars before shipping, but a description will clearily read New and sealed, but when I've received the product the case is completely shattered and the only thing keeping it together is the cellophane wrapping- so techincally it is new, but in bad condition.

Amazon doesn't make room for that type of problem and sellers can get away with it unless they are honest from the start and make a note of it in the product description. I've continued to purchase from there, and I love stocking up on Christmas CDs for cheap around this time of year.

[spainlinx0]

I have bought and sold on the third party side. I only sell stuff from my personal collection. I don't have a storefront. It's mostly just my girlfriend's used textbooks, and then I sold videogames and books I didn't want anymore. I think the commission and forced shipping charges are crap, but since the process is so simple I just accept it.

However I did laugh at one complaint that a buyer had of me. It was something like "shipped fast, but the game was played." Yeah lady, you bought a used game. Why would you think it would be unplayed since I always say in my description "From my personal collection." She must have assumed that everything being sold on Amazon is new or something.